Library and Information Science Commons^™

Tune Up Your Instruction: Transform Discipline-Based Instruction Using Active Engagement, Andi Beckendorf

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2010

Making the transition from lecture-based instruction delivery to an active, learner-centered model provides an excellent opportunity to blend creative ideas and new teaching strategies. Music students at Luther College are introduced to research in the discipline through learner-centered activities. You will experience elements of the Cephalonian method - music, color, and active engagement - as you participate in a component of the question-card sequence of the lesson plan. The presenter will discuss how teaching style, learning styles and pedagogy have played a role in reimagining the sessions as a place for active engagement. In looking at a selection of learning …

From Pre-Defined Topics To Research Questions: An Inquiry-Based Approach To Knowledge, Michelle T. Allen, Benjamin M. Oberdick

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2010

In this interactive presentation, MSU librarians will replicate a library instruction session for first-year students. Audience members will participate in a Cephalonian Method icebreaker activity and use clickers to demonstrate the different ways both techniques can be used in the classroom.

Participants will view a short (3-4 min.) video, develop critical questions, and construct keywords to begin finding answers. Instruction librarians will show how the answers are the basis of their thesis statements. Next, audience members will be divided into groups and directed to find information on the Web, the route a first-year student would naturally take. Then, groups will …

Break The Ice, Build The Momentum: Successful Strategies For Beginning A Library Instruction Session, Carrie Donovan, Rachel Slough

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2010

For information literacy instructors, a common teaching challenge is how to start a class effectively. Without previous exposure to learners, library instructors have little understanding of students' prior knowledge or research needs. At the same time, the reason for a librarian's involvement in a course at all is usually a mystery for students.

The benefits of introductory learning activities, such as warm-ups, are pedagogically sound, but library instructors may be reluctant to incorporate these strategies into information literacy instruction due to limitations of time. Yet librarians still strive to design engaging information literacy sessions that result in meaningful and long-lasting …

Librarians As Improvisers: An Improvisational Approach To Teaching Information Literacy, Anthony Stamatoplos, Edward Trout

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2010

Using an improvisational approach in the classroom, librarians can address their own predetermined objectives and also respond to unanticipated questions and concerns as they emerge. Lesson plans and learning outcomes are valuable components of information literacy instruction and assessment; however, they need not imply a rigid approach to teaching. Recent scholarship suggests that using techniques from improvisational theater engages students in their learning and facilitates a responsive and collaborative learning environment. Guided by experienced improvisational actors, participants in this workshop will learn principles of improvisation in a fun and lively setting, and explore ways to apply them to their teaching.