Reflecting on the Sharjah International Book Festival and ALA Conference
I am humbled by the scope and power of the journey I recently made to the Sharjah International Book Fair/ALA Library Conference (#SIBFALA17) on behalf of ALA. Look - it's me! The most valuable piece of this experience was in the exchange that took place between educators. Even on the other side of the world we share similar challenges. Recurring themes were Time - We don't have much. How do we squeeze it all in? Relationships - How do you cultivate these in your school? Schedule - How does this impact your instruction? How could it be improved? My first presentation on Project-Based Learning took a deep dive into the learning my students did this past spring around The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Attendees were curious about the multiple intelligences used, how I differentiated the learning and how the learning was assessed. My second presentation, Developing a Community of Learners was a broader look at the ways in which I foster a learning commu