Creating a Vertically Integrated Instruction Environment in the

LibraryEmy Nelson Decker & Jennifer A.

Townes

http://tinyurl.com/gacomo

Provides information services support for four institutions in the world’s largest and oldest consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Clark Atlanta University Interdenominational Theological Center Morehouse College Spelman College

670 faculty; 941 graduate; and 6,770 undergraduate students

Atlanta University CenterRobert W. Woodruff Library

How Do We: “Spread the Wealth” and promote the acquisition

of these skills to other staff members? Reduce the barriers between professional and

para-professional staff? Leverage the great resource and knowledge base

of library staff for the benefit of library staff? Create a program wherein librarians and

paraprofessionals alternate between being the teacher and the student?

Every library has staff with specialized skills

Learning based on training and development activities benefits organizations and employees (Noe et al, 2010)

Learning is often deepest when employees plan their development to coincide with the achievement of personal goals

Learning and work need to be integrated throughout an employee’s career

Learning Strategies

Formal vs. Informal Learning

Generally, when a manager/supervisor is in control of employees learning, the result is most likely to be formal learning.

When employees take control of their learning, it tends to be informal learning

Individuals succeed when they are active agents in their learning

Experiential learning occurs at the point where formal and informal learning meet.

Experiential learning is participatory (think: hands on)

Learning by doing

Experiential Learning

A library climate that promotes active learning is crucial to employee engagement

an organizational culture that allows for questioning in order to find meaning in directives and tasks

an organizational culture that understands how rewarding or punishing the behavior of individuals has a powerful influence on reinforcing or impeding individual learning

an organizational culture that expresses positive forces in the norms and values of the learning environment.

Engagement Strategies

Vertically Integrated Instruction

Information & Research Services Unit

10 full time, 1 part-time professional librarians

Hundreds of hours worth of instruction sessions / training experience

E-Learning Technologies Unit

3 paraprofessionals with technology skills, 1 professional librarian unit head

Host workshops for faculty, students, staff throughout year

Very few collaborative activities related to skills building; staff members in these units not accustomed to training each other.

Highlights of the Vertically Integrated Instruction Program

2013-14

Offered by ELT staff to IRS librarians Instruction in classroom followed by studio

participation Assignment: divided librarians into 2 groups

and asked them to work together in their groups to create and edit a short video on topic of their choice

Reconvened in the classroom to share videos and reflect on the process.

Camtasia

ProQuest Research Library

Offered by IRS librarians for ELT paraprofessionals

Directed research questions that allowed ELT to search and discover the effective use of the databases on their own

Excellent timing: staff shortage – ELT spending time on Info Desk

Offered by ELT staff to IRS librarians Studio training Librarian with creative experience joined his

ELT colleagues in helping to teach this session

Voice overs for PPT, PowToons, LibGuides, etc.

GarageBand

IRS librarians provided a venue for an ELT self-guided tour of WMS.

As ELT staff conducted searches, they articulated “why” they were searching a particular way and allowed for sharing and peer-training

Performed repeatable searches

Worldshare Management Services

Offered by ELT staff to IRS librarians Promotion to students/faculty ELT initiated a “drawing contest” for IRS

librarians Workshop had a Pictionary feel to it

Digital Drawing Tablets

Issues and Findings

Scheduling and timing of workshops

Regular intervals for the program

Consideration of topics – which are desired / which are beneficial to greatest number of staff

Helps develop instruction skills

Differences between teaching students vs colleagues

Skill level of staff trainers and workshop participants

Create “learning teams” of staff to work together to hone their skills and then instruct other staff. Consider cross-departmental staff

Group peer-to-peer learning vs one-to-one peer learning

Gathering and assessing staff feedback

Moving Forward

Library budgets for staff training are reduced (use rich resources already available – staff)

Cultivate staff “buy in” and collegiality Opportunity for staff to showcase their skills

to their colleagues Hands on approach and discussion promotes

deep learning

Reasons to Try this Model

Emy Nelson Decker edecker@auctr.edu

Jennifer Townes jtownes@auctr.edu

Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library

Questions?