Practical Academic Library Instruction: Learner-Centered Techniques

Busy academic librarians looking for reliable, research-supported techniques that they can put into practice immediately will find them in this hands-on guide for information literacy instruction. 

When you stand alone in front of the class, being in command of your content is only the first step. Knowing how to engage students’ participation in ways that foster “ownership” ensures that learning is both active and lasting. In this guide, Oehrli shares tried and tested techniques honed from 20 years of practice in both traditional and nontraditional settings. Drawing from educational research, she applies these techniques to the learner-centered teaching of information literacy topics. In this book, which is organized for quick access to techniques at your point of need, you will learn

• how to use guiding principles to shape your personal philosophy of teaching;
• ways to address the uneven power dynamics of a classroom;
• 5 basic questions to guide your preparation for a class;
• pointers for communicating with students in the language of the ACRL Framework;
• simple and subtle ways to build rapport with students;
• real-world applications of education research concepts such as Keller’s ARCS theory of motivation;
• metacognitive techniques that foster student ownership of learning;
• other tips for asking good discussion questions and how to use the think/pair/share method to encourage discussion;
• techniques for defusing distraction in the classroom through proximity, pivoting, and pausing; and
• interactive methods to uncover students’ prior knowledge in research.