Introduction
Academic Library
Instruction has grown dramatically in current times. What was once a card
catalog of librarians searching for and delivering specific books to students
has become an online experience of self service, utilizing all information
formats for research purposes. With reference services changing, the need for
accurate instruction of library services and research skill development has
changed as well. Instruction librarians use many different teaching methods for
their students, both in one-shot instruction and in long-term instruction.
In current times, these
different methods have taken a more active role rather than lecture based.
Since the late 1800’s, library instructors have noted how lecture-based
learning has failed students. “The assumption that library instruction should
be lectured based probably has driven the opposition of many academic
librarians to library instruction. After all, if lecturing to students about
library use does not work, why do it? (Lorenzen, 2001).” Instead, many academic
libraries are turning toward active learning in the library classroom for
instruction purposes.
What is Active Learning?
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Active learning, in essence, employs instructional methods
opposite to that of passive learning. Passive learning teaching style engages a
lecture-based learning with heavy note taking and memorization. It relies
strictly on a one-way learning from teacher to student (Holderied, 2011).
Active learning, on the other hand, “has struck a chord with educators for the
way that it enables instructors to accommodate varying learning styles and
encourage active participation of students” (Bonwell and Eison, 1991). It takes
the student beyond the role of the listener and engages them to be more
proactive in their learning. By employing a variety of techniques, including
small group discussion, hands-on activity, and role playing, the students
become involved in discovering for themselves the answers to their research and
library needs. This allows them to have the first-hand knowledge of the
necessary skills and the ability to utilize them in their academic careers.
The
push for active learning in the library classroom in modern times have come
from three voices. In 1991, David Johnson, Roger Johnson, and Karl Smith wrote
a book entitled “Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom” and
began their campaign promoting active learning as an essential part of library
instruction. Their findings revealed that students have trouble focusing on
lectures and that their focus weakens over the time period of the class. They
also found that students found lectures, frankly, boring. Lectures might
promote the rote memorization of facts but do not utilize a student’s higher
functioning such as their analyzing and synthesizing skills (Lorenzen, 2001).
Drueke and the One-Shot Active Instruction
In 1992, J.
Drueke wrote an article entitled “Active Learning in the University
Library Instruction Classroom.” Within the article, he notes
four barriers of active learning in the library setting. For one, librarians
usually see a group of students only once and are not their usual teachers.
This ‘one-shot’ instruction makes it difficult to fit all the necessary ideas
into the short time frame without lecturing. Students also find librarians to
not be a source of information because they are not their usual teachers. This
creates a sort of mental block from forming the information presented to them
during the instruction. Another barrier is the sheer lack of time to cover all
the material necessary in these ‘one-shot’ instruction. Many librarians feel
that an active learning approach will take away precious time that is needed to
actually teach the material. Finally, the instruction librarian does not have
total control of the class and their material. The primary teacher usually
comes into the instruction time with requirements and suggestions of topics to
cover, putting the librarian in a more subordinate teaching role. The materials
covered would, in theory, be controlled completely by the library instructor.
However, any good library instructor would know to structure their teachings to
fit the needs of the students.
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Another large
obstacle is the instruction librarian’s reluctance to employ active learning in
the classroom.
C. E. Mabry said: I
found, however, that the instructor's first step in applying cooperative
learning techniques involves rethinking his/her role in the classroom. It is
not easy to give up lecture time in a 50 minute BI session. But one of the
primary tenets of cooperative learning is that, if instructors are prepared to
give up some control, students will learn more and retain that knowledge
longer. (p 183)
In
order to combat this lack of control and the desire to stay with the
lecture-based learning, Drueke came up with nine strategies of active learning
for librarians:
I. Talking informally with students as they arrived for class.
2. Expecting that students would participate and acting accordingly.
3. Arranging the classroom to encourage participation including putting
chairs in a cluster or circle.
4. Using small group discussion, questioning, and writing to allow for
non-threatening methods of student participation.
5. Giving students time to give responses, do not rush them.
6. Rewarding students for participating by praising them or paraphrasing
what they say.
7. Reducing anonymity by introducing yourself and asking the students for
their names. Ask the class to relate previous library experiences as you do this.
8. Drawing the students into discussions by showing the relevance of the
library to their studies.
9. Allowing students time to ask questions at the end of class.
These
strategies, when utilized by the librarian, show that a little effort can turn
a one-shot library instruction into an active library experience. Employing
these tactics can improve the students’ instruction quality and their learning
outcome.
Conclusion
Active
learning can take a student from a role of a listener into that of an initiator
in their own learning. This can dramatically affect the amount of information
retained from library instruction, particularly in one-shot classes which most
academic libraries now employ. With active learning, students are engaged in
their own education. With a bit of work to their curriculum and teaching style,
librar
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References
Bonwell, C.C. and Eison,
J.A. (1991). Active learning: creating excitement in the classroom. Washington
DC: The George Washington University (Eric Clearinghouse on Higher Education).
Drueke, J. (1992). Active
learning in the university library instruction classroom. Research Strategies, 10(Spring), pp. 77-83.
Holderied, A. (2011).
Instructional design for the active: Employing interactive technologies and
active learning exercises to enhance library instruction. Journal of
Information Literacy, 5(1), 23-32.
Johnson, D., Johnson. R.
and Smith. K. (1991). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina,
MN: Interaction Books.
Lorenzen, Michael.
(2001). Active Learning and Library Instruction. Illinois Libraries, 83(2),
19-24.
Mabnv. C. E. (1995). Using cooperative learning
principles in BI. Research strategies, 13(Summer),182-185.
