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.

“Teaching and Un-Teaching Source Evaluation” discusses experimenting with a different method of teaching students how to analysis authority in sources within a library instruction setting. The article advocated placing an emphasis on information literacy, rather than only instructing students about more traditional academic sources and library resources. I really like the way the researchers required students to analysis their own assumptions about a variety of sources, including Wikipedia, and to discuss this as a small group and then a class. To me this seems like an effective method of achieving the researchers’ goals of improving information literacy and encouraging the development of the students’ own authority. This allows students to take control of their own learning while learning to question the power structures that define traditional scholarship and sources that they have always been taught to view as authoritative and trustworthy. This is immensely important and powerful as it aims to inspire a critical thinking and evaluation of any source a student might come into contact with during their education, and their life. The researcher’s emphasis on lived experience as a source of authority for the student as serves to create a more balanced classroom where students feel more comfortable making such evolutions and critiques. The quote from Maria Accardi the authors included in their conclusion really says it all: “we can ‘in our own ways, however small, clear out space for creative disruption, for thoughtful experimentation, and for subtle but satisfying interruptions of the structures that govern us, and, ultimately, contribute to student learning in a positive and long-lasting way’” (Angell & Tewell, 2017, p. 115).

I chose this article because I felt that it related pretty closely to the grand narratives article from last week. I particularly enjoy case studies, and I liked that this article was less theoretical and based more in the classroom. I think that it is super important for students to learn to question early in their academic career what they think about authority and reliable source. It was interesting to see what the students in this article thought about Wikipedia. I have only had one instructor point out that there are different tiers of reliability marked on Wikipedia articles, and it is helps to judge the reliability of the article. I also found it striking that 14% of students thought that just because they found the source through a university’s search function / scholarly database that it was a reliable source. One of the librarians that I observed pointed out to his students that academic articles are sometimes not reliable and are later retracted. This kind of thing is super useful for students to know, and I definitely plan to keep the concepts from this article in mind when teaching next semester.

This week I decided to reflect on my learning module and the progress I have made as well as just the entire process I have gone through while making it. It has been interesting to see all the different parts slowly come together from the very basic outlines I made to full scripts and videos. With each step, I always think it is going to be more complicated and take more time than it actually does. I think once I get down to the real nitty gritty of putting it all together that is when it is going to take more time and attention to detail. Making the videos in Camtasia has really been a test to just slow down and take my time. I know how to use more complicated video editing software like Premire Pro so using Camtasia can be a little ticky at times, but I have liked getting to learn another video editing application. I like how Camtasia allows you to zoom in and that the animations and effects are much easier to apply. Overall, I have enjoyed creating my learning module and just figuring out how I want it all to work together. I am very excited to see what the completed project will look like when I am done.

Overall, I really liked this article, because while this idea of certain people not being represented in literature is something I have thought about before, I had not thought of it in the same framework presented by Franks. As Franks points out in her article, there are grand narratives being given as representative of all human experience. However, if we begin asking ourselves whose voices are being represented in these narratives, it is easy to see that these grand narratives do not apply to everyone and that some individuals are not being included in the story. Having narratives that assert only one authority or only have one overarching voice are cause for concern. What gets left out of the literature when this happens is an important point of discussion not only to search for unanswered questions but also to help include minor payers that might not be fully represented. I liked how, despite the problems with these grand narratives, Franks says it should not discourage students doing research on a topic that includes this. Instead, they should see it as an opportunity to criticize the work or to create a new discussion about it.

Frank’s chapter argues that we as instructors need to break down grand narratives and help students to question the narratives they are sold. In one section, she talks about how encyclopedias are compiled by people influenced by grand narratives and given authority by being placed on a library’s shelf. In one of the classes I observed at the beginning of the semester, a student questioned how a dictionary could be biased when the librarian said that pretty much everything can have a bias. The librarian explained that it was possible for a dictionary to have bias. This article brought me back to this conversation and reinforced why it is such an important conversation to have. It is so vital for students to be given the opportunity to explore multiple perspectives and realize that even something like an encyclopedia or a dictionary can be a part of a “grand narrative” and not representative of everyone and every experience.

I finished my co-teaching for the semester on Monday. I co-taught two sections of an English class both taught by the same professor. On the first session, I sat in and observed. During the second session, I gave a brief overview of Scout and Academic Search Premier. I also walked around and helped students while they researched. I enjoy this part the most. It is fun to see what topics everyone is doing and to try to give them tips on how to narrow down the search. Since I was able to sit down with the same few classes for all three sessions, it was interesting to observe how the classes research skills developed over the week. Previously, I had only seen one or two sections of a course so I didn’t really get the full picture. By the third class session, the students in these classes appeared to have improved their key word searches in Scout, and I was excited to see many using Boolean operators. I am looking forward to solo teaching some of my own sessions.

With co-teaching, I feel like I free dived into the deep end. My first co-teaching experiences were “roving” in the classroom of another instructor providing 1 on 1 instruction to students who needed help. I found this to be comfortable and never felt like I was taking on more than I could manage.

I than was tasked with co-teaching, not with an instructor, but with a fellow GTA. The two of us developed a lesson plan between us and then implemented it in the classroom. It initially seemed scary and daunting , and that it was weird I wasn’t slowly building my co-teaching like some of the others. But I reflected on my teaching history.  If I could spend an hour teaching math to fifth graders, and lets be clear here- Im not good at math- I could spend 50 minutes teaching research.

I do not want to say that I went off without a hitch, but I will say that I think it went smoothly. I was never uncomfortable. I feel like I could get up and teach an entire class period with no problem at this point.

Yancy’s “On Reflection” details the process of reflection, the history of studying the writing process especially as it relates to the study of reflection, and Yancy’s own experience using reflection as an instructor. Yancy focuses on reflection in the writing process, and often frames this in setting of a first-year writing program. Within this context, reflection frequently takes the form of writing. From the perspective of library instruction, so little time is spent with students that the creation of an entire reflective essay might be a less practical approach. However, refection has value in more than just the writing process.  Reflection allows students to move beyond the absorption and regurgitation of information. It gives them time to digest a little, and to begin to process and make connections. Reflection might even be more important in a compact and dense learning environment, such as the library instruction classroom. So much is condensed into one or two sessions. Periodically giving student time to reflect socially or introspectively, on the skills and processes overviewed is essential to allow time to process and create deeper understanding.

I enjoyed Yancey’s overview of the history of how teachers became interested in reflective writing and students’ composing processes. I had read some of the other authors she quoted as well as some of her writings, but not this particular essay before now.  When I taught composition, we had a reflective essay assignment attached to every major paper. Like Yancey observes, I also found it useful to have a student reflection / to know the student’s thoughts along with the paper. If someone turned in an assignment that appeared weak, they would often have a reflection detailing the roadblocks they hit or other life obstacles that got in the way. When it comes to library instruction, I can see how it would be useful for students to reflect on their research practices as well as on their writing and key word choices.

On another note, I co-taught for the first time this week.  I usually get nervous when I teach a class for the first time, and this was no different. As an instructor of record, I was able to really get to know my students, especially when they took me for both parts of composition. While teaching for library instruction, I will only see the students a handful of times or less.  This will definitely be a minor adjustment. One thing I am excited about is teaching the same general lessons to different classes. Since I am teaching the same sorts of lessons more than once, I do look forward to being able to fine tune lesson plans and try them out multiple times.