Reflection Blog#5-Infinite Learning: Library as a Classroom- A Connected Learning Environment

As I was reading about the connected learning movement, I was reminded of my son’s senior year in high school. As a bright neurodivergent teen, my son frequently encountered challenges with working memory and retention in his classes. Consequently, his grades often failed to reflect his ability, leaving him out of sync with his high-achieving peers. He had expressed interest in joining the robotics team at the high school, but the pandemic threw a wrench in those plans, and it wasn’t until his senior year that he could participate in person on the team. To say that the experience was the pinnacle of his k-12 education is an understatement. Even a couple of years after graduation, he’s still pining for the experiences that the robotics team afforded him. His high school robotics team was part of First Robotics. On their website, they describe their program as:

Project-based, hands-on FIRST programs introduce students to engineering and coding in engaging, inclusive, and creative learning environments in schools and local communities, where students work collaboratively to solve an annual themed robotics challenge.FIRST is More Than Robots®. Our PreK-12 programs are designed to help all young people develop creative problem-solving, leadership, and communication skills. Supported by a network of mentors, educators, volunteers, sponsors, parents, and alumni in over 100 countries, the FIRST experience gives participants lasting inspiration and confidence to build a better future for themselves and their communities.

My son blossomed and thrived in his robotics team because it was a connected learning movement supporting “interest-driven, peer-supported, and academically oriented learning for youth by promoting the core values of equity, participation, and social connection” (Nygren, 2014). The shared purpose and production-centered informal learning environment give youth access to learning opportunities beyond the classroom (Nygren, 2014). The team followed the motto “learning by making,” designing a robot that performed several tasks. The robot was then entered into competitions against other high school teams in several regional competitions. For my son, this was his chance to shine as this hands-on experience demonstrated his capabilities in a way that had not been possible before. I will never forget the positive feedback he got from his robotics mentor and teacher, who countered the other teachers’ negative comments in an IEP meeting. His robotics teacher discussed my son’s creative and unique problem-solving capabilities, surprising the other teachers in attendance who were unaware of his strengths. In a way, this was the “inclusive” learning environment that we had been searching for in the school system. My son was finally part of a group driven by his interests, supported by his peers, and in a space where he felt valued and safe-components of the connected learning approach (Nygren, 2014). The social aspect of the team was also life-changing for my son, who had struggled at times socially. Overall, the robotics team was an invaluable learning experience for my son, leading him to an “expanded sense of self-efficacy” typical of connected learning experiences (Nygren, 2014).

The robotics team in my son’s high school was one of the best in the country. Over the years, it had grown exponentially with investment from sponsors and community leaders. The team’s mentors were indefatigable individuals who helped to “boost intergenerational learning and connections” (Nygren, 2014, p. 5).

Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if the team’s success was in part due to the privilege of living in a highly educated and affluent suburb. Many of the parents in the school district were employed by the university. Their high-middle-class incomes and flexible schedules allowed them to contribute to the team financially and through their volunteer work. Is this transformative, connected learning experience possible for marginalized and underrepresented communities?

The answer is a resounding yes, and as it turns out, libraries are key to facilitating these experiences. Reflecting on the life-changing experience this connected learning environment gave my son, I was inspired to see similar life-changing experiences in libraries, providing them to those most in need.

Multnomah County’s Books to Beats program was one connected learning experience that stood out to me, reflecting the core value of equity in a connected learning environment. Jody Redifer, the Black Cultural Library Advocate and Program Specialist at Multnomah Library, works with incarcerated youth at the Donald E. Long detention on-site library. His motivation to work with incarcerated youth stems from his belief that, given the opportunity, all can grow and evolve beyond what’s thought to be possible (Multnomah County, 2022). He and the library provide these opportunities to the youth in several ways, including through collections and a teen volunteer program, allowing them to fulfill court-ordered community service hours (San Francisco Public Library, 2022). However, his and the youth’s favorite way to connect with the library is through music writing and production workshops, promoting literacy through music.

The library’s music program is the first opportunity for the youth to learn how to write music, use the recording studio, make beats, or express their feelings through the written word (Multnomah County, 2022). There are group recordings where kids who wouldn’t otherwise talk to each other or who may be from rival gangs work together to write and critique music (Multnomah County, 2022). Redifer talks about the transformative and life-changing experience of the youth participating in the program (SFPL, 2023). Most teens move from the initial focus on gangs, violence, or material possessions to a deeper focus on the life experiences that have shaped them (SFPL, 2023). Redifer collaborates with the mental health counselor to use music as a way to process the trauma these youth have experienced (SFPL, 2023). The partnership between the library and Donald E. Long School through the music program has “inspired many young musicians to open up to learning and a new path in life” (Multnomah County, 2022). One young man in the program went from being a “quintessential gangbanger” to pursuing college classes and becoming a drug and alcohol counselor (SFPL, 2023).

Acclaimed musician Esperanza Spalding, who experienced one of the significant moments of her youth attending a jazz program at Multnomah County Central Library, talks about the power of “being invited in by adults as a young person, where you felt rejected by adults who are holding the keys to kind of this brain-based future of academic or good writing” (Multnomah County, 2023). Spalding recalls that music was the only area where she felt capable, and adults affirmed her intelligence and capabilities, much like the other youth in the program (Multnomah County, 2023). Being invited into the jazz program at the library created a shared purpose between adults and teens like Spalding, who had a passion for music in common; it also boosted intergenerational learning and connection, much like my son and his mentors on the robotics team. The hands-on, interest-driven, peer-supported, and collaborative learning through the Books to Beats program helps youth find their passion, their voice, and their way through its focus on the core values of equity, participation, and social connection. Moreover, libraries and their staff provide spaces where individuals feel safe and valued, allowing accelerated learning.

To encourage infinite learning at the library, Stephens advocates for moving beyond traditional education and “encouraging creativity in as many ways as possible, from art, performance, and intellectual exchange, to DIY programs, hack-a-thons, and access and instruction on making things” (Stephens, 2014). As the Book to Beats program demonstrates, libraries can be more than just classrooms for infinite learning; they can help community members find their passion, voice, and way with help from eager, engaged, evolving librarians and staff (Stephens, 2014). Libraries are increasingly vital in providing equitable access to infinite learning experiences to underrepresented and marginalized communities with transformative and life-changing outcomes. 

References: 

KGW News. (2022, August 31). Detention center youth are feeling the beat [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K2oPK-hds

Multnomah County (2022, September 7). From books to beats: How the library promotes literacy through music. https://www.multco.us/multnomah-county/news/books-beats-how-library-promotes-literacy-through-music

Nygren, A. (2014, August 4). The public library as a community hub for connected learning. [Conference paper]. IFLA 2014 Lyon. https://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1014/1/167-nygren-en.pdf

San Francisco Public Library. (2023, February 18). Training: Public library services for incarcerated people [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgznnzqoexQ

Stephens, M. (2014). Ylibrary? Making the case for the library as a space for infinite learning [Powerpoint slides]. https://www.dropbox.com/s/p46kkmbkvwpdsng/YLibraryInfiniteLearning.pdf?e=1&dl=0