Involving Students in their Learning Processes: Practical Strategies for Learner-Centered Information Literacy Instruction

Whether we teach one-shot information literacy sessions or semester-long courses, effectively engaging students and facilitating learning are common goals. Implementing learner-centered teaching strategies creates an environment where students can take ownership of their educational experience, leading to deep learning and more effective information literacy instruction. Learner-centered instruction shifts the focus away from what works best for the instructor and employs pedagogical practices that meet the needs of diverse learners with variant learning preferences. Participants in this workshop will learn the principles of learner-centered teaching, reflect upon its application and impact on the student learning experience, and collaborate to develop learner-centered approaches to instruction scenarios. The workshop will encourage participants to engage in their learning experience, providing an example of the education style in action. More specifically, participants will engage through reflective writing, discussion, and collaborative scenario-based exercises. In one activity, participants will analyze their teaching methods, including their pre-session planning, teaching strategies, classroom environment, and assessment methodologies, for existing strengths and areas within which they can focus to become more learner-centered in their approach. Another activity will give participants the opportunity to work in small groups to apply lessons learned in the workshop to a realistic instruction scenario. In this activity, teams will identify instructional strategies to meet diverse learning preferences. Participants will leave the workshop with practical strategies for developing and implementing a learner-centered pedagogical approach to information literacy instruction at their home institutions