Teaching

As an educator, I strive to transform the individuals in my courses from students in information science to students of information science. My efforts play upon a subtle but important distinction. Successful students who are in information science read carefully, write analytically, and accomplish tasks necessary to complete their degree. Students of information science do all of the above, but take an important step further: they engage with information science as an academic discipline. I expect my students to delve into the accumulated body of knowledge in information science and its history, explore different models and methods of inquiry, and grapple with the evolving nature of information tools and practices. To further foster this engagement, I employ inquiry activities which encourage students to explore the reflexive relationship between theory and practice.

I I continually apply the lessons from my eight years of teaching students in K‐12 contexts to the courses I teach at the university level. While specific classroom management techniques may be different, the principles of how people learn hold true for both child and adult learners. For example, when students are new to a discipline, they require that assignments are structured to alleviate their
insecurities with the subject matter of the course. I have found that the use of scaffolded tasks, rubrics, and assignment benchmarks, which I used as a middle school educator, are all valuable techniques for articulating academic expectations at the university as well. The use of such techniques allows me to focus class discussion more on the issues and ideas, and less on the mechanics of assessment.

In sum, my approach to teaching focuses on deep engagement with the concepts, methods, and challenges of information science as an academic domain. I emphasize inquiry as a fundamental element of this approach, and employ classroom techniques which help focus learning on concepts and issues relevant to the field. I expect that each of my students will engage not just in school work, but in the work of an information scientist; I hope that each student who enters into this discipline
becomes a student of it as well.