Program
ALA Unit/Subunit: ALA
Meeting Type: Program
Cost: Included with full conference registration.
Open/Closed: Open
At its core, peer coaching is a non-evaluative professional development model wherein two or more colleagues come together to: explore a subject of interest, reflect on past practices, discuss strategies for growth, and problem solve. While peer coaching has been used in educational and business settings for decades, the panelists take a novel approach to using this technique, applying peer coaching to library instruction in multiple academic environments. Peer coaching models range from observation to role playing to project planning, and for our panel of presenters, study groups. Benefits include opportunities to strengthen relationships among colleagues, fill gaps in training, overcome professional isolation, and develop leadership capacities, all at low or no cost to participants. An additional benefit of peer coaching for professional learning is its flexibility, such that it can be structured informally or formally.
Three librarians from diverse work environments used peer coaching to explore professional development interests that would strengthen their awareness of critical pedagogical principles and enhance their capacity for inclusive, learner-centered instruction. Panelists will share their experiences with peer coaching, from initial goals to project completion. However, a strength of peer coaching is its utility and adaptability across a wide range of contexts. Thus, engagement with the audience will be integral to this session, in order to 1) facilitate the sharing of ideas around diverse ways to implement peer coaching and 2) consider peer coaching’s potential for a range of library roles and responsibilities beyond those discussed on the panel.
Marisa Méndez-Brady
Librarian for English and History
UCLA Library
Marisa Méndez-Brady
Librarian for English and History
UCLA Library
Jennifer Bonnet
Social Sciences & Humanities Librarian
University of Maine's Fogler Library
Melissa Gomis
Library Director
Doane University, Perkins Library