Of the eight articles in this issue, four of them are either focused on library instruction or tangentially related to it. In “The Pedagogical Promise of Primary Sources,” the authors examine primary source usage in the classroom and include an overview of the topic from past to present. They use key word searches to explore several databases. The authors conclude that primary source usage in the library classroom has increased over time and yielded pedagogical benefits. In “Talent, Schmalent,” the authors interrogate the idea that people are just “naturally” good at teaching. They push back against the idea that being able to teach is an “innate” gift and explore literature on the subject. In “Building Intercultural Teachers,” the authors discuss how information literacy and library instructions should keep in mind that international students may need different learning approaches. They offer some solutions for engaging international students in the classroom. Lastly, the journal includes a “perspective piece” on Wikipedia in the classroom. It argues that students are already using Wikipedia, so librarians should come into the classroom with this in mind and embrace Wikipedia. The authors find it odd that more librarians aren’t writing about Wikipedia, and they argue that it can be a useful pedagogical tool.
All four articles do an overview of the literature on their subject to date to prove that it either hasn’t been discussed enough, or to show how much their topic has changed. The articles discuss pedagogical approaches and conceptions that we may have about teachers or students. Most are writing the articles either because there is an existing gap in the literature or because they want to trace changes in the literature over time.