Peer Teaching Empowering students towards creativity and action

Peer Teaching: Empowering students towards creativity and action Frances Brady Marquez Wilson Christina Bailey-Murray Adler University

Instruction Sessions – Adler University 60 49 50 40 30 22 20 10 5 0 AY 2012 -2013 AY 2013 -2014 AY 2014 -2015

Scheduling: Hermione’s time turner https: //www. flickr. com/photos/marla_rochester/11414174723/

Peer Teaching: the Idea Dolinger, E. & Farkas, M. (2015, March). Leaving the one shot behind: transitioning from status quo to sustainable integration. Presented at Association of Colleges and Research Libraries Conference, Portland, OR.

Peer Teacher vs. Tutor? “(Students providing) peer-to-peer teaching are not teachers and are not expected to teach and present new material” (Stigmar, 2016). “Peer tutors in academic libraries are not a substitute for the professionally credentialed librarians and qualified staff. ” (O’Kelly, Garrison, Merry, & Torreano, 2015).

Benefits of Peer Teaching Examples of students teaching “individually, with no librarian hovering nearby” are rare. However, “these few precedents in allowing undergraduates to teach outright are uniform in expressing satisfaction with the results”. “According to this model (peer teaching), the role of the librarian is not to lead every instruction session or answer every question, but, rather, to provide the training and tools so that peer providers can serve as optimal vehicles for student learning. ” Bodemer, 2014

Establishing Peer Teaching at Adler Federal Work Study position Student selection Library help desk student workers Reference appointments Faculty recommendations Schedule coordination

Peer Teacher Training Lib. Guide: http: //library. adler. edu/Peer. Teachers Password: chocolate 2017 Workshop Reasons for creating Expectations Teaching/learning theory Session outline & learning objectives Teaching tips (managing problems) Practice!

Peer Teaching Fall 2015 Shadow each Peer Teacher once Follow up: debrief & written observations Assess

Improving My Teaching Peer teachers Their strengths/weaknesses Discussions pre and post instruction session Students

New MAT Lesson Plan Biography assignment – first year Art Therapy students Students struggle to find biographical information Students are more familiar with finding peer-reviewed resources My background Personal experience with the assignment 7 years of experience in libraries Previous creative tasks for the library (Designed Lib. Guide) Background in tutoring

Benefits of Peer Teaching Personal level Research knowledge Patience and insight into the research timeline Confidence Problem solving skills and flexibility Peer-to-peer level Leadership skills Resource for classmates’ library and research questions Work level Greater familiarity with library resources Greater flexibility and knowledge of alternative routes through databases

What Works The Workshops Separate instruction and practice sessions Trust and freedom to create The work environment- close access to support Immediate feedback on the lesson

Areas of Difficulty Creating the Lib. Guide Tackling technology within the classroom Getting past creativity blocks Managing time Finding a comfortable balance between support and independence with my supervisor

Discussion Future directions Assess survey/evaluation questions to collect better data Improve community of practice Update session lesson plans based on informal student & faculty feedback Train peer teachers to do reference Questions & feedback If your library has peer teachers/tutors, how do you : Provide training & support? Schedule sessions? Assess program? What barriers exist to expand student teaching/tutoring? Thank you!

References Bodemer, B. B. (2014) They CAN and they SHOULD: undergraduates providing peer reference and instruction. College & Research Libraries(75)2, 162 -178. Dolinger, E. & Farkas, M. (2015, March). Leaving the one shot behind: transitioning from status quo to sustainable integration. Presented at Association of Colleges and Research Libraries Conference, Portland, OR. O’Kelly, M. , Garrison, J. , Merry, B. , & Torreano, J. (2015). Building a peer-learning service for students in an academic library. Portal: Libraries and the Academy(15)1, 163 -182. Ronan, J. & Pappas, M. (2001) Library instruction is a two-way street: students receiving course credit for peer teaching. Education Libraries(25)1, 19 -24. Stigmar, M. (2016) Peer-to-peer teaching in higher education: a critical literature review. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning(24)2, 124 -136. doi: 10. 1080/13611267. 2016. 1178963