Library Instruction West 2018

Transfer learning is a critical concern within the library instruction classroom. As librarians, we want to do everything we can to make sure our students are taking something away from our learning environment, but what are some strategies that we can use to accomplish this? Taczak and Robertson (2016) suggest students can engage in transfer learning through reiterative reflection, stating “reflection encourages students to put what they are learning into practice while also serving as a way to set goals and move forward in their writing ability.” Librarians have the opportunity to practice reiterative reflection within their classrooms by adapting Writing Across Contexts practices (Yancey, Robertson, Taczak 2014). When implemented within the library instruction classroom, this pedagogical approach engages students in reflectively describing the process or skill they have learned, and then extending that skill into a new context. In this session the presenters will demonstrate the correlation between Writing Across Contexts and the library instruction classroom, specifically engaging with the idea of “teaching for transfer.” We will briefly discuss the theoretical implications of reflection and its interaction with metacognition and then offer some pragmatic examples of applying these concepts within the library instruction classroom. Session participants will have the opportunity to interactively practice reflection towards transfer through a short writing prompt, and discuss its application and implications in their own teaching contexts.