Teach Them What You Teach: How Training Faculty in Infolit Can Expand Your Instructional Program
Type of Presentation
Workshop (1 hour and 15 minutes)
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
Room 1005
Abstract
Instructional librarians often walk a fine line meeting college instructors' infolit needs: creating digital instruction provides on-demand access to the library’s services, but can sometimes result in fewer in-person teaching opportunities as faculty use it to the exclusion of classroom visits. To combat this issue, librarians at Walters State Community College chose to train faculty in information literacy. In a one-day training, volunteer participants learned about infolit and the ACRL Framework, then conducted an “infolit audit” on one of their classes. Faculty learned both the need for expert infolit instruction and when and how best to take advantage of the librarians’ services. Librarians worked with individual faculty to improve course assignments and scaffold students’ infolit skills across the semester. Ultimately, faculty who had never before incorporated information literacy into their learning goals began integrating it into their courses, and the librarians built new cross-campus relationships, creating connections with both full-time and adjunct instructors. In this workshop, participants will first learn more about the librarian-led faculty trainings offered at Walters State and then explore techniques and best practices for teaching faculty about the ACRL Framework. Through time spent discussing training techniques and brainstorming activities, participants will begin to create a plan for incorporating faculty training into their institution’s infolit instruction program, discovering the pitfalls of teaching infolit to faculty and listening to lessons learned at the WS trainings along the way. Participants will leave with a deep understanding of the unique ways in teaching what the library teaches can strengthen the library’s connection to both faculty and students and facilitate cross-campus collaboration.
Presentation Description
Concerned that creating too much digital content for faculty will cause them to forego the in-person instruction session (the one you know benefits students the most)? Learn how librarians at Walters State Community College trained faculty in information literacy and subsequently saw an increase in faculty members’ use of their services. Attendees will learn about the unique faculty trainings offered at WS, discuss how training faculty in infolit builds cross-campus relationships and increases awareness of the library’s role in student education, and begin building a plan to incorporate faculty training into their institution’s infolit program.
Session Goals
This session will help participants envision a process for incorporating faculty training in information literacy into their instructional program at institutions of higher education. Participants will produce a basic plan for building a similar program for their institution. Participants will engage in active discussion about their institution's individual needs, including but not limited to: building librarian-to-faculty connections, strengthening faculty understanding of infolit and its place in any curriculum, and partnerships to strengthen in order to implement a similar program at their institution.
Keywords
professional development, faculty outreach, partnerships, community building, instruction
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Shoemaker, Audrey; Lewis, Julie; and Moreland, Sabrina, "Teach Them What You Teach: How Training Faculty in Infolit Can Expand Your Instructional Program" (2018). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 43.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2018/2018/43
Teach Them What You Teach: How Training Faculty in Infolit Can Expand Your Instructional Program
Room 1005
Instructional librarians often walk a fine line meeting college instructors' infolit needs: creating digital instruction provides on-demand access to the library’s services, but can sometimes result in fewer in-person teaching opportunities as faculty use it to the exclusion of classroom visits. To combat this issue, librarians at Walters State Community College chose to train faculty in information literacy. In a one-day training, volunteer participants learned about infolit and the ACRL Framework, then conducted an “infolit audit” on one of their classes. Faculty learned both the need for expert infolit instruction and when and how best to take advantage of the librarians’ services. Librarians worked with individual faculty to improve course assignments and scaffold students’ infolit skills across the semester. Ultimately, faculty who had never before incorporated information literacy into their learning goals began integrating it into their courses, and the librarians built new cross-campus relationships, creating connections with both full-time and adjunct instructors. In this workshop, participants will first learn more about the librarian-led faculty trainings offered at Walters State and then explore techniques and best practices for teaching faculty about the ACRL Framework. Through time spent discussing training techniques and brainstorming activities, participants will begin to create a plan for incorporating faculty training into their institution’s infolit instruction program, discovering the pitfalls of teaching infolit to faculty and listening to lessons learned at the WS trainings along the way. Participants will leave with a deep understanding of the unique ways in teaching what the library teaches can strengthen the library’s connection to both faculty and students and facilitate cross-campus collaboration.
