Washington teacher librarian earns recognition from international group
Chelsey Turner receives awards for technology, engineering education
AWashington Middle School teacher has been recognized by an international organization for excellence in technology and engineering education.
Chelsey Turner, the teacher librarian at WMS, was recognized in March with the Teacher Excellence Award by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, which represents over 35,000 teachers worldwide.
“This seems crazy!” Turner said in an email. “I am just doing what I love. It’s so nice for people to acknowledge your hard work, but it’s been a little weird getting so much attention.”
Usually, Turner is the one paying close attention to her students and the WMS Library. In recent years, the WMS Library has been transformed into a complete media center, with a Maker Space, student learning area and, of course, shelves and shelves of books.
STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education has become a central tenet in the El Dorado School District’s curriculum, and Turner’s library class is one of the first places students have the opportunity to work with some forms of advanced technologies, like drones, 3D printers and more.
“The award winners exhibit so many high-quality programs and activities occurring globally in technology and engineering education,” Dr. Phillip A. Reed, ITEEA
president, said in a press release about the award. “It is inspiring to learn from these leaders, and we should all feel proud to be connected with these colleagues.”
Turner said it’s important for her to make learning fun and accessible for students. She had difficulty in school herself, she said, and attentive teachers made all the difference.
“School was always a safe place for me. I had teachers that really made a difference in my life,” she said. “I was never the smartest kid, or stood out really in any way, but my teachers really cared for me and that always made me feel super special. I wanted to do that for my students.”
The library at WMS is no longer just a place for reading, though that is still a major focus Turner invests her time in. She described one project students work on each year, where they create interactive oral essays that are later presented in a gallery to their teachers and peers.
Students will read several biographies and then, integrating what they’ve read with technology and engineering, they will record their voices and code the recording into a poster board that allows those visiting the gallery to learn the differences between the biography subjects with simply the press of a button.
“It’s so cool!” Turner said. “We do the same thing with parts of a cell in Science classrooms.”
Another of Turner’s favorite projects is the annual drone unit for sixth-graders, she said. Students code drones to complete different tasks after researching the various ways drones are used around the world and in different sectors.
“I always have fifth-graders walking up to me asking when they get to fly drones,” she said.
Turner has a website where she provides updates on the Library and Maker Space in her blog, shares photos of students’ work and provides resources for students and teachers alike. The website includes a tour of the Library, which shows all the different technologies and learning spaces students have access to.
She credits the ESD with giving her space to be herself and engage with students on their level.
“I truly feel that I am incredibly blessed to work for an amazing school in an amazing district. I know that I wouldn’t have the opportunities that I have here anywhere else,” she said. “Learning was also really hard for me, especially reading. I wanted to show students that learning (and reading) don’t have to be boring. It can be fun and exciting!”
See what Turner and Library students are up to at wmslibrarymediacenter. weebly.com.