Teaching & Learning Team Instruction Policies

Introduction

Library instruction prepares students to find, evaluate, and use information in their research process, both inside and outside the classroom. At George Mason University, library instructors teach students about research questions, finding information, evaluating information, and many other aspects of the research process. 

The library instructors’ role is to partner with faculty to provide tailored and relevant instruction. We have a suite of pre-created content available to use on a variety of topics and are also available to customize and create new content for specific assignments, classes, or other contexts. 

Library instructors at Mason use both the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the principles of Universal Design for Learning when in the classroom. These theoretical underpinnings give library instructors the background they need to provide excellent and research-based library instruction to students, faculty, and staff. We are also guided by our Teaching Philosophy, which links our instruction to Mason-specific goals and vision.

The policies included in this set of pages reflect best practices and guidelines for working with library instructors. We have divided these policies into three pages: Requesting Instruction, Face-to-Face Instruction, and Online Instruction. You can visit those pages via the menu on the left or by clicking on their names.

General Guidance

The primary guidance for working with library instructors is to be involved and engaged in the instructional process. Library instructors are at their best when engaged as partners throughout the process, enabling us to provide feedback on assignments, create custom instructional materials and lesson plans, and work with students one-on-one. Further, when faculty are engaged in the instructional process, their students typically will be as well. Faculty buy-in plays a significant role in the success of library instruction and student learning.  

More Information

For more information about the learning outcomes we use in the classroom and how we assess them, you can visit our page for the Student Learning Assessment Plan.

To request library instruction, visit our Requests page.

For any questions or comments about these policies or the library instruction program at Mason in general, please reach out to the Instruction Coordinator, David Lemmons, at dlemmons@gmu.edu.

Page last updated: 01/07/2021