Active Learning for Library Instruction

[S]tudents must do more than just listen: They must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems. Most important, to be actively involved, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Within this context, it is proposed that strategies promoting active learning be defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing.

Bonwell, C.; Eison, J. (1991). Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom AEHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, D.C.: Jossey-Bass.

"Benjamin Franklin" by Joseph Siffred Duplessis is in the Public Domain

Learning activities should relate directly to the information literacy skills we are teaching as well as the coursework (ENG, HIS, etc.). Active learning can be used to effectively reach students with different learning styles. Active learning promotes retention. 

• Devasagayam, R., Johns.-Masten, K., & McCollum, J. (2012). Linking information literacy, experiential learning, and study characteristics: Pedagogical possibilities in busines education. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 16(4), 1-18.