THE MISSING LINKLibrarians and the Teaching Identity

Sarah Faye CohenChamplain College, Burlington, Vermont

Session Goals

•Why focus on developing the teaching identity?

•How can we cultivate the teaching identity?

• What are obstacles to cultivating the teaching identity, said and unsaid?

• What are the results of this work?

What are we here to talk about today?

Why focus on developing the teaching identity?In two parts.

1. Professionally and logistically

• Combats burnout and isolation.

• Improves effectiveness in the classroom.

• Facilitates collaboration and “groupthink” for more diversity of ideas.

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But what is “teaching identity”?

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“We rarely talk with each other about teaching at any depth—and why should we when we have nothing more than ‘tips, tricks, and techniques’ to discuss? That kind of talk fails to touch the heart of the teacher’s experience.”

(The Courage to Teach, 13)

“the heart of the teacher’s experience”

• What does it mean to be teaching librarian?

• What does it mean to be a teacher?

• Are you a teacher?• What does that look like, sound like, feel like, taste like?

Getting things out in the open.

Exposing the truth behind our challenges

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Is it something else? A crisis.• Fear

• A fear of obsolescence• A fear of not knowing• A fear vulnerability• A fear of judgment

• Lack• A lack of confidence• A lack of voice• A lack of agency• A lack of faith in

ourselves as teachershttp://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/4993073773/

A clean start to a difficult topic.

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At the elemental level.“Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will

ever bubble up, if you keep digging.”

(Marcus Aurelius)

• To understand our students, our objectives, our pedagogy, and our teaching, we need to understand ourselves.

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HOW DO WE DO THAT?

Define your community

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Standing Meetings

• Specific time for the people who teach to address teaching

• Time to acknowledge, vent, experiment, design, share

• Expression of value and importance

Group Readings• Why?

• The group that reads together, stays together.

• An environment that is informal, relaxed, and supportive.

• How• A book of one’s own• Various formats • Using meeting time to read• Focused.

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What to read:• Pieces that address our challenges, not reinforce our expertise.• Exploring yourself as a

teacher: The Courage to Teach

• Who are today’s students? Born Digital

• Helping students to “get it”Made to Stick

• Unplugging: Hamlet’s Blackberry http://www.flickr.com/photos/anna/199723292

Developing a Teaching Philosophy

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• Motivation. • What is your “modus

operandi” for being in the classroom?

• Vision for the classroom and teaching experience.

• A focus on you, not the students.

Debrief sessions• Designing sessions are a process, not a product.

• Before• What is our “CI” and our

“takeaway”?• What learning styles are

we addressing?• What problems can we

anticipate?• After

• What worked? What didn’t?

• What will I do differently?• What will I do again?

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Peer to Peer Observations

• An opportunity to learn about the physical• Non-verbal

communication• Intonation

• Back of the room view of students

• What will I try from their way of teaching?

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What observations are not.

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My own learning experience

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The tenor of the conversation

• Listening• Safe spaces: a judgment free zone

• Welcome challenges and failures

• Marinating• Conflict as a need expressed in another direction

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USING INQUIRY TO BUILD THAT TONE AND SPACE

Give voice

• Nostalgia• Animosity• Hard conversations• Open-ended questions

• “Not our problem to solve.”

• Uncertainty

Embedding reflection

WHAT ARE OBSTACLES TO CULTIVATING THE TEACHING IDENTITY, EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT?

Common Obstacles

• Time• “I’m fine in the classroom.”

• “I don’t need help.”• “I have nothing to learn from them.”

• Not supported• Not important to my evaluations

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Fear of the unknown and unchartered

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IS IT WORTH IT?

Yes. And we will do it together.

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What do we get out of this work?

• Teams• Authentic support• Collaboration• Creativity• Trust

• Confidence• Better teachers• Fun

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How do you know?

• Word of mouth• Statistics speak• Reference• Distributive leadership• Stronger sense of teaching community

HOW CAN YOU BEGIN?

Start here

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Share your experience

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Invite others

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Persist

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“We cannot know the great things of the universe until we know ourselves to be great things.”

(The Courage to Teach, 113)

THANK YOU.Always happy to talk further.

thesheckspot@gmail.com@thesheck

I’D LOVE YOUR HELP.• What do you consider to be the obstacles to

teaching identity work?• What kinds of research would help shed light

on this issue?• What would support for teaching identity work

look like at UK libraries? • How can we demystify this work and how can

we help it gain traction in the academy?