Megan Steffen, instructional coach at Boone, is working with teachers across the country to make information found in the Library of Congress (LoC) more accessible to teachers through lesson planning.
In 2024, Steffen joined this national Leadership Academy through College, Career and Civic Life Social Studies teachers, also known as C3. This organization focuses on what it means to teach social studies, and how to better the subject.
It’s an exclusive group, but Steffen found herself a part of the organization.
After collaborating with a leader in the group, Steffen was invited to become a part of it. During this time, she was also trained on inquiry learning.
Inquiry learning is a teaching style that fosters creativity and curiosity through posing questions and investigating scenarios rather than lectures.
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the entire world, filled with works from countless creators, showcasing many different types of media. The current goal of C3 is to make the contents of the Library of Congress more accessible to teachers, and a more frequently used resource.
Recently the C3 organization has had some developments with this goal.
“They got a grant to write inquiry lesson plans using resources from the Library of Congress in an effort to bring more teachers to the LoC online archive,” Steffen said.
These lesson plans will soon be found on not only the C3 Teachers website, but also on the website of the Library of Congress.
Steffen presented these lessons to her fellow members on a Zoom call, and she said it went well.
Despite some nervousness, she noted that everyone on the team was very encouraging.
Her involvement in the group might grow soon, as she’s been invited to join a secondary, smaller group within C3, that keeps the focus on lesson planning.
Steffen’s biggest hope and objective is making teaching easier through the implementation of her work.
“Teachers have so much on their plates, and I am passionate about finding ways to lessen the workload,” Steffen said.
Creating a lesson plan is a time consuming experience, but Steffen is dedicating hers to such.
“Hopefully some of my work will be able to help (teachers),” Steffen said.
