Teaching

Courses Taught

My primary goal for teaching is for students to have both theoretical and practical foundations for addressing problems in their working lives. Since the information professions change quickly, it is imperative that students receive a solid foundational grounding for making choices in their professional and personal lives.  All of the courses that I teach begin with theory and then apply theory to practice, ensuring that students have the skills they need to succeed in an information-driven society.

In fall of 2019 I was named as part of the inaugural class of Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) Faculty Fellows. This honor was in recognition of my dedication to teaching. The sessions with the other fellows, expertly guided by members of CITL staff, helped me further develop my pedagogical skills. Although we were primarily intended to help other faculty members across the campus, the wisdom that I received from the other fellows had an immediate impact on my own teaching, especially regarding effective assessments. My greatest pedagogical challenge has been learning to let go of traditional learning assessments particularly an overdependence on research papers. Most students in the iSchool’s programs will not be required to write research papers as part of their professional roles and I have adapted my writing assignments to take this into account. Instead of research papers, students write concise reading response papers, blog posts, portfolios, and give presentations that do not require an accompanying paper.

In 2023, I received the Beta Phi Mu award, administered by the American Library Association, for distinguished service to education for librarianship. This award is a mark of achievement and it was an honor to be recognized for my work as a teacher in the field. My pedagogical goal for the future is to continue to refine assessments across all of my courses to meet students’ needs in their professional lives.

Photo Credit: Janet Eke

Emily Teaching