Journey from BI to IL

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Journey from BI to IL

• Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the
  Inquiry Method

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BI IL

• Goal to teach students how to find information
  in the library

• Goal to teach students to manage information
  wisely to encourage inquisitiveness to foster
  lifelong learning

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Inquiry Method Student-centered method of
education focused on asking questions

• Good learner traits

• Inquiry teacher traits

• Avoid telling students what they ought to know
• Talk to students in a questioning manner
• Encourage thoughtful answers to questions
• Encourage non-judgmental student interactions
• Lesson plan flexible/ encourages problem-solving
• Gauge success by how student inquiry behavior
  develops

• Self confidence, bolder kind of intelligence
• Pleasure in problem-solving
• Keen sense of relevance
• No fear of being wrong
• Flexible point of view
• Contemplative approach to answering
• Ability to distinguish between fact and opinion
• Comfort with the unanswered question

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My early life as a BI librarian

• BI as one-shots
• Programs CREW, business classes, applied
  psychology classes, seminar in contemporary world
  issues, MASH, education classes, radiography,
  Freshman Focus
• Dog and pony showshow and tell
• Students often getting the session two and three
  times
• Not required

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Enough is Enough

• Invited students to be the drivers
• Designed interactive sessions
• Visited classes only if they had an assignment
• Asked faculty for student questions ahead of
  class time
• Collaborated with instructional designer and
  faculty in the creation of library friendly
  assignments

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Meeting of the Minds

• Information literacy finds its rightful place
  embedded in the CORE
• Information literacy librarian is hired
• Staff librarians transformed into teaching
  librarians
• Creative juices are tapped and lesson plans are
  formed
• Collaboration in Clearspace
• Collaboration in our subject wikis and course
  wikis

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Practice makes Perfect.well, almost.

• Make lesson plans my own
• Practice on the cats
• Add my story
• Sometimes start class with a poem
• Some days are diamonds, some days are stone

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Wow, this is Challenging!

• Guide on the side rather than sage on the
  stage
• 4.5 librarians to cover ever-growing course load
• Please speak upwaiting for a voice/enduring
  silence
• I have to write on the board??
• Calling students by their namesyouve got to be
  kidding.
• May I just please show them the library
  webpageits so comforting
• Hello faculty member, where are you?....oh,
  grading papers in the back of the room ?

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Letting Go, Growing Strong

• Using inquiry to teach inquiry
• Sharing successes, failures, frustrations
• Inquiry powerful tool for teambuilding,
  collaboration, and individual development
• Vulnerability and authenticity

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Goals Expectations exercise IL program
cornerstone

• Inquiry-based encourages students to think
  about the role of information (literacy) in their
  daily lives
• Outcome combines new information with existing
  knowledge to generate new ideas and address a
  particular problem or question.
• Revolves around 3 key questions
• Where does information come from?
• What do you want the information you use to be?
• What do you expect the information you use to do
  for you?
• Real World Putting your goals expectations
  to work

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Programmatic SWOT

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Our staff
• Our faculty
• A new librarian
• Support from CORE Dean
• A lot of ideas
• Good students
• Good track record
• Inquiry method

• Number of librarians
• Size of incoming class
• Newness
• Short prep time
• A lot of ideas
• Overextending
• Classroom space
• Scheduling

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SWOT continued

• Opportunities

• Threats

• Teach a lot of classes
• Newness
• Inform faculty about IL
• More contact with faculty students
• Expand library presence
• Personal growth
• Assessment culture
• Students all four years
• Get em while theyre young
• Web 2.0

• Teach a lot of classes
• Sustain new initiatives
• Time for our individual obligations
• Burnout
• Assessment culture
• Covering program sessions
• Old BI model

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The good news is.we keep on truckin
robert crumb, zap comix, 1968
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Thank You!