Skip to main content
 The Librarian's Guide to Teaching

The Librarian's Guide to Teaching

By Amanda Piekart

This podcast is hosted by two instruction librarians that are interested in sharing their experiences teaching information literacy, discussing current trends, and having meaningful conversations about librarianship.
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Overcast Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

Who will teach information literacy in the future?

The Librarian's Guide to TeachingDec 23, 2019

00:00
35:18
Reflective Teaching Mini Episode

Reflective Teaching Mini Episode

Show Notes:

In our 11th mini episode, we take a look back at episode number 18 to chat about reflective teaching practices and assessing reflective questions.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Aug 27, 202109:58
LibGuide Projects
Aug 06, 202134:40
Lesson Planning Mini Episode

Lesson Planning Mini Episode

Show Notes:

In our 10th mini episode, Amanda and Jessica take a look back at episode number 35 on lesson planning and talk about one aspect of lesson planning that can get in the way, which is time management!

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Jul 23, 202111:57
Assessment Round Up

Assessment Round Up

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica do a roundup of unique, versatile and effective assessments that we’ve recently read about that can be applied in the information literacy classroom.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Jul 07, 202129:35
21 Tips for 21 Mini Episode

21 Tips for 21 Mini Episode

In our 9th mini episode, we’ll take a look back at episode number 31 where we discussed 21 teaching tips for 2021 and see if we’ve made any strides in implementing any of these tips!

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Jun 22, 202108:27
Journalism Instruction

Journalism Instruction

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica talk to librarians April Hines, Katherine Boss and Megan Heuer about their version of the ACRL Framework focused towards the journalism discipline that’s based on research with practicing journalists and students.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

May 26, 202143:50
Marketing Your Library Instruction

Marketing Your Library Instruction

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica chat about marketing your library instruction - either as a department or an individual librarian.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen! We love to hear from you in reviews as well.

May 12, 202145:41
Peer to Peer Development
Apr 27, 202149:59
Mini Episode 8- Assessment and Ungrading
Apr 15, 202117:58
Mini Episode 7- Virtual Programming
Apr 09, 202114:44
Leadership in a Pandemic
Mar 23, 202157:21
 Lesson Planning

Lesson Planning

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica discuss their experience with creating and using lesson plans. They also explore the benefits and pitfalls.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Mar 09, 202140:42
Tech Tool Round Up
Feb 23, 202147:50
Teaching about Algorithms

Teaching about Algorithms

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica chat with librarian Carolyn Caffrey Gardner about ways to incorporate algorithmic education into our lessons.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Feb 09, 202135:26
21 Instructional Tips for 2021- Part II
Jan 26, 202120:36
21 Instructional Tips for 2021- Part I
Jan 12, 202125:27
Mini Episode 6: Faculty Collaboration Follow Up

Mini Episode 6: Faculty Collaboration Follow Up

Show Notes:

In our 6th mini episode, Amanda and Jessica take a look back at episode 20 and follow up on opportunities to collaborate with faculty.

Resources referenced in this episode:

https://mrlibrarydude.wordpress.com/

Weng, C., & Murray, D. (2020). Faculty perceptions of librarians and library services: Exploring the impact of librarian faculty status and beyond. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46, 102200: https://dr.tcnj.edu/bitstream/handle/2900/2994/weng-2019-faculty-perceptions-of-librarians-and-library-services.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Dec 29, 202012:30
Mini Episode 5: Online Learning

Mini Episode 5: Online Learning

Show Notes:

In our fifth mini episode, Amanda and Jessica take a look back at episode number 7 from last December where they discussed digital pedagogy and critical online pedagogy by looking at a recent blog post about online instruction engagement.

Related or Referenced Resources for this Episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Dec 16, 202013:16
Do you Twitter Chat? An Interview with the Hosts of the #LISPRO Twitter Chats
Dec 01, 202032:58
Project Info Lit "Covid-19: The first 100 days of U.S. news coverage” Report & Interview with Alison Head- Part II

Project Info Lit "Covid-19: The first 100 days of U.S. news coverage” Report & Interview with Alison Head- Part II

Topics & Takeaways (Part 2)

  • With the COVID story, we're getting to see how science works under pressure and without information agency or discipline expertise, it can be hard to understand what's happening and see the downsides to peer review.
  • In a way, we can identify the questions to ask about where media literacy should go next but not really the exact solutions.
  • We need to recognize the social-ness of news and of research and it must be taken into consideration in the transformation of media literacy.
  • If not everything is biased, how do we unpack that with students?
  • Students relate to images and we can use examples from the report to discuss with them how the images impact the way they interpret news.
  • While some faculty are single-source news viewers ("I only look at NPR"), students just don't engage in the media landscape that way.
  • Reach out to Alison at alison@projectinfolit.org with how you are using the report in the classroom & how students are responding!

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Nov 10, 202036:56
Project Info Lit "Covid-19: The first 100 days of U.S. news coverage”  Report & Interview with Alison Head

Project Info Lit "Covid-19: The first 100 days of U.S. news coverage” Report & Interview with Alison Head

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica chat with researcher, Alison Head, to discuss the new Project Information Literacy Report called “Covid-19: The first 100 days of U.S. news coverage”.

Topics & Takeaways:

Topics & Takeaways (Part 1)

  • How can the PIL COVID report help librarians and educators discuss news, media and visual literacy with students?
  • How can students learn to reclaim their information agency? How can students exert control over the on-slught of news coming at them?
  • Reach out to Alison at alison@projectinfolit.org with how you are using the report in the classroom & how students are responding!
  • We need to pull up 30,000 feet to look at the landscape of news with students and how sources develop rather than just evaluating individual sources.
  • While the CRAAP test is a great framework for evaluation, Facebook and social media have changed the arc of information and the strategies that we use for sources. Social media amplifies our attention around certain media and visuals.
  • Since COVID is a news topic that has touched everyone around the world in all disciplines, it can be a topic that can engage students across disciplines/topics.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Nov 03, 202035:53
Academic Ableism, Librarianship & #CripLib
Oct 20, 202047:15
Mentoring: A view from both sides of the relationship
Oct 06, 202033:54
Mini Episode 4: How are you preparing for Virtual Conference Season?
Sep 24, 202018:42
Formative Assessment: An Interview with Mary-Michelle Moore

Formative Assessment: An Interview with Mary-Michelle Moore

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica chat with Mary-Michelle Moore, a Teaching & Learning Librarian at UC Santa Barbara about formative assessment and a plan that she designed for student assessment in class.

Topics & Takeaways:

  • When librarians enter the classroom for a one-shot session, even with faculty feedback prior to class, it can be difficult to know the extent of prior knowledge students have.
  • By asking students for feedback before and during a session about information literacy, we bring student experiences into the learning and also get real time information on how to move the learning forward.
  • Implementing formative assessment in the classroom can allow librarians to collect information during a session to see what students need for learning and it can vary from basic questioning to bouncing between different topics/activities.
  • Forms of formative assessment discussed:
    • Think, Pair, Share
    • Padlet
    • Wooclap Audience Response
  • When asking students for information, balance how much information is given to them (overload) while also providing enough detail to explain the “why” behind the activity/assessment and the “what” that is expected.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Sep 16, 202030:21
Mini Episode #3: What to do When Tech Fails

Mini Episode #3: What to do When Tech Fails


Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica take a closer look at a topic covered in episode 5 - classroom management. They discuss technology in the classroom and share some ideas/tips of how to recover when tech fails in the class.

Biggest takeaway - Preparation is everything!

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Sep 09, 202012:32
2020 ACRL Trends: Takeaways, Concerns and Recommendations

2020 ACRL Trends: Takeaways, Concerns and Recommendations

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica are discussing a recent article in College & Research Library News regarding the top trends this year in academic libraries. And how has the pandemic impacted these trends?

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Sep 01, 202028:06
Mini Episode #2: Libraries in the Pandemic
Aug 26, 202012:07
All about LibGuides: Experiences, Use, and Pie in the Sky Ideas

All about LibGuides: Experiences, Use, and Pie in the Sky Ideas

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica are chatting about all things LibGuides. How have we used them? What would we love them to do? And much more!

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Aug 19, 202044:22
Mini Episode 1: Imposter Syndrome Update

Mini Episode 1: Imposter Syndrome Update

Show Notes:

In this first mini episode, Amanda and Jessica are going to reflect back on the first LGT episode about imposter syndrome by discussing a recent article about the topic.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Aug 12, 202010:55
Chatting Podcasts & Stories with the co-hosts of LibVoices!
Aug 04, 202031:13
Humor in Information Literacy Instruction

Humor in Information Literacy Instruction

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica chat with librarians Lee Adams, Stephanie Alexander, and Lana Woods about their work using satirical videos in IL instruction and using humor in the classroom.

Topics & Takeaways:

  • Starting with a tool like satirical videos allows the librarian to lean on comedians who are paid to be funny and not have to write their own materials. 
  • There is a tension of needing to stay “professional” and be funny which can especially be a risk depending on the librarian’s race/gender/class etc. Women are not seen as funny and research has been shown it can be a risk for BIPOC (see show references). 
  • Humor is not universal so students, context and relation to the material must be considered. 
  • Ways to start with humor in the classroom:
  • Begin the class with humor to spark student interest, raise students’ expectations, lower anxiety, and create a more relaxed, positive learning environment.
  • Use humor to encourage deep thinking. Have students work on a difficult concept or equation though a silly or outlandish example. 
  • Don’t try too hard.
  • Don’t use outdated humor/references.
  • Why you should consider using Humor in your next class:
  • Most literature shows that it puts students at ease and lowers anxiety.
  • Engages the students.
  • Helps the instructor build rapport with students (more friendlier, relatable etc). 
  • Helps with retaining content.


Resources referenced in this episode: 

  • Evoking truthiness: Using satirical news comedies to teach information literacy by Annis Lee Adams, Stephanie Alexander, and Lana Mariko Wood 
  • Satirical News LibGuide by Annis Lee Adams, Stephanie Alexander, and Lana Mariko Wood
  • No News Is Good News? Satirical News Videos in the Information Literacy Classroom by Stephanie Alexander and Lana Mariko Wood; portal: Libraries and the Academy
  • Plight of the Funny Female by Olga Khazan, The Atlantic
  • Gendered Language in Teacher Reviews by Ben Schmidt
  • Making Jokes During a Presentation Helps Men But Hurts Women by Jonathan Evans, Jerel Slaughter, Aleksander Ellis and Jessi Rivin; Harvard Business Review
  • Women of Color in Academia Often Work Harder for Less Respect by Nadia Owusu; Catapult
  • How Student Evaluations Are Skewed against Women and Minority Professors by Eva Lilienfeld; The Century Foundation
  • Using humor in the college classroom: The pros and the cons by Drew C. Appleby, PhD
  • Humor as a Teaching Tool in the Classroom by Notre Dame Kaneb Learning Center
  • Humor in library instruction: a narrative review with implications for the health sciences by Elena Azadbakht
  • Did You Hear the One about the Boolean Operators? Incorporating Comedy into Library Instruction by Kristin Trefts and Sarah Blakeslee in Reference Services Review 
  • “What Stand-Up Comedians Teach Us about Library Instruction: Four Lessons for the Classroom by Eamon C. Tewell in College & Research Libraries News
  • This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 


Here's where you can find us:


Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com 


Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!



Jul 21, 202058:30
Faculty Collaboration

Faculty Collaboration

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica are talking about our experiences with faculty collaboration in the classroom.

Topics & Takeaways:

  • Faculty collaborations with librarians can range from individual outreach that leads to a one-shot session to a full collaboration on courses or assignment design.
  • We’ve experienced challenging situations ranging from interruptions in class, negative responses to our work to completely taking over class.
  • We can work towards changing the library/faculty collaboration culture by advocating for being seen as equals, changing our language from supporting to collaborating, moving away from the service model and educating faculty on what we really do in libraries.

Tips on successful faculty collaboration:

  • Take initiative and don’t wait for faculty to reach out to you.
  • Keep your ‘ears” to the ground and look for ways for to seize opportunities

to get involved.

  • Be open minded to different partnerships and collaborations.
  • We need to have a purpose in every project we take on.
  • Breaking down silos is super hard but we are the only ones who are going to do it. We need to just keep advocating, keep pushing back.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Jul 07, 202001:09:43
Talking Librarianship with Melissa Wong
Jun 23, 202052:30
Reflective Teaching Practices

Reflective Teaching Practices

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica talk about reflective teaching, some ideas about journaling and improving our professional practices through reflection.

Topics & Takeaways:

  • We improve the more we teach but can we make more opportunities to learn from our teaching through reflection? How do we actively learn about our teaching or professional self to grow from it?
  • Instruction journals allow librarians to get thoughts out about what went well, what did I think I could improve or were there any interesting student interactions in order to reflect and look for patterns.
  • Brainstorm journals that are reviewed frequently can be another form of journal.
  • Librarian to librarian observation and feedback can be a system-level way to learn about your instruction and reflect on it with help from others.
  • Feedback from faculty and students can be helpful, with a few caveats.
  • Just writing down things you learned each day for about 15 minutes can improve our learning.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Jun 09, 202036:41
Gamification in Information Literacy Instruction: Tips, Tricks and how to get started!

Gamification in Information Literacy Instruction: Tips, Tricks and how to get started!

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica talk to librarians, Serene Rock and Kristine Cwengros, about gamification in information literacy instruction and their poster that was presented at the ACRL DLS Virtual Poster Session last month.

Resources referenced in this episode:

Topics & Takeaways:

  • Make gaming relevant to the course objectives and students have a variety of benefits including increasing student motivation and content retention.
  • Effective games provide students scaffolding throughout the process to help move through the game and practice skills.
  • Don’t be afraid to fail and adapt!
  • Start small - no need to create a multi-level game on day 1! Start with a pre-created Jeopardy game or a Kahoot or a 10 minute group game in a larger class session.
  • When asking for faculty collaboration, providing them with a fleshed out idea may increase the potential for a positive response.

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

May 26, 202038:10
ACRL Framework Series: Part III- What does the Future Hold for the Frames?
May 11, 202038:32
ACRL Framework Series-Part II: Likes, Dislikes and Favorite Frames

ACRL Framework Series-Part II: Likes, Dislikes and Favorite Frames

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica continue the 3-part ACRL Framework series. They discuss interesting examples of librarians using the Framework, studies that are based around it as well as their favorite Frames.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Apr 29, 202044:26
ACRL Framework Series- Part 1: Our Teaching Experiences & Challenges

ACRL Framework Series- Part 1: Our Teaching Experiences & Challenges

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica kick off Part One of a three part series on the ACRL Framework! They discuss what makes the Framework challenging and their experiences with teaching and assessing the Frames.

Topics & Takeaways:

  • The ACRL Framework is challenging because:
    • Interconnected concepts that incorporate multiple instructional concepts like metacognition, constructivism, affective learning and backward design
    • Elevated language that at times can seem like jargon
    • It contains A LOT of content which makes organizing, teaching and assessing progression of learning difficult
  • Teaching the Framework at the one-shot level can feel limiting, frustrating and difficult to assess due to the short time-frame, expectations of faculty and not knowing our students.
  • However, there are strategies to developing effective one-shot Framework instruction that meets student needs.
  • One way to integrate the Framework at a program level starts with mapping the knowledge practices and dispositions to beginner, intermediate and advanced levels as well as reviewing syllabi to match assignments to appropriate Frame skills.
  • Various ideas about how to use the Framework in the classroom are discussed.

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Apr 20, 202053:59
Storytelling and Instruction: What stories do you have to tell?

Storytelling and Instruction: What stories do you have to tell?

Show Notes:

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica discuss storytelling and instruction. How can you use your experience and previous student support to provide instruction?

Topics & Takeaways:

  • Storytelling can be valuable in information literacy instruction because it is informational, memorable and a great way to reach novice learners.
  • What are our experiences with storytelling in the classroom?
  • What are some ways to use infographics as storytelling?
  • What are some barriers to storytelling in the classroom?
  • What are some “Pie in the sky” storytelling techniques you might want to try in the future?
  • Do you think storytelling is an effective instruction technique for one shots?
  • Small ways you can incorporate storytelling into your instruction

Resources referenced in this episode:

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-gov

NOTE: In the episode, Jessica refers to introverted teaching and attributes certain quotes to educator Flower Darby but that should have been attributed to Jessamyn Neuhaus, whose book is linked above.

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide 

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Apr 07, 202054:54
What's on the Horizon for Teaching and Learning? : Our Thoughts on the 2020 Educause Horizon Report
Mar 26, 202056:48
Teaching Outside of the Classroom: Designing Fun and Effective IL Programming

Teaching Outside of the Classroom: Designing Fun and Effective IL Programming

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica discuss their successes and failures creating instructional programming that teaches information literacy skills. They discuss tips and challenges to designing and implementing these events.

Topics & Takeaways:

  • Instructional programming refers to events and activities in libraries that teach information literacy skills in some form rather than just focusing on bringing students into the library or promoting services.
  • Successes discussed include a Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon, LibraryLand game, tabling events and an online event LibGuide.
  • Challenges in preparing and presenting instructional programming include:
  • Time to plan
  • Collaboration with other departments
  • Lack of student attendance
  • Marketing to students
  • Tips for preparing and presenting instructional programming include:
  • Know what topics and engagement methods are important to your students
  • Be sure to assess your programming
  • Tie your programming to the mission or goals of your department/ institution
  • Collect meaningful data in order to demonstrate value
  • Recognize when a program is no longer working
  • Make sure you do tie your program back to IL skills being taught

Resources referenced in the episode:

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Mar 13, 202049:35
What does it take to "Thrive as a Library Professional"? Interview with Susanne Markgren and Linda Miles
Feb 27, 202031:52
Interview with Barbara Fister on Project Information Literacy in the Age of Algorithms Study

Interview with Barbara Fister on Project Information Literacy in the Age of Algorithms Study

Show Notes:

On this episode of The Librarian's Guide to Teaching, Amanda and Jessica talk with Barbara Fister, Scholar-in-Residence at Project Information Literacy and co-researcher on PIL's latest study, "Information Literacy in the Age of Algorithms: Student Experiences with News and Information, and the Need for Change." They discuss the report’s findings, potential barriers to implementing algorithm education and ways that librarians can be a part of the change in higher education.

Guest Bio:

Barbara Fister is a Scholar-in-Residence at Project Information Literacy and co-researcher on PIL's latest study, "Information Literacy in the Age of Algorithms: Student Experiences with News and Information, and the Need for Change." For three decades Barbara coordinated the library instruction program at Gustavus Adolphus College=, a liberal arts college in Minnesota. In addition to collaborative teaching with faculty across the curriculum she has developed courses on research methods, book culture, first term seminars, and (most recently) launched a new course on Clickbait, Bias, and Propaganda in Information Networks.

Resources related to this episode’s theme and mentioned in the show include:

Tweet of the week 

https://twitter.com/Jessifer/status/1222177875719327744 

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide
Jessica: @LibraryGeek611
Amanda: @HistoryBuff820
Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Feb 05, 202036:33
Making Time for Professional Development

Making Time for Professional Development

Show Notes:

On this episode of The Librarian's Guide to Teaching, Amanda and Jessica talk with Bonnie Lafazan, Library Director of the Berkeley College Woodbridge Campus and current member of the ACRL Professional Development Committee and the ACRL Conference 2020 Committee. They chat about the importance of the various levels of professional development, strategies to building a culture of development and how we make time for writing and reading.

Topics & Takeaways:

  • Professional development is an important part of keeping up to date on what’s going on in librarianship as well as stretching ourselves as life-long learners.
  • We balance our professional development time between work and personal time based on what works for our lives. Amanda shares some strategies for fitting it in on a tight schedule.
  • For those interested in encouraging professional development at their institution, a variety of strategies are discussed including bringing information back from your local library organizations, giving a variety of opportunities to team members and getting input from staff members on what they want to develop.

Resources related to this episode’s theme and mentioned in the show include:

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us:

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Jan 27, 202031:48
Online Information Literacy Instruction Gets Critical

Online Information Literacy Instruction Gets Critical

NOTE: It's not your speakers! We had some technical difficulties recording this episode and we are sorry for the choppy audio!

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica discuss online instruction, including the concepts of critical digital pedagogy and open pedagogy which were suggested by a listener on Twitter! They discuss incorporating these concepts into the online environment whether in a credit-bearing course, embedded instruction or one-shots. 

Topics and Takeaways

• Critical digital pedagogy asks many of the same questions about teaching as critical pedagogy but extends the discussion into the online environment and includes questions around the use of technology itself. However, online instruction has only been practiced for 20-30 years whereas humans have been teaching and studying pedagogy for thousands of years. How do we bring what we’ve learned into the online realm in a more holistic way rather than being limited by the technology? We need to re-envision online pedagogy! 

• Open pedagogy is focused on themes of collaborative learning and inter-connected with open educational resources, open access and other forms of open education. 

• How do we adapt our one-shot instruction to “work” in this environment? What are the criteria for successful online one-shots?

 • Discussion boards are so limiting in their ability for actual discussion, engagement and assessment. And if we don’t like doing them as students or grading them as teachers, how can we expect our students to feel empowered to do them? We need a new method of creating discussion in our online classrooms. 

Links to resources discussed in this episode: There are SO many great resources on these topics - this is by no means a complete list! 

o Book: Critical Library Pedagogy Handbook by Nicole Pagowsky& Kelly McElroy (2016)

o Book: Critical Library Pedagogy in Practice by Jess Haigh & Elizabeth Brookbank (2020 - The editors just finished accepting proposals in July 2019)

o Eamon C. Tewell (2018)  The Practice and Promise of Critical Information Literacy: Academic Librarians’ Involvement in Critical Library Instruction, College & Research Libraries

o Monthly Twitter Chat: #CritLib

o Kenny Garcia (2019) Keeping Up With Critical Librarianship, ACRL (Great reference list!)

o Podcast: The Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast: Critical Instructional Design With Sean Michael Morris

o Podcast: The Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast: Small Teaching Online With Flower Darby

o Sean Michael Morris: Critical Pedagogy in the Age of Learning Management

o Open Pedagogy Notebook 

o Podcast: The Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast: Critical Open Pedagogy With Rajiv Jhangiani

• Kevin Seeber blog post on faculty collaboration

• Meredith Farkas blog series: Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 1 – Letting Go, Questioning, and Pathfinding

Thank you to the Twitter users we quoted this episode:  @melodylynn457

Here's where you can find us: https://librariansguidetoteaching.weebly.com/

This episode's theme music:

Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go 

Jan 15, 202048:27
Who will teach information literacy in the future?

Who will teach information literacy in the future?

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica discuss both the practical and theoretical ideas behind the future of information literacy. Will librarians always teach information literacy? Will it ever be fully adopted into higher ed curriculum and only taught by faculty? 

Topics Discussed & Takeaways: 

So many potential answers to these questions are institution specific depending on culture, relationships and contexts. Faculty have a lot of discipline-specific content to cover which is where their expertise lies and since librarians are the research/information experts, this should remain our responsibility. Due to institutional contexts, one-shots can’t always be replaced with a full credit course and if only taught early in their college careers, students would not receive discipline specific instruction. Librarians remain up to date on the technology of research which takes that off of the faculty. And many faculty don’t have to do research on their own so they may not want to learn all of that to teach students. Many posit that we are in a “third wave” of information literacy. Since information is our discipline area, librarians remain up to date with these changes, its impact on society and how to best approach these changes pedagogically (i.e. - ACRL Framework changes). 

Links to resources discussed in this episode (or related to the topic): 

  • “Information Literacy’s Third Wave” by Barbara Fister published on Inside Higher Ed (February 14, 2019) 
  • “Defining and teaching information literacy” by Elizabeth Dolinger in College & Research Libraries News, Vol 80, No. 1, 2019 
  • “Philosophical Shift: Teach the Faculty to Teach Information Literacy”, White Paper written by Risë L. Smith and Karl E. Mundt Library 
  • “Competencies in the Major - University of Albany” 
  • Check, Please! Digital Information Evaluation Course, by Mike Caulfield 

Thank you to the Twitter users we quoted this episode: @LibraryBon 

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from 
https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us: 

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide 

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611 

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820 

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com 

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Dec 23, 201935:18
Overcoming Classroom Management Challenges

Overcoming Classroom Management Challenges

In this episode, Amanda and Jessica discuss some of the most common classroom management challenges faced by instruction librarians and chat about strategies to overcome them. 

Topics Discussed & Takeaways: 

Instruction librarians may not have degrees in education but that doesn’t mean they can’t succeed in classroom management. 

Five areas of classroom management challenges: 

Getting and keeping students engaged 

Getting students to participate 

Engaging distracted students & keeping everyone on task 

Dealing with difficult students 

Handling technical difficulties and interruptions 

Links to resources discussed in this episode (or related to the topic): 

  • “When You Get Nothing But Crickets” from The Cult of Pedagogy (August 18, 2019) 
  • “Forty ways to survive IL instruction overload; or, how to avoid teacher burnout” by Giovanna Badia in College & Undergraduate Libraries, 2017 
  • “The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide”, Second Edition Heidi E. Buchanan and Beth A. McDonough 
  • “Classroom Management: Dealing with Difficult Students” from Brookhaven College 

Thank you to the Twitter users we quoted this episode: @Overthrowinged @WoodsieGirl 

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from 
https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us: 

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide 

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611 

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820 

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com 

Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast!

Nov 27, 201942:25
Engaging Students in the Classroom through Critical Librarianship
Nov 07, 201942:09
Can libraries be "normal"?

Can libraries be "normal"?

Show Notes:

On this episode of The Librarian's Guide to Teaching, Amanda and Jessica respond to a recent article published about academic libraries and what students really want. They also share a tweet of the week. 

***Note: The article is discussed with a bit of snark at times but we focus on positive takeaways around library assessment, institutional culture and meeting the needs of students.

This episode's theme music:
Srivastav, A. (2013). Merry Go Round [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/909-music/arnav-srivastav-merry-go

Here's where you can find us --

Podcast: @Librarian_Guide

Jessica: @LibraryGeek611

Amanda: @HistoryBuff820

Email: InfoLitTeachingPodcast@gmail.com

Oct 30, 201925:58