Friday Plenary Speaker
David X. Lemmons is the Instruction Coordinator for George Mason University Libraries, where they specialize in teaching information literacy and research skills to first- and third-year undergraduate students. They are also a PhD candidate in Higher Education at George Mason University, and their dissertation examines how academic librarians develop and sustain teaching community through peer relationships, collaborative librarian–faculty partnerships in the classroom, and engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) as a professional and scholarly community. In addition to their research, David has presented nationally and internationally on supporting academic librarians in learning to teach, instructional design for librarians, and ways to support PhD students engaging with SoTL.
Plenary Address: Finding Your Own Compass: Teaching with Intention in Shifting Instructional Waters Library instruction, in many ways, can feel like a constantly shifting target. Whether it is a new technology, a new pedagogical approach, or a new set of best practices, there is always something new to try. While these ideas can be inspiring and responsive to our present moment, they can also leave instructors feeling caught between what they should be doing and what feels sustainable and authentic in their own teaching.
This plenary talk invites participants to consider how they might find and trust their own instructional compass. Drawing from research and practice, the session explores how librarians can balance shared teaching expectations with individual teaching styles, energy, and values in ways that meaningfully support student learning. Ultimately, this session aims to spark conversation around the idea that authenticity and adaptability are not in tension, but are mutually reinforcing elements of effective and sustainable library instruction.
Plenary Address: Finding Your Own Compass: Teaching with Intention in Shifting Instructional Waters Library instruction, in many ways, can feel like a constantly shifting target. Whether it is a new technology, a new pedagogical approach, or a new set of best practices, there is always something new to try. While these ideas can be inspiring and responsive to our present moment, they can also leave instructors feeling caught between what they should be doing and what feels sustainable and authentic in their own teaching.
This plenary talk invites participants to consider how they might find and trust their own instructional compass. Drawing from research and practice, the session explores how librarians can balance shared teaching expectations with individual teaching styles, energy, and values in ways that meaningfully support student learning. Ultimately, this session aims to spark conversation around the idea that authenticity and adaptability are not in tension, but are mutually reinforcing elements of effective and sustainable library instruction.