Brianna Gibson, Inquiry and Innovation Reading Teacher and Reading Instructional Team Leader, Elkridge Landing Middle School

October 5th, 2016

The Secondary Language Arts (SLA) Inquiry and Innovation class is a perfect match for Brianna Gibson, who was an early adapter of student-led, project-based teaching, at Elkridge Landing Middle School. She helped develop the new class’s curriculum, which engages students in meaningful explorations of a variety of topics with real-world connections. Gibson said, “As adults, my students won’t have specific tasks. They will be told here’s a problem, go solve it. So I believe in project-based learning, so they can figure out and explain how to get from A to B.”

Early in Gibson’s career, she began to experiment with instructional strategies, as she learned to trust and empower her students to tackle open-ended, problem-solving based projects. Her first major out-of-the-box project was based on the show “Glee,” which she said gave students “a more interesting method of practicing summarization, story mapping, analyzing characters and inference.” Since then, she’s had students make movies, participate in poetry slams, debate, present TED Talks, pitch simulated business plans and more. This year, her Inquiry and Innovation students are participating in Genius Hour, where they get to research and explore a topic of interest on a weekly basis and then present their findings in the format of their choosing.

Gibson has spent her entire teaching career at Elkridge Landing. She said she’s appreciative that “the administration has been supportive of risks. In this building, I’m supported when I want to try something in the classroom that might not work out. And I’m encouraged to share when it does.” With that encouragement and her team player attitude, she is always open to taking on new SLA classes each year. Currently she is teaching Inquiry and Innovation, Expanding and Exploring Career Options, and a Future of Food related arts class.

Elkridge Landing Principal Gina Cash said, “Brianna is innovative. She’s willing to take risks and try new things. At least once or twice a year, she comes to me with some sort of strategy that no one has done here before. She was way ahead of the game in terms of taking on a facilitator role in the classroom. It’s a pleasure to work with someone who demonstrates lifelong learning.”

Despite her love for education, reading and writing, she was not always on the Language Arts teaching track. Having gone to a math/science/computer science magnet high school, she briefly considered pre-med and forensic science until her father brought her around to her original passions. Her father, a risk taker who believed individuals learn best when they are empowered to teach themselves, has generally been a huge influence on her.

Gibson has taken her father’s approach in the classroom as well as with her colleagues. For the SLA department, she has written and revised Inquiry and Innovation curriculum, supported new teachers during New Teacher Orientation, participated in group professional development sessions to collaborate on SLA and Inquiry and Innovation instructional strategies, and presented on curricular best practices. Also, Gibson, a big believer in infusing technology into the classroom, has supported other teachers’ use of educational technology through professional development sessions for the county and her school.

HCPSS Reading Instructional Facilitator Heidi Maciulla appreciates Gibson’s passion and SLA leadership, saying “Learning comes to life through the real-world experiences Brianna provides for her students.”