Stevens Librarians Present Innovative Teaching Practices at Conference

Librarians Linda Beninghove, Rommel Espinel, and Vicky Ludas Orlofsky along with Library Intern Ellie Horowitz represented Stevens at the 15th Annual Virtual Academic Library Environment (VALE) New Jersey Conference on January 10, 2014, at Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ. The VALE conference was attended by over 300 academic librarians from colleges and universities across the state, including Rutgers University, Princeton University, Rider University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, The College of New Jersey and many others.

The librarians presented on the “flipped classroom” method of teaching critical thinking and information literacy skills. These skills -- the ability to access, evaluate and use information responsibly -- are recognized by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education as essential skills for the 21st century, and in 2009 were recognized by the Obama Administration in a proclamation establishing October of every year as National Information Literacy Awareness Month.

The librarians’ presentation, entitled “Flipping the Script: Using Videos as Instructional Tools to Flip the Information Literacy Class,” described the process of creating and using videos as instructional tools that were specifically meant for students to watch prior to their in-class library sessions. The videos covered topics traditionally included in the lecture or theoretical element of the in-class library session. This exposure to the material beforehand meant that the students were ready to engage in active learning exercises based on those topics.

These instructional videos were also created so that students could watch them from anywhere at their own convenience, which is especially of importance to online students who may need help navigating the tricky world of information and knowledge creation in the digital world.

Linda, Rommel and Vicky have plans to expand the videos and classes available from the library for the use of all Stevens students.

If you are interested in learning more about flipped classrooms in general or the library’s efforts in particular, please email Linda, Rommel, or Vicky.