On Tuesday, we all worked together to co-teach a library introduction session for the LS 507 Reference class. I really enjoyed the experience. I spent about an hour preparing, and everything went smoothly. I decided to include a few things into the Scout tutorials that were aspects of the website that I did not know about when I started the program. I tried to focus on what would be the most helpful for helping them through their graduate program. I think that I built a good rapport with them. Throughout the tour and at the end of the session, all of the students were excited about some of the new things they had learned.

Through this experience, I feel that I have developed a method for preparing for classes, and I feel more comfortable explaining concepts. I am continuing to refine my explanations and revise my examples for the clearest and best instruction. I think that this session was an encouraging example of improvement through hard work. I should pat myself on the back. 

I’m certainly glad to have re-read “Grand Narratives and the Information Cycle in the Library Instruction Classroom,” by Sara Franks. Challenging grand narratives is something we must do to try to pull ourselves out of the traditional thought pattern that history is one massive, linear process. We should remember to tell our students to challenge traditional lines of thought. What did the author have to gain by publishing that academic article, for example? Perhaps he or she was truly passionate, but maybe they were coming up for tenure and needed to bolster their cv. We need to remind our students that their are alternative voices, alternative ways at looking at their problem or thesis than just the mainstream thought.

To supplement this reading I chose “If the NSA trusted Snowden, why should we trust the NSA?,” by Farhad Manjoo from Slate Magazine. This article, though hardly mainstream, raises important questions about Edward Snowden that many major news organizations failed to investigate, such as, why was Edward Snowden, a programmer seemingly less accomplished than your average community college grad, given the keys to the proverbial NSA safe? Without disappearing down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole, this article is one example of how difficult it is to challenge mainstream thought and then also penetrate the mainstream publishing avenues; indeed, it is almost impossible.

To bring this all back to information literacy somehow, it is very hard to challenge mainstream publications in a user instruction course. We want students to question their materials, but how are we supposed to tell them both to use our resources yet also not implicitly trust them? It sounds perfectly logical to us, but to a freshmen college student it must sound incredibly hypocritical. Furthermore, how far can we push the ‘don’t implicitly trust the mainstream’ without rubbing the class’ professor the wrong way? Many professors of freshmen English courses aren’t interested in rocking the boat too much, and don’t want students to become overly confused. We must find a way to push the envelope without alienating the professor. We must also find a way to teach students to not implicitly trust their resources, to question them, yet still use the library. It’s a difficult balancing act, to be sure.

Today I was able to watch Michael’s EN 102 class. For the last 20 minutes, he let me help with the worksheets, do an example search from a student’s worksheet as a wrap up, review the LibGuide, and finish up with the quiz about section 1. I feel WAAYYY more successful than I felt about my SCOUT tutorial from last week’s meeting. I think I needed to stand in front of a group of students to feel more confident. It did not hurt that I did not have to actually teach a large amount of content, but I just needed a success to inspire me. I even got a half-hearted chuckle from Freshmen. That is definitely a win. As always, there is a list of things I wish I had done differently, but it is good that I can recognize these things so I can improve my teaching.

For the next meeting I am working on the keyword active learning activity. I spent a very long time trying to find something new and inventive. I have always enjoyed coming up with new ways of explaining or illustrating ideas, but I had a lot of trouble with this. I have prepared an activity that has potential, but I need to iron out a few things. Honestly, one of the hardest things is creating a thesis statement that works well but is not incredibly boring. It seems as if things are coming together for now, though.  

At this past week’s meeting, the rest of the interns and I presented our SCOUT demos to Alex, Brett and Michael.  I had prepared a demo that I thought was about 5 minutes long but ended up being much longer.  Time management, it seems, is going to be a problem I need to work on for the next couple of weeks.  My lesson plan was rather detailed, but I have a tendency to elaborate unnecessarily and stumble over my words (hello nerves).  Other than that, I believe that the overall reception of my demo was positive.  I covered what Scout is (a discovery search tool), how to get into Scout, how to search in Scout using the advanced search tool, and what a record looks like.  Looking back, this was a bit ambitious.

This week, I am working on presenting an active learning activity for choosing keywords.  I have done quite a bit of researching, and I think I have found an activity that would really appeal to the sensibilities of incoming students.  I got the idea from UWM’s library’s website (http://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/ris/instruction/ip/terms.pdf).  Basically, the objective is to get students to use encyclopedias to generate a list of keywords/synonyms/related words to use when searching for materials for their topic.  I think it will work nicely because A) students are typically familiar with using online encyclopedias for research, both wikipedia and otherwise and B) it creates and nice teaching moment for letting students know that encyclopedias, while informational, are not appropriate to cite in a college level paper; HOWEVER, they are great for brainstorming paper topics and for choosing ways in which to narrow or broaden a thesis.  I plan to hand out a notecard to each group that includes an encyclopedia and a keyword (ex. Capital Punishment, Facebook, Autism).  The goal is to find as many broader, narrower, and related terms using the encyclopedia as a guide.  After a few minutes, I will ask to students to share their findings with the class, making a point to ask them if they found any terms that surprised them.

Thoughts?

Lizzie

Rereading “The Courage to Teach” was really helpful. It is always helpful to remember that there are others, even well-established and experienced professionals, who struggle with the insecurities that arise during teaching. The fear that arises during teaching seems insurmountable–what if the students openly rebelled, and left all at once? What if they don’t even respond when you ask them a simple question? These sorts of fears lead teachers to lecture, to avoid those risky moments. They certainly lead me to avoid taking chances in the classroom. 

To supplement this reading I chose an article entitled “Good Teaching” by Parker Palmer. Though published in 1990, the themes in this article are still pertinent. In fact, the last section of the article is titled “The Courage to Teach,” and includes this incredibly insightful passage: “Fear is a driving force behind objectivism, that mode of knowing that tries to distance us from life’s awesome energies and put us in control. Fear is a driving force behind the kind of teaching that makes students into spectators, that pedagogy that tries to protect both teacher and subject from the give-and-take of community, from its rough-and-tumble. When our fears as teachers mingle and multiply with the fears inside our students, teaching and learning become mechanical, manipulative, lifeless. Fear, not ignorance, is the great enemy of education.”

I must try to acknowledge and then conquer this fear. I have to find a way to put myself out there. Otherwise, my sessions will be boring and un-engaging. 

    My first blog post for this instruction internship is about nerves (a subject, I am sure, many other interns have written about). I did not think that I would have this specific internship opportunity because I am heading down the public libraries path, but luckily I have been welcomed and encouraged. My previous experience has not been unbelievably formal. I have reflected on these experiences to develop some of my ideas and goals for this internship and the corresponding course (User Instruction).

I taught ESL courses in Seoul, Korea for 8 and a half months in 2010 through 2011.When I started work the first day, I was just tossed into the classroom with no training and little to no experience. I was able to observe some classes for two days, but I was on my own after. I quickly realized that I needed some guidance, and I borrowed a book on teaching English as a foreign language. I learned some basic techniques, but my teaching style and techniques were something I just developed independently. After having taught for several months, I realized that I was able to survive my classes with little to no anxiety with moderate success. However, I had to move past merely covering the content. Eighty percent of my students were comprehending, but I had to reach the other 20% . I did some research in some ESL forums, through some teacher’s supplemental texts, and by observing and collaborating with other teachers. I was able to increase my success and saw my students exceed the goals set for them by the school’s administration. My students comprehended more and were eager to be involved in class. Working with the students was less like pulling teeth.

While my time in Korea was in no way an example of exceptional teaching, or even good teaching, I was and still am, very proud of what I accomplished. I suppose that I am aware of what I need to improve, and this is what I am most self-conscious about. I am still quite nervous about how rusty my teaching is, how teaching English speaking students compares to ESL students, and if my teacher mentality will come back; but I guess the only way to find out is to try? Hopefully my nerves will calm down.

Today I re-read our first article, “How Do They Conduct Class?” I was struck by this article even more than last semester, and spent a long time considering its implications. I was struck by how daring and innovative the professors in the article appear to be. They risk total silence, student abandonment and confusion, and more. They risk all this because they are not overly concerned with their “performance,” though they do give consideration to how they behave in front of a class. They risk all this because they are student-focused. What will engage the students? What creates curiosity or even basic attentiveness?

What I found, when re-reading this article, is that I am very attached to playing it safe. I explain the topics to my own satisfaction, rarely considering whether the student is interested in what I have to say. This semester, I want to make my students critically think about research. What makes searching the online catalog so difficult? I would like to explain this is terms of everyday activities to the students. I want to explain the concepts we are teaching in terms the students can understand, then build on that simple knowledge base to construct something more complex. I want to create a narrative that is engaging. These are tall tasks, but I feel it is time to risk more in the classroom.

So, this is my first blog entry for my new instruction internship with Gorgas Information Services!  Is there a word that encompasses both a sense of overwhelming terror AND mounting excitement?  Hysterical, I think would be the word, but in a totally good way.  I’ve met with my internship coordinator, Sara Whitver, and I’ve mapped out my semester so as to keep myself on track with all my “duties” as a newly minted instruction intern.  Lesson plans, tutorials and instruction sessions, OH MY!  And while I’m a little bit overwhelmed (make that “quite”) I have found that the assigned readings given to us by Sara have been extraordinarily comforting in their own way.  For example, our reading this week, “How Do They Conduct Class?” made sure to note that good teachers/lecturers/instructors are not made by their ability to speak publicly (something I struggle with) but by their shared concern for the learner.  “Their focus is on the nature and processes of learning rather than on the performance of the instructor” (134).  So, while I may be nervous as can be, I know that if I make the focus of my internship the potential “learner” and treat my planning processes with care, then I should be prepared enough to pass on a rewarding instruction experience.  (Or so I tell myself.)

Lizzie

Wow! I can’t believe today is the last day of my internship. It has really flown by. I feel like I just started! Looking back, this internship has been a great experience. Through the internship, I gained experience and learned a lot. The biggest project I worked on this summer was the Keys to the Capstone Podcast Series. While working on this project, I learned how to use new software programs such as Garageband and Audacity, which I think will serve me well in my future career. I also learned skills such as tailoring your instruction to the specific needs of the students you are serving. This was key when I was developing the podcasts. I also worked on the University Library’s booklet for the Week of Welcome in August. This gave me a lot of experience with library outreach. I learned the importance of outreach programs that get the students in the library doors, and once they are inside they can see what all the library has to offer and will hopefully come back and become a frequent library user. Working on the Week of Welcome booklet, I also collaborated with others from the different library branches on campus. I feel this will be valuable experience to have in my career because collaboration with others is common. The other aspect of my internship was assisting with instruction for student groups that came to the library. I got to observe some instruction sessions which was really helpful, and I used this blogging site to share a couple lesson plans so I could get hands-on experience planning for an instruction session. I also gave tours of the library to multiple student groups. This was one of my favorite aspects of the internship. I loved taking the students around and showing them what all the library has to offer, and I enjoyed interacting with them. It was really gratifying when a student showed genuine interest and was really excited to be there. I also read some research articles on pedagogy and instruction, which I found really interesting and will definitley be helpful since it is very likely that I will be in some sort of instruction position at some point in my career. Overall, the internship this summer was a beneficial and enjoyable experience. I learned about the instruction side of academic librarianship and learned some valuable skills along the way!

Jennifer