Teaching for Inquiry: Engaging the Learner Within

Ruth V. Small, PhD, is Laura J. & L. Douglas Meredith Professor and Director of the School Media Program in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University (iSchool @ Syracuse). Her expertise is in the area of motivation, which she applies to a variety of information contexts, including inquiry teaching and learning in libraries. She has received two major national awards for her research in this area and has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications, including six books. Her current research focuses on the librarian’s role in fostering children’s creativity and innovative thinking; she shares some of her findings in this book. As founding director of Syracuse University’s Center for Digital Literacy, Ruth has led or co-led more than 20 funded projects, including S.O.S. for Information Literacy, a multimedia database of lesson plans and teaching ideas, PLUS: Preparing Librarians for Urban Schools, a program for preservice librarians committed to working in high-needs school libraries, and Project ENABLE: Expanding Nondiscriminatory Access By Librarians Everywhere, a project to train school librarians on ways to design and implement effective programs, resources, and services for students with disabilities. She has 12 years of experience as a K–12 classroom teacher and school librarian.

Marilyn P. Arnone, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor in the iSchool @ Syracuse, teaches in the school media program, and serves as co-director for Syracuse University’s Center for Digital Literacy. Marilyn earned her doctorate in instructional design, development, and evaluation. Her recent research has explored perceived and actual competence in middle school children’s information and digital literacies and considered various dispositions for learning with a special interest in curiosity and motivation for learning. She has authored or co-authored numerous publications including a book titled Motivational Design: The Secret to Producing Effective Children’s Media (2005) and a series of Curious Kids storybooks with educator guides for introducing research skills to children in grades 1–3. She recently edited From the Creative Minds of 21st-Century Librarians with Ruth V. Small and Barbara K. Stripling, a free downloadable e-book published by the Center for Digital Literacy (http://digital-literacy .syr.edu). She is creator of Curiosity Creek, an online site for children in which older children create stories and materials for their younger counterparts in Pre-K to Grade 3. The mission of Curiosity Creek is to stimulate inquiry, imagination, and inventive thinking in the context of environmental science.

Barbara K. Stripling, DPS, has had a 30-year career as a classroom teacher, a school library media specialist, a library grant program director, a school district director of libraries and instructional services, and director of library programs at New Visions for Public Schools, a local education fund in New York City. She is currently Director of Library Services for the New York City Department of Education and recently completed her Doctorate of Professional Studies at Syracuse University. She is the creator of the Stripling Model of Inquiry, which has been adopted by the Library of Congress for its Teaching with Primary Sources initiative. Stripling has written or edited numerous books and articles, including her latest book, Curriculum Connections Through the Library: Principles and Practice (Libraries Unlimited, 2003), co-edited with Sandra Hughes-Hassell. She is a former president of the American Association of School Librarians and a former member of the American Library Association Executive Board. She recently completed her degree in the executive doctorate program in the iSchool @ Syracuse, researching the effect of teaching with primary sources on the development of historical empathy.

Pam Berger, CAS, is Director, Southern Westchester BOCES school library system, an educational technology/library consultant and trainer with more than 20 years of library experience, and adjunct faculty at the iSchool @ Syracuse. She is also publisher and editor of Information Searcher, the longest published newsletter in K–12 education designed specifically for professionals working to integrate technology into the curriculum and the library program.Her most recent book is Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World (2010). Pam has a Certificate of Advanced Study in School Administration from the College of New Rochelle.