Author Archives

Sam Northern is a National Board Certified Teacher-Librarian at Simpson Elementary School in Franklin, Kentucky. He currently serves as President of the Kentucky Association of School Librarians. In 2014, Sam was selected for the Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad Program where he spent four weeks in China. Since then, Sam has voyaged to Antarctica as a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow and worked aboard a research vessel on the Atlantic Ocean as a NOAA Teacher at Sea. From January to April 2018, Sam traveled to Finland as part of the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program to research best practices for project-based learning. Connect with him on Twitter @Sam_Northern and Facebook @themisterlibrarian.

• Autonomy Lays the Foundation for Motivation

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 06/24/2019 • ( 0 )

  

  High ability does not guarantee high achievement. Our students need motivation if they are expected to perform at their greatest levels and to perform well over an extended period of time. For many students, motivation comes in the form of… Read More ›

• Creative Performers and Producers

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 06/10/2019 • ( 0 )

  

  “Educators can play important roles to enhance any components of students’ creativity” (Sak 2004). School librarians are no different. School libraries have the staff, resources, and space needed to foster creativity in students and teachers. There are many definitions and… Read More ›

• Interview with a Future, Future Ready Librarian

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 04/25/2019 • ( 0 )

  

  May 2019 marks five years since I completed the practicum to earn a Master of Science degree in Library Media Education (LME) from Western Kentucky University. The LME Practicum requires 120 field hours—with 40 of these hours being completed in… Read More ›

• One School + One Book = A Love of Reading

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 03/25/2019 • ( 2 )

  

  Creating a culture for reading is a major part of what it means to be a school librarian. It is also an ongoing effort. There will never come a time when we stop encouraging students to read. One of the… Read More ›

• Research Ambassadors

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 02/28/2019 • ( 2 )

  

  In my school, third graders reign supreme. The school consists of three grade levels: first, second, and third. There are approximately 225 students enrolled in each level, so it is a fairly large school. For most people, it is difficult… Read More ›

• 15-Minute PD: You Get What You Give

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 01/24/2019 • ( 0 )

  

  There is a lot one can accomplish in just 15 minutes. You can update your resume, grab takeout dinner, take a shower, or even explore a new educational technology or library service. That’s right, in 15 minutes, school libraries can… Read More ›

• Geo Tools Connect Students with the World

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 12/12/2018 • ( 0 )

  

  If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? A trip to the pristine beaches of Hawaii sounds nice. The view of Machu Picchu from the top of Huayna Picchu mountain is breathtaking. Perhaps you long to… Read More ›

• Make Learning Awesome with Augmented Reality

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 11/26/2018 • ( 0 )

  

  With one hand holding a cardboard virtual reality (VR) viewer, the young boy raises his other arm and wiggles his fingers to grasp an unseen object. The student forgets he is inside a Kentucky classroom. Virtual reality transported the boy… Read More ›

• Your Wish Granted with Library Grants

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 10/22/2018 • ( 1 )

  

  “By a show of hands, how many of you have visited the Parthenon in Nashville?” I asked a second-grade class one day in the library. Even though my school is 40 miles from the full-scale replica of the original Parthenon… Read More ›

• Gamifying Learning Leaves a Lasting Impression

  By Sam Northern, Ed.D. on 09/24/2018 • ( 0 )

  

  My mission was clear—take a photograph that represented my three weeks in Helena, Montana, as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Scholar. I had three hours to complete the task. The picture was to be uploaded to a… Read More ›