Background: Librarians are frequently asked to provide a single lecture at the beginning of a course to explain all information resources students will be expected to use throughout the semester. This approach is incongruent with educational theories about adult learning, and results in bored attendees, multiple individual questions appearing at reference services, and lack of use of appropriate resources in course assignments. After facing this scenario for several years, I decided to try to change faculty’s minds to accept different instruction patterns and methods. It was then necessary to obtain faculty buy-in to integrate this new instructional style into the curriculum.
Description: In early 2017, I designed optimal library instruction sequencing that could be adapted to many courses, meet faculty preferences, and support student learning: microlectures of no more than 20 minutes would be presented near the beginning of a course and 1 to 5 other instructional activities would be integrated at the time of need. I used rhetorical strategies, communications theories, illustrations of student work and faculty work and their relationships to educational theories, and persistence to communicate the benefits of this optimal sequencing. In fall 2020, faculty leading two long-standing courses previously requesting a single lecture requested a microlecture and additional instructional activities, and a course scheduled for spring 2021 has also indicated interest. All of these efforts can be adapted by other librarians to their situations when needing to change faculty minds about education and instruction.
Conclusion: Changing beliefs about instructional sequencing, depth, patterns, and methods is difficult but not impossible. With practice, anyone can adapt these communications and rhetorical strategies to change attitudes about instruction.