Find us at AASL 2025! We will have the following sessions below:
Thursday, October 16th
“Inquiry Begins with a Question: How to teach students to ask their own questions” [IdeaLab Session]
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Time: 1pm-3pm
Location: TBD
Speakers: Connie Williams, Maame Conduah (RQI)
Description: The ability to ask one’s own questions may be the single most important thinking skill students can learn at any stage of their educational journey. The skill of question formulation, however, is too rarely deliberately or rigorously taught. How can students be supported in building their questioning skills in order to fully experience the world of discovery that the library has to offer? Discover the Question Formulation Technique, an easy to use and integrate, effective strategy to teach students to ask their own questions. Discuss with others and leave with free lesson plans and online resources.
“Deceptively simple, authentically meaningful: Discover practical tools for student-driven, inquiry-based primary source learning” [Poster Session]
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Time: 1pm-3pm
Location: TBD
Speakers: Nancy Florio, Katy Connolly (RQI)
Description: Discover free resources for increasing students’ engagement, agency, and enthusiasm for primary source learning with ease. Explore the Right Question Institute’s Primary Source Hub and Primary Source Online Modules, made possible by the Library of Congress. These high quality online resources make it easy for teachers to learn how to use the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) with primary sources to fuel students’ ability to observe, question, and investigate a variety of complex sources with joy.
Saturday, October 18th
“How Do You Know What You Don’t Know?: Using Student Questions to Drive Primary Source Learning and Information Literacy” [Concurrent Session]
Date: Saturday, October 18, 2025
Time: 11:00am-11:50am
Location: TBD
Speakers: Connie Williams, Nancy Florio, Katy Connolly (RQI), Maame Conduah (RQI)
Description: “These were real people?” Questions are a powerful foundation for learning, empathy, and participation. How can you harness real student questions like this one to get students deeply engaged in primary sources and authentically motivated to learn more? Discover the Question Formulation Technique, a simple, effective strategy to teach students to ask and pursue their own questions. Learn how to apply the strategy to primary sources from the Library of Congress and practice tried-and-true “hacks” for quickly searching their extensive collections. Actively experience and practice the strategies yourself, hear from two experienced school librarians, collaborate with others, and leave with free lesson plans and online resources.