As library instructors we all have a natural tendency to rely on methods, content and activities that are comfortable and familiar to us. Backward design helps counter this tendency and ensures that we think of the students first. The main question driving instruction becomes: what do students need to learn and be able to do by the end of the session?
On Friday January 13 Breanna Hamm and Alexandra Stark gave an excellent presentation, sponsored by Instructor College about backward design in...
This fall, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a special report, “Diversity in Academe: Transgender on Campus.” Touching on topics from pronouns to restrooms, the report issued a call to provide equal access to transgender students on college campuses with an emphasis on creating safe environments in which all students may thrive. Student interviews captured in a powerful video can prompt us to think about providing safe and inclusive classroom environments for library instruction as well.
I'm going to start out by saying, and I hope I don't jinx this, but -- we've got it pretty good. As the University of Michigan begins it's migration from Sakai to Canvas in earnest this year, representatives of the University Library have been welcomed into development conversations and have been given considerable agency to cultivate our presence in the new teaching and learning environment.
Nandita Mani, Ph.D., led an engaging conversation on Design and Development Considerations for Flipping Instruction with faculty and staff from the library on April 23, 2015. This well-attended session covered an overview and history of flipped classrooms, multiple group activities, and thought provoking take-home questions.
In an effort to focus more attention on engaged learning opportunities at Michigan, several librarians and library staff recently curated an exhibit called Learning in “Real Life”: Stories of Impact Through Engagement, which showcases thirteen courses and projects along a spectrum of engagement that emphasize practice and feature experiential, action-based learning, often in authentic settings and with real-world partners and parameters. Two projects in particular feature collaborations between...
In higher education over the last several years, interest in and momentum around engaged learning has grown substantially, although engaged learning is by no means a new approach to skill and knowledge development. As a pedagogical approach, engaged learning foregrounds lived experience and emphasizes practice in authentic settings—often bridging curricular and co-curricular, classroom and clinic, local and global—to enable learners to develop effective habits of thought and action that will...
As UM begins its third pilot term with Canvas by Instructure.com, it's nice to see "Librarian" show up on the dropdown list of roles available in the People section at a site. I shouldn't be surprised to see it there; I've been consulting with the fine folks on ITS for the last month. Still, it seems monumental.
