Developing Librarians’ Teaching Practice: A Case Study of Learning Advisors Sharing Their Knowledge

Date
2023-04-27
Authors
Harding, Rachael
McWilliams, Robyn
Bingham, Tricia
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Association for Learning Development in Higher Education
Abstract

Increasingly, tertiary librarians are required to teach as part of their role. There is recognition that ongoing professional development (PD) is required in teaching and learning as this is not generally provided as part of formal library qualifications. Using an education design-based research approach, this collaboration aimed to enhance the teaching practice of liaison librarians to enable more consistent review, planning, and design of information literacy workshops. As part of a wider PD programme for liaison librarians at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), learning advisors developed and taught three workshops. The learning advisors were chosen by the library leadership due to their teaching expertise and adaptability. They provide embedded, academic literacy support for students tailored to specific assessment guidelines and marking criteria. The aim was to share examples of learner advisor practice underpinned by relevant theory and applied directly to an information literacy context. Liaison librarians were exposed to workshop strategies to develop appropriate learning outcomes, content, and pedagogical approaches for planning ongoing teaching. They had opportunities to assess and evaluate their current knowledge and skills and consider new approaches. These sessions enabled the team to go forward with shared knowledge to guide their workshop design to create more consistent, sustainable, and measurable content. Another outcome was the co-development of workshop design principles which have been applied to the redevelopment of workshops. As this process is replicable, the value of sharing knowledge and expertise between teams such as learning advisors and liaison librarians is worth exploring further.

Description
Keywords
3901 Curriculum and Pedagogy , 46 Information and Computing Sciences , 39 Education , 4610 Library and Information Studies , information literacy; professional development; learning advisors; academic libraries; liasion librarians; teaching practice
Source
Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, ISSN: 1759-667X (Print); 1759-667X (Online), Association for Learning Development in Higher Education, (27). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.vi27.1007
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