Learner-Centered Pedagogy: Principles and Practice. By Kevin Michael Klipfel and Dani Brecher Cook. Chicago: ACRL, 2017. 208 p. Paper $60.00 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1557-8).

In Learner-Centered Pedagogy, Klipfel and Cook fuse philosophy and learner theory to provide the instruction librarian community with the pedagogical foundation it requires. This foundation is especially vital given that many employers today require applicants for even entry-level reference and instruction positions to be well versed in both theoretical and practical educational methodologies, and the “library school curriculum has been slow to catch up” (p. xii). As Klipfel and Cook point out, despite the “professional transition toward librarians as educators,” most ALA-accredited library programs do not require or even provide adequate “courses in instructional pedagogy or user education” (xii). Although this curricular inadequacy can be debilitating to recent graduates seeking employment as instruction librarian, books such as this one can provide the theoretical base necessary for applicants to gain a foothold in the profession and for current instructional librarians to improve and expand their information literacy programs.

Although Learner-Centered Pedagogy heavily focuses on theoretical knowledge, Klipfel and Cook do not neglect practice, peppering each chapter with personal and entertaining tales of how these theories have been put into action. In fact, the authors begin by discussing theory that sounds good but proves itself unable to “facilitate learning,” likening it to “trying to buy a sandwich with a pile of Monopoly money” (p. xiii). Instead, the authors focus on grounded theory that “can deliver successful results in practice,” and they use their own platform as instructors to demonstrate these results (p. xiv). The core theory presented by Klipfel and Cook, stitching together all six chapters, is the principle that “who we are as people matters in the context of learning” (p. xv).

Branching from this center, each chapter focuses on a particular learner-centered perspective, beginning with chapter 1’s exploration of the use of empathy to facilitate significant learning or “learning that matters to the student from her own point of view” (p. 7). Chapter 2 builds from significant learning theory to investigate motivational theory, seeking to discover what makes a learner want to learn something and how to provide the autonomy learners need to discover their motivation. Chapter 3 also examines the application of empathy, specifically through the lens of cognitive science, exploring librarians’ roles in the process of learning. Chapter 4 borrows from counseling psychology to help librarians build “a secure emotional foundation for fostering true classroom rapport” (p. 113). Chapter 5 combines theories of motivation (chapter 2) and cognition (chapter 3) to encourage librarians to champion a “growth mind-set” in every interaction with students, helping “learners focus on process as a natural part of their approach to research” (p. 137). Finally, chapter 6 asks librarians to examine the relationship between learners and classroom technology, inquiring whether each piece of technology enhances or impedes the process of learning.

Klipfel and Cook conclude by arguing that learner-centered pedagogy represents more than merely a trend in library instruction, being applicable to all areas of the library profession. As an instructional services librarian, I agree that who learners are as people is central to my work as an educator. This book’s strength is that it makes this foundational insight explicit.—Calantha Tillotson, Instructional Services Librarian, East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma