11th chat, August 12th 2014: affect & critical pedagogy

Moderated by @kellymce

Storify by @Liz_Librarian

Topic: For today’s chat, we’re using Shroeder and Cahoy’s (2010) definition of the affective domain as including one’s “attitudes, emotions, interests, motivation, self-efficacy, and values.” The proposed Framework for Information Literacy identifies affective learning outcomes under the Dispositions section of each frame.

Discussion questions:

• Q1: For better or worse, how have you seen feelings at play in the library classroom?
• Q2: In what ways do you adapt to the values/attitudes/emotions of particular learners?
• Q3: The proposed IL framework includes Dispositions to address affective elements within each concept. Taking the “Info Has Value” as an example, how well do these dispositions cover a #critlib perspective?
  • Learners who are developing their information literate abilities:
    • Respect the original ideas of others and the academic tradition of citation and attribution.
    • Value the creative skills needed to produce information.
    • See themselves as contributors to the information marketplace rather than only consumers of it.
    • Recognize issues of access or lack of access to information sources.
    • Understand that some individuals or groups of individuals may not be represented within the information ecosystem. (http://acrl.ala.org/ilstandards/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Framework-for-IL-for-HE-Draft-2.pdf, starting at line 417)
• Q4: How can these attitudes/values/emotions be built into library instruction?
• Q5: How do our attitudes/values/emotions as teachers affect our students?

Tenth chat, July 29 2014: cataloging

Moderated by @barnlib

Storify needed

Reading: http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/libfacpub/19/ by @edrabinski and @justbilley

Discussion questions:

• Q1: The authors argue that the gender of authors should not be recorded in RDA. Is anything lost from a #critlib perspective?
• Q2: Why does RDA solicit gender identification and not race other other demographics#critlib
• Q3: Are creators’ and library users’ wants/needs at odds? How do we responsibly negotiate between the two? #critlib
• Q4 What are the tensions b/w wanting to identify factors like gender & the inevitable ways those identifications fix them in place? #critlib
• Q5: Given that classification and cataloging put us in lots of binds, what are some #critlib ways out?

Ninth chat, July 22 2014: ACRL framework revisions

Moderated by @donnarosemary

Storify by @Liz_Librarian

Topic: This special chat with guest participants @mhensle1 and @T_Swanson, members of the ACRL IL Revision Task Force, will focus on how the new Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education [PDF] relates to critical pedagogy, critical information literacy, and social justice, in the work we do.

Readings: In addition to the latest draft of the Framework [PDF], please also take a look at the following:

• Petition by the contributing authors and editors of Information Literacy & Social Justice: Radical Professional Praxis for the revision task force to further integrate critical information literacy and social justice into the Framework
• Task Force FAQ web page, where Q4 addresses critical information literacy and social justice in the Framework
• Troy Swanson’s blog post, “Information as a Human Right: A Missing Threshold Concept?”

Discussion questions:

[shorthand: TCs = threshold concepts; KPs = knowledge practices; TF = task force]

• Q1 What opportunities to enact critical pedagogy does the Framework offer to IL instructors? #critlib
• Q2 In what ways if any is the Framework problematic or missing aspects of critical IL &/or social justice? #critlib
• Q3, 1/3 @T_Swanson blogged that the #acrlilrevisions TF drafted then scrapped a crit IL/soc justice frame “Info as a human right” #critlib
• Q3, 2/3 @T_Swanson’s post “Information as a Human Right”: A Missing Threshold Concept? http://tametheweb.com/2014/07/07/information-as-a-human-right-a-missing-threshold-concept-by-ttw-contributor-troy-swanson/ #critlib
• Q3, 3/3 As per @T_Swanson’s question from his post: What might an IL frame/TC focused on crit IL &/or social justice look like? #critlib
• Q4 via @FromTheShelves b/c Info has Value, it also has Power. How might this TC address how groups seek to control info’s flow? (groups = governments, companies, social groups, etc.) #critlib
• Q5 In what ways is the authority conferred by ACRL on the Framework helpful &/or problematic to our work as crit IL instructors? #critlib

Eighth chat, July 15 2014: assessment regimes

Moderated by @mauraweb

Storify by @Liz_Librarian

Topic: How do we connect critical librarianship to assessment regimes?

Discussion questions:

• Q1: How can a critical librarianship perspective be applied to assessment?
• Q2: If our institution’s assessment priorities are at odds with a critical perspective, how can we  reconcile the two?
• Q3: Is there an ideal balance of quantitative and qualitative assessment in libraries? Is one more consistent with critical librarianship?
• Q4: Is assessment a good use of our time as critical librarians?
• Q5: In the changing library landscape, how can we ensure that assessment requirements advance rather than hinder #critlib?

Seventh chat, June 17, 2014: neutrality

Moderated by @pumpedlibrarian

Storify by @Liz_Librarian

Topic: We will discuss the myth of neutrality in higher ed and how much responsibility professors and educators should have to be activists.

Recommended reading: Professors who profess: Making a difference as scholar-activists, Alfie Kohn, 2003

Discussion questions:

• Q1 Re: opening Chomsky quote, how do libraries/librarians enact this?
• Q2 What library instruction debates/norms should we be questioning?
• Q3 What areas should we do (more) research in to break from status quo?
• Q4 How should LIS education change to improve library instruction in this capacity?
• Q5 Any #alaac14 sessions to share that #critlib -ers might be interested in?

Sixth chat, June 3, 2014: transforming librarians and libraries

Moderated by @edrabinski

Storify by @Liz_Librarian

Topic: This week, @edrabinski will invite the group to turn our critical lenses on ourselves. How do libraries and librarians reproduce oppressive structures? How do they resist oppression? What are some strategies we can use to transform ourselves?

Discussion questions:

• Q1: What kinds of structural oppressions are reproduced by libraries and librarians, and how?
• Q2: Is there anything intrinsically resistant about libraries and/or librarians?
• Q3: How can we mobilize the things that libraries and librarians are good at to bring about social change?
• Q4: What are the characteristics of a critical pedagogue, and how can we cultivate those characteristics? (Thanks for the Q, @donnarosemary!)
• Q5: What else should we talk about tonight?

Fifth chat, May 20, 2014: Wikipedia article for critical information literacy

Moderated by @mswygart

Storify by @Liz_Librarian

Topic: There’s no Wikipedia article for Critical Information Literacy (henceforth referred to as cilwikiart) – let’s write one!  We’ll be throwing around some ideas for how to approach crowdsourcing this.

Discussion questions:

• Q1 What are the key concepts/sections to include in our cilwikiart?
• Q2 Who are the critical people to cite in the cilwikiart?
• Q3 Logistically, what would be best approach to groupwriting our cilwikiart? Google doc? Wiki userspace draft?
• Q4 Who wants to write part of our cilwikiart, & what role would you like to take – initial draft of a section? Add to drafts?
• Q5 Other important Qs I’m totally forgetting right now?

Outcome: We are going to write this article!  We have a “userspace draft” here: http://tinyurl.com/cilwikiart-draft – anyone with this link can see this, anyone with a Wikipedia acct can edit it – but it is not a “live” article yet.  Basically, this is our sandbox to go crazy in – to begin writing the article, place to put notes/placeholders of things to add, listing relevant sources to cite, etc. – feel free to start doing whatever you want here!  Along with this draft space is a “user talk” space where we can converse – thanks to Rory Litwin for pointing out and creating this shortened link: bit.ly/1qTveJc

Deadlines: There were calls for some “soft deadlines” and also maybe scheduling a group edit-a-thon for late June/early July – stay tuned for a more concrete date in that time frame (maybe a doodle poll to coordinate), which will be tweeted to #critlib and posted here. Vive la #critlib!

Fourth chat, May 6, 2014: codes of conduct

Moderated by @catladylib

Storify by @Liz_Librarian

Topic: Code of Conduct

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What is your opinion on ALA’s Code of Conduct? Necessary? Share your thoughts.
• Q2. What can we do as a profession to create safe spaces at conferences?
• Q3. How can we create safe spaces online and is it possible? via @donnarosemary
• Q4. Do you think privilege impacts topics and speakers chosen at conferences? Why or why not?

Third chat, April 22 2014: critical pedagogy + libraries

moderated by @catladylib
Storify (pdf, html) by @carlhess

Discussion questions:

• Q1. How do we take our students identities into account when teaching?
• Q2. How do you deal with students who are resistant to social justice issues?
• Q3. What does critical pedagogy for info lit. look like in nonacademic settings? How can we promote in other spaces?
• Q3.5. what #critlib looks like outside of instruction/reference?
• Q4. What do you want to get out of these #critlib discussions? What format/frequency would work best? Twitter still okay for this?
• #critlib pitch! Share your blog posts, articles, books, anything related to critical pedagogy + libraries (or not)

Second chat, April 8 2014

moderated by @kellymce
Storify (pdf, html) by @wendycr_

Topic: Since not everyone had time to read the Gregory & Higgins’ intro chapter, this will be the “official” reading for the next chat. If you can, please do read this and be prepared to discuss. However, everyone is still welcome to join us, whether you have read it or not. See you then!

Discussion questions:

• Q1: Is neutrality an impossible construct, per Toni Samek?
• Q2: In what ways has infolit been co-opted by “corporatist efficiencies and risk management?”
• Q3 “What can we do to empower students to raise their critical consciousness of information and how can we inspire them to apply this outlook for fairness and the equality of all people?”
• Q4: How do you teach students to take action?
• Q5: How do you take your students’ gender, sexuality, language, race, class, ability, etc. into account?