upcoming events at the Chicago MLA meeting

It's been awhile since I've posted but I have been busy planning the EOP events for the Chicago meeting. Here are the events that EOP instructors are invited (and encouraged) to attend. I don't yet have the room numbers where these meetings/presentations will take place. I'll post an update as soon as the program is posted.

Thursday, Feb. 19

11:45 AM-12:30 PM
EOP instructor meeting - listed in the conference program as Education Committee business meeting. Agenda will consist of a review of the past year and creation of goals for 2009.


Friday, Feb. 20

3:30-4:30 PM

Sound Recordings Cataloging Workshop led by Mary Huismann
EOP instructor training and observation
If you know anyone who would like to be trained to teach this workshop, have them contact me and I will arrange for them to get the observations form and all pertinent information. This is also a good refresher for current EOP instructors on the Sound Recordings Cataloging workshop.


Sat., Feb 21

10:30-11:30 AM
Public Speaking 101 for Music Librarians: I'd Rather Face a Snake on a Plane

Continuing education session for EOP instructors led by Alicia Hanson. At the last EOP instructor meeting in Newport, many people requested a workshop on presentation techniques so this is it! This should be excellent, you don't want to miss this.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in Chicago.

Instructor Bios

We would like to gather bios for all the instructors in the EOP. This will not be an extensive bio for each instructor (please do not send your entire vita) but supply us with the information requested below so there is some uniformity to the information. At some point when the Education Committee has an official WIKI through MLA, this information will be posted for workshop requestors to look over. If there is information that you do not wish to have posted on a "EOP workshop publicity page" but should be used for internal purposes only, please indicate that underneath the line requesting that information. Bio information can be sent directly to Laura Speer ( lauras@uca.edu). Thanks to Laura for collecting this information.

Name: _____________________________________________­­­_____

Phone # ___________________Email_________________________

State of Residence: _________

MLA Region/Chapter: _________________

Workshop(s) you teach for the EOP: _____________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Education: _______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________­­­___________

Library Employment Experience: ____________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Other teaching experience/other workshops taught: __________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Please complete and return to Laura Speer, lauras@uca.edu by July 31, 2008

What is the EOP up to now?

Since the conference in Newport, I've been working on goals for the Educational Outreach Program. The Education Committee meeting and the EOP instructor meeting helped in the process of gathering ideas and information for these goals. I could really use everyone's opinions on these goals before presenting them to the MLA board. Are there other goals you would like to work on? We have already made some progress on the goals listed below (progress indicated in brackets). Please send comments!

1) Increase membership in Education Committee. New members to provide support for EOP and be the point persons for the following activities:

-Write and submit proposals for EOP workshop(s) for inclusion in the program of national library conferences. Requires monitoring dates of conferences and deadlines for proposals

-Be the liaison to Publicity and Outreach Officer (new MLA position to be held by Renee McBride) – communicate and collaborate on EOP efforts, act on ideas brought forth by Renee

- Lead task force to investigate and develop Distance Education initiative for the EOP

-Contact library organizations, consortia, library schools, public libraries, state library associations and push out information about the EOP. Publicize the EOP to outside organizations. With instructors and chapter chairs, write proposals for the inclusion of EOP workshops in state library association conferences.

-Provide content for the Education Committee’s WIKI , both internal information for the Ed. Comm. and external information for the EOP (workshop descriptions, learning outcomes, procedures on how to request a workshop, etc.). Post EOP materials to MLA website including handouts used for EOP workshops, collaborate with MLA website editor

-EOP information gatherer. Collect evaluation forms from EOP workshops, compile data, maintain a list of all workshops taught in the EOP, gather bios of EOP instructors, maintain a list/contact information for all instructors in the EOP. Collect data from EOP instructors after a workshop is taught. Gather ideas from instructors on improvements to the program. Monitor and gather information on how chapters are using the program.

-Assessment coordinator of the EOP. Assess the program, suggest ways to improve program, assist in the process of maintaining a consistent curriculum

-Create and submit proposals for instructor training and demonstration workshops at national MLA meetings. Assure that new EOP instructors attend and observe workshop and fill out evaluation forms. Collect ideas from instructors on possible training topics. Secure speakers for sessions. Monitor deadlines for proposals. Request and secure equipment to videotape workshops at national MLA meetings.

[3 new members have confirmed that they will serve on the Education Committee and be the point person for above activities]

2) Get WIKI up and running (both for internal use among program participants and external marketing use to publicize workshops)

[In the works, time line being established by Jon Haupt and Amy Dankowski]

3) Publish an EOP brochure that details the workshops in the program and how to request a workshop. Distribute to MLA members, library schools, library organizations and library consortia.

[Budget request submitted to Finance Committee of MLA]

4) Work with instructors and chapter chairs to push workshops out to state library associations by writing program proposals for their annual conferences

[Atlantic Chapter and SEMLA chapter have been particularly successful at this. 4 workshop proposals have been submitted to state library associations program committees. New Education Committee member will lead this effort]

5) Provide continuing education for instructors on the topic of “presentation skills” at MLA's annual meeting in Chicago.

[Program proposal send to MLA program committee. Alicia Hansen (Loyola) has agreed to give the presentation if program accepted]

6) Create a task force to pursue options for distance education

[Task force appointed]

7) Submit MLA annual conference program proposal for one EOP workshop to demonstrate workshop to MLA members and for training/observation purposes for new and current instructors. Begin routinely videotaping workshops

[Program proposal for a music sound recordings cataloging workshop submitted to MLA annual conference program chair. Mary Huismann will present the workshop if accepted by MLA program committee.]

8) Submit budget to MLA board for costs associated with instructor travel to state library associations (typically no honorarium) and costs for publishing publicity brochure

[Budget request submitted to Finance Committee of MLA]

9) Create a bank of workshop descriptions and teaching materials used by instructors that can be shared on the WIKI

[Some information gathered, waiting for WIKI to go live]

10) Submit a EOP workshop proposal for a national library meeting

[Deadlines for program proposals being monitored, information gathered on procedures for submitting proposals]

Presenter characterisics

Here is the listing of Presenter characteristics from Beth Rohloff and Laurie Sabol. If you recall, this was used as a brainstorming technique among the trainers during their "Teaching Techniques" presentation. Some good ideas here...

Interacts with students

Ask questions and wait for answers

Let students finish asking their questions. What they say might not be what you thought they were going to say.

Reveal something of yourself

Learn from your students, especially when you’re teaching peers.

Ask questions to which you don’t know the answers

Find out why they are at your session.

Uses multiple methods

Video/audio

Group projects

Powerpoint

Handouts

Leacture

Q&A

Role-playing

Hands-on activities

Follow-up discussion

Pre/post assessment

Field trips

Multi-colored things

Organization and clarity

Main points, clearly state objectives and put in logical order

Agenda: outline content

Prepare for coffee breaks

Handouts

Succinct

Powerpoint

Classroom set up to facilitate discussion

Try equipment in advance

PRACTICE

Verbal and nonverbal behavior

Eye contact

Open posture

Confident tone of voice

No tics

Smiling

Inclusive language

Gestures at appropriate level

Non-jargon: talk at level of audience needs

Appropriate pace

Flexibility

Leading questions

Enthusiastic

Projecting voice/inflection

Smiling

Avoiding sarcasm

Energy in voice

Confident

Hand gestures

Asking questions

Drawing in attendees

*humor

Handouts available

Please send me an e-mail (holling.j.smith-borne@vanderbilt.edu) if you would like copies of the PowerPoint presentations by Beth Rohloff/Laurie Sabol on "Teaching Techniques" OR the presentation by Darwin Scott on "Outreach Techniques". I am happy to share this and have the permission of the presenters. It is very difficult to post PowerPoint presentations to this blog so it will be considerably easier to just send it to you as an attachment via e-mail.

Answers to Pre-conference questions

Below are answers to the questions that came up at the pre-conference workshop during the "Teaching Techniques" session. Answers are from Beth Rohloff and Laurie Sabol (both from Tufts University), guest speakers for the session.

Learning Style Questions

Q: How do learning styles influence preparation (i.e. creating learning objectives, planning activities, etc.)?

A from Beth: You may wish to consider learning styles when deciding how to present the material outlined in your learning outcomes as well as how you wish to assess your audience’s success in meeting the learning outcome. For example, a person who is a “linguistic” learner may learn best from material presented in a lecture and discussion format. In turn, this learner may be able to best demonstrate his or her mastery of the content through an assessment that might be in written or oral form. A more visual learner may benefit from learning the material through images, videos, etc. and in turn you may wish to assess them by allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge in a visual form (i.e. drawing a diagram).

Q: How do I integrate learning styles into my teaching without being overwhelmed?

A from Laurie: The simplest way to do this is to make sure you use various teaching methods. Don’t only lecture (which some people *will* appreciate), but also do database demonstrations. Divide attendees into groups and give them a task to learn to teach the rest of the audience. Ask each attendee to write a question on a 3x5 card that you collect and review at a break.

Q: How can we identify the learning styles of our audience?

A from Beth: If the first time you’ll be meet your audience will be during your presentation, then you might not have a chance to identify and prepare for their learning styles in advance. In this case you should make sure to use various teaching methods as Laurie suggests above. However, if you do have the opportunity to survey your audience members before the presentation the short quizzes provided on the Learning Styles handout would be a way to find out what type of learners will be in your audience. A quick Google search for “learning styles quiz” will lead you to other short learning style assessments.

Multiple Intelligences Online Quiz: http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm

VARK Learning Styles Questionnaire:

http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

Q: How do you adequately address different learning styles in a group?

A from Laurie: One good way is to ask questions that students can answer in a variety of ways. Those students who are most comfortable with words can write their answer; those that are more verbal will report their answer orally. I guess you could have the kinetic learners dance their answer but make sure you’re insured in case s/he jetés through a plate glass window.

You can also have your attendees work in groups, where it will be likely that a variety of learning styles will be represented.

Other Questions

Q: What is the best way to “engage” our audience?

A from Laurie: There’s no one best way and your methods will vary depending on factors such as

1) Your prior familiarity with audience. Naturally, if you know some of the attendees, they will be more engaged. As well, you can refer to prior meetings you’ve had with them which may increase everyone’s comfort level, which will in turn serve as a basis of engagement.

2) Your comfort level taking risks. Your audience will be less engaged if you stand in back of a podium lecturing and displaying screen shots than if you walk out among them, speak to them, ask questions of them.

No matter what factors are in play, the important goals are to show your enthusiasm and knowledge of your subject, your willingness to put attendees at ease to ask even “stupid” questions, and to make it clear that time spent at your training session will be time well-used. If you can achieve two of those goals, you can be sure that you will have engaged your audience.

Q: How much time should be allotted to assessment? Is it better for assessment to occur during the session rather than afterward?

A from Beth: The amount of time needed for assessment will vary depending upon the specific needs of your audience. You might ask yourself – At what level do I or others (i.e. employers) expect attendees to meet the learning outcomes? I think the more you expect from your audience, the more important assessment becomes. If workshop attendees are supposed to walk out of your workshop being able to create their own collection development policy then you might want to create an assessment activity after the session that ensures they are actually capable of completing such a task. Other the other hand, if attendees are only expected to explain the basic components of a collection development policy then you may be able to quickly assess what they learned through a brief in class activity (i.e. discussion, one-minute paper, etc.).

I think that it’s important that you make time in your presentation to check for understanding. Also if you do intend and are able to assess what participants learned after the workshop then you want to allow time for guided practice during the session since the material is new to them.

Q: From the effective teaching strategies everyone listed on the flip charts, which do you feel are the most important for us to remember?

A from Laurie: Every article I’ve read, every workshop I’ve been to, everyone I’ve talked to says that enthusiasm and knowledge of the topic are at the top, bar none. If I had to choose one more strategy, it would be to deliver a well-organized workshop.

Q: What is the connection between the presentation and our trainer sessions?

A from Laurie: Our presentation was aimed at beginning teachers/trainers who would benefit from learning some teaching and assessment strategies. Obviously, 60 minutes is not enough time to go into any of this material in depth but we hope we gave you some useful ideas to take with you.

Q: What is a reasonable number of learning outcomes to expect from a time controlled session? Is there a key time ratio?

A from Laurie: I’ve never read or heard anyone assign a ratio of learning outcomes based on the time of the session. I do know that when I used to try to teach students how to use 4 databases in 50 minutes, that I was completely wrong in gauging the amount of time needed, the amount of material the students were capable of absorbing and that some of my fundamental teaching philosophies were out of line with reality. When you are developing your learning outcomes make sure that the amount of time you devote to each of them is realistic and allow for time for computer failures, questions and time needed to repeat (modified if need be) material that you sense is not getting through.

OK, OK, I haven’t answered your question. If I have an hour, I will write three learning outcomes, which will allow me to present the material in a couple of ways and give students hands-on time and a few minutes at the end for a quick evaluation.

Evaluation Results Available

We had great responses to the evaluations for the full day. I've compiled the results and have included a summary of responses, comments and suggestions for future workshops. Enjoy! Joseph
Full Day Evaluations

Responses:
Very Good – 34
Good – 25
Average – 2
Below Average – 0

Comments
· I was mostly just motivated to go out and connect with other librarians
· This program was very well organized & useful—Thank you!
· It would be nice to have some pre-prepared outlines of workshop as starting points
· Better communication ahead of registration of what, where and when.
· I didn’t know about blog until at the end of the day
· Too many objectives were covered
· More time for examples and interactive activities
· Would have separated the trainers from participants, because of the many questions
· Create a web presence for these workshops and materials…
· I would have liked more time on teaching techniques
· Presentation tips great
· Not enough time to learn cataloguing—should have been a 2 day workshop
· More PowerPoint slides of handouts
· More hands-on activities
· More practical information for collection development—less theoretical info
· Well organized and presented
· Would like to have copies of the slides available on the blog
· Don’t mix the trainees with the students, or ask them not to be active participants
· Online content that I can review at home
· Not enough time for the cataloguing workshops
· More hands on work
· Coffee at morning break
· Well done MLA for engaging and successful pre-conference workshop!

Workshop suggestions
· Cataloguing scores (several suggestions for this)
· Music librarianship for people without specific music training (several for this)
· Music acquisitions on a small budget
· Subject headings for music (several)
· Music Uniform Titles workshop (several)
· Copyright for music (several)
· E-Reference
· Online resources
· Archival sound recording cataloguing
· Teaching techniques (a few)
· Fundraising and gifts
· Digitization 101 (several suggestions)
· Information Literacy for Music
· World Music Workshop
· Popular Music Workshop
· Manuscripts Cataloguing
· Video cataloguing