Resources Abound at the Library of Congress for Educators

Educators, if you have not looked into the resources available at the Library of Congress, it's time to check it out.  I have to admit the searches can be overwhelming.  I had a couple of weeks at the start of my fellowship to browse and search.  There were so many relevant resources but at times I couldn't find specific items for topics.  It took me a couple of months to learn some of the techniques from my colleagues in the Learning and Innovation Office.  The exploration was well worth the effort.  Elementary educators cover all the content areas except for a few specials. As educators that cover so many subjects, the Library of Congress digital resources is perfect for making great connections for your students.  

The primary and secondary resources available at the Library of Congress come in a rich variety.  There are audio files, webcasts, YouTube videos, hand-written notebooks, pictures, newspapers, books, and more.  Not only can you use these resources to enhance your instruction, but students can also use them to make connections between their learning and historical context.  Imagine students creating their own products with Library sources and learning to cite them appropriately.  For younger students, I might create a folder of possible resources for them to use in a shared Microsoft or Google folder.  

Searches can be made easier by creating a list of potential search terms.  Terms are used differently throughout the year.  It's important to understand that a refrigerator used to be an icebox and light bulbs were incandescent lamps.  This is where an internet search can help to identify additional terms to search under. Below are some easily accessible resources ready for educators.  Primary Source Sets include groups of various primary sources that address particular subjects.  Another great resource is using the Ask a Librarian feature available on the Library of Congress website.

Teacher Resource Page - http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Blog - http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/

Classroom Materials - http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/

Primary Sources Sets - http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey - https://www.loc.gov/collections/historic-american-buildings-landscapes-and-engineering-records/about-this-collection/

Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/collections/alexander-graham-bell-papers/about-this-collection/

Resources from the Science Reference Division (research guides, everyday mysteries, etc.) - http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/

Teaching with Primary Sources Network has a STEM Group - https://tpsteachersnetwork.org//

Congressional information https://www.congress.gov/

Congressional Research Services has some reports that are also available to the public https://crsreports.congress.gov/

Remember each item you find in the Library's resources has a citation tool towards the bottom of the page.

Scratch and Paper Circuits with Primary Sources

The breadth of primary sources available from the Library of Congress present an excellent opportunity for elementary educators to connect and integrate content areas through historical context.  As an Einstein Fellow, I am identifying ways to make STEM connections through primary sources.  A couple of recent projects include using Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) to create programs using primary sources and creating paper circuits with primary sources.

Instructions for the Civil War Bugle Calls Scratch project are still in development https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/268767799/. The instructions include information on original sheet music and how to use the original bugle calls to code the music using Scratch 2.0.  Students could do a variety of project using Scratch and primary sources. This is just one example.

Lighting the first National Christmas tree with paper circuits allows students to understand the importance of early electricity and the history of some of our holiday traditions.  The 1923 National Christmas tree was the first and lit with electric lights.  A card can be created with any primary source and then used to light up with a paper circuit on the inside.  Additional uses could be examining electrical circuits, incandescent lamps, and more.

 

Any feedback you might have on these types of projects would be greatly appreciated.  If you are local in the DC area, I would love the opportunity to visit your classroom and work on some of these projects with you if we can find times in both of our schedules to connect.  

So Much Fun Creating Lessons!

I have spent several weeks now exploring, or should I say scratching the surface, of interesting and engaging primary sources at the Library of Congress.  There is something for everyone in the digitized resources, not to mention the vast materials housed by this amazing institution.  I am finally at the point where I can bring in my own classroom experiences and connect them to the primary sources for use in the classroom or a makerspace.  It's been interesting and frustrating that it took me three months to get my feet under me, but my excitement as I developed two new lessons this week, one connecting iceboxes from the 1800-1900s and insulation boxes and another using Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) to code Civil War bugle calls, brings back memories of collaborating at my school.  The Scratch lesson was even more fun to develop because I was able to collaborate with our Teacher-in-Residence to share with her the possibilities of Scratch with music.  It never ceases to amaze me how fun it can be to collaborate with other educators on projects.  Lessons also come out so much better when they build off of each other's strengths.  These lessons are still being developed, but keep an eye on the Library of Congress, Learning and Innovation, Teacher's Blog for these and other lessons https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/.

What Do Educators Do?

Early in my education career there was a movement to help the public understand what educators do. While I have to admit that I did not actively pick up and participate in this campaign, I now understand the importance of it. As I visit with a variety of organizations about my role as an educator, I realize many people really don't understand the complexity and challenges of the classroom. Even my husband, who patiently listens to me share my experiences, really has difficulty comprehending the highs, lows, ins, and outs of teaching.

 

Perhaps the challenge comes from the variety of school cultures that exist, especially from coast to coast. Perhaps it's the fact that each teacher brings their individual passions and personalities to the classroom. Perhaps it's that each school has flexibility in how they structure their school day. Perhaps the challenge is that many people, except for their own school years, have spent little if no extended time in classrooms.  Is spending time in a classroom enough though? How can educators help someone outside the classroom understand all the time and energy that goes in to developing lessons that meet individual students needs, meet standards, and engage students?  I think it is difficult to understand and until you live it.

I can only speak for myself, my experiences, and the educators I know. We all work and plan with the best intention for each student. This includes examining their interests and comparing it with the content we need to cover to be able to determine how to connect the two.  We also sacrifice personal time and money to create the best learning experiences for our students.  Being in an office environment with my fellowship has really made me clearly realize the freedoms and constraints I personally have in the classroom.  I hope all educators have the opportunity to use our passions and professional knowledge to create meaningful learning for students.



In general, it is difficult to understand what other people do in their day to day careers. However, careers such as teaching, have challenges that few professionals have to conquer. My husband will often mention that he could never be a teacher. It's not because he couldn't work with kids, or deal with the stress of meeting the needs of all the stakeholders. It is simply that he could never wait to use the restroom as long as I do.  While there can be a lot of freedoms for teaching in the classroom, it is physically very constraining.  Since we cannot leave students unsupervised, our schedules for anything outside the classroom, hopefully, become trained to work on a bell system.  It really is an odd part of the profession.

All careers have challenges and rewards. I do believe that the rewards outweigh the challenges in education. Nevertheless, it is a difficult profession to walk a mile in someone else's shoes when you don't understand all the hazards, challenges, along that mile. Somehow, educators need to help others who have not worked long term in a classroom understand our mile, understand the challenges.  In developing this understanding, we can work together to promote better outcomes for students, teacher retention, and the high quality education that we all want to see.

Smithsonian Learning Lab

As Einstein Fellows, not only does each fellow have an opportunity to create a professional development plan, but we also participate in program-developed each month. In October, we visited Smithsonian Learning Labs.

During our day at Smithsonian Learning Labs, we explored activities that are available for educators to download and use in their classrooms.  Have you ever thought about what makes an item innovative? What if you had to rank items based on their level of innovation? Where would you place an arrowhead in the ranking? What about a clock?  It's not as easy as it might seem.

After explorations and discussions, we visited the rooftop for some awesome photos!

We also learned about some simulations that are available.  The fellows had a lot of fun with the Wright Flyer simulation.  Just have to say, I landed it without crashing. 

One of the features I liked best was being able to collect and house online resources under my own free account.  Resources could be 2D images of objects, lesson plans, secondary sources, and more. We were barely able to scratch the surface of the available resources, but I plan to continue to explore and collect resources.

NAVSEA Calculator Robots and More

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit NAVSEA Carderock division.  This division is mainly civilian engineers working on research, development, test and evaluation, fleet support, an in-service engineering for surface and undersea vehicles.  In order to conduct much of this work, the testing systems areas were amazing to see and a fantastic maker lab is available to staff and for training and research purposes. NASA has shared about the challenges with 3D printing in microgravity, but have you ever considered the challenges with printing on a ship with rolling seas?  Apparently, 3D printers can be of use when out in the middle of the ocean, but may not function so well while in that location.  While this could be an interesting challenge for students to ponder, NAVSEA Carderock offers K-16 STEM Outreach.  Another opportunity that was shared was the use of TI-84 calculators for robots.  NASA has an educator guide for using the robots with 6-9 grades but I think it would be amazing to use the calculator robots with elementary students and get them familiar with the graphing calculator and practice with computational thinking.

Sorry, no pictures were allowed at Carderock.

NASA OPSPARC's New Missions

I participated in an ITEEA webinar this week on Optimus Prime for K-12 students.  NASA OPSPARC has three sets of missions beginning with learning about spinoff technology from NASA's extensive work. It is amazing how many things we can find around our homes and communities that began with engineering designs at NASA. Next, students can create their own spinoff technology form existing NASA projects to solve a problem. This mission is where the engineering design process kicks in.  Finally, the third mission has students share their new spinoff technology in a virtual world where they can interact with NASA engineers and other professionals.  This challenge is a great way to work on real-world challenges without leaving the classroom.  I look forward to giving it a try when I return to the classroom.  https://opsparc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 

NASA offers a variety of educational outreach through their various campuses in a variety of formats.  You can also attend educator conferences at Space Center Houston and the Kennedy Space Center.

@NASAedu NASA for Educators Pinterest Board NASA Students on Facebook NASA STEM Engagement YouTube Channel

Visit NASA STEM Engagement on the Web:  NASA's Office of STEM Engagement: http://www.nasa.gov/education For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids' Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Geographic information system (GIS) in Elementary Education

Just attended an amazing lecture series at the Library of Congress today about the use of geographic information system (GIS) in K-12 education. Now while we might consider something like this for use with high school or even middle school students, I love the idea of using it with elementary students.

Currently, we have students who are working on identifying problems with natural resources and then developing a solution. This is all part of being a part of FabSLAM, a multi-week, team-based, digital fabrication competition where youth learn and practice design, iteration, and rapid prototyping skills primarily focused on 3D Design and 3D Printing (https://www.digitalharbor.org/whatwedo/projects/fabslam/).  In my experience, students have difficulties doing quality research to identify real problems. As I sat in the K-12 GIS lecture series, I could envision students using natural resource map data to identify areas of concerns. In Idaho, they may find there are increasing issues with access to public lands. Maybe it's the dangers of forest fires and their impact on the loss of natural resources.  I could go on. This is just one way GIS could be useful in the elementary classroom. Imagine if students could make their own data to then analyze.  Students could even create a presentation that includes their data with https://storymaps.arcgis.com/en/.  The integration of GIS can take place in multiple subject areas and create valuable practice in analysis and presenting information.

You can request a free esri software bundle for your school at https://www.esri.com/en-us/industries/education/schools/schools-mapping-software-bundle.

There are even mentors available across the country to help!

Best Experience So Far

Wow! I had another inspirational experience last night with a talk by Astronaut Scott Kelly. His message about being an average, or even bad student, and still being able to accomplish his goals through planning and hard work was very insightful. Perseverance and hard work were underlying themes throughout the evening.  His passion for his work was clearly evident.

As an Einstein Fellow from rural Idaho, spending 11 months in Washington, D.C., I am often asked what has been the best experience so far.  For me, there is no single event or experience.  The variety of experiences to date include getting to know my cohort, attending lectures and symposiums, participating in professional development coordinated by the Albert Einstein Fellowship program, participating in professional development I have created for myself, and having fun in this amazing city.  I suppose my favorite experience is the overall experience all woven together. It is a rich and engaging experience that nurtures my professional career, my thrill of adventure, and drive to explore.

I can't believe it has already been two months since I started my time as an Einstein Fellow. On one hand, I would be hard pressed to list all the experiences I have already had. On the other hand, I am constantly looking for more experiences since I know my time in this fellowship is slowly ticking away.  During these two months, I have already begun a transformation.
Much like the fall trees with their changing colors, I feel as though I am in a similar process of natural and yet amazing change.


I am growing my knowledge base and developing a confidence in the learning opportunity I have created for students and hope to create for students in the future.  Furthermore, I have a new awareness of possible resources that can help support engaging STEM education for all students. I have no idea of what my total transformation will be by the end of the 11 months. In fact, I don't know what I will be doing after the 11 months since my previous teaching position is now experiencing its own transformation with a fantastic educator.  I do know that I have an increased passion for the importance of hands-on STEM in elementary education and a desire to continue to make a difference for students and educators.  My one piece of advice for other educators is find your passion and bring it to the classroom! You deserve it, and your students deserve it.  I am constantly inspired by the educators around me with a passion for students and educators.

Feeling Lucky and Valued!

I feel so lucky to be with the Library of Congress for my Einstein Fellowship, and yet I know it's not luck I can't explain how much I enjoy my colleagues and the work the Learning and Innovation office does to connect primary sources with content areas. I felt right at home with my colleagues at the interview during the Semi-Finalist weekend back in March.  The team has done nothing but confirmed my initial impressions of them. I love my agency!

I had an experience yesterday every educator should have at least once. During our Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium meeting (http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps/consortium/), I was asked to introduce myself. I felt as if I did a good job of introducing myself and my collaborative role as an Einstein Fellow. If you do not know, my collaboration with the Learning and Innovation center focuses around connecting primary sources within the library with STEM instruction and maker experiences, as well as, as host of various STEM related outreach opportunities.
 
I highlighted the STEM emphasis to those working on connecting primary sources and STEM because there are some amazing resources out there. During the network session, I had TPS partners wanting to visit with me, share their work, and solicit my input. I felt like a STEM rockstar!

Every teacher needs to have this feeling at least once. Imagine if districts and administrations listened as intently as the TPS partners were listening to me!


I was clear that I did not have all the answers and the ideas I was sharing with them were just brainstorming ideas. Nevertheless, I felt I was able to contribute other suggestions that they maybe had not considered. I would love every educator to feel as valued and lucky as I felt yesterday.

Energize Your Passion With New Experiences

Typically in my posts, I love to share out opportunities and resources for educators.  Having fellow educators do the same for me has led to some amazing and transformational experiences.

Maven Elementary Teachers' Summit

I want to continue sharing about engaging and inspiring STEM opportunities for educators to keep the learning and passion going in the classroom. I hope to promote a great experiences for educators and students.

NASA Microgravity University for Educators

My end goal for my career in education is to provide STEM opportunities for all students by inspiring educators. Many of the opportunities I have participated in have involved applications or proposals. These can be daunting but well worth the effort.

Makerspace

Other experiences are ones I have created myself for students and educators.  I was smart enough to join the school librarian on the makerspace she started for our school. She was inspired after attend an NCCE conference.

USPTO National Summer Teacher Institute

Other opportunities have required flexibility with last minute chances to participate.














Many of the conferences, whether presenting or attending, required grant writing. After you use the funds you also have then complete the grant reports.

Space Exploration Educators Conference

SEEC Crew

There aren't any experiences that I felt were not worth the work I had to invest. Participant or provider, I have grown so much from the opportunities I have had the pleasure of being a part of.

Einstein Fellow Interview Weekend

i-STEM Summer Institutes as a participant

What is your passion that needs some energizing? Is there something new you would like to bring into your classroom? Perhaps there's a training, in-person or online, that could help with that.










I didn't start as an Einstein Fellow in D.C. I started as a first year teacher who wanted to know more and bring more into my classroom. Getting to this point was a journey. Do what works for you but do it.

i-STEM Summer Institutes as a strand provider

Look for the opportunities from this post and more in the professional development section on the main page of the blog.

STEM Connections - Idaho Science and Math Conference

During the first weekend in October, I went back to Idaho for the Idaho Science and Math Conference - STEM Connections. The conference provides an opportunity for Idaho educators to network, collaborate, and learn about skills, strategies, and resources for use in the classroom. The Idaho STEM Action Center was ever present as an exhibitor but also presenting on their work, soliciting input from educators, and sharing about opportunities offered for receiving and teaching professional development. The keynote speakers for both days were fantastic! Dr. Josh Smith shared about the power of phenomena and how we can facilitate instruction through the natural process of observation. Dr. Michelle Carney and Dr. Joe Champion shared ways to look for meaning in student data to guide instruction. We examined samples of student work, looked at creating spreadsheets that could help identify areas of need, including issues with questions, and learned about the usefulness of ISAT Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB) for determining concepts mastered and needing more instruction.

Sessions included numerous opportunities for bringing engaging math and science experiences for students. Digital tools, students challenges, and more were available for engaging students in STEM content areas. PBS Learning Media (https://idahoptv.pbslearningmedia.org/) amazed me with the fantastic digital resources available at no cost through their program.  All content areas are covered, including engineering, and all grade levels.  As an Einstein Fellow at the Library of Congress, I was excited to hear they used primary sources from the Library of Congress. I also like learning about the Army Educational Outreach Program (https://www.usaeop.com/).  They offer lessons and opportunities for students and educators. Idaho needs more teams participating in the 6th-9th grade ecybermission (https://www.usaeop.com/program/ecybermission/).  Check it out!

Things are changing for next year. The combined conference will be held in August rather than over Idaho's October days.  The conference will be held in northern Idaho giving all of us in the southwest or eastern parts of Idaho a chance to experience some cooler temperatures before September. I plan to attend and hope to see you there!

Opportunities Abound - Washington, D.C. is My Classroom

One month in to my Einstein Fellowship, I am still in awe of the opportunities that abound within the program and the Washington, D.C. area. Since traveling to the Capitol for my fellowship in August, not only have I seen "the sights" and explored various neighborhoods, I have attended briefings, lectures, symposium, Library of Congress events, and traveled to Idaho for a conference. Our cohort of fellows are placed at the National Science Foundation, NASA, Department of Energy - Office of Science, Congress, and Library of Congress.

As we each learn about new opportunities, we share them out. There are learning opportunities taking place on a daily basis, not to mention time to get together to enjoy social outings. As one fellow put it, "Sometimes this buffet puts everything out at once bu won't let you take two or three things." If you can't find something to do to grow, it's because you're not looking.  Now, a month in, I find that I am able to start making connections between what I may have heard in a symposium or lecture with a briefing on technology integration into K-12 classrooms and what I am collaborating on at the Library of Congress. Creating connections between content and transferring that learning to new situations is what we want our students to do in the classroom.  Looks like Washington, D.C. is my classroom for growing, learning, and transferring that knowledge to new projects to benefit elementary STEM education!

    

Year-Long Personal Professional Development Plan

If you view the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program (https://science.energy.gov/wdts/einstein/), you find the following program overview, "The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena. Fellows spend eleven months working in Federal agencies or in U.S. Congressional offices, applying their extensive knowledge and classroom experiences to national education program and/or education policy efforts." While this is an accurate representation of the fellowship, it doesn't delve into the amazing opportunity for educators to experience in-depth, year-long, personal. professional development. What exactly do all those adjectives really mean? They indicate an amazing opportunity for individualized professional growth.

As part of the Einstein Fellowship, educators attend a week-long orientation at the beginning of the fellowship. As the name indicates, the orientation helps to introduce fellows to the ethics and forms that are part of the program. We also experienced personal assessment of our strengths and how to develop our strengths, as well as, how to work together as a cohort. This was the first steps in the year-long process. 

Throughout the year, fellows attend monthly day-long professional development opportunities organized by the AEF Program. These days include fantastic experiences with the Smithsonian and Library of Congress to name just a couple. We also prepare a monthly half-day professional development for our cohort. Now this may already sound like something you might be interested in and too wonderful to be true, but that's not all. Each fellow creates their own professional development plan for their time in the fellowship. Have you ever thought about gaps you might have in your professional skills? Have you ever thought about what you are really passionate about in education? Thinking about these things takes time which is a rare commodity for educators. In the month that I have been with the AEF Program, I have had the time to improve my professional skills with colleagues and consider the possibilities of my educational passions and the outcomes I would like to see for all students. I now understand that even though I am collaborating with a sponsoring agency such as the Library of Congress to achieve their goals, I also have the opportunity to identify and achieve mine. I have already experienced so much transformation in some ways that I have difficulty imagining what the next 10 months will bring. I have identified my goals for the fellowship, and I have the time and resources to start achieving them. Hands-on elementary STEM education, formal and informal, should be available to all students.  I plan to examine, identify, and create elementary STEM resources and ways to provide equity in access. Can't wait!