Seminar Series:
Advantages, Disadvantages and Considerations
Definition of Seminar Series: multiple lectures given during short
period of time (1-2 weeks) on a focused set of topics.
Advantages
-
Instructor is able to teach modules that build upon one another
-
Users gain more expertise than is possible from a single workshop
-
Consolidated block of time helps focus users attention on seminar topic
-
Teaching a group (e.g. class, lab group) help builds peer support network
-
Users learn skills that they can apply immediately to real information
problems
Disadvantages
-
Schedule conflicts hard to avoid.
-
May have to offer multiple times, depending on topic and how ofter user
population turns over
-
Preparation and teaching takes a lot of hard work.
Considerations
-
Need to decide what teaching formats provide the "biggest bang for the
buck"
-
Offer during Intersession or Summer (slow times) in response to a course
being taught or to a special set of information needs
-
Including hands-on practice results in a higher retention rate of skills.
-
Instead of offering stand-alone seminars, work to integrate seminars into
a larger organizational structure (e.g. a course being taught, new student
orientation).
-
Funds for printing handouts and online access.
-
What infrastructure is needed (e.g. classroom, network access, computer
equipment, etc.) ?
-
Possible to share workload by team teaching or by bringing in a guest lecturer
Next
Return to Teaching Chemical Information
Last Modified: June 05, 1997
Stanford University Libraries/Academic Information Resources