The Flywheel Effect: Bridging the Gap for First-year Students in a Virtual World
Free Online Presentation
Tuesday, May 11th, 2021
1:00-2:00 PM (Central)
Presented via Zoom
Registration Link
As instruction librarians we may assume that students enter college with certain prerequisite skills to start them on the path to success. While some students may be prepared, others have lacked the opportunity to develop essential critical thinking skills needed to navigate their coursework and research assignments efficiently. COVID-19 has posed additional challenges for students in high school who will be transitioning to college, especially after the abrupt pivot to virtual learning. Are these students fully prepared for college success? A better question is “Do our services align with what these students really need to succeed academically in higher education?” This is an ideal time to ask how our instructional strategy can be thoughtfully crafted to meet these students’ needs.
As liaison librarians, we can think more like skill-building coaches who spot the challenges with regard to learning achievement gaps and recognize that information literacy can adequately fill those gaps. The Flywheel strategy is a business concept developed by Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great. An analogy of a flywheel is used to illustrate that successful outcomes can be achieved through deliberate, strategic intent combined with small, repetitive steps by everyone involved. Librarians can implement this strategy to link learners with skill-building resources that impact their lived experiences beyond the classroom via information literacy instruction. Through concerted endeavors, “functional/instructional experts” can actively engage in win-win outcomes with these students on a platform utilizing the ACRL Framework and help students to achieve academic success and move our service from “good to great” through deep learning.
This free presentation is sponsored by the ACRL University Libraries Section Professional Development Committee.
Presenter Bios
Kay Coates is a Research Services Librarian at Georgia Southern University, where she teaches information literacy catering to all levels in higher education. She serves as a liaison to the College of Education.
Vivian Bynoe, Head of Reference & Instruction at The Armstrong Campus, is a library liaison to the College of Education and the TRIO Student Support Services program at Georgia Southern University. TRIO supports first-generation college students, students with disabilities, and low-income students.
Additional Information
If you can’t make this session but wish to view a recording later, please register so that you’ll receive an email that includes a link to the video of the presentation.
Please direct questions and concerns to Laura Gariepy (lwgariepy@vcu.edu) or Sam Harlow (slharlow@uncg.edu), co-chairs of the ACRL ULS Professional Development Committee. A full list of the committee’s past and future programs are available here
