by Matt Lee
Quick Summary
Corinne Dedini, Online School for Girls, discussed personalized learning. This approach to instruction allows students to be self-directed through a course of materials on the research process.
Corinne Dedini, Online School for Girls, discussed personalized learning. This approach to instruction allows students to be self-directed through a course of materials on the research process. Students are given a personalized learner profile that is built around mastery of four pillars. Depending on their individual needs, students engage with existing lessons tailored (in a sort of curated playlist of instructional materials) to build skills in those four pillars.
Mel Gooch, San Francisco Public Library, described a new instructional space at SF Public called The Bridge. The Bridge blends self-directed learning with library programming and instruction.
Rebecca Miller, Virginia Tech, introduced several layers of support her library offers to different audiences. For undergrads, the library has a tour with a self-graded test. For graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), the library offers train-the-trainer workshops so that GTAs are prepared to introduce library topics to their students. They also provide GTAs a toolkit of mini-lessons that GTAs can select from to present directly to students. The library also facilitates self-directed learning communities for library staff, which include monthly meetings, book readings, and discussion topics.
For more on the presenters, visit the ALA session website: "Help Yourself! Library Instruction That Supports Self-Directed Learning."
