Shifting Gears: Observations & Perspectives from Former Graduate Librarians on Providing Instruction & Reference to Undergraduates
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Conference Strand
Media Literacy
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
PARB 239
Relevance
Please see abstract.
Proposal
Two teaching librarians who met while working at a graduate academic library and each moved on to primarily undergraduate-serving academic libraries discuss their expectations and assumptions in making the transition compared to the realities once they settled in with their new student populations.
How do teaching librarians approach the challenge of teaching broader information literacy concepts while still needing to tie one-shot instruction to a given assignment? First-year students may be cognitively receptive to the simple dualism of right way vs. the wrong way, but part of the job of teaching librarians is to help them grow beyond this black and white outlook on information and use the tenets of critical information literacy to help guide them in their progression to higher levels of cognitive development and critical thinking. The presenters will examine their own assumptions and share their efforts to adapt to a different approach to teaching information literacy.
Presentation Description
This presentation outlines the experiences of two academic librarians who moved from teaching graduate students to teaching undergraduates. Important differences exist between how typical undergraduate and graduate students learn and process information. Several of the considerations that librarians must make during such transitions, including students’ cognitive level, previous experience, and curricular requirements will be discussed.
Keywords
graduate students, undergraduate students, academic libraries, information literacy, critical thinking, teaching, instruction, reference
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Michaels, Stephen and Lowe, Louise, "Shifting Gears: Observations & Perspectives from Former Graduate Librarians on Providing Instruction & Reference to Undergraduates" (2020). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 11.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2020/2020/11
Shifting Gears: Observations & Perspectives from Former Graduate Librarians on Providing Instruction & Reference to Undergraduates
PARB 239
Two teaching librarians who met while working at a graduate academic library and each moved on to primarily undergraduate-serving academic libraries discuss their expectations and assumptions in making the transition compared to the realities once they settled in with their new student populations.
How do teaching librarians approach the challenge of teaching broader information literacy concepts while still needing to tie one-shot instruction to a given assignment? First-year students may be cognitively receptive to the simple dualism of right way vs. the wrong way, but part of the job of teaching librarians is to help them grow beyond this black and white outlook on information and use the tenets of critical information literacy to help guide them in their progression to higher levels of cognitive development and critical thinking. The presenters will examine their own assumptions and share their efforts to adapt to a different approach to teaching information literacy.
