The Contested One-Shot: Deconstructing Power Structures to Imagine New Futures

Abstract

For so long the one-shot has been the dominating force of how we engage in library instruction. There is a lot of meaning and debate saturated in this faux-innocuous activity, yet there is not always consensus as to how we define a one-shot. Is it doing a library "spiel" to demo a database, present the library website, or give a tour? Is it visiting a class once without an explicit connection to an assignment? Is it even embedding a learning object in a class without assessment feedback or other interaction? To have a central, salient definition of the one-shot for the purpose of this editorial, I view it as a standalone session, superficially (or not at all) connected to course content, that is tacked onto a class. Within a curriculum, the one-shot has no memory of where information literacy has been and no vision of where it is going. It is ephemeral within cycles of ineffectiveness. I am writing this guest editorial to talk this through and share my thoughts, and then invite you to share yours in a special issue of C&RL on the contested one-shot (see the Call for Proposals at the end). We do not need consensus but sharing different perspectives and exploring what "effective" teaching means is important to support our instruction programs. This guest editorial will discuss one-shots in the context of effective teaching practices; assessment; and power structures related to care-work and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). The hope is to expand our pedagogical imagination through questioning what appear to be common-sense practices in order to create better systems and structures. 1 Effective TeachingWhat do we actually mean when we say "effective?" This is difficult to identify and measure. Learning is messy and doing more one-shots does not equate with more effective teaching or guarantee student learning. I started to think about what was problematic with the one-shot in my first library job at a community college where I would teach a large amount of these singular sessions each semester. The issue is less about them being "one" and more about them often being tacked on to the curriculum, regardless of how many there were. This idea has persisted in my mind and is expressed well in a 2006 article I assign to iSchool students in my LIS course. Dane Ward explains that, "Students do not achieve information literacy by attending more library sessions. Rather, students learn relevant information skills when they are systematically

You Only Get One Shot: Critically Exploring and Reimagining the One-Shot Instruction Model

“…The ability to have agency over one's teaching approach sometimes requires establishing and upholding boundaries with one-shot requests, but not all librarians have the support to advocate and push back, depending on their positionality (Pagowsky, 2021;Chesley & Anantachai, 2018). One interviewee reported that her department tried to question teaching one-shots that did not seem to be aligned with the goals of her library unit; but, when the library administration found out, they were unhappy and opposed the change, seeing it as a diminishing of services.…”

“…This poignant quote, written in an email inviting fellow authors to collaborate on this article, kicked off a series of conversations exploring how and why one-shots became a standard practice in the sphere of academic library instruction. Nicole Pagowsky's editorial (2021) about deconstructing power structures that inform "the contested one-shot" inspired this group of authors to reflect back on our own understanding and perspective of the one-shot model and act upon Pagowsky's call "to expand our pedagogical imagination through questioning what appear to be common-sense practices in order to create better systems and structures" (Pagowsky, 2021). Many instruction librarians start their careers teaching information literacy sessions using primarily one-shots.…”

“…In alignment with expanding our imagination (Pagowsky, 2021) and attempting to understand why we weren't allowed to "go outside" (Worsham, 2021), the authors decided to use critical self-reflections to develop a set of questions. Critical self-reflection is an underused approach to assessment practices and provides a humanist lens through which librarians may think about their labor.…”

Chapter 9. Resilience in Research: Confronting Failure in Information Literacy Instruction

“…The one-shot is the primary information literacy format at myriad institutions, including mine. Librarians are deeply aware of the limitations of the one-shot approach (Julien, Gross, and Latham 2018;Pagowsky 2021): one class session is insufficient to achieve measurable, lasting learning; it assumes a banking model of education; and it positions librarians as service providers when they are also teachers (Pagowsky 2021). As a result, academic librarians hope to replace the oneshot model with a more effective approach that integrates and scaffolds information literacy throughout the curriculum.…”

The Power of Presence: One-Shots, Relational Teaching, and Instruction Librarianship

“…3 The one-shot-a one-time-only information literacy or research workshop that takes place within the context of faculty-led courses-is seen as a consolation prize: ineffective, exhausting, tacked on, and demoralizing. 4 However, there are one-shot classes or workshops that leave us, as librarians, feeling connected to students and faculty, deeply moved by the learning that has happened in the last hour or two (and in the hours of planning before the class even occurs). Conversely, we may have taught semester-long courses that leave us drained, questioning the purpose of the hours spent in the classroom.…”