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Burns Library Instruction

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Classes and Workshops

Faculty Experiences

 

 

The Burns LIbrary Instruction Program is a resource for faculty, new and old, and it isn’t a big deal to ask us to partner with you on developing a class or assignment - provided you give us enough lead time to customize your session. Professor Rob Savage's class held every session in Burns Library. You don’t have to be that committed - there are many different ways you can integrate special collections materials into your classes, some of which are outlined on the Schedule a Class Visit page.

Basic Session Outline

Each Burns Library class is an opportunity for interaction and discovery customized to meet the needs of students. Although there is a lot of flexibility in each session, we do develop class plans for each class that usually include: 

  • Overall Timeline
  • Defined roles and expectations for instructor(s) and students
  • Overview of what special collections are/aren’t, and how Burns Library fits into both the BC Libraries and the larger world of special collections
  • Defined goals/outcomes
    • What skills are you asking them to build/flex?
  • Prearranged content / materials
    • What questions do students need to ask/ answer to interrogate, evaluate, and analyze this content?
  • Active Learning activities
    • designed to meet defined goals
  • Discussion / Presentations / Contextualization
  • Assessment / Feedback
    • After the session (Burns)
    • Throughout the semester / after the assignment

We ask that you make sure that your students understand why they need to participate in the library session and how the skills will make your students better researchers and critical thinkers. It is also important to set the intention that the students are responsible for learning; the librarians mediate their access and answer general format questions, but have not been in class, and cannot tie knowledge together.