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Even though this semester has seemed like one BIG roller coaster ride, I am happy to say that I’ve enjoyed each and every roadblock, winding curve, and detour along the way. I came into this class having completed the predecessor course but I did learn loads of new information that will help me as I continue to plan programs for the libraries. The material that we learned coupled with the practical assignments we completed has strengthened my ability to plan high quality programs for the health sciences community. My team does an excellent job of paying attention to the finer details of program planning. The things that I am referencing are small things that have huge impacts and leave lasting impressions on speakers and attendees alike. Items such as providing water for the speaker, sending detailed information about what to expect before arriving to Richmond or the program’s start, following up with the speaker to ensure that the speaker has been paid, responding to speaker and/or participant feedback in a timely fashion, writing thank you cards, making copies of handouts for the speaker, and following through with our commitments and promises. We have not evaluated our success but anecdotally, I’ve received countless emails from past speakers and participants acknowledging how much they appreciate my staff’s efforts. So the information that was introduced this semester reaffirmed my existing knowledge about program planning and it also helped me to identify my areas of development. Two areas that I will continue developing are writing achievement based objectives and evaluation planning. I’m definitely walking away with a clearer understanding of the significance of both to program planning process but I have A LOT more to learn in both areas.

As I sat in a continuing education course this past week, I thought about my lessons learned for the semester. The fact that I allowed my attention to drift away from the instructor is an indication of the level of engagement that was taking place in the classroom. This session was largely lecture-based with minimal active learning elements. My experience in this session reinforced the idea that lecturing is not the most effective method for educating students about using the library. While the information that the instructor presented was very interesting, the lack of interactivity sucked the life out of the session (at least it did for me). Since I was sitting in the back of the class, I took the opportunity to scan the room to see how engaged the other attendees where. From that vantage point I had a pretty good view of everyone’s computer screens. Most of the attendees were not engaged. As I looked around the room, I saw that several people were monitoring their email, a few were on Facebook, and at least one was checking out the latest news on CNN’s website. I can’t imagine that the instructor didn’t notice this but the room’s physical arrangement prevented the instructor from seeing the attendees’ screens but their body language was indicative of people who were not engaged. So, my first lesson learned is that the instructor needs to be able to read the room and make adjustments on the fly. As an instructor there isn’t anything worse than preparing great content for a session only to have the point missed because I as the instructor failed to bring the students into the discussion. This is but one of my lessons learned. Taking into account all of the information that I learned this semester, my key lessons learned are:

Active learning is KING – During the course of this semester, I have had the opportunity to attend a number of continuing education courses targeted at information professionals. What I’ve noted about several of the course instructor’s delivery was that many failed to integrate active learning strategies into their session. I would hazard to guess that most librarians, myself included until I began this program, have never received any formal training in active learning or adult learning. I find this to be interesting since one of the hallmark traditions in libraries is to teach information literacy skills so that library users are able to successfully navigate a variety of information systems and tools throughout their lifetimes. Why librarians who specialize in reference and instructional services are expected to participate in teaching functions though very few have received any formal training in adult education is beyond me. I think it’s absolutely necessary that all librarians’ engaged in instruction expand their knowledge base about principles in adult learning. There is nothing more frustrating than standing in front of a group of students to only discover at the end of the session that the students not only did not learn anything but they are even more confused about the material than they were before the session. It was for this reason that I am working with my staff to reassess and reshape our instruction program.

With Active Learning Place Does Really Matter – while we did not talk about the impact that the physical place or space has on a program this semester, as I reflected on the types of programs that I plan it is very important. The readings and observations in other sessions have heightened my awareness about the role that space has on the student’s engagement in the class. This topic is also important to me because I have the opportunity to redesign our learning classroom at my library. My goal for our instructional sessions is to have an enduring impact on the way our students, faculty, and staff approach conducting research and using the library’s resources. The designer presented several options but the one that excited me the most was the one that moves away from the traditional computer lab configuration. The current configuration of our instruction classroom supports lecture style presentations were the instructor is the center of attention. I recently heard this setup referred to as the “Sage on the Stage” configuration. The current configuration is very traditional with the instructor’s station positioned at the front of the room, with students evenly spaced in four rows facing the front. This configuration does not easily support collaborative work. The new classroom design supports collaboration. Instead of rows, we are moving to four pods with six seats per pod. Because of the technology in the room we will still have a fixed Crestron podium at the front of the room but we will also have a mobile instructor’s podium in the center of the classroom. This new layout will allow the instructor to move around the room easily. In addition, the new layout will allow us to evolve the way we teach information literacy skills. I have visions of lots of group activity and small group work dancing in my head. Our current setup makes it very hard to incorporate lots of interactivity into our sessions. For us, the most exciting part of this change is the fact that we can now plan small group work within our instructional settings. This will be enhanced because each table will have a Totem monitor affixed to the pod that will allow the groups to collaborate and share different tasks. The instructor can take control and display the content from each Totem to bring the entire group into the discussion. Overall, the new classroom design will support a variety of teaching styles and formats.

A Plan is Necessary for Success – One of the keys to executing a successful educational program from A to Z is having a written plan. I’ve executed several programs in the past without a written plan and I can tell the difference in my output. In addition, the program definitely suffered as a result. I used to attempt to keep my program plan in my head but as I’ve started getting older coupled with taking on increasing responsibilities at work this method was not practical nor was it realistic. As I think about the programs that I’ve planned in this fashion I found that tasks were overlooked or forgotten altogether. Having a written plan is a proactive approach to carrying our programs. I prefer this method over the reactive stance as the reactive stance makes for a chaotic delivery. I can’t fathom staging a program without having a plan.

Program Evaluation is Continuous – A key task in the program planning process is planning how one will assess the value and worthiness of a program. We learned from Vella and Cafarella that program planners must factor plans for evaluation from the very beginning. In my experience with evaluating programs, evaluation was often left to the end of the program. An afterthought is a more accurate description. To do so effectively we must see evaluation is a tool for continuous improvement throughout the programs life. This is the area where I want to make the most improvements. It’s does not make sense to invest the time and energy required to execute a wonderful program and then skimp on the evaluation.

One Size Does not Fit All – In a nutshell the “One size fits All” stance does have a place in program planning. All programs are not created equal.

In all, this has been a great semester. At the conclusion of the semester, I am happy to say that this has been a fun and educational ride. While I feel like the educational program that I oversee for the library is a well-oiled machine there is always room for refinements. I’m walking away from the class with new ideas about how we will refine and reshape that way we introduce the library to the health sciences community. For that I am grateful and excited.

Have a Happy Holiday and I will see you in the New Year!

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