'Tis the time of semester to work with the writing classes to show them how to use the library resources to locate books and journal articles needed for their papers. I love to work with them and am always happy to see the light come on as they figure out that its not all that difficult to find what you need. You just have to know where to look.
The challenge is to remember what I have told each class because there are multiple sections. Every class has a flavor all its own, and I try to aim my pace and tone at what seems to work for the particular group in front of me at the time. I have my checklist of what I will cover in front of both me and the students so I don't forget any of the pieces. Sometimes I have to talk fast to get it all in. Sometimes I get a lot of questions. Sometimes I can skip over pieces they already are familiar with.
The best class so far was the one with all the sports players in it. They began by saying that the library was a puzzling place and they didn't understand how to find what they needed. With that as the starting point, I asked them what they wanted to know how to find and rearranged the whole presentation to fit their open honesty.
Best part was after class, three of those adorable young men came up and thanked me personally. They said that up until my lecture, they had pretty much avoided coming into the library. But now they feel like they can navigate in here and are hopeful of finding good resources for their papers. I was so overjoyed! I invited them to come find me when they are starting and promised to help them for as long as they needed help. Yahoo! What a great class.
The challenge is to remember what I have told each class because there are multiple sections. Every class has a flavor all its own, and I try to aim my pace and tone at what seems to work for the particular group in front of me at the time. I have my checklist of what I will cover in front of both me and the students so I don't forget any of the pieces. Sometimes I have to talk fast to get it all in. Sometimes I get a lot of questions. Sometimes I can skip over pieces they already are familiar with.
The best class so far was the one with all the sports players in it. They began by saying that the library was a puzzling place and they didn't understand how to find what they needed. With that as the starting point, I asked them what they wanted to know how to find and rearranged the whole presentation to fit their open honesty.
Best part was after class, three of those adorable young men came up and thanked me personally. They said that up until my lecture, they had pretty much avoided coming into the library. But now they feel like they can navigate in here and are hopeful of finding good resources for their papers. I was so overjoyed! I invited them to come find me when they are starting and promised to help them for as long as they needed help. Yahoo! What a great class.
No comments:
Post a Comment