Monday, January 05, 2009

Workshop scheduling

Last quarter (also my first quarter) was a mess when it came to workshops. In some cases, I was asked to give a workshop on using the library on my second day (it wasn't pretty), and in other cases, I never even met a faculty member until there were three weeks left in the quarter, and he asked me to teach how to use the library, research a topic, and create APA citations - in one night. Ugh. I just tried to do the best I could and spent a lot of time on damage control.

But this quarter, I am far more organized, and am ready to approach workshops in a new light. My dean and I worked together and came up with a great gameplan. First, she told new faculty that I would be coming into their classes to conduct workshops - so rather than waiting for them to come to me, the faculty already expect that I will be a part of their lesson plans from the beginning. Also, I sat down with my dean and brainstormed how to break down my topics into smaller chunks - so although I will be giving more frequent workshops, the students will (hopefully) absorb more and learn more.

I hope that these steps will 1) provide more interaction and collaboration with the faculty (esp. since my dean actively encourages faculty to work with me), and 2) engage the students and encourage more information literacy. We'll see!

1 comment:

Emily said...

That's great news! I hope your faculty become excited about you coming into their classes - you are a partner!

Don't forget about your worksheets - these are a great tool to help faculty understand your goals, and to help them organize their communication of the research assignment to the student.