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In library instruction, we have a lot of challenges with the limited time we have with the students.
And in that time, you have to engage students, convince them of why what we are teaching
them is relevant to the work they are completing and get them interested and excited. I felt
like the flipped classroom, which is the innovation that I tried out in our library instruction,
really addressed those issues. So in the flipped classroom, we try and give lecture information
or that more passive learning to students outside of class through some electronic means
like, perhaps a recorded lecture and then they can come into class and engage in active
learning while the instructor is there. So, the instructor can intervene if the students
aren't really getting concepts, or they can help them figure out how to more deeply engage
with a concept and students can work together on that too. I expected that students would
also take on a little more responsibility for their own learning because they have to
complete work outside of class then, when they are in class, they're a lot more engaged
with whats happening so a lot of their learning they are responsible for. But, I was also
pleasantly surprised that students did complete work that they were asked to do outside of
class before coming to a library session which is not something that librarians usually ask
students to do. But, in this case by and large, students did actually do that. I think that
the pilot that we tried in the library and my experience planning flipping the classrooms
taught me a lot about teaching in general as a new instructor. I am constantly learning
that anything new takes a lot of time to plan. That every single learning scenario is different
and learning environments can vary so much that what might really work well in one library
instruction session, is just not suited for another. Also, we have a new teaching space
in the library which has large screen computers that students can work at in groups and iPads
for students to use so I've been challenged to figure out, along with the other instruction
librarians how that can work really well with library instruction.