Abstract
There have been many discussions, critiques, and lamentations on the one-shot, notably in the recent special edition issue of College Research and Library News, edited by Nicole Pagowsky in 2021. Much of this scholarship surrounding one-shot instruction focuses on rethinking, or refreshing content for the benefit of the student, without considering the impact of repetitive classes on librarians. A gap in the literature exists considering continued instructor engagement, as the monotonous nature of one-shots is typically discussed within the larger umbrella topic of burn out (Bowles-Terry and Donovan, 2016; Sheesley, 2001,Ray, 2022; McCormack, 2013). While the nature of one-shots may contribute to burnout, some librarians simply face challenges in maintaining engagement and enthusiasm in the midst of teaching the same lesson plan to multiple classes in one day, a week, or throughout the semester.
This wildcard session proposes bringing librarians together to explore this as-yet unaddressed issue to share, brainstorm, and collaborate on ways in which we as instructors can remain engaged with one-shots, whether it is the first class or the fiftieth. Rather than reinforcing a sense of fatigue around the one-shot, this session reframes it as a meaningful site of professional experimentation and renewal. By focusing on creativity, connection, and self-awareness, librarians can transform the repetitive nature of one-shot instruction into an opportunity for sustained growth and satisfaction in their teaching practice.
Join a tenured instruction librarian who supports over 40 first year experience classes as well as roughly 45 freshmen composition classes (across a team of 3) and a pre-tenure fine arts subject librarian who supports multiple introductory art and music classes to investigate this common experience amongst different types of teaching librarians. Prompted group discussions and a Padlet will be utilized for participants to explore various tactics, approaches, or techniques. Participants can expect to walk away with tangible strategies to sustain their enthusiasm, creativity, an instructional presence across repetitive one-shot sessions.
References
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