As Rebecca Miller Waltz noted in last week’s post, the Instruction Reboot has become a process of infusing the Library Learning Services teaching program with strategy, intention, and meaning. These are bold words, brave words, and words that carry many possible meanings depending on the lens through which one looks. The terms are, in a word, squishy, particularly in the an academic environment often driven by metrics. So it is natural to ask next: What does success look like in the scenario driven by such squishiness?
Our answer to this question took shape during 2018, over the many months spent planning for the Instruction Reboot. When contemplating the makings of a successful library teaching and learning program, we developed the following list:
- Articulated shared values and priorities
- Targeted learners (we know who we want to work with, why, and how
- Achievable/measureable learning outcomes
- Effective communications – within our unit, across the library, and with our targeted learning partners
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- A portfolio of teaching strategies and learning activities (which lend to the adaptability and flexibility point)
- Commitment to our own continued learning
- Administrative support and resources
- Understanding of our role within the bigger picture – within the curricula we work with and within the University Libraries
- Commitment to iterative design of our program
As I see our work progressing forward, I see each of these elements beginning to take shape, and it is exciting! In the coming weeks, you’ll hear more from our working teams about how these components are coming to life within their work.