Instruction Retreat 2018
In July 2018, I led a retreat of the Instruction Committee, including librarians from the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Latin American Library, and Matas Health Sciences Library.
Agenda, Welcome & Goals
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In the Welcome, I referenced the "Roles and Strengths of Teaching Librarians," from the ACRL website:
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/teachinglibrarians
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/teachinglibrarians
Values and Motivation
The first section of the retreat, following the goals for the retreat, was a Values & Motivation activity. Participants were asked to use value cards to determine what values motivate them in their instruction and work at Tulane and then reflect on what they discovered in the activity and how their motivations (and values) can impact their instruction and communication with others.
This activity was used in the "Discovering the Leader in You" workshop as part of the Empowered Supervisor training series at Wright State University. I slightly adapted it for use in the Instruction Retreat.
This activity was used in the "Discovering the Leader in You" workshop as part of the Empowered Supervisor training series at Wright State University. I slightly adapted it for use in the Instruction Retreat.
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Communication Styles
The second activity of the retreat involved the Merrill and Reid Social Styles Communication Style Inventory. This was adapted from the "Communication Styles and Skills for Supervisors" Empowered Supervisor training offered by Wright State University.
The Merrill & Reid Social Styles Communication Style focuses on the questions that drive people - "how," "what," why," and "who?" They break down types of people into Analyticals, Drivers, Amiables, and Expressives based on their assertiveness and responsiveness.
Participants discussed how accurately they felt their styles described them and how they can adapt advice from Gory A. Williams and Robert B. Miller's "Change the Way You Persuade" to their instruction.
The Merrill & Reid Social Styles Communication Style focuses on the questions that drive people - "how," "what," why," and "who?" They break down types of people into Analyticals, Drivers, Amiables, and Expressives based on their assertiveness and responsiveness.
Participants discussed how accurately they felt their styles described them and how they can adapt advice from Gory A. Williams and Robert B. Miller's "Change the Way You Persuade" to their instruction.
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Goal Setting
After the two activities above, and a well deserved break, the final activity before lunch was a Goal Setting activity.
Participants were asked to use color coded Post-Its to reflect on goals that the instruction committee would like to accomplish:
Participants were asked to use color coded Post-Its to reflect on goals that the instruction committee would like to accomplish:
- By the end of the summer
- By the end of fall semester
- By the end of the 2018-2019 school year
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Instruction Program Learning Outcomes
After lunch, the afternoon discussion focused on our current learning outcomes across Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Matas, and Special Collections.
The primary activity for this involved each outcome written on a label that participants sorted individually into the following categories:
The primary activity for this involved each outcome written on a label that participants sorted individually into the following categories:
- Which learning outcomes have you used recently in your instruction?
- Which learning outcomes are you planning to use (but haven't used recently) in your instruction?
- Which learning outcomes are you not using in your instruction?
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After looking at all of our current learning outcomes and organizing them, we looked at some other learning outcomes from other institutions, including:
Along with the learning outcomes from other institutions, we also looked at a few other resources as we consider the evolution of our own learning outcomes:
- The Association of American College & Universities
- Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries
- LSU Libraries
- University of Kentucky Libraries
- ZSR Library at Wake Forest University
- Wright State University Libraries
Along with the learning outcomes from other institutions, we also looked at a few other resources as we consider the evolution of our own learning outcomes:
- The Tulane Mission Statement
- The ACRL Framework
- The ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education
- Bloom's Taxonomy
- The ARCS model