Media Studies
Instruction & Information Sessions
Please note: We are not currently offering instruction sessions for the rest of this academic year; check back in Fall 2023 for updates. If you need to schedule a session, please contact our Teaching & Learning department at libinstr@indiana.edu.
As part of the program of support offered by our librarians, we are able to work with your students in sessions designed to introduce them to research fundamentals and provide an overview of general and subject-specific resources to facilitate their scholarship.
Typically, a library instruction session lasts between 30-75 minutes, depending on your preferences and what material will be covered. Here are some possible skills we can cover in the library instruction session:
- overview of library services
- how to find books in the library (reading LC call numbers, citation searching, etc.)
- how to search IUCAT for library resources
- how to get items that IU libraries do not have
- how to use OneSearch@IU in order to find research resources
- how to use subject specific databases to find research resources
- what a peer reviewed article is and how to find one
- assessing resources of various types
For more ideas and suggestions about what we can cover, consult the Information Literacy Modules Guide, which you can use to select concepts for inclusion in our session.
Generally, library instruction sessions are hands-on workshops rather than individual lectures. In order to make the workshop portion of the class useful, we do like students to have access to a computer. If your current classroom has computers the library instruction session can be taught there. If your classroom does not have appropriate individual technology, students can bring their laptops or we can schedule the instruction session to take place in an instruction room in the library.
Best Practices
- Connect the session and concepts covered therein to specific course assignments (and/or learning objectives), and communicate these connections (and any expectations) to the students and librarian
- Schedule sessions as close as possible to the “point of need” (ie. when the skills covered will be most useful for a project, assignment, etc.), such as after students have chosen their topics but prior to beginning the research process
- Include librarian’s contact information in your syllabus and Canvas (and consider adding librarian to Canvas if appropriate)
Librarian Policies & Reminders
- A minimum of two weeks (or 10 business days) is required in advance of the session date, and three weeks is required for sessions that require significant customization and to reserve instructional spaces in the library
- Faculty or instructor attendance is strongly preferred, as this helps provide continuity and facilitation, demonstrates the value of the session, and enables clarification and support of learning objectives/expectations as needed
What we need from you:
- Desired date & time of library instruction session:
- Number of students in class:
- Preferred location of class (your normal classroom or instruction room in Wells Library):
- Specific resources your would like covered in the instruction session:
- Learning objectives, if applicable:
- Skills with which students need help (this could include challenges you’ve come across, or anything that would help your students complete specific assignments or projects):
- Any accessibility needs you or your students may have, relevant to the session modality:
- A copy of your syllabus, as well as descriptions or outlines of any assignments to which we can tailor the session
- Any other expectations or requirements you have of the session:
To request an instruction session with our team, please either complete the Instruction Request Form or send an email with the requested information (above) to the librarian.
Instruction & Learning Support Resources
The Libraries and other units on campus offer an array of resources to support student learning and your instructional activities. A few that we recommend:
- Information Literacy Online Toolkit – we have a number of modules to support student learning around research skills that you can import into your Canvas course, which also includes assessment tools. If this is something you are interested in, I would be happy to show you how to bring this into your course Canvas site; there are also instructions on this page
- Library Resources & Services Training Videos – a YouTube playlist with a number of video tutorials we have created to help orient users to our many resources and services. With some lead time, and in circumstances where a librarian is not available for a synchronous session, we can occasionally create video tutorials tailored to the needs of a specific course
- Open Education Resources & Services – IU Libraries provides training in and support with the creation and integration of open educational resources (OER) into your curricula. This page offers guidance around finding, creating, and evaluating OER to help you make your classes more affordable and accessible for students. You might also consider participating in our Scholarly Communication departments Course Material Fellowship Program, which offers instructors the the support, tools, and expertise needed to move from traditional textbooks to affordable course materials
- Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning (CITL) – CITL provides comprehensive services supporting excellent teaching and learning at Indiana University Bloomington. They have programs, workshops, and a variety of resources and services to help you in your instructional activities. We particularly recommend the extensive series of Teaching Strategies they've created and curated
The next several tabs outline other pedagogical frameworks you may want to consider and integrate as you are designing courses, teaching, and working with students in various capacities. Always feel free to reach out if you want to strategize or discuss further.
Universal design for learning (UDL) is a research-based framework that helps educators design learning experiences that are accessible and effective for all students, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or preferences. By recognizing that each learner is unique and has different strengths and challenges, it helps educators move from a one-size-fits-all approach toward one that adapts to learner variability. Therefore, UDL suggests that teachers should provide multiple ways for students to engage with the content, process the information, and demonstrate their understanding. By doing so, UDL aims to reduce barriers to learning and increase opportunities for success.
UDL is based on three main principles:
- Provide multiple means of engagement: This principle focuses on how students are motivated and interested in learning. It involves offering choices, challenges, relevance, and feedback to learners.
- Provide multiple means of representation: This principle focuses on how students perceive and comprehend information. It involves offering different formats, modes, languages, and supports for learners.
- Provide multiple means of action and expression: This principle focuses on how students demonstrate their learning and skills. It involves offering different tools, methods, scaffolds, and goals for learners.
To learn more about UDL, try some of the following resources:
- UDL Guidelines (CAST)
- UDL Level 1 (IU Engage Course)
- Universal Design for Learning Tips (University of Minnesota, Video)
Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice by ISBN: 9780989867405Publication Date: 2016-02-01In the 1990s, Anne Meyer, David Rose, and their colleagues at CAST introduced universal design for learning (UDL), a framework to improve teaching and learning. Based on new insights from the learning sciences and creative uses of digital technologies. UDL can help educators improve and optimize learning experiences for all individuals. In this book, Meyer and Rose, along with David Gordon, provide the first comprehensive presentations of UDL principles and practices since 2002. This new look at UDL includes contributions from CAST's research and implementation teams, as well as their collaborators in schools, universities, and research settings. Universal Design for Learning: Theory & Practice includes: * New insights from research on learner differences and how human variability plays out in learning environments * Research-based discussions of what it means to become expert at learning * First-hand accounts and exemplars of how to implement UDL at all levels and across subjects using the UDL Guidelines * "Dig Deeper" segments that enrich the main content * Dozens of original illustrations and access to videos and other online features at http://udltheorypractice.cast.org * Opportunities to participate in a UDL community
Universal Design for Learning: A Guide for Teachers and Education Professionals by ISBN: 0131701606Publication Date: 2005-01-06For courses in Universal Design and Inclusion, and a supplement for use with general and special education courses on curriculum and methods, technology, and assistive technology. This brief, supplementary text, a collaborative publication between CEC and Merrill Education, offers education professionals a conceptual framework to create flexible, equitable, and accessible instructional techniques that accommodate individual learning differences in a classroom setting. Aimed toward instructors in education classes as a means of informing current and future teachers about the basics of universal design for learning (UDL) and the ways it can be implemented in schools and classrooms, the goal of this publication is to inform teachers of the basis for effective teaching practice and to remind them of the various instructional resources available for them to create a UDL environment in their own classroom.
Trauma-informed teaching and pedagogy is an approach and practice that recognizes educators and students may have past and present experiences that impact learning and behavior in students and educators. This begins with an awareness of the trauma that students may have experienced or be experiencing, and thus aims to create secure, supportive, and equitable school environments that promote the well-being of everyone involved. It focuses on supporting individual students with strong, healthy relationships, and cultivating intentional school and community cultures and communication styles. It also incorporates and ensures patterned and consistent experiences, social and emotional learning, and regulatory practices to create sustainable changes in the nervous systems of learners and educators. It creates consistency and routine with room for flexibility, transparency about goals and expectations, a sense of physical safety in the physical space, and management of the risk of in-class triggers.
Principles of trauma-informed pedagogy
- Prioritizing relationships and process over content
- Recognizing that students' actions are a result of their life experiences
- Creating a safe, welcoming, and engaging environment in which students can thrive
- Adopting a supportive, reflective, and caring approach that is responsive to the reality that any student can be trauma-affected
- Attending to the psycho-social and emotional needs of learners, and adapting content and structures accordingly
- Providing choice, voice, and agency to students
- Practicing empathy, compassion, and self-care as educators
To learn more about trauma-informed teaching and practice in libraries, try some of the following resources
- Trauma Informed Teaching Guide (IUB Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning)
- Trauma Aware Teaching Checklist (100 Faculty)
- Professional Development Certificate in Trauma-Informed Care (IU Engage Course)
- Trauma-Informed Pedagogy (University of Denver)
- Crisis-Conscious Teaching Toolkit (Purdue-Fort Wayne)
Trauma-Informed Pedagogies: A Guide for Responding to Crisis and Inequality in Higher Education by ISBN: 9783030927042Publication Date: 2022-08-06This book centers equity in the approach to trauma-informed practice and provides the first evidence-based guide to trauma-informed teaching and learning in higher education. The book is divided into four main parts. Part I grounds the collection in an equity approach to trauma-informed care and illustrates one or more trauma-informed principles in practice. Chapters in Part II describe trauma-informed approaches to teaching in specific disciplines. In Part III, chapters demonstrate trauma-informed approaches to teaching specific populations. Part IV focuses on instruments and strategies for assessment at the institutional, organizational, departmental, class, and employee levels. The book also includes a substantial appendix with more than a dozen evidence-based and field-tested tools to support college educators on their trauma-informed teaching journey.
Inclusive pedagogy is an approach to teaching that considers and values the diversity and intersectionality of students’ identities, backgrounds, and abilities. It aims to create equitable and socially just learning environments that are meaningful, relevant, accessible, and transformative for all students. It involves intentional efforts by educators to address systemic inequities and barriers to learning in the classroom, curricula, and assessment. It is learning-centered, equity-focused, trauma-sensitive, and fosters social justice.
Inclusive pedagogy is not a single approach, but rather includes culturally-informed, culturally-responsive, and culturally-sustaining pedagogies, among others. Other frameworks, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Inclusive Design, can also be part of an inclusive approach to learning.
Some of the core principles of inclusive pedagogy are
- Recognizing and valuing the diversity of students’ experiences, perspectives, and ways of knowing
- Providing multiple and flexible ways for students to access content, engage with learning activities, and demonstrate their learning outcomes
- Creating a welcoming and supportive learning environment that fosters a sense of belonging, trust, and respect among students and teachers
- Challenging dominant norms and assumptions that may exclude or marginalize some students or groups of students
- Collaborating with students, colleagues, families, and communities to promote inclusive pedagogy across different contexts
To learn more about this framework and approach, consult some of the following resources
- Inclusive Pedagogy Toolkit (ACRL)
- Inclusive Pedagogy Guide (UNC Charlotte)
- What are Inclusive Pedagogies? (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
- Diversity and Inclusion Resources (IU Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning)
- Inclusive Pedagogy (University of Chicago)
Exploring Inclusive and Equitable Pedagogies: Creating Space for All Learners, Volume 1 by ISBN: 9780838939352Publication Date: 2023-05-11Inclusive and equity-minded pedagogy is inspired by a rich array of theories including Black feminist thought, critical race theory, cultural humility, cultural competence, disabilities studies, universal design for learning, and critical information literacy. When we base our instruction on inclusive and equitable pedagogies, we endeavor to connect authentically with students as well as to connect classroom learning to the context of their lives. We share power with students, centering them and their varied learning preferences, and strive to create a culture of care, empathy, and humility both in and out of the classroom. When we clearly share our objectives and expectations for a learning experience, students may better understand us and the learning context we aspire to create. In Exploring Inclusive & Equitable Pedagogies: Creating Space for All Learners, seven thorough sections across two volumes examine: Anti-Racist Approaches Intentional Information Literacy Engendering Care and Empathy Community Building Universal Design for Learning: An Important Benchmark Instructor Identity and Positionality Professional Development Chapters cover topics including dismantling, reexamining, and reconstructing notions of authority in information literacy instruction; teaching technology inclusively; using primary sources to research queer and feminist histories; cocreating knowledge practices with students; prioritizing accessibility in synchronous and asynchronous learning environments; cultural humility, funds of knowledge, and information literacy instruction with first-generation students; designing and managing inclusive group projects; and much more. To become the instructors our students need, we must adopt the mindsets and develop the underlying skills to enact inclusive and equitable teaching and learning. Exploring Inclusive & Equitable Pedagogies offers reflections, practices, and models that deepen our collective understanding of equitable and inclusive theories and practices and present new grounding for both our individual teaching and our instruction programs.
Exploring Inclusive and Equitable Pedagogies: Creating Space for All Learners, Volume 2 by ISBN: 9780838938546Publication Date: 2023-05-11Inclusive and equity-minded pedagogy is inspired by a rich array of theories including Black feminist thought, critical race theory, cultural humility, cultural competence, disabilities studies, universal design for learning, and critical information literacy. When we base our instruction on inclusive and equitable pedagogies, we endeavor to connect authentically with students as well as to connect classroom learning to the context of their lives. We share power with students, centering them and their varied learning preferences, and strive to create a culture of care, empathy, and humility both in and out of the classroom. When we clearly share our objectives and expectations for a learning experience, students may better understand us and the learning context we aspire to create. In Exploring Inclusive & Equitable Pedagogies: Creating Space for All Learners, seven thorough sections across two volumes examine: Anti-Racist Approaches Intentional Information Literacy Engendering Care and Empathy Community Building Universal Design for Learning: An Important Benchmark Instructor Identity and Positionality Professional Development Chapters cover topics including dismantling, reexamining, and reconstructing notions of authority in information literacy instruction; teaching technology inclusively; using primary sources to research queer and feminist histories; cocreating knowledge practices with students; prioritizing accessibility in synchronous and asynchronous learning environments; cultural humility, funds of knowledge, and information literacy instruction with first-generation students; designing and managing inclusive group projects; and much more. To become the instructors our students need, we must adopt the mindsets and develop the underlying skills to enact inclusive and equitable teaching and learning. Exploring Inclusive & Equitable Pedagogies offers reflections, practices, and models that deepen our collective understanding of equitable and inclusive theories and practices and present new grounding for both our individual teaching and our instruction programs.
Critical pedagogy is a teaching philosophy approach that applies concepts from critical theory to education, learning practices, and the classroom. It positions teaching as a political act and aims to help students question and challenge domination, inequality, and injustice in society, especially around structures such as class, race, and gender. It also seeks to develop critical thinking, social responsibility, and transformative action in students towards empowering them to create change in the world.
Some of the principles of critical pedagogy are:
- Challenging the dominant culture and recognizing how these narratives and structures shape our knowledges, beliefs, and values
- Changing the classroom dynamic to reduce the power imbalance between teachers and students
- Presenting alternative views and perspectives that are often marginalized or excluded
- Centering the agency and choice of learners in learning relationships and spaces
- Collaborating with others to create change in classrooms and the larger society
To learn more about critical pedagogies, try some of the following resources
- Critical Theory Pedagogies Guide (UNC Charlotte)
- Critical Pedagogy: Challenging Bias and Creating Inclusive Classrooms (University of Illinois)
- Critical Pedagogy Overview (Emory)
- Critical Pedagogy: 8 Key Concepts You Need To Know (Necessary Teacher Training College)
On Critical Pedagogy by ISBN: 9781350144989Publication Date: 2020-03-19Alongside Paulo Freire, Henry A. Giroux is widely considered to be the founding father of critical pedagogy. This classic work represents his best writing on critical pedagogy spanning the past 40 years. The 2nd edition includes four new chapters covering the rise of fascist culture in America and across the globe and the dictatorship of ignorance in the age of Trump and post-truth.This impassioned work opens by discussing critical pedagogy in schools before extending the notion to the educational force of culture, politics, and society. Giroux analyses the increasingly empirical orientation of teaching, focusing on the culture of positivism and examines some of the major economic, social, and political forces undermining the promise of democratic schooling in both public and higher education. He argues against the tendency by both right wing and neo-liberal interests to reduce schooling to training, and students merely to customers. He points to the increasing attack on pubic and higher education by right-wing populists and the Trump administration in an age of growing authoritarianism. Giroux also considers the legacy of Freire and issues a fundamental challenge to educators, public intellectuals, and others who believe in the promise of radical democracy.
Critical Pedagogy: An Exploration of Contemporary Themes and Issues by ISBN: 9781315101811Publication Date: 2021-08-16This accessible text provides a clear overview of the contemporary themes and challenges within critical pedagogy, and suggests a path towards a more conscientious world for all through education. Boronski encourages us to imagine radical alternatives to current approaches, not merely for ideological reasons, but due to increasing necessity for environmental and sociological perspectives. With case studies, discussion tasks and exemplars from global history woven throughout, each chapter considers a prominent societal and educational issue, tackling some difficult and unsettling areas. Embedded in this exploration is an understanding and application of key concepts, such as justice, equality, rights and power, and how these relate to a range of topics in UK schooling. These include the role of teachers in an age of hyper surveillance and performance monitoring, alternative approaches to education, and the growing fear of the 'other'. Essential reading for Education Studies students at undergraduate and Master's level, this comprehensive text will also be of interest to students of Social Policy, Sociology and Politics programmes.
Becoming a Critical Educator by ISBN: 0820461490Publication Date: 2006-08-24Many American educators are all too familiar with disengaged students, disenfranchised teachers, sanitized and irrelevant curricula, inadequate support for the neediest schools and students, and the tyranny of standardizing testing. This text invites teachers and would-be teachers unhappy with such conditions to consider becoming critical educators - professionals dedicated to creating schools that genuinely provide equal opportunity for all children. Assuming little or no background in critical theory, chapters address several essential questions to help readers develop the understanding and resolve necessary to become change agents. Why do critical theorists say that education is always political? How do traditional and critical agendas for schools differ? Which agenda benefits whose children? What classroom and policy changes does critical practice require? What risks must change agents accept? Resources point readers toward opportunities to deepen their understanding beyond the limits of these pages.
