Information Literacy and Instruction: Backward Design: A Must-Have Library Instructional Design Strategy for Your Pedagogical and Teaching Toolbox

Library instruction sessions, courses, and programs benefit from a strategic and intentional instructional design approach. This type of approach can provide a framework for librarian discussions with collaborators, such as faculty or other stakeholders, and facilitate librarians’ advocacy efforts for information literacy instruction in the curriculum. But in the midst of busy schedules and competing responsibilities, it can be difficult to find time and a strategy that works well for library instructional contexts. This column shares an instructional design strategy adopted by librarians to add intentionality to their instruction. This backward design instructional design process has proven to be an invaluable tool for designing instructional contexts ranging from oneshots to tutorials to semester-length courses.—Editor