Description of the Library Instruction Space
Reed Library's Temporary Classroom:
Our temporary classroom is located on the first floor, in the Addition to Reed Library. The classroom will comfortably seat up to 40 students. If a class has more than 40 students, a librarian will travel to the regular classroom to teach library instruction. The room is adaptable, containing mobile tables and chairs, which provides increased opportunity for the facilitation of hands-on cooperative learning activities.
Available Technologies:
- 20 laptop computers
- Wireless connection
- Netsupport School - A software that allows teachers to centrally control student computers, by locking computers and broadcasting the teacher's screen to each computer on the network. It enhances a student's ability to follow along with the discussion, and allows teachers increased flexibility for structuring their classes.
- Mobile Presentation Unit: Allows interactive wireless teaching from any point in the room.
- CPS - Classroom Performance System software is a remote controlled paddle system that provides opportunities for active learning and assessment in the classroom along with 100% student engagement.
What to expect:
- Curriculum - Integrated Instruction: Each of our library instruction classes is tailored to a specific research assignment or course curriculum. We will meet with professors individually to design classes and resources that will be the most beneficial to the students in their course. We have found through experience, that library instruction is the most beneficial to students when the skills they acquire can be applied to an immediate need, such as a research assignment or a specific research skill needed to succeed in a course.
- Active Learning: As teachers we strive to appeal to different types of learners by enhancing our classes using a variety of teaching strategies and hands-on activities. The classes utilize cooperative learning strategies, lecture, and one-on-one instruction. We use a variety of technologies such as laptops, Netsupport School, a SMART Board, and a CPS system to enhance and diversify instruction and provide additional opportunities for active learning in the classroom.
- Information Literacy: Aside from the immediate research needs of a student, we attempt to teach students to become independent life-long learners by teaching students to locate, evaluate, and constructively utilize information.
Class Structures:
The structure of our classes varies depending on the length of a class, and nature of the assignment we are teaching to. It is always helpful to have more than one class period to work with students, so if at all possible, we recommend that professors bring their students for mutliple library instruction classes.
- Types of Class Activities: These classes may include activities where students use the laptops to evaluate a website, explore the databases, or brainstorm a topic for their research. The classes provide students with a brief introduction to the resources and services we provide through our library website. The classes also include a detailed explanation of the online databases or resources that are appropriate for the students' research assignment. The classes usually include hands-on activities in which students have a chance to work in groups to explore their topics in the databases. Students are often asked to present back to the class, sharing the details of their search strategy. Time permitting, we often use the Classroom Performance System paddles to play a Jeporardy like-game to reinforce the skills that students learned during class. These are just a few possibilities of the types of activities you would find in a library instruction class.
Addtional Services:
Beyond the classroom we may provide additional instruction through ANGEL. Examples include participating in continued dialog with students throughout the semester using an electronic discussion board, creating of assignments for professors that can be integrated into the curriculum to help students perform successful research, creating specialized resources that students can utilize throughout the semeseter, and offering one-on-one research appointments for students. Please contact us if you have a special request.