Searching for a Spark: Affective Pedagogy in the Information Literacy Classroom

Type of Presentation

Individual paper/presentation

Conference Strand

Critical Literacy

Target Audience

Higher Education

Second Target Audience

K-12

Location

Session 1 Workshops/Panels

Relevance

This presentation, while grounded in the ACRL Framework, seeks to include new/different learning styles and pedagogical techniques to innovate in the information literacy classroom.

Proposal

In this campfire style session, I’ll lead a discussion on the usage of affect theories (capitalizing on interest and curiosity) in the information literacy classroom. I’ll highlight the work of Theodore Adorno and Walter Benjamin, and how to apply their constellation theory via concept maps to improve information engagement with researched writing projects. Constellation theory focuses on what excites or intrigues a student when reading a text. During research, students are ‘searching for a spark’ and building a web of ‘what strikes them’. This ‘Constellation of Sparks’ can be used to contextualize different articles and generate novel understandings. A question-building approach channels this interest towards making meaningful connections between datapoints and articles. These relationships then have the possibility to solidify concepts with evidentiary support, which leads to innovative searching strategies and reading during the researched writing process. In short, students will know what they are looking for and are better prepared to understand what they find.

This session is based on my implementation of this technique and is for instruction librarians. Attendees will gain experience and exposure to the usage of affective learning from the ACRL Framework pedagogically remixed with composition theories of deep reading and Adorno’s constellation theory. I’ll walk the attendees through my two-workshop course structure, demonstrate novel usage of our tried-and–true teaching tool, the concept map, and explore the metacognitive applications and implications of interest-based learning. I’ll also share my personal experience from being both a composition instructor and information literacy librarian and how I’ve used affective pedagogy to connect with students to help them engage with their assignments. This will be an interactive discussion.

Presentation Description

Searching for a Spark This campfire-style session will discuss the ‘Affective Turn’ in education and pedagogy and how information literacy librarians can use it to prioritize ’playful’ and 'curious’ information-seeking behaviors during one-shot instruction sessions. Theory and background will be discussed with an example activity that remixes the ACRL framework with the constellation theory of Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin. A broader interactive discussion will invite attendees to reimagine current repertoires through this lens.

Keywords

Information Literacy, Constellation Theory, Pedagogy

Publication Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

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Mar 30th, 9:45 AM Mar 30th, 10:45 AM

Searching for a Spark: Affective Pedagogy in the Information Literacy Classroom

Session 1 Workshops/Panels

In this campfire style session, I’ll lead a discussion on the usage of affect theories (capitalizing on interest and curiosity) in the information literacy classroom. I’ll highlight the work of Theodore Adorno and Walter Benjamin, and how to apply their constellation theory via concept maps to improve information engagement with researched writing projects. Constellation theory focuses on what excites or intrigues a student when reading a text. During research, students are ‘searching for a spark’ and building a web of ‘what strikes them’. This ‘Constellation of Sparks’ can be used to contextualize different articles and generate novel understandings. A question-building approach channels this interest towards making meaningful connections between datapoints and articles. These relationships then have the possibility to solidify concepts with evidentiary support, which leads to innovative searching strategies and reading during the researched writing process. In short, students will know what they are looking for and are better prepared to understand what they find.

This session is based on my implementation of this technique and is for instruction librarians. Attendees will gain experience and exposure to the usage of affective learning from the ACRL Framework pedagogically remixed with composition theories of deep reading and Adorno’s constellation theory. I’ll walk the attendees through my two-workshop course structure, demonstrate novel usage of our tried-and–true teaching tool, the concept map, and explore the metacognitive applications and implications of interest-based learning. I’ll also share my personal experience from being both a composition instructor and information literacy librarian and how I’ve used affective pedagogy to connect with students to help them engage with their assignments. This will be an interactive discussion.