Happy Open Access Week! Here at the UM Library (where I work part-time), we had two formal events - one small and one large - to celebrate this week of scholarship, information sharing, and participation in open resources. Open Access Week is, "a global event now entering its fourth year, [...and...] an opportunity for the
academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential
benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues,
and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a
new norm in scholarship and research" (openaccessweek.org).
On Tuesday, we did just that. In partnership with the Copyright Office and MPublishing, I organized a brown bag event to bring together people from all positions in the library to discuss open access, what it means to them, and what it means to higher education and scholarly communication. It was a fairly "easy" event to organize - people from Copyright and MPublishing were more than happy to work with me, and we publicized in the library newsletter and via email to the library. The turnout was perfect for a discussion - we had several folks from different libraries (some librarians, some staff) and several people from the partnering offices. It was an incredible opportunity to hear people directly related to open access issues converse amongst themselves as well as with those of us not quite as familiar with the topic.
For people looking to host events or raise awareness, my experience organizing a brown bag showed me that it was a great way to bring people together to have discussions about issues. It's informal, but provides a space for people to talk - which is often what's needed to start a conversation. Plus, as the organizer, you get to interact with and learn about a subject or topic that you're interested in. Open Access week was a great way to make this happen here.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Starting the search
As November is upon us, April seems far away. That is, until I remember that that is the month in which I will graduate with an MSI, and will want to be employed by then or soon thereafter.
So the job search is upon me, and the idea of it is looming heavier week by week. Of course, I've already set aside time to look for and apply to jobs but, of course, somehow those hours get pushed away by homework, work, instruction prep time, or any other number of things that come up.
But it's time to focus - and focus, for me, happens with motivation. Motivation for the job search happens when I see positions that I want, and want badly. This week, there happen to be three jobs - in the Ann Arbor area - that would be great. There's one that I'm pretty excited about, and the other two are jobs that I could see being extremely fulfilling. I can't be picky as I want to stay in this wonderful state of Michigan and, preferably, in this area, but I don't want to "waste" my investment from graduate school by taking a position with which I won't be satisfied.
That's the balance - wanting (needing) a job but not wanting to settle. Any tips for finding this balance, applying to jobs, (or any leads on job openings!) would be more than welcome....
So the job search is upon me, and the idea of it is looming heavier week by week. Of course, I've already set aside time to look for and apply to jobs but, of course, somehow those hours get pushed away by homework, work, instruction prep time, or any other number of things that come up.
But it's time to focus - and focus, for me, happens with motivation. Motivation for the job search happens when I see positions that I want, and want badly. This week, there happen to be three jobs - in the Ann Arbor area - that would be great. There's one that I'm pretty excited about, and the other two are jobs that I could see being extremely fulfilling. I can't be picky as I want to stay in this wonderful state of Michigan and, preferably, in this area, but I don't want to "waste" my investment from graduate school by taking a position with which I won't be satisfied.
That's the balance - wanting (needing) a job but not wanting to settle. Any tips for finding this balance, applying to jobs, (or any leads on job openings!) would be more than welcome....
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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.... 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.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Pure Observation
And it's Thursday again, and we're back. It's been another intense week, but a very good one. A colleague and I taught our second iteration of a Dissertation workshop, and it was awesome just how easily and effectively we were able to work together. Fantastic!
The real highlight of this week, though, was my observation a class. Pure, simple observation. It's been a long time since I sat in a classroom without floating or teaching, so it was a great time to actually reflect on instructional practices without actually being involved.
This experience helped me realize that pure observation can lead to a different type of reflection than I talked about last week, when I was reflecting on my own teaching. The observation of others allowed me to step outside myself and think about the instructional practices instead of how I, personally, was instructing. It helped me focus on the content and praxis of the lesson, and how students reacted to it. When I was reflecting on my teaching, I had been using a prescribed lesson plan, so most of my reflection was internalized - me thinking about how I was teaching.
After this experience, I can see now that both are extremely valuable. I could see how, as an "experienced" instructor who gets caught up in their job, one could forget to sit back and observe others. I will try to remember this experience as I move forward in my instructional career, so that I can continue to evaluate and reflect on myself as well as others to be the most effective professional possible.
The real highlight of this week, though, was my observation a class. Pure, simple observation. It's been a long time since I sat in a classroom without floating or teaching, so it was a great time to actually reflect on instructional practices without actually being involved.
This experience helped me realize that pure observation can lead to a different type of reflection than I talked about last week, when I was reflecting on my own teaching. The observation of others allowed me to step outside myself and think about the instructional practices instead of how I, personally, was instructing. It helped me focus on the content and praxis of the lesson, and how students reacted to it. When I was reflecting on my teaching, I had been using a prescribed lesson plan, so most of my reflection was internalized - me thinking about how I was teaching.
After this experience, I can see now that both are extremely valuable. I could see how, as an "experienced" instructor who gets caught up in their job, one could forget to sit back and observe others. I will try to remember this experience as I move forward in my instructional career, so that I can continue to evaluate and reflect on myself as well as others to be the most effective professional possible.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Another Interruption
It's been quite a summer. First, I threw off my few readers with not blogging for a few weeks and then I apologized and did it again. Well, to put it slightly, I am out of the office for yet another three weeks - unbeknownst to me prior to the knee surgery.
It's been interesting - trying to get back in the swing of things between when I arrived back in July knowing that I'd be leaving at least for a week in August. And, trying to cover chat shifts and work online from home in between an intensive home rehab program that literally takes as much time as a full time job. It's frustrating to not be able to work and dig into the projects that are so rapidly approaching as the year begins. It's hard to leave colleagues short-handed when so many transitions are upon us. I'm resigned to think right now that it's a part of life, and a part I'm grateful to experience as a 27-year-old grad student without a family, before the school year begins, and in the hands of very capable medical professionals. I'm resigned to think that "it happens" and that people can hopefully see the effort I'm trying to exert and that I can still be a valuable part of the library when I come back. I can only hope that at times like these people remember the other things that I've done and will still want to include me on teams, knowing I am reliable.
I actually have little doubt about these things - my co-workers and superiors are very understanding, gracious people and I can only say how lucky I am to have them as a part of my life as I resign myself to the couch 8+ hours a day instead of living the full, intensely busy life that usually is.
It's been interesting - trying to get back in the swing of things between when I arrived back in July knowing that I'd be leaving at least for a week in August. And, trying to cover chat shifts and work online from home in between an intensive home rehab program that literally takes as much time as a full time job. It's frustrating to not be able to work and dig into the projects that are so rapidly approaching as the year begins. It's hard to leave colleagues short-handed when so many transitions are upon us. I'm resigned to think right now that it's a part of life, and a part I'm grateful to experience as a 27-year-old grad student without a family, before the school year begins, and in the hands of very capable medical professionals. I'm resigned to think that "it happens" and that people can hopefully see the effort I'm trying to exert and that I can still be a valuable part of the library when I come back. I can only hope that at times like these people remember the other things that I've done and will still want to include me on teams, knowing I am reliable.
I actually have little doubt about these things - my co-workers and superiors are very understanding, gracious people and I can only say how lucky I am to have them as a part of my life as I resign myself to the couch 8+ hours a day instead of living the full, intensely busy life that usually is.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Instructional Reflections and Feedback
Last week I wrote about participating in lots of instruction over the coming week. Well, that was this week, and this week is nearly over!
On Monday, I participated in orientation workshops for incoming freshman (I did this Thursday as well), and also completed a Word for Dissertation workshop. On both occasions, I had the chance to collaborate with colleagues, which was a great experience. Co-teaching has allowed me to feel more comfortable with instruction and has also provided me with the confidence that I could probably have done both on my own if I absolutely needed to. Working with my colleagues was great, though. It was wonderful to have someone there who could help answer questions or jump in if I forgot something, however it was also simply nice to work with people whom I respect and admire.
The orientation sessions were a nice "warm up" for my later Dissertation workshop. Talk about different audiences! I went from working with 18-year-old-incoming freshman to mainly doctoral students of all ages. The freshman were tired - it was early morning and they were there because they had to be. The doctoral students were fully interested and engaged as this was something they chose to attend on their own and something they knew would be helpful throughout their long dissertation process.
The freshman orientation provided little to no feedback, other than what we could see. Some students asked great questions while others struggled to keep their eyes open. Most participated in our polls via iClicker but other than that, it was impossible to tell how effective of an instructor I was. I did receive some feedback from my co-instructors, which was helpful because they could do this presentation in their sleep and have a good deal of instructional experience.
The Word for Dissertation workshop, on the other hand, provided more and different feedback. I not only received tips from one of the facility's main instructors, but also from 7 out of the 9 workshop participants. The feedback from my instructor was very helpful - she talked about not saying things were simple or easy (because they may not be for everyone!) and also about leading into topics with analogies and in simpler terms. Extremely useful information that I can carry across my instructional experiences.
We also received feedback from the participants via an anonymous evaluation system. The numbers that we received were good - no negative feedback, a few neutrals, and mostly good. The comments, however, were one of my first lessons of criticism in the way that I could not ask for further information or could not really use the information to be constructive. I received a comment that said it looked like I was nervous and made a lot of mistakes by having to go back and repeat myself. I read this comment, and of course, felt a little bad. The same commenter had said my colleague had a nice presence about him, so he clearly did not see that same confidence in me. I did, to be completely fair, mess up right at the beginning of my transition... which probably through this person off. But it was hard to read the comment and not be able to follow up, ask what I might do better, or simply realize that the beginning of my half of the workshop was confusing for people and that I need to practice more for next time. Which I will, regardless :)
The point of this post is just a reflection on my instruction this past week. It also is a beginning thought on how we could make our assessment of the workshops better in a way that might provide more constructive feedback. I'm pretty sure that there will nearly always be "that person" or people who don't respond at all, but as I am more confident in teaching certain workshops, I would like to evaluate the assessment that goes along with them. The one-shot workshop model might be something I re-visit when this time comes.
On Monday, I participated in orientation workshops for incoming freshman (I did this Thursday as well), and also completed a Word for Dissertation workshop. On both occasions, I had the chance to collaborate with colleagues, which was a great experience. Co-teaching has allowed me to feel more comfortable with instruction and has also provided me with the confidence that I could probably have done both on my own if I absolutely needed to. Working with my colleagues was great, though. It was wonderful to have someone there who could help answer questions or jump in if I forgot something, however it was also simply nice to work with people whom I respect and admire.
The orientation sessions were a nice "warm up" for my later Dissertation workshop. Talk about different audiences! I went from working with 18-year-old-incoming freshman to mainly doctoral students of all ages. The freshman were tired - it was early morning and they were there because they had to be. The doctoral students were fully interested and engaged as this was something they chose to attend on their own and something they knew would be helpful throughout their long dissertation process.
The freshman orientation provided little to no feedback, other than what we could see. Some students asked great questions while others struggled to keep their eyes open. Most participated in our polls via iClicker but other than that, it was impossible to tell how effective of an instructor I was. I did receive some feedback from my co-instructors, which was helpful because they could do this presentation in their sleep and have a good deal of instructional experience.
The Word for Dissertation workshop, on the other hand, provided more and different feedback. I not only received tips from one of the facility's main instructors, but also from 7 out of the 9 workshop participants. The feedback from my instructor was very helpful - she talked about not saying things were simple or easy (because they may not be for everyone!) and also about leading into topics with analogies and in simpler terms. Extremely useful information that I can carry across my instructional experiences.
We also received feedback from the participants via an anonymous evaluation system. The numbers that we received were good - no negative feedback, a few neutrals, and mostly good. The comments, however, were one of my first lessons of criticism in the way that I could not ask for further information or could not really use the information to be constructive. I received a comment that said it looked like I was nervous and made a lot of mistakes by having to go back and repeat myself. I read this comment, and of course, felt a little bad. The same commenter had said my colleague had a nice presence about him, so he clearly did not see that same confidence in me. I did, to be completely fair, mess up right at the beginning of my transition... which probably through this person off. But it was hard to read the comment and not be able to follow up, ask what I might do better, or simply realize that the beginning of my half of the workshop was confusing for people and that I need to practice more for next time. Which I will, regardless :)
The point of this post is just a reflection on my instruction this past week. It also is a beginning thought on how we could make our assessment of the workshops better in a way that might provide more constructive feedback. I'm pretty sure that there will nearly always be "that person" or people who don't respond at all, but as I am more confident in teaching certain workshops, I would like to evaluate the assessment that goes along with them. The one-shot workshop model might be something I re-visit when this time comes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)