Information Literacy: Taking the ‘I’ out of Instruction

Do you spend too much time behind the podium during your instruction sessions? This presentation will provide opportunities for learning and discussion on four activities designed to move you out among your students. You will learn how a courtroom-like environment with music, props, and costuming was created at Hood College for an ESL English class to guide students through the steps of brainstorming keywords, utilizing databases, and organizing information for an argument. A librarian from Goshen College will offer recommendations on planning a large-scale, themed, open-house; a timeline for completion; assessment of student learning; and post-event evaluation. The Coordinator of Information Literacy from Neumann University will discuss problem-based learning activities that drive student-centered learning experiences at Neumann and Utah State Universities. Simple changes will be discussed to shift the focus away from the podium and into the crowd. Lastly, you will learn about a successful Jeopardy-style game created at Johnson and Wales University in which students answer a series of challenging questions with clickers. How will you stack up against Johnson and Wales University students? Introduced through ACRL Immersion\u2709, five librarians from across the United States collaborate to present a discussion on stepping away from the podium in order to better engage students. Our different academic institutions allow for varied perspectives on library instruction: three liberal arts colleges, a state university, and a culinary arts institution. Our approaches are unique and nontraditional, and fundamentally share the same core goal: to establish an engaging, student-centered learning experience