Networking...Pay it forward

I've been really lucky to have supervisors who have helped me begin networking.  One of my former bosses was well connected and put me in touch with an administrator at a nearby library.  Immediately after the initial email introduction, I emailed the contact and expressed interest in visiting the library and observing instruction.  As this was over the summer, I received a prompt reply with an invitation to come sometime in the fall, when more classes would be happening.

And.... it's fall.  Of course the semester caught up to me, and I realized I'd better not lose this contact by getting back in touch too late.  So, Sunday afternoon I sent the message, and Monday morning I had a reply in my inbox by the time I got to my email.  By today, a Thursday, I have a visit set up, including observation and at least one meeting.

There are a couple lessons I've learned from this situation. 

1)  It doesn't hurt to ask: Before my old supervisor left her job, we discussed my future and she immediately put me in touch with those she knew in the area.  Had I been afraid to have this conversation, or afraid to email the administrator, this opportunity would not have happened.

2)  Pay it forward: Besides for the good of the profession, there is no good reason for this administrator (who must be VERY busy) to go out of her way to not only contact me initially but also to respond within 24 hours to a request from me.  I believe that people are inherently good and that it would be hard to turn down a student who wants to visit your library, but I also have to believe that there is a sort of "pay-it-forward" attitude that led to my success in getting this visit set up.  And, really, it all is for the good of the profession.  Presumably, this administrator and my former boss have been in contact and have helped each other in various capacities during their careers; attending to my request for a visit was one way that the administrator paid forward something my former supervisor may have done for her.  To me, this is a wonderful example of networking - knowing you can contact colleagues and make "asks" while being assured that they would do the same for you in a heartbeat.

I'm very lucky with the colleagues I have here at UM, and I will remember these experiences as I move forward in my career to continue to strengthen the library field.

And, We're Back! Realizing and Balancing Capacity

It's been a while... for the last time... I promise.  Last I wrote, it was August, right before the madness that is grad school/work.  Now, school has started and work is in full swing.  A colleague in my same position tonight asked, "how many hours are you working this week?" and my number equaled his and we both said, "too much."  It's not that I mind working a lot, because really, the past month has been amazing.  It's more about taking the time to have time for a bit of reflection and knowing my capacity to do things well as opposed to just doing them.

Between last Tuesday and next Tuesday (7 days), I'll have taught 5 workshops.  Whew.  Might not sound like a lot (and I know people teach that much all the time) but what I didn't consider prior to committing to instruct was the prep time.  Now I've taught before, and prepped before, but usually one workshop a month.  Not two a day :)  So, the reflection part of this - AND - the prep part of this all tie nicely into my thinking about capacity.  I know that in order to be a good instructor, prep time is key.  And, that reflection time is key.  And both of those take time.  Luckily, instructing is my job, and my job relates directly to one of my classes (Information Literacy) where part of my requirements are to observe and, ahem, instruct.  So this is actually all great experience.  But looking back on September (wait, what?  September is over?), I realized that most of what I'd done was prep and teach.  Which is good, but I didn't get much else done (homework, wait, what?). 

So, back to capacity - what is the balance between doing a lot and doing well?

I felt over capacity at work last month.  But then I started reflecting; during the last month, I think I became a better instructor.  It felt at the time like I was doing too much, but in reality, I think I was doing the right things too much.  It felt like I was just flying at an unreasonable pace, but that fast pace actually allowed me to not over think or get nervous, but rather just to do my job.  Prep, instruct, prep, instruct.  Reflect, prep, instruct.  And then, all of a sudden, I'm comfortable instructing.  Not that it didn't take hard work, it was just hard to see how that hard work payed off until the reflection came.

So, back to capacity - in the end, I've realized that doing the right things a lot can be very valuable, but that reflecting on that experience is just as important.  My prior knowledge of instruction, paired with my whirlwind month of September did  help me realize that teaching 5 classes in 7 days is not sustainable, but that now I can feel more comfortable teaching in general and helped me realize that I need to reflect to evaluate, learn, and move forward to continue gaining new skills.

Instruction, Instruction, Instruction (and..... we're back!)

I did the bad blogging thing, I dropped off for several weeks and am now diving back in with the hopes that my few gentle readers will forgive me and again read my posts. 

Interestingly enough, my last post talked about how I was thinking about starting my next instruction project with a colleague and between then and now, we not only taught one workshop but are gearing up for our second on Monday!

The first workshop we taught was on RefWorks, a bibliographic management tool.  We ended up following through on simultaneously editing a Google doc, each creating our own specific outline, and then practicing once before the workshop together.  Of course we each prepared on our own, but knowing that we worked well together, the one practice together was enough.  And the workshop went well!  It was a program we were both fairly familiar with so we were able to get smoothly through the tech parts and trade off well.  Another great part of practicing, at least, was working with my colleagues.  We were able to provide ample and productive feed back to one another both during the practice session and after the workshop which was helpful.  It was also helpful that we are both very able to take constructive criticism so that we could help each other improve.

Monday is our next teaching session, this time on instructing Microsoft Word for Dissertation.  This program is quite a bit more complicated and there are always things that can go wrong with not a lot of explanation.  Because the first session went so well, we decided to use the same planning method as last time.  EXCEPT, we practiced more.  We have had different levels of feedback during each session - all of which have been very helpful in thinking about our session on Monday.  It's been very useful to have the different levels of feedback; by levels I mean our levels of preparation paired with different levels of novice/experts. 

During our first practice session, an expert in instruction and Word for Diss helped us through and showed us how she generally teaches the workshop (effectively).  It was so useful to have this during our first run through because we inevitably forgot content or needed refreshers on the "why" we do this or that.  During our final practice session, we had observers who were less knowledgeable about the program (though still experts compared to the workshop constituents) and who were not experienced in instruction.  Their feedback on the content specifically was very helpful.

This planning workshops thing is getting easier, but no matter how experienced I get, I'll always remember the planning process, and even more importantly as I move forward, the evaluations.

Getting evaluations from the first workshop (which only had a few people) was very exciting because no matter how we thought we did, if our participants didn't learn something, our workshop was less successful.  In the future, after I have more of the workshop content and know-how down, I think it would be interesting to re-look at the evaluations and see if there are questions I'd like to incorporate or take out.  All comes in time, but this instruction thing is pretty interesting.

Oh, and happy summer!

Not even going to go there... and here's why.

So, if you are knowledgeable about the "information world," or follow any librarians on Twitter or in the blogosphere, you've most likely seen something about Seth Godin's Monday blog post on "The Future of the Library."  I happened to read this on Monday, and on Tuesday my Twitter feed was full of remarks, comments, posts, responses, criticisms, and so on.

When I originally read the post, I bookmarked it to comment on in my blog this week.  However, after seeing the uproar on Tuesday, I think I learned a valuable lesson... the easy way?  I'd wanted to analyze this blog post, remark on my agreements and disagreements, provide my thoughts on the future of the library.  But then I thought about my credibility.  Just starting to put myself out there, it could be a huge mistake, I realized, to comment on this article without reading responses of my colleagues and those in my networks.  If I want to be viewed in the information and education world as a reliable and innovative source, I absolutely cannot repeat what those who are very visible have already said without adding something new.

Yes, I have thoughts on Seth Godin's blog post.  Yes, they are thought out.  And yes, they've probably already been hashed out somewhere in this vast digital space.  I just cannot, therefore, justify creating a passionate post that ignores what others in the field are saying. 

To me, part of being a strong, successful professional is considering what my colleagues are saying - whether I agree or disagree.  To ignore these people would be to ignore the fact that we all need to work together - on some level - for the success of our field.  To ignore my colleagues would be to ignore what they have learned in their institutions, from their patrons, and from their experience. 


So, before I go running my mouth (or fingers, in this case) about what I  think, I need to consider what others think.  And, I'm realizing that that takes time, energy, thought, and more time.  To all you who do this consistently - kudos.  And to myself, lesson learned.

How People Learn - Chapters 1 & 2

Chapter 1 Summary:

 The study of psychology in learning is so important to understanding how people learn.  The field of cognitive science is imperative to our learning and understanding of human development and, further, understanding of how different types of people best learn and understand.  Without knowing how our complex brain processes knowledge, we cannot fully understand and facilitate learning. 

Many curricula currently emphasize memory over true understanding.  It often asks students to recite facts instead of understanding why the fact is important or relevant.  Research shows, however, that being knowledgeable is more than knowing facts, and that those who are knowledgeable are more likely to be good problem solvers.  Thus, it is important to recognize that learners come to their learning environment with prior knowledge.  Even infants different in the amount of prior knowledge they bring to each new experience (for example whether or not their parents read or talk to them frequently).  By the time a child goes to school, then, there are varying levels of prior knowledge students bring to the table.  Some of this prior knowledge might even be wrong (e.g. that the world is flat).  Therefore, it is important for teachers to allow students to both construct their own knowledge and take control of their own learning, but also recognize that sometimes they will need to "teach by telling," particularly when students bring incorrect prior knowledge to the classroom.  Teachers need to see and allow students to become invested in their own work, integrating real world skills with facts and deep analysis of knowledge (as did teacher C).

Research of Key Findings:

1) Students come to school with preconceptions, if their initial understanding isn't engaged, they may fail to grasp concepts and may learn for a test without really understanding the material: students have different levels of (correct and not correct) understanding.

2) To develop competence students must have a deep understanding of facts, understand the facts in a conceptual framework and organize the knowledge to facilitate retrieval and application: they need to be able to see patterns, generate arguments and explanations etc., experts have not necessarily better memory but better ways to think about info.  For example, it is easier for students to understand a map when they have traveled to the place the map describes. 

3) A metacogntive approach to instruction can help students take control of their learning by defining goals and monitoring own progress: children should learn this, incorporated with their other learning

Key Findings Implications for Teaching

1) Teachers should draw out and work with the preexisting understanding's of their students: students aren't empty when they come to school - teachers should learn their how their students think.  Roles of assessment must be expanded beyond testing into formative assessments where students, their peers and teachers can all see progress.  Schools of education must allow beginning teachers to learn this and to recognize predictable preconceptions of students, and draw out preconceptions and work with them.  

2) Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth providing examples of concepts and a firm foundation of factual knowledge:  Teachers should teach in depth knowledge of fewer subjects instead of broad coverage of many topics.  Teachers must have in depth knowledge themselves and they must know how their students are thinking and learning.  Assessment must go beyond accountability - assessments must test deep understanding rather than facts.  Here, depth can be looked at as objectivity but teachers need to find the balance.  

3)  Teaching of metacongitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum: this can enhance student achievement.  

Teaching strategies: inquiry based, text based, lecture based, tech enhanced, teaching organized around individuals rather than cooperative -- asking which is best is not good/  Teachers should focus on the task at hand PLUS the available materials. There is no universal best practice; variety based on subject is good.  

The implications this has for designing classroom environments is large. 

1) Classrooms should be learner centered: it should focus on the knowledge skills and attitudes their learners bring, cultural differences, what it means to be intelligent.  Teachers in a learner-centered classroom pay more attention to their students' individual progress and devise appropriate tasks.

2) To provide a knowledge centered classroom environment, attention must be given to what is taught, why and what the competence looks like: harder than rote learning, must look beyond engagement.  

3) Formative, ongoing assessments are essential, help teachers to understand where their students are in the learning process: students should be able to revise their work and see their own progress. 

4) Learning is influenced by the context in which it takes place - community centered approach requires development of norms for classroom as well as connections to the outside world: this approach helps students care about and solve problems with each other, create a community of learning.

Interestingly enough, these techniques are often not applied to adult learning: teacher professional development is often not learner or knowledge centered, not assessment centered, and not community centered.

My Reflections:

My experiences facilitating creative writing and theater in a Detroit High School really brought this out for me.  Some of the students came to the workshop with very intense experiences and all brought unique points of view.  My co-facilitator and I worked within what the students already knew about writing and "poetry" and let them think independently about the best way for them to learn and experience our version of creative writing.  Through building trust and building off what the students knew, the workshop was successful.

Based on what I have seen from other library workshops, a little effort is placed on prior knowledge (don't sign up for something you already know) and the instructors often ask what people do already know and want to learn.  Because these are often one-time things, the instructors mostly teach off a script, but sometimes divert when necessary.  It seems different techniques should be used for semester-long and year-long learning vs. one-time workshops.  

Chapter 2 Summary:

Experts can think effectively about different problems.  To be an expert is not just to have higher levels of memory or intelligence, but to have acquired extensive knowledge that affects what is noticed and how information is organized and interpreted.  Experts notice features and patterns not noticed by novices; have acquired organized content that reflects deep understanding; their knowledge is conditionalized; they can retrieve aspects of their knowledge with little effort; know their disciplines thoroughly; and they can approach new situations in a variety of ways.

Patterns:  experts can see meaningful information (not just all of it), can chunk together that information and organize it.  

Organization of knowledge: knowledge is organized around big ideas, and how those apply to specific situations.  Experts look at the whole picture and think about the best approach to the problem solving.  Novices focus on specific properties and formulas instead of why and how those exist in the larger picture. Curricula should be organized in ways that lead to conceptual understanding.

Context and access to knowledge: experts can retrieve relevant knowledge.  Students should learn how to do this.  

Fluent retrieval:  people should learn to recognize problem types in particular domains so that appropriate solutions can easily be retrieved.  

Experts and teaching: sometimes experts aren't good at teaching because they forget that students do not know everything they know (i.e. what is difficult and easy for students). 

Adaptive expertise: educators need to think about whether one way of organizing information is better than another way in order for people to be flexible to new situations.  Metacognition is an important part of this. 

My Reflections:

The last tech class that I attended was focused toward novices.  The class was focused on Dreamweaver, a web page-making software, and was part of the University Library tech workshops.  The students had individually signed up for the class, and were coming to the class having different levels of prior knowledge.  But, since the course was about the basics of Dreamweaver, the instructors basically taught just that.  It was a class for novices, designed for novices and worked for novices.  The library has carefully designed their workshops for this purpose.  

However, the classes and professors I've always liked best (outside of one-time workshops) truly do focus on prior knowledge and what each person in the room brings from their own experiences and levels of learning.  They focus on deep knowledge and understanding of topics, and have helped me think about how what I'm learning will affect the big picture.  This class, for example, focuses on how learning and professional practices will be important in my everyday career.  I am not planning to be a teacher, where that might all seem obvious, but I am planning to work with people, and what I know about professional practices and how people learn will affect what I do with people everyday.  I will consider prior knowledge, learner centered education, and what I know about experts and novices when I am assisting someone with software, at the reference desk or in an instructional setting.  For instance, if I am at the reference desk of a library, and a student asks a question, I will first ask about their prior knowledge (and determine if they are an expert of novice) and also consider how they can best learn how to find the answer on their own (by showing them how to use the different resources available to them).