Jen Hoyer, Instructor, Technical Services and Electronic Resources Librarian published “Redesigning Program Assessment for Teaching with Primary Sources: Understanding the Impacts of Our Work” in American Archivist, the premiere journal in the specialty of archives. Her article is freely available to read in Academic Works.
In 2-3 sentences, describe your scholarship or creative work to someone unfamiliar with the field.
This article looks at instruction in archives and special collections addresses some big picture questions while also looking at exciting, program-specific findings that are hopefully replicable in other settings. The larger question framing our work was: if we redesign the assessment protocols we use to evaluate our instruction programs, will that make a difference? The answer was a resounding “yes,” and we demonstrated that by sharing a redesign assessment protocol that others can use and adapt for their own instruction work.
What makes you particularly proud of this work?
I’m proud of this work because, in the field of teaching with primary sources amongst archivists and librarians, there’s been a real desire for more serious conversations about assessment but we’ve struggled to find our footing. I hope that this work is a step forward, and a step that others can build on.
