Intentional Reference:
A Mindful Approach to
Making Good Even Better
Dale Vidmar
Information Literacy and Instruction Coordinator/
Education, Communication, Health, Phys. Ed. & Leadership Librarian
Southern Oregon University Library
http://www.sou.edu/library/dale
vidmar@sou.edu
http://webpages.sou.edu/~vidmar/lnet2010/vidmar.ppt
Oregon Virtual Reference Summit
Portland, Oregon
May 7, 2010
Why Are We Here?
Intentions:
• Improve L-Net and
Virtual Reference
• Promote the Service
• Become more mindful
about our practice
Librarians Teach!!!
Consider your approach to
reference with the same
diligence you would consider
classroom teaching.
Virtual Reference can provide
both teachable moments as
well as opportunities for
librarians to perfect their craft.
The Intentional Librarian
A primary characteristic
of an outstanding
teacher/librarian is
intentionality–
Having a purpose with
which to cultivate
informed reflection.
Reflection
When you think about
your virtual reference,
what do you think
about most often?
Be specific!
Intentionality:
What Do You Mean?
• Purposeful
• Directed
• Pointed towards or attending
to a target or objective
• Mindful
• Present
• Prime characteristic of being
outstanding at what we do
Intentional Reference:
Making Good Better
• Good Virtual Reference is not
an accident!
• Think about what you intend
to do before you do a shift.
• Be mindful or intent about
what you do when you act.
• Reflect upon what happened
afterwards.
The Cycle of Reflection
•
•
•
•
What am I doing?
Why am I doing what I do?
Is what I am doing effective?
How are individuals
responding to what I do?
• How can I improve what I
am doing?
Intentional/Reflective
Cycle
Plan
Revise
Act
Reflect
Collegial Conversations
Think – Pair – Share
Think about your next
virtual reference session.
What do you intend to do
to make the session
more productive and
meaningful?
Critical Incidents
• Critical incidents (Brookfield) –
a vividly remembered event
that is unplanned and
unanticipated
• Opportunities to examine and
better understand what we do
and how we do it in order to
initiate change and
improvement
Why Reflection?
“Experience itself is actually
the ‘greatest teacher,” . . .
What Does Our Experience Say?
Why Reflection?
“Experience itself is actually not
the ‘greatest teacher,” . . .
“we do not learn as much
from experience as we learn
from reflecting on that
experience.”
- Thomas S.C. Farrell
from Reflective Practice in Action:
80 Reflection Breaks for Busy Teachers
References and
Resources
• Brookfield, S. D. (1995). Becoming a critically
reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Costa, A. & Garmston, R. (1994). Cognitive coaching: a
foundation for renaissance schools. Norwood, MA:
Christopher Gordon.
• Farrell, T. S. (2004). Reflective practice in action: 80
reflection breaks for busy teachers. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• Slavin, R. E. (2006). Educational psychology: Theory
and practice. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
• Vidmar, D. J. (2006). “Reflective peer coaching:
Crafting collaborative self-assessment in
teaching.” Research Strategies. 20 (3), 135-148.
• Vidmar, D. J. (2010). “Collaborative Peer
Conversations: Sample Questioning Strategies.”
Intentional Reference:
A Mindful Approach to
Making Good Even Better
Dale Vidmar
Information Literacy and Instruction Coordinator/
Education, Communication, Health, Phys. Ed. & Leadership Librarian
Southern Oregon University Library
http://www.sou.edu/library/dale
vidmar@sou.edu
http://webpages.sou.edu/~vidmar/lnet2010/vidmar.ppt
Oregon Virtual Reference Summit
Portland, Oregon
May 7, 2010