Douglas R. Dechow – författare

Library instruction is like acting: There’s a live audience, in person or online; you may be doing a one-shot, limited engagement, or play to the same crowd repeatedly over the course of a term; and you usually expect reviews. Most important, instruction is like acting in that you’re playing a role, and it’s crucial to prepare your performance before you go on in order to shine and connect authentically with students.Your Craft as a Teaching Librarian: Using Acting Skills to Create a Dynamic Presence —a revised and expanded edition of The Craft of Librarian Instruction—captures how acting techniques can sharpen your instructional skills and establish your teaching identity, enliven your performance, and create an invigorating learning experience for your students. It’s divided into three entertaining sections: Prepare and Rehearse: Centering yourself, physical and vocal preparation, mindfulness, and avoiding stage frightPerform and Connect: Role playing, identity, action/reaction, and information literacyReflect and Sharpen: Assessment and adaptation  Chapters feature exercises to explore on your own or with a colleague, question and answer sections to help you identify potential challenges and solutions, and tips on deepening your teaching skills. A glossary of acting terms and a “learn more about it” bibliography provide additional context for the methods and techniques presented. Your Craft as a Teaching Librarian can help you personalize and characterize your teaching presence and help those with little to no teaching experience, instructors dealing with shyness or stage fright, and more experienced librarians in need of a refreshed perspective, adding an undeniable star quality to your instructional performance.

Library instruction is like a theatre performance. You play a role as the instruction librarian. There is a live audience. You may receive reviews or evaluations. Or maybe the teaching experience feels more like an audition—a bit unnerving! In The Craft of Librarian Instruction: Using Acting Techniques to Create Your Teaching Presence, join Julie Artman, Jeff Sundquist, and Douglas R. Dechow for a fun and creative approach to library instruction as they demonstrate how acting techniques can hone your presentation skills, your teaching style, and your performance to create an invigorating (and stress-free) learning experience for your students.Using acting methods and techniques, you’ll learn how to:Rehearse and prepare for your instruction session by centering yourself through visualization, memorization, and improvisation;Connect with your students through personalization and role-playing, and by exploring your teacher identity; andSharpen your unique teaching presence through reflection and intentional instruction.Vocal and physical preparation and instructional scenarios will reveal potential challenges and pose solutions, and provide tips for deepening your teaching skills. Intended for newly hired instruction librarians, librarians with little or no teaching experience, those dealing with shyness or ‘stage fright,’ as well as more experienced librarians in need of a refreshed perspective, The Craft of Librarian Instruction: Using Acting Techniques to Create Your Teaching Presence will add an undeniable star quality to your instructional performance!

This engaging volume celebrates the life and work of Theodor Holm “Ted” Nelson, a pioneer and legendary figure from the history of early computing.