Developing theory-based, practical information literacy training for adults

Abstract

Teaching librarians seeking to educate people to be lifelong, information literate learners, often employ training sessions to introduce new skill sets to patrons. To create and deliver effective training, one must first understand how training differs from traditional education, how adults learn (andragogy) in different ways than do children, and how using instructional design can yield effective, low cost information literacy programs. A wealth of on-line, open source resources is available on how to learn more about and implement training, andragogical teaching principles, and instructional design. Librarians interested in honing their teaching skills can access these resources to expand and improve their understanding of how to be better educators and trainers.