Teaching and Training

I used to find it daunting to get up in front of a group and lead.  I would much rather engage in an one-on-one conversation than direct an entire classroom full of people.  Throwing aside my reluctance, I’ve developed strategies and skills over the past few years that have allowed me to become an effective teacher and trainer.  After all, teaching is a major component of nearly all librarians’ lives.  In order to make the process a little less frightening, I try to get my audience as involved as possible.  I appeal to different learning styles by interweaving group activities, discussion and individual reflection with traditional listening exercises.  When the audience is interacting with me and with each other in dynamic ways, we all learn from each other.

National Archives and Records Administration

Genealogy Research Training at NARA

Before beginning at the i-School, I volunteered at the National Archives and Records Administration office in Seattle, helping genealogists navigate the massive records collections held at NARA.  Reflecting back on this experience during LIS 560, Instructional and Training Strategies for Information Professionals, I decided that NARA’s patrons could benefit from a training course.  The course would teach them the fundamentals of using NARA’s census records and other collections for genealogy research and would also introduce patrons to genealogy resources outside of NARA.  Using the instructional principles learned in LIS 560, I devised a course that engaged all major learning styles and familiarized them with a variety of concepts and resources.  At some point, I would like to implement this training course, if not at NARA, at a similar facility.

Reference Work at SAM

Seattle Art Museum

While completing a cataloging DFW at the Bullitt Library in the downtown Seattle Art Museum, I sometimes had the chance to work at the reference desk assisting patrons.  Many of SAM’s visitors wished to research a specific artist or piece of art, and I helped them use databases, books, pamphlets, vertical files and other materials to find answer to their questions.  I also assisted staff members and docents in preparing for current and upcoming exhibits.  In conducting reference interviews, I quickly became acquainted with Bullitt Library’s collection and honed my teaching skills.

Introduction to Thesaurus

After constructing a subject thesaurus with my group in LIS 537, we still needed to create jargon-free instructions for its use.  This proved to be harder than we thought.  We had been working with the concepts of controlled vocabularies for months, and by the time our thesaurus was finished, they were second nature to us.  I volunteered to draft the introduction, and in order to write it successfully, I had to explain concepts like pre-coordination and term relationships in a way that a layperson could understand.  To make sure that I was on the right track, I shared my introduction with friends to see if it was easy for them to follow.  After a few tweaks, the introduction was ready to go.  On our assignment feedback, Professor Trent Hill indicated that the introduction was particularly clear and easy to follow.