1 2 3 4 5 Instructional Strategies and 6 7 Techniques for Information 8 Professionals 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 34R CHANDOS INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL SERIES Series Editor: Ruth Rikowski (email: [email protected]) Chandos’ new series of books is aimed at the busy information professional. They have been specially commissioned to provide the reader with an authoritative view of current thinking. They are designed to provide easy-to-read and (most importantly) practical coverage of topics that are of interest to librarians and other information professionals. If you would like a full listing of current and forthcoming titles, please visit our web site www.chandospublishing.com or email [email protected] or telephone +44(0) 1223 499140. New authors: New authors: we are always pleased to receive ideas for new titles; if you would like to write a book for Chandos, please contact Glyn Jones on email gjones@ chandospublishing.com or telephone number +44(0) 1993 848726. Bulk orders: some organisations buy a number of copies of our books. If you are interested in doing this, we would be pleased to discuss a discount. Please contact on email [email protected] or telephone +44(0) 1223 499140. 1 2 3 4 5 Instructional Strategies 6 7 and Techniques for 8 9 10 Information 1 2 Professionals 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 Nicole A. Cooke and 1 Jeffrey J. Teichmann 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 34R Chandos Publishing Hexagon House Avenue 4 Station lane Witney Oxford OX28 4BN UK Tel: +44 (0) 1993 484726 Email: [email protected] www.chandospublishing.com www.chandospublishingonline.com Chandos Publishing is an imprint of Woodhead Publishing Limited Woodhead Publishing Limited 80 High Street Sawston Cambridge CB22 3HJ UK Tel: +44 (0) 1223 499140 www.woodheadpublishing.com First published in 2012 ISBN: 978-1-84334-643-2 (print) ISBN: 978-1-78063-295-7 (online) © N. A. Cooke and J. J. Teichmann, 2012 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the Publishers. 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Typeset by Refi neCatch Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in the UK and the USA 1 2 3 4 5 6 List of fi gures 7 8 9 4.1 Sample lesson plan 29 10 4.2 Sample training day checklist 30 1 4.3 Sample script (excerpt) 32 2 4.4 Sample training agenda 34 3 4 5.1 Sample training session evaluation form 42 5 7.1 Sample program facility checklist 63 6 7.2 Sample program registration list 69 7 7.3 Sample trainer logistics chart 70 8 7.4 Sample general budget 76 9 7.5 Sample workshop venue comparison chart 78 20 1 7.6 Sample detailed budget 80 2 8.1 Sample facility review checklist 88 3 9.1 Web 2.0 social software 104 4 9.2 Web 2.0 examples 105 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 34R ix 1 2 3 4 5 6 Acknowledgements 7 8 9 Both authors have long-standing roots, professional and 10 personal, in New Jersey; we wish to thank the vibrant NJ 1 library community for their advocacy and commitment to 2 professional and continuing education, and outstanding 3 library services. Our development as professional trainers 4 has grown, in part, through our collaboration with this 5 community – we have learned so much from you. 6 We would also like to thank our libraries and universities 7 (Montclair State University and Rutgers University) for their 8 long-term support of our training, writing, and other 9 professional endeavors. 20 Finally, we wish to thank the Chandos team for their 1 patience and interest in our expertise, and our families for 2 understanding the time commitments involved in training 3 other library trainers. 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 34R xi 1 2 3 4 5 How to use this book 6 7 8 When planning a trip there are certain things that need to be 9 decided upon. Where will you go? How will you get to your 10 destination? What will you bring with you? What will you 1 do while you are there? 2 These are all questions that most people will answer prior 3 to leaving on a trip and the answers may necessitate certain 4 actions be performed. But how these questions will be 5 answered can vary from person to person. Some may search 6 the Internet for travel destinations; others may visit a travel 7 agent; while others may speak with family and friends to 8 learn of different possibilities. Because different methods are 9 used, it is quite possible that different answers may be found, 20 but it is also just as possible that the same answers are 1 reached by different methods. It is also possible that people 2 with similar interests and tastes may reach completely 3 different answers based on their methods of research. 4 Once the travel destination has been chosen, next steps 5 include deciding how to travel (i.e. by car, plane, train, etc.) 6 and, of course, what to pack. Some of these choices are 7 non-choices – you would not travel short distances by plane, 8 nor could you drive your car to an overseas destination. 9 Similarly, tropical destinations warrant a certain wardrobe 30 while cold climates require warm clothing. Deciding what 1 points of interest to visit during your trip is another choice 2 that may be made prior to the start of the trip, while others 3 may decide where to go during the trip. These choices can be 34R made in a variety of orders and some folks may not choose xiii Instructional Strategies and Techniques 1 to make some of these choices until they have actually arrived 2 at their destination. 3 When we were planning this book, we had a certain 4 destination in mind. Our destination is to convey the novice 5 trainer from the seed of an idea for a training session to the 6 completion of the session. You, as a trainer, have your own 7 destinations in mind and each destination will be unique, 8 depending on the subject of the training and the trainers 9 involved. However, as veteran trainers, we realize there are 10 various ways to reach the destination of a well-planned and 1 executed training session. We also realize that as trainers 2 plan their sessions, they may reach a certain point and decide 3 to – or need to – backtrack and make revisions to their plans. 4 So we present the information in a certain order, following a 5 certain track; but even the best planned training sessions do 6 not always follow the planned track. You may fi nd this book 7 behaves in the same manner. In explaining the details of one 8 area of training it may be necessary to reference information 9 presented in subsequent chapters. Therefore, you may be 20 tempted to read the chapters in a different order depending 1 on your needs. But, remember that we have set our itinerary! 2 We grouped the information into four sections based on 3 when in the training planning process the actions described 4 will mostly occur. You may also decide you need to refer back 5 to parts of previous chapters to make adjustments to your 6 training plan. This is the true nature of training – it needs to 7 be a fl uid plan that can, and will, continually adjust to meet 8 the needs of the trainees. One thing we ask of you, our fellow 9 trainers, is to read through the entire book as a whole before 30 focusing on individual sections and/or chapters. In this manner, 1 you will see the well-planned itinerary of our trip. 2 Now let’s pack our bags and buckle our seatbelts, for we 3 are about to embark on an exciting journey. 34R xiv 1 2 3 4 5 Preface 6 7 8 The shelf life of a degree is approximately three years and 9 declining. Maintaining competence and learning new skills 10 must be at the top of every professional’s ‘To Do’ list. It is an 1 ethical responsibility, to be sure, but also one that is pragmatic 2 and critical for career success; ‘Continuing professional 3 education is no longer an option, it is a requirement of 4 professional practice’ (Weingand, 1999: 201). 5 Continuing education is necessary for all members of the 6 library’s staff, from the director to the librarians, to the 7 support staff, to the student workers. There are always new 8 trends in technology, not to mention in librarianship, that we 9 need to be aware of, and possibly implement into our 20 services. What’s the best way to acquire this information? 1 Through training! 2 It is wonderful to be on the receiving end of new information 3 and innovative ideas, but what happens when it’s your turn 4 to teach others and impart new information and skills? 5 Whether you’re training fellow staff members, training 6 patrons, teaching a class, or presenting at a conference, 7 putting together an effective and interesting program is not a 8 given. In addition to possessing the appropriate content 9 knowledge, presenting and instructing others requires 30 thoughtful consideration, preparation, practice, evaluation, 1 and revision. 2 Training is a multi-faceted and multi-step process, one that 3 can be wildly successful if you have all of the organizational 34R xv Instructional Strategies and Techniques 1 and logistic details in order. This is where Instructional 2 Strategies and Techniques for Information Professionals 3 comes in – designed by two active librarians and professional 4 trainers, the goal of this book is to provide you with the 5 practical tools and tips that will enable you to package your 6 content into a successful training program. Once you know 7 the mechanics of training, and implement some strategies 8 (i.e., co-teaching and active learning exercises), you will 9 indeed be able to deliver effective and interesting instructional 10 sessions. Training is all about practice, practice, and more 1 practice. Let’s get started. 2 3 4 Reference 5 6 Weingand, D.E. (1999), Describing the elephant: what is 7 continuing professional education? IFLA Journal, 26(3), 8 198–202. 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 34R xvi