The day begins at 7:30, when I rush into my office to print another copy of my lecture notes. Class starts at 8, and the last minute changes I made the night before have rendered the notes I printed yesterday obsolete. A student stops by before class to ask a question about the last assignment. A cart full of books for a modified show-and-tell - the one all of the librarians are doing - waits outside my door. The printer churns as the student and I talk. The question answered, I grab my notes and handouts folder and head out of my office. A minute later, I round the corner of the stacks adjacent to the reading room where class is held, cart in hand.
Class begins with this week’s homework being passed forward as I pass out last week’s homework. I’m about to lose another 5 - 6 minutes of class time as returned assignments are read, grumbles float into the air, and currently due assignments are unearthed. I take a few minutes to address any trends that were spotted on the homework. Most did fine, but at least one question seemed to confuse everyone. I also remind them that questions on the homework grades need to be directed to the librarian who graded that week’s assignment. I’ll be grading next week’s homework, and I’m sure this rotation won’t seem like such a good idea when I’m grappling with assignments from not only my 2 sections, but all 12 sections. But this week, it’s a plus not to have any responsibilities outside of delivering lectures. And the questions, of course, but I’d get those anyway.
The housekeeping out of the way, I turn to the day’s lecture. We’re three weeks into the six-week course, and this week we’re talking about researching federal statutes. As topics go, there is a lot to convey in my remaining 35 minutes. (I’ll need to leave 5 minutes at the end to talk about the next assignment.)
I begin with a brief overview of the federal legislative process, do a drive-by explanation of what legislative history is, and then launch into an explanation of session laws and codes. It’s early, and this group has always been on the quieter side, so it’s hard to tell if they’re following me or just silently craving more caffeine.
When we turn to the handouts for researching in the federal codes, I look down to a set of handouts that I’m not all that familiar with. This is one of the aspects of team-teaching this class. Those of us who’ve taught it before have handouts from earlier years, and in our weekly what’s-up-what-do-we-cover-who-has-handouts meeting, the old handouts were suggested. One advantage to team-teaching is the ability to draw on the resources of five brains. But there’s also a drawback, and it’s just become clear to me.
I don’t own these handouts. Yes, they’ll be a useful introduction to the publication that figures handily in the next assignment, but as I pick them up and start talking about them, there goes some of my teaching energy. Not much, just a little, maybe not even enough to outweigh the benefits of having one less thing to cover (like creating and reproducing handouts) but it’s happened nonetheless.
And I’ve just learned something about myself as a teacher. The first week when I felt a bit off balance I thought it was because it was the first time I’d taught a class in this organization. (The first year legal research class is part of a year long research and writing curriculum, and although it is graded separately, it’s never far from anyone’s mind that it’s only one part of a larger grade.) But I was wrong, that wasn’t what was happening at all. The second week, with the first week jitters behind me, I thought my stress was related to time management. Sure, I was teaching legal research as an “overload” (with class preparation happening outside of the 40-hour window), but I was also still a librarian helping students with a class. It just happened to be mine.
No, it took three weeks for me to figure out what was going on, exactly. Or perhaps, three go-rounds with someone else’s handouts. (Perfectly fine and illustrative handouts, I might add.) What I discovered was that the class didn’t feel like mine. The handouts were merely a metaphor. That sensation I was feeling was “librarian as delivery system” and not “librarian as teacher.”
As librarians we worry that students don’t take legal research classes seriously, and I felt like I was undermining myself on this very issue. Compared to the teachable moments that arose every time a student came into my office with a question, I was much less engaged, energy-wise. Sitting down to grade the following week’s assignment - every single one of them - also didn’t do anything to enhance my feelings of ownership.
Obviously, first year legal research is taught according to a variety of models. I’m not anti-team teaching, understanding the necessity that preceded the invention. But what I learned from this experience is that I’ll have to work harder next time to make sure the experience is as good an experience for the teacher as it is for the students.
I want them to hear me, after all. And to get enough out of the class that they’ll find a librarian a year or two later when they have a seminar paper to research and don’t know where to begin. As for me, I plan to work on fresh examples when it comes time to plan fall’s class.