Previous: Statement of Teaching Philosophy
-Information literacy handout & plagiarism review
The library instruction team utilize a series of handouts that I make use of in my information literacy sessions, guest lectures and in my credit bearing course. These cover skills like boolean searching, general keyword choice advice, sentence structure, transitions and more. I have also incorporated a plagiarism review which included the use of web tools that provide examples, solutions, and explanations of why the example is or is not plagiarism.
–Handouts
–Online Tool
-In class discussion & research activities
Though I prepare well before all in-class interactions, oftentimes class discussion can lead us in another direction. This is the most exciting and gratifying time in the classroom, when students take me where they want to go. Bouncing back and forth between our discussions, print handouts and internet searching is has lead to some truly fruitful interactions and a deeper understanding of how to avoid writing and research pitfalls and make use of library resources. We go through the aforementioned handouts together, with students calling out answers as we move through the examples.
-Lectures, readings, quizzes, responses & discussion board replies
I used quiz questions and discussion board topics to gauge how closely students read the assigned readings and attended to the lectures. As the course was online and asynchronous, these recorded lectures, short answer quizzes, short weekly writing responses and discussion board replies took the place of in-class discussion.
For teaching opportunities beyond the traditional classroom, some of the same tools are used. In-class discussion and research activities form the basis of these interactions. Utilizing a minimal presentation to anchor the discussion with visuals and bullet points to direct the conversation creates a frame for learning and sharing. I find that this method works as well for workshops for colleagues as it does high school students enrolled in College Now courses. By creating a touchstone for myself via coure prep, but leaving room for spontaneity, I can be both relaxed and effective.
