RUL Scholarly and Professional Activity Committee

Title: Rethinking Teaching Collections Using the Smithsonian Learning Lab

Presenters: Kayo Denda and Neil Grimes

Abstract: Academic librarians at William Paterson University and Rutgers University collaborated in two separate teams in building collections centered on diversity and equity themes using the Smithsonian Learning Lab. Overall, the Smithsonian Learning Lab allowed us to rethink how resources are presented and these resource collections made learning come alive for K-12 students. The final collections engaged students in four schools in Paterson Public Schools in unique arts integration lessons and activities. This project was sponsored by the “Arts Integration and Cultural Competency Professional Support for New Jersey Educators” grant from two Smithsonian units: The Center for Learning and Digital Access and the Asian Pacific American Center.

Note: This paper was also presented at VALE2022. After less than 2 weeks after the presentation, Gov. Murphy signed into law (S3764 and S4021) that requires inclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) contributions in the state wide K-12 curriculum.