interactive workshops
Archival Literacy: Active Learning and Teaching with Primary Sources
Kate Black and Sheli Saltsman (University of Kentucky) - Introduction (.docx) - Worksheet (.docx)
This session will replicate, in abbreviated form, an archival experience designed for freshman taking a course on the History of the Vietnam War. In this interactive workshop, we will demonstrate how to engage undergraduate students in archival research by using active learning practices that introduce and build research and critical thinking skills. We will use a mixture of archival forms (letters, oral histories, memoir, newspaper articles, songs and poems) and, in a guided exercise, small groups will rotate through three archival stations containing source material. At each stop, the groups will work to answer a set of questions. Finally, each small group will be asked to select and analyze one document to share with the entire group.
Once the in-class archival experience is complete, we will return to our librarian/archivist personae to explore together how this exercise could be used with a variety of materials and themes, making it possible to replicate in other settings. We would also like to discuss how this exercise can be incorporated into the ongoing class assignments, reinforcing how to use and analyze primary sources throughout a course.
Beyond Classroom Evaluation: Structuring Research for Dissemination
Andrea Falcone and Stephanie Wiegand (University of Northern Colorado) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Librarians often pursue worthwhile classroom evaluations, yet the results of those evaluations do not always reach beyond the water cooler or an administrator’s office door. Whether successful or not, our findings can lead to rapid improvement in instructional methods, but only if we share our knowledge. If the thought of disseminating your research is overwhelming, you are not alone. This interactive session will provide you with techniques for parsing the research process to enable dissemination, especially through formal channels. Participants will draft an action plan for an instruction-related research project, including specific tasks, time horizon, and resource allocation. This session welcomes librarians new to the profession and those experienced librarians interested in conducting and publishing research for the first time.
Beyond the Checklist: Using Rhetorical Analysis to Evaluate Sources as Social Acts
Joel Burkholder (York College of Pennsylvania) - Handout (.pdf)
Rhetorical analysis can transform information literacy instruction. A familiar concept in the study of rhetoric, it illustrates that all messages are deliberate, social acts, constructed by authors to achieve specific purposes and speak to specific audiences. To be effective, authors must make rhetorical choices that suit both the purpose and audience they are addressing.
Under the current paradigm of source evaluation, librarians largely ignore the rhetorical nature of messages, focusing instead on the identification of surface features that indicate high-quality information. This can lead to the impression that messages are inert objects, rather than dynamic, social acts. Forms of communication, from personal blogs to television news stories to journal articles, are different in content and style because they allow writers to address different rhetorical situations. By examining the relationships between author, purpose, audience, and context—a process called rhetorical analysis--students can describe and evaluate the actions performed by each message. This forces them to think deeply about why certain features are included or excluded
In this workshop, I will model an interactive lesson that takes a rhetorical approach to evaluation. Attendees will deconstruct a source by conducting a detailed analysis of its intended purpose, intended audience, and author. They will then be asked to examine how a broader context (e.g., academic, political, cultural, economic, etc.) influences the use of—and provides meaning to--credibility cues that signal bias, authority, and accuracy. Once the analysis is complete, attendees will use their understanding to evaluate the source’s rhetorical effectiveness and credibility.
Bringing More to the Table(t): Ideas and Insights for Using Tablets in Instruction
Rebecca K. Miller and Carolyn Meier (Virginia Tech) - Presentation (Web)
This workshop will focus on resources and strategies for using iPads and other tablet computers specifically in the instruction setting. Attendees that own iPads or other tablet computers are encouraged to bring their devices with them to the workshop, and the workshop facilitators will bring a number of iPads, on loan from their home library and university, to LOEX 2012 in order to ensure that all workshop attendees will be able to gain hands-on experience with the devices.
The facilitators, two instruction librarians who use iPads in their personal and professional lives and who are currently editing a book and an issue of Library Technology Reports on the topic, endeavor to create a workshop experience that will touch on the basics of tablet computers and give attendees the opportunity to discuss and try out new ideas for using these devices in instruction. The facilitators will spend the first 10-15 minutes of the workshop reviewing tablet basics, and then focusing the rest of the workshop on specific resources and strategies for engaging students through the use of these devices. Specifically, the workshop will emphasize relevant research apps and mobile databases, tablets as communication tools that can be used in classes in a variety of ways, and different strategies for capitalizing on the general interest in iPads (and other tablets).
Create your own Cephalonian Adventure
Amanda K. Izenstark and Mary C. MacDonald (University of Rhode Island) - Handout (.pdf)
The Cephalonian Method has garnered much interest for its possibilities for engaging students in what could be an otherwise one-sided orientation program. This workshop will help attendees determine how and when to incorporate the Cephalonian Method into their sessions, how to discuss the technique with colleagues, and, most importantly, develop a set of Cephalonian Method questions that can be used in orientation and instruction sessions at their home libraries.
Information on the Bubble: A Recipe for Examining Your Information Diet
Andy Burkhardt and Michele Melia (Champlain College) - Presentation (.pdf)
Does your instruction need some spice? Are you bored with the same old recipes in the classroom semester after semester? Attendees of this workshop will get a taste of instruction that whisks inquiry-based learning and technology tools with a dash of written reflection. This demonstration will help attendees demystify inquiry, and experience, hands on, the benefits of letting students into the kitchen to cook up their own information literacy skills. These presenters will show that what appears to be a messy process in instruction is actually a delight to both the students’ and the librarians’ palates.
Maximizing Student Engagement and Learning with Team-Based Learning
Trudi E. Jacobson (University at Albany, SUNY) and Judy Carey Nevin (Otterbein University) - TBL Fact Sheet (.doc) - Readiness Assessment Test (.doc) - One-Shot Worksheet (.pdf) - TBL Resources (.doc) - Application Exercise (.doc) - TBL Sequence Flowchart (.docx)
Team-based learning (TBL) has the potential to radically reinvent what happens in the classroom and how students learn. TBL is increasingly used in a wide range of disciplines, from the health sciences to criminal justice to art history. While there are few reports of its use in information literacy instruction, librarians who have used it have found it to be transformative. Team-based learning was developed by Larry Michaelsen at the University of Oklahoma in the 1970s. It is distinct from problem-based learning or the informal use of groups.
Team-Based Learning strategies encourage students to take more responsibility for their learning, and engage them in actively applying course content to relevant problems. The presenters have experience using TBL for one-shot information literacy sessions; in 3-week for-credit information literacy classes; and in half-semester information literacy classes. Through hands-on activities, workshop participants will discover how TBL methods can be used to engage students in actively learning information literacy concepts.
Reaching Modern Students Through Amazing Screencasts
Jessica Clemons (SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry) and Stephen X. Flynn (The College of Wooster) - Presentation (Web) - Handout (Web)
Are you frustrated with “one-shot” library sessions? Overcome this time limitation by creating great screencasts, allowing students to gain essential research skills at their own pace in their own place. You will learn how to create engaging screencasts and choose the best affordable screencasting software. Screencasting is a valuable addition to a librarian’s toolkit because:
--Students have immediate access to research assistance
--Content can be embedded in course management systems
--It strengthens the library’s role in student and faculty research processes
--It emulates a tiered reference model
--Students can get to know librarians
Our approach emphasizes the design of amazing screencasts using powerful software.
Screencasting is a newer technique that librarians are using to deliver asynchronous library instruction. Unlike tutorials, these screencasts complement face-to-face interactions because students can develop prior knowledge of specific skills. This enhances library instruction and librarians can spend less time on basic information to focus on sophisticated research skills. Screencasts also extend learning outside of the classroom to reinforce skills taught in class.
This workshop will help attendees focus their attention on the best approach to screencasts. First, we will provide some examples of exemplar screencasts. Then we will discuss what makes a “good” or “bad” screencast. Finally, we will spend most of the workshop in small groups creating screencasts.
Set the Stage: How to use Performance Theory to Create Effective Self-Introductions and Positive Learning Environments
Joshua Vossler (Coastal Carolina University) and John Watts (Webster University) - Handout (.docx) - Cover Page (.docx)
First impressions matter. Instruction librarians face unfamiliar audiences who can be apathetic or even hostile to learning research skills. By deliberately establishing ourselves as competent and charming at the beginning of each session, librarians can create a positive learning environment in which apathy and hostility melt away. Stand-up comedy experts Carter and Ajaye, as well as acting theorists Strasberg and Adler have developed approaches for influencing first impressions. This lively workshop will draw from these two disciplines to provide a practical method that instruction librarians can employ to produce original and entertaining self-introductions.
Shaken or Stirred? Mixing Elements of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) into Library Instruction Sessions
Susan Avery, Hilary Bussell, and Gina Hodnik (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Shaking up our instruction cocktails on a regular basis is advantageous, and tying what we do to campus initiatives makes the cocktail even better. Many universities include a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program at their institution. WAC principles state that writing is learning and responsibility for writing should belong to all academic programs and cross all disciplines. Is it even possible, given the time constraints of one-shot instruction sessions, to include elements of WAC? This interactive presentation will demonstrate that, not only is it possible, it can significantly improve student learning, engagement, and participation; plus we'll help you find just the right mix.
Several WAC elements will be introduced and practiced in this workshop. Activities such as quick writes and microthemes take just moments, but because they require students to focus and organize their thoughts they assure us that all students really have thought about the issue and have something to contribute to the class discussion. A significant impact on the level of student participation during library instruction has been experienced by the presenters through the addition of these short exercises. At the conclusion of this workshop you will be familiar with a number of Writing Across the Curriculum activities and have a better understanding of the impact of these activities in a library instruction session. Armed with new cocktail recipes, you will return to your library ready to shake up your instruction classroom!
The Course Guide: Creating a Culinary Masterpiece "to go"
Veronica Bielat and Judith Arnold (Wayne State University) - Presentation (.pdf) - Handout (.pdf) - Bibliography (.pdf)
Librarians operate in a multimodal environment, where Web 2.0 applications allow us to easily create multimedia materials for students, yet course guides frequently follow the print pathfinder model of merely listing resources. In this interactive workshop, attendees will ”cook up a recipe” to transform online course guides into dynamic 24/7 learning tools. Following discussion on best practices for visual design, review of course resource materials, and assignment analysis, we will apply design and pedagogical principles to create a framework, using the LibGuides model, for a dynamic course-specific guide that enhances learning as it supports the goals of a specific assignment.
The Secret's in the Sauce: The RIBS Recipe for Building a Healthy, Well-Balanced Instruction Program
Virginia L. Cairns (UT-Chattanooga) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Cooking up a gourmet instruction program requires both culinary skill and the right ingredients. Come to this hands-on workshop and create a plate of ideas that provides a nourishing feast for both your instructors and your overall program. Using a 4-part approach (RIBS), this session will give program coordinators the opportunity to develop fresh ideas for improving curricula, sharpening teaching skill, fostering campus partnerships and marketing their instruction programs. Short, fun, hands on activities will give participants a chance to brainstorm ideas that mesh together to result in a custom - created recipe for future success. There's even a super-secret special sauce that will give your creation a truly unique flavor. Come join us!
Understanding Organizational Culture as one Essential Ingredient of IL Programming
Courtney Bruch (Front Range Community College) and Carroll Wetzel Wilkinson (West Virginia University) - Presentation (.ppt) - Handout (.doc)
Some academic libraries are struggling to create a comprehensive IL culture either within the library or externally on campus. Two librarians, a community college library Instruction Coordinator and a Director of Instruction and Information Literacy at a land grant university, respond to these concerns through research in organizational culture and transformational change literature. Instructional librarians charged with implementing IL programs may not initially see themselves in a role of change agent. Yet, they are. We will argue understanding organizational culture may be a tool change agents can use to advance IL programs within a library or on campus. Viewing libraries and institutions through the lens of organizational culture helps us to identify the existing culture and allows us to examine and address internal and external issues that create discord surrounding IL. The resulting presentation will highlight concepts from Cameron and Quinn’s Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture as well as feature ideas from a chapter in a recent ACRL book entitled Transforming Information Literacy Programs: Intersecting Frontiers of Self, Library Culture, and Campus Community. We will introduce the idea of organizational culture and ask attendees to diagnose the IL culture at their individual institutions using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument and Competing Values Framework. Attendees will leave the session with a list of research avenues and change strategies that apply to their resulting diagnosis.
presentation sessions
A Gateway to Outcomes Assessment: Collaborating on a Multi-Session Library Instruction Program
Niyati Pandya and Jenny Hatleberg (Montgomery College) - Presentation (.pptx)
The Gateway to College (GtC) program at Montgomery College serves at-risk high school students who complete their high school diploma requirements while simultaneously earning college credit.
In Fall 2010, the GtC Program Director, faculty, and instruction librarians launched a semester-long library instruction program. Librarians worked closely with faculty to design six two-hour sessions for GtC students, aligning ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards with the course’s theme and assignments. The program has been repeated each semester, and expanded to all three campuses. In this presentation, we will share details about our collaboration and the resulting opportunities for evaluating student learning outcomes.
Assessment of a Team-Based Embedded Librarianship Model
Leo Lo and Jason Coleman (Kansas State University) - Presentation (.pptx)
Departing from the traditional subject liaison model, K-State Librarians implemented a team-based strategy to embed information literacy into an online general education course to maximize student learning while minimizing the librarians’ time commitment. This was accomplished by co-designing a new curriculum, creating assignments that required students to document their research process, and providing asynchronous reference service via the course’s message board. Assessment was determined via qualitative analysis of the pre and post tests, homework assignments, message board postings, virtual reference transcripts, and the librarians’ time commitment. We will present data derived from two sections of the same course.
Blending, Mixing, and Processing: Strategies used to Engage Students in the Classroom
Karen Okamoto (John Jay College) and Mark Aaron Polger (College of Staten Island) - Presentation (.pdf) - Handout (.pdf)
Two of the biggest challenges in the provision of library instruction are memory retention and student engagement. How can students retain all of the information they receive in a “one shot” library instruction class and how do librarians engage them in a memorable way?
A Library instruction class provides a unique opportunity to not only educate students (and even teaching faculty) but promote valuable services and resources. Librarians must be creative and must use a variety of teaching strategies that will help promote critical thinking, memory retention, and student engagement. Our presentation will provide numerous teaching examples from our library instruction classes.
Classroom Collaboration: Librarians and Faculty Teach the Art of Research
Kasia Leousis (Auburn University) and Deanna Benjamin (Washington University in Saint Louis)
Does a one-shot bibliographic instruction session really provide a foundation for undergraduate students’ research and information literacy skills? Or does this brief interaction leave students with the impression that research is easy? This session will explore the inner workings of a collaborative project between a librarian and an English Composition faculty member. This collaborative effort between librarian and faculty member includes: meeting to plan the semester’s research structure; the librarian’s introduction to the class and vice-versa; leading classroom discussions; team-teaching lessons; co-evaluating student assignments; individual conferences with students; attendance at presentations and essay workshops; and co-assessment of the students’ work and progress throughout the semester. While the librarian specializes in the mechanics of research, the faculty member focuses on helping students apply the research material. This joint effort produces several positive outcomes for students, most notably improved information literacy skills, heightened confidence in research skills, and high quality final projects. Participants will leave with ideas and best practices on effective collaboration with faculty designed to enhance student-centered learning.
Co-teaching a Grand Challenge Course: Using Digital Media and Collaborative Teaching Strategies for Effective Online Learning and Transliteracy Skills
Mona Anne Niedbala and Stefanie Metko (University of Rhode Island) - Handout (.pdf) - Selected References (.doc)
The presentation illustrates the partnership between an education librarian, a School of Education faculty member, and a graduate student in the School of Library and Information Science, and their use of multiple media platforms for teaching a web-enhanced Grand Challenge course about social justice issues in education.
As a first-year course, Grand Challenge is designed for students to discuss and find creative solutions to global issues while addressing general education learning outcomes such as examining human differences and developing effective writing and information literacy skills.
The presentation provides an example of an innovative teaching partnership based on the backward design of instruction method and experiments with the use of the Digital Information Fluency (DIF) model for teaching transliteracy. In addition, the presentation addresses the use of Writing Across the Curriculum principles, including the use of peer review and assistive technologies such as Inspiration to address writing challenges.
Best practices for the use of digital technology, to include Sakai features such as Forums, Blogger, Glossary, and the Discussion Board for collaborative teaching and learning, and ScreenR for tutorial creation are discussed.
The conclusion of the presentation provides a description of assessment and evaluation tools that were used and data analysis of student learning outcomes that will inform future teaching and collaboration.
Collaborating Across Campuses and Continents: Welcome to the Future!
Kimberly Brady and Nita Bryant (Virginia Commonwealth University) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Historically, information literacy has depended on collaborations between librarians and resident faculty in specific disciplines, but new models are needed to accommodate multidisciplinary research and multi-institutional degree programs. This session describes how one model evolved to support the research needs of graduate students enrolled in the International Programme in Addiction Studies offered simultaneously by three universities on three continents: the University of Adelaide, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Kings College, London. The presenters will discuss opportunities and challenges posed by collaborating across campuses, disciplines, institutions, and time zones, and conclude by considering the potential of this model for future collaborations.
Comfort Food for All: The Scalability of LMS-Embedded Librarianship
Beth E. Tumbleson and John J. Burke (Miami University Middletown) - Presentation (Web)
Embedded librarianship provides information literacy instruction right where students prefer to do course related research: online. The learning management system (LMS) provides an effective arena for librarians to collaborate with professors and reach students with library services alongside course content. How scalable, though, is this service so that it can meet the needs of all students? Presenters will share data from a 2011 international survey, material from the professional literature, and the experiences of LMS embedded librarians to help answer this question. Time will be spent discussing how to reorganize information literacy efforts and workflow within the library to address the scalability question head-on.
Observant library administrators would do well to reallocate staff responsibilities to ensure LMS embedded librarianship becomes standard fare, as it reaches the many at their point of need. The presenters will address questions such as the following: Is it just too time-consuming to undertake? Is it meant for a select few classes? Which information literacy instruction methods can be incorporated to innovatively meet the needs of students? What time-saving tools can be employed to sustain the program long-term? Librarians must re-envision themselves as virtual information literacy instructors because that is where users prefer to slice and dice research assignments.
Come learn tools, techniques, and staffing innovations to make LMS embedded librarianship sustainable on your campus.
Connect, Communicate, and Learn: How Library Instruction Programs Benefit from Learning Management Systems
Maria T. Accardi and Hong Cheng (Indiana University Southeast) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Imagine these scenarios: A librarian teaching an instruction session wants to know how the previous librarian taught that session for the same instructor last year. Another librarian is short on time and ideas and wants an easy way to prep for an upcoming class. A library instruction coordinator wants to get a sense of what other librarians are doing in instruction sessions. Do any of these situations sound familiar to you? If so, you’ll want to attend this session and learn how a library instruction program can facilitate sharing and communication of ideas and stay current on teaching strategies, outcomes, and methods of assessment.
Today’s library instruction teams need more than a file cabinet full of instructional materials. An easy-to-navigate and intuitive method of sharing ideas and resources internally with the instruction team is increasingly in demand. This presentation will illustrate that by using a campus learning management system (LMS), a library instruction program can create a rich resource center full of ideas, strategies, activities, and other relevant program documents. The presenters will recommend best practices, including Gilchrist and Zald’s assessment cycle guidelines, for using an LMS in a library instruction program, and provide a case study of how their instructional team makes use of Indiana University’s LMS, Oncourse. Finally, the presenters will also share the results of a nationwide survey of instruction librarians’ experiences using LMS and other web-based sharing tools in their own programs.
Connecting with First-Year Students in Community: Library Engagement with Freshman Learning Communities
Alison Bradley and Stephanie Otis (UNC Charlotte) - Presentation (.pptx)
Working with Freshmen Learning Communities (FLCs) at UNC Charlotte gives librarians the opportunity to engage students and give practical support at a difficult transition time. The FLC model provides for library involvement with diverse populations of students but also focuses that involvement in cohesive groups. Librarians help students in FLCs learn strong research skills and build ongoing relationships with their subject librarians.
This session will share the experiences of coordinating the entire program across multiple academic units and the individual successes of implementing the program with the Engineering FLC.
Constructivist Cosmo: 2 oz. Discovery Learning, 1 oz. Peer Instruction, a Dash of Skype. Shake. Serve over Ice.
Rebeca Befus (Michigan State University) and Shawn McCann (Wayne State University)
From Wikis to Skype to discovery learning, this session has it all. Learn how librarians worked with education faculty to create a learner-centered activity introducing students to a broad array of library resources. Join in the discussion and learn how you can create phenomenal learning opportunities for your students by engaging yourself in scenario-based learning.
Creating Insanely Great Instruction Sessions: What Librarians can Learn from Steve Jobs
Matthew Olsen (Southeast Missouri State University) - Presentation (.pptx)
The late Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. is recognized as one of the great innovators of the 20th century; he was also a phenomenal public speaker. His keynote addresses, where he introduced iconic products like the iMac, were often referred to as “Stevenotes” and his 2005 Stanford commencement speech has been viewed over 12 million times on YouTube. In this session we will explore some of the elements that made his presentations so successful, e.g., establishing a narrative, avoiding jargon, and displaying genuine enthusiasm. Then we will consider how those same elements can be applied in the library classroom to make instruction more engaging and memorable. Throughout the session I will bring in examples from my own classes and explain how I have used these techniques to improve my teaching. There will also be time for participants to reflect on how their classes might benefit from a sprinkling of Steve’s magic. Ultimately this session will be an opportunity to think differently about library instruction and gain inspiration from a well-known, but somewhat unlikely, source.
Criticism is not a Four-Letter Word: Best Practices for Constructive Feedback in the Peer Review of Teaching
Jaena Alabi (Auburn University) and William H. Weare, Jr. (IUPUI)
Suppose a colleague has asked you to provide feedback on an instruction session you have observed, and the session was less than ideal: the instructor was poorly prepared; technical difficulties forced your colleague to improvise; the students did not pay attention, much less participate. In essence, things went wrong. She has asked for your opinion, but you are not sure how to respond. Should you tell your colleague what you really think? What obligation do you have to her? Can you provide honest feedback without causing her to become defensive or hurt?
In recent years, the peer review of teaching (or PROT) has become an increasingly important tool for evaluating library instruction. Most PROT programs consist of three components: a pre-observation meeting, the observation of teaching, and a post-observation session. The post-observation feedback session can be especially challenging—for both the observer and the observed.
Drawing upon literature addressing the peer review of teaching, the presenters will recommend a set of best practices for providing constructive criticism to fellow instruction librarians. The presenters will then engage the participants in a discussion of how these strategies could be applied with their own colleagues.
Designing Winning Recipes: Librarians Working with Faculty to Create Meaningful Online Instruction for First-Year Programs
Olga Hart and Barbara Macke (University of Cincinnati) - Presentation (.pptx) - Assessment (.docx) - Worksheet (.docx) - Handout (.docx)
First-year experience programs focused on helping student succeed are put into a difficult position by staff cuts including FYE librarian positions. In 2010-2011 librarians worked with faculty in two programs (Allied Health and Social Work) to find a solution to reaching hundreds of students with meaningful library instruction. The work resulted in a course-integrated assignment and online library module helping students complete the assignment worksheet and understand essential concepts related to research. Pre- and post surveys measured student learning and a follow-up survey was administered. All findings and feedback from faculty formed the basis for the revision of student learning outcomes and redesign of the form and content of the online library component for 2011-2012.
Working with faculty on this and other projects convinced librarians of the need to provide support to faculty who introduce students to information-related skills either independently or in collaboration with librarians. We embarked on creating a resource where faculty and librarians can share assignment, teaching, assessment and other material related to information literacy instruction. We created “Research Café,” a Google site that allows faculty to communicate with us and each other by using and commenting on our content and sharing theirs.
Double, Triple, Quadruple the Recipe: Serve Library Instruction to a Crowd (and Assess it, too!) with Libguides and PollEverywhere
Melissa Bowles-Terry and Kennedy Penn-O'Toole (University of Wyoming) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Offering library instruction to a class of over 200 may sound impossible -- or crazy -- but some library instruction recipes can be scaled up to serve a crowd. The presenters (a political science instructor and a librarian) embedded library activities on politics and the media by creating an online guide to help students find news and information on political campaigns and then evaluate that information. Students participated in class discussion and shared their findings and reflections through cellphone voting. In this session we’ll share our strategies and results, and invite the audience to participate with PollEverywhere!
At many institutions class sizes are growing, which can make active learning more difficult to plan and carry out. In addition to the pressures of larger classes, some librarians have more instruction demands than they can handle. If that sounds familiar, then this session is for you. We will present a model for delivering library instruction to many students at once, which can be both efficient and effective. In our presentation we will share strategies for getting students involved and engaged in a lecture hall, our methods for assessing student learning from the library activities, and results of our assessment.
Expanding their Palates: Helping our Colleagues Develop a Taste for Information Literacy
Carrie Donovan, Chanitra Bishop, and Brian Winterman (Indiana University) - Presentation (.pptx)
Librarians who act as “instructional mavens” are well situated to introduce the difficulties and merits of information literacy initiatives to those librarians who are more reticent about teaching. Through the process of supporting and encouraging peers in their journey of instructional discovery, seasoned instruction librarians also enjoy a renewed sense of purpose and energy in their own pedagogical practice while furthering the instructional goals of their library and institution. To draw out the shy, uninterested, and unwilling instructors among our colleagues, instruction librarians must build relationships and establish trust over time in order to create continuous and sustainable communities of practice around information literacy pedagogy. During this program, three instruction librarians will present proven strategies for developing grass-roots efforts to help their colleagues develop a taste for information literacy and a dedication to teaching.
500 Students, 55 Raters, and 5 Rubrics Later: What We Learned from an Authentic, Collaborative, and National Assessment Project
Dr. Megan Oakleaf (Syracuse University), Jackie Belanger (University of Washington - Bothell), Carroll Wilkinson (University of West Virginia) and Ning Zou (Dominican University) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Join us as we share what we learned from Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (RAILS), an IMLS-funded study examining the use of information literacy rubrics on 10 campuses over 3 years. This presentation focuses on the first year of RAILS (2010-2011) and includes the perspectives of the first 5 participating institutions. Beginning with the AAC&U VALUE rubric for information literacy, each RAILS institution adapted the AAC&U rubric to create a campus-specific rubric for use in evaluating student work. Then, 10 disciplinary faculty and librarians worked together at each institution to “norm” their rubric and apply it to 100 artifacts of student learning (e.g., research papers, bibliographies, and article database searches). The resulting data set is a treasure trove of rubric assessment information!
During this session, we will share best practices as well as “what not to do” when spearheading rubric use on campus, developing collaborations among disciplinary faculty and librarians for learning assessment purposes, creating information literacy rubrics or modifying existing rubrics to a particular campus context, norming adapted rubrics for multiple raters, applying rubrics to student work, and analyzing rubric results. We will share actual rubrics, reveal study findings, and detail the “closing the loop” decisions that resulted on each campus. We will also introduce the RAILS website, which includes rubric assessment readings, a growing set of rubric training materials, and more than 75 campus-specific rubrics that can be modified for use on your campus!
Forget the Database, What's the Argument? Revitalizing a For-Credit Course by Teaching Rhetoric, Critical Thinking, and Research as Conversation
Savannah Kelly (Westmont College) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.pdf)
Instruction librarians pride themselves on teaching students how to locate, evaluate and use resources, and yet students often walk away from our sessions with a limited understanding of how research actually happens across the disciplines, and how they can be successful participants in that process. This session narrates one librarian’s difficult journey to revise a semester long “library skills” credit course by integrating writing, rhetoric, and critical thinking.
This presentation argues that librarians have ultimately embraced a library skills pedagogy at the expense of teaching students the research strategies that really matter: nurturing an idea, critically evaluating arguments, understanding methodologies across the disciplines, challenging assumptions, and learning to find one’s own voice as a researcher and writer. The primary goal of the revised course was not to teach students how to use the catalog and databases, but to develop them into critical thinkers who were eager to enter into the research process.
The course was developed around the idea that academic research is inherently argumentative and that students need the most guidance in evaluating and incorporating--not finding--sources. How do you identify an author’s claim? Who is the audience? How do you integrate sources that disagree with your argument? How does a publication reflect the conventions of a particular discipline?
The revision of our course has changed the way faculty and students perceive library instruction on campus. Faculty have demonstrated incredible support of our revisions, and students continue to sign up even though the class is an elective.
From a 'Crusade Against Ignorance' to a 'Crisis of Authenticity': Cultivating Information Literacy for a 21st Century Democracy
Andrew Battista (University of Montevallo) - Presentation (.pptx)
In this session, I propose ways to present information literacy instruction to students and faculty as an essential component in one’s education, a requirement for life in a civic democracy. I suggest that information literacy instructors should champion the concept of publically important knowledge. Rather than instruction that privileges task-oriented process information-seeking processes, librarians should cultivate interactions where students develop patterns of curating knowledge that reflect a deep-seated desire to be aware of what matters to educated people. We will discover how social media platforms are the concrete tools we can use to facilitate this paradigm shift in information literacy instruction, and we will experiment with several instruction models and exercises we can use to cultivate information literacy.
From Classrooms to Learning Spaces: New and Remodeled Library Instruction Rooms
Jason Vance and Kristen West (Middle Tennessee State University) - Presentation (.pdf) - Handout (.pdf)
The presenters will report on the latest trends in library classroom design by examining newly constructed, recently-renovated, and reconfigured library teaching spaces in a variety of academic libraries. This session will offer advice gleaned from conversations with librarians who teach in these newly (re-)designed spaces and offer tips about the planning process. This session will also include floor plans and photographs from some newly designed library teaching classrooms that will help you transform your library classroom into a dynamic teaching and learning space.
From Limp Lettuce to Kaleidoscope Salad: Making your Instruction Sessions Pop for all Patrons with Universal Design for Learning Principles
Christina C. Wray (Indiana University Bloomington) - Presentation (.pdf)
Universal Design for learning is an instructional design framework that promotes inclusive classrooms and environments where multiple learners at multiple levels are learning together in a general education setting. The fundamental idea of universal design is that you can teach material in a way that is accessible to ALL learners instead of being designed for a specific ability level. The Universal Design for Learning framework takes it a step further and introduces three key concept. When designing instruction we should:
• Provide multiple means of representation
• Provide multiple means of expression
• Provide multiple means of Engagement
This can be challenging at any time, but how does this translate to one shot instruction sessions? In this presentation you will learn more about the guiding principles of universal design for learning and how to transform the theory of universal design into practical application that can be incorporated into your library instruction sessions.
From Prix Fixe to a la Carte: Using Lesson Study to Collaborate with Faculty in Customizing Information Literacy Instruction
Jill Markgraf (University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire) - Presentation (.pptx)
The one-shot, prix fixe library instruction session has long been the reality for many information literacy programs. Learn how one library used lesson study, a collaborative process of planning, observing and assessing a single lesson, to put in motion ongoing collaboration with faculty across several disciplines. Through the collaborative process of redesigning a single lesson, librarians and teaching faculty confronted their respective expectations for and challenges in providing library instruction, and ignited the interest of faculty from English, nursing and the sciences. Through work with a variety of faculty, librarians learned that a single instruction model does not work for all disciplines. Emerging is an a la carte menu approach that enables librarians and faculty to better customize information literacy instruction according to identified priorities, and to construct a tiered approach to information literacy as students move through their majors.
Fun Assessment: How to Embed Evaluation in Education Games
Mary J. Snyder Broussard (Lycoming College) and Theresa McDevitt (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) - Presentation (.pptx)
Most librarians, and indeed students, tremble at the very mention of the dreaded word “assessment.” This does not have to be the case. When assessment is non-threatening and strategically placed to provide needed feedback, it can be pleasant, rewarding and improve learning outcomes. Many educational games have built-in assessment that turns evaluation into fun. This session will look at specific examples used at two Pennsylvania academic libraries where games help instructional librarians ensure that students are accomplishing what the activity requires and assess student learning. Come to this session prepared to play!
Graphic Novels and Introduction to Library Research
Carrye Syma and Rob Weiner (Texas Tech University)
Graphic Novels and Introduction to Library Research is an innovative project created by Associate Librarians Rob Weiner and Carrye Syma. For a one hour credit Library course on research, a graphic novel was created with the assistance of a member of the Libraries’ Communications and Marketing Department. This graphic novel is a complement to the power points previously created for instruction in the course. The novel presents information for various modules in the class, allowing students to experience learning in a fun and exciting manner.
The narrative for the graphic novel was written by Carrye Syma and illustrated by Kevin Jones. In classic graphic novel style, the information on various research processes is presented with text and illustration. The goal of this project is to reach learners using various learning styles and methods. All students have access to the power points for the class and lecture is presented during class. The graphic novel is seen as s supplementary material. In addition to the graphic novel, short videos were created using Xtranormal, a movie making cite. The short videos created along with the novel reach students who are visual learners as well as auditory.
At the end of each semester that Weiner and Syma have taught their course, students were asked to complete a short survey on Survey Monkey. This survey asked students about their experience in the class combining the traditional methods of teaching, power point and lecture, with the innovative methods of graphic novel and movie shorts.
Harmonic Convergence: E-reader Applications in the Analysis of Primary Texts
Lynda Irons (Pacific University)
E-readers are as ubiquitous as pencils. As scholars debate the premature death of the book or discuss whether reading itself is passé, others note that students aren’t necessarily not reading. They read books when it works for them. If students read books when necessary, what about e-readers? Given the increasing prevalence of digital technology in a research environment, Pacific University completed a pilot project to incorporate and evaluate e-readers usage of primary texts in an upper division English research methods course. This presentation will provide results of the study and their implications for long-term applications.
Hiding Peas in their Mashed Potatoes: Teaching Faculty about Information Literacy on the Sly
Amy Kammerman (Harper College)
Are your faculty picky eaters? Do your faculty members make a face when they hear the phrase “information literacy”? In an effort to get faculty to use information literacy skills and pass this knowledge to their students, sometimes librarians must use stealth and ingenuity. This session will focus on innovative ways that information literacy can be incorporated into already existing programs with faculty and also provide ideas on trying something a little different to get faculty to try even a tiny bite of information literacy.
Homegrown Ingredients: Creating Tools when the Information Literacy Supermarket Fails You
Becky Canovan (University of Dubuque) - Presentation (Web) - Handout (.pdf)
When established sources change formats, switch platforms, or upgrade, they aren’t always user-friendly, especially for inexperienced researchers. After using ill-fitting and frustrating legal research tools for years, librarians and instructors at the University of Dubuque jumped in and created local homegrown tools. Instead of changing an effective assignment to bend to inadequate search tools, the course coordinator and library liaison created and adapted tools to fit the assignment. Capitalizing on the librarian’s research skills, the professor’s subject expertise, and the plethora of free tools, the learning experience students (and professors and librarians) have is now more rewarding.
Rather than lead students through complicated methods of information hunting, customized research tools allowed instructors to focus on how to use the information. Creation of local tools can be time-intensive, but the resulting value to all involved is well worth the effort. Both librarians and instructors report that the database has significantly decreased the amount of time students spend selecting a topic, leaving more time to focus on application of resources, the actual learning objective. This session will provide a brief description of an introductory-level assignment, an overview of previous tools used, and the librarian's role in the course. The presenter will also explain the process of creating a database and illustrative content narrative and the impact on student learning. Participants will engage with the final products and discuss how to apply these ideas to their own instruction.
I Want to Eat Your Brains: Engaging Students with Brain-Based Teaching Strategies when Zombies have Taken Over Your Classroom
Jennifer Quinlan (St Cloud State University) - Presentation (.pdf) - Handout (.pdf)
Educational neuroscience, also called Mind, Brain, and Education, is an emerging discipline that brings together research in neuroscience, psychology and education. Research from this emerging field can lead educators to effective brain-based teaching strategies. These strategies can be particularly valuable in our information literacy classrooms and help us create engaging and active interactions with our students.
This presentation will discuss these brain-based teaching strategies and how to use them in an information literacy classroom. Assignments that employed these strategies will be shared. Finally, students’ responses to learning in this way will be presented.
Information Literacy for Global Leadership: Constructing a Pedagogical Activity to Address a Global Crisis
Brenda Chappell-Sharpe, Ph.D. (Regent University) - Handout (.docx)
Preparing faculty for their role in global leadership is a collaborative effort. Administrators, faculty, IT, media specialists and librarians all have an important part to play. In 2011, I was asked to develop and teach a one-week information literacy module via Blackboard for the faculty participating in the Teacher Scholars Program (TSP). TSP is a yearlong collaborative project between The Center for Teaching and Learning, and the academic departments on campus. I believe that this called for a new approach to thinking about information literacy (IL) and literacy itself. This presentation provides an overview on the collaborative project, Teachers Scholar Program (TSP) and how information literacy was integrated into the TSP curriculum.
Instant Classroom: Teach Anywhere with a Classroom in a Box
Meridith Wolnick and Todd Burks (University of Virginia) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
What do you do when your classroom equipment and set-up are obstacles to effective, powerful and memorable instruction? The University of Virginia Library saw that challenge and sought a solution to teach undergraduate students effective research skills without compromising the amount or quality of instruction. What started as a half-baked idea sprung into reality in the form of a an iPad equipped, fully mobile classroom in a box.
Faced with an ever shrinking supply of computer-equipped classrooms, we increasingly relied on student-supplied technology to teach research tools and skills. This presents new challenges; not everyone has access to a mobile device or laptop, the quality of devices is varied, and the use of personal equipment increases student distraction. Sensing a trend, we investigated library-owned mobile devices as a way to eliminate these challenges and get back to the business of teaching.
Want to know what we did and how we did it? Join us to see how we folded the mobile classroom into existing space, maximized the mobility of the classroom, and the everyday logistics of selecting, storing, and maintaining the equipment. And of course, find out how our new technology was received and how we used it to teach research techniques to groups of undergraduates in their first semester.
Instructor College Virtual Swap Meet: A Model for Developing an Instruction Community
Jo Angela Oehrli and Peter Timmons (University of Michigan) - Presentation (.pptx)
Many educators, newbies and veterans alike, find themselves facing the same problems as their students; there is an overabundance of helpful information available, and getting started can be overwhelming and disorienting. In an effort to fill the need for constant professional development in the area of instruction, the University of Michigan Libraries have created the Instructor College. The Instructor College has attempted several versions of an institutionally-curated repository of resources to support library instruction.
This year the Instructor College Steering Committee is working with a School of Information University Library Associate to create a more flexible repository for these materials. In addition to including strong content such as visual teacher prep materials, scholarly articles, interesting handouts & lesson plans, and assessment ideas, this repository has many other features making the repository easy to use. Characteristics include the following features:
• a streamlined submission and retrieval interface
• categorical organization of materials in diverse formats
• custom tagging, user rating and reviewing
The Instructor College would like to present the pilot version of this repository at LOEX in order to receive feedback on the design and content. The planning and development behind the creation of Instructor College’s repository will be discussed in brief to illustrate the feasibility of implementation of similar systems at other institutions. We are also interested in generating interest within the library community in order to solicit librarian participation and to encourage the grassroots development of similar repositories at other libraries.
Integrating the Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Course into the Curriculum: Goals, Benefits, and Challenges
Dominique Daniel and Elizabeth W. Kraemer (Oakland University) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
This presentation provides a model for the design and implementation of a successful credit-bearing information literacy course that addresses the most common objections against stand-alone library instruction. It emphasizes two key principles, making it relevant to students and university administrators alike: integration into the university general education program, and the contextualization of information-seeking mechanics by introducing students to the economic, political and social context in which information is produced, managed and used. These principles lay the foundation for the development of critical information literacy skills that students can transfer to other courses and beyond. Offering stand-alone instruction while integrating it into the curriculum is an innovative strategy that opens the way for the creation of advanced, discipline-specific and program-embedded library instruction.
The presenters will show the course syllabus and a sample online module, and will outline strategies to integrate information literacy into the general education program. They will invite participants to debate the potential benefits and pitfalls of stand-alone, credit-bearing library courses and to assess the effectiveness of the solutions offered in the presentation.
iPod Apps, Mobile Learning, Game Dynamics: This Ain't your Typical Library Orientation
Anne Burke and Adrienne Lai (North Carolina State University) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Hoping to enliven traditional library orientation, three NCSU Librarians developed the NCSU Libraries’ Mobile Scavenger Hunt, a team-based game that uses iPods with free cloud-based apps to orient students to library spaces, collections, and technologies. The main goal of this project is to demystify this often-overwhelming new environment and reduce library anxiety by using situated, problem-based learning. The activity provides a low-stakes means to promote resources and services critical to academic success and invites students to explore the building and interact with staff. Presenters will share tools, work flow management strategies and feedback with attendees who wish to develop a similar activity in their home libraries.
New Literacies in our Global Society: Teaching Literacies Beyond Text
Kristine N. Stewart and Alex Mudd (University of Missouri)
In our globalized world, students now have access to a variety of viewpoints in a variety of formats from around the globe. This creates new challenges for students in the evaluation and understanding of information. As a result, it is becoming increasingly more important for our students to understand where their information is coming from and be able to read and interpret the format of this information. This entails having literacies that go beyond text and includes cultural, social, critical, and digital literacies.
This presentation will provide an overview of opportunities to integrate the teaching of new literacies into existing instruction programs using a constructivist method, actively engaging students in the process of assigning their own meaning and values to the skills taught in class. This includes the integration of social networking, use of multimedia and visual tools, making connections between text, social groups, and social practices and moving beyond what is written and literal to assist students in taking an appropriate means of action based on their evaluation of content.
OER as Content, OER as Pedagogy: Empowering Students as Partners in Learning using Scholarly Open Access Resources
Sheila Afnan-Manns (Scottsdale Community College), Kandice Mickelsen and Reyes Medrano (Paradise Valley Community College) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.pdf) - Handout (.pdf) - Project Overvied (.pdf) - Links (.docx)
Lawrence Lessig has astutely observed that for all of human history culture was “read-write” where people participated in the creation and re-creation of knowledge and information. Twentieth Century analog delivered the anomaly as broadcast news, vinyl records, and radio promoted “efficient consumption,” resulting in a “read only,” passivity with little thought towards production. That anomaly has now ended. The Internet has demanded a major disruption, relentlessly returning us to our “read-write” roots. So what does this mean for instruction?
Answering this question was the driving force behind an instructional partnership ignited in spring 2010 when the Business Division at Paradise Valley Community College approached the Library for assistance in finding open educational resources (OER) that could take the place of costly textbooks. A robust collaboration soon evolved that transcended OER as mere content replacement, unleashing a paradigm shift in which students responded to course lectures not with rote memory, but as curators who researched, evaluated, and mixed relevant digital content into their own “living textbook.”
Come discover the nuts and bolts of this collaboration that integrated information literacy instruction, proprietary and open access content, Blackboard, 2.0 tools, and team-based learning into a student-driven model of “read-write” learning. Watch actual footage from the class and learn how students mastered course objectives as well as 21st Century skills in information literate digital research, public speaking, and team building. Lastly, explore ways for adapting this approach to your instruction.
Old Habits are Hard to Break: Lessons for Instruction Learned from A Mixed-Methods Study
Stefanie Buck, Anne-Marie Deitering, and Hanna Gascho Rempel (Oregon State University) - Presentation (.pptx)
When using discovery tools that promise the need for minimal library instruction, are students able to evaluate if these tools give the appropriate types of scholarly resources? Librarians listened and observed as undergraduate students tackled a typical research-based assignment using broad-based discovery tools, including Google Scholar, Web of Science and Summon. We will discuss what we learned about our users’ research processes, how they fit unfamiliar tools into those processes, how they carry early experiences from high school and public libraries into their college searching, and the implications for effectively introducing new tools into our users' research framework.
Robust (and Backwards) Instructional Design for Online Information Literacy Courses
Brian D. Leaf (The Ohio State University) - Presentation (.pptx)
Online information literacy courses have been taught for credit at The Ohio State University for over a decade with only minor or technology-driven changes. A small team of librarians within the Teaching & Learning Unit overhauled the course using the latest research and emerging trends in information behavior to create a more engaging, evidence-based class. Preparation for and development of the new course also included workshops and consultations with various departments on campus, including the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, the Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing, and the Digital Union (a learning technology department). In this presentation, the team leader will describe how they used the backwards design process and other frameworks to build the best online course possible. Additionally, the pedagogical theories and philosophies that served as foundation for the design will be briefly discussed. Attendees will learn in an open dialogue the granular details of the inherently ill-structured online course design process, recommended best practices, and potential pitfalls.
Sing a Song of Sixpence: The Birds We Found in the Web-Scale Discovery Pie
Sarah Fabian, Susann deVries and Sara Memmott (Eastern Michigan University) - Presentation (.pptx)
The use of the web-scale discovery product Summon has changed the ways in which EMU librarians provide research instruction to students, from beginner to graduate. Librarians were pleasantly surprised to realize that they could spend more time focusing on making sense of academic sources and less time teaching database-specific searching tips. This has strengthened instruction librarians’ emphasis on evaluation of sources in all instruction sessions, regardless of whether they involve the use of Summon. Presenters will also discuss user feedback and the other benefits and challenges of using a web-scale discovery product.
Socializing with the Undead: Humans vs. Zombies and Learning in the Library
Jessica R. Olin (Hiram College) - Handout (.docx)
Academic libraries can be complex and intimidating places for undergraduates, even at small, liberal arts colleges like Hiram College. By hosting sessions of Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ), a game like Tag with complicated rules and an added component of acting, the staff of the Hiram College Library has been able to help students learn their way around the library in a social atmosphere. The event also helped improve personal relationships between library staff and members of the student body. This session will present the planning, execution, and lessons learned from three sessions of HvZ in the Hiram College Library.
STEPP into the Library: Research Assistance for Students with Multiple Learning Disabilities
Jeanne Hoover, Clark Nall, and Carolyn Willis (East Carolina University) - Presentation (.pptx)
Librarians strive to address the information needs of diverse populations. At East Carolina University's Joyner Library, we are collaborating with Project STEPP to improve our information literacy services for students with multiple learning disabilities. Project STEPP (Supporting Transition and Education through Planning Partnerships) is an innovative program that offers comprehensive academic, social and life-skills support to a select number of students with learning disabilities who have shown the potential to succeed at the college level. In Fall 2011, Project STEPP relocated to a space with office areas and study rooms in Joyner Library. Our collaboration began with a survey of enrolled STEPP students that included questions about library use. Building from the survey, we began designing a program of instruction and outcomes assessment for the ten incoming first year students.
Our involvement with the students includes three instructions sessions, a library tour, assignment to a personal librarian, and research consultations. Each student was assigned to one of three personal librarians with whom research consultations were scheduled. The students were encouraged to contact their personal librarian as needed for research assistance. The students attended a library instruction session with their first semester English class. We are using multiple assessment techniques to measure the program’s impact on student learning outcomes.
The presentation will cover assessment findings from pre & post-tests, weekly journal entries kept by students, and videotaped interviews with the students reflecting on their experiences. We will discuss our experiences, successes, failures, and future plans.
Take Course Content, Sauté it with Blogs and Sprinkle it with Information Literacy
Tatiana Pashkova-Balkenhol and Elizabeth Kocevar-Weidinger (Longwood University)
Learn how we collaborated with faculty members for different blogging assignments that targeted general audiences. In one class, the focus was to teach students how to find copyright-friendly multimedia and cite scholarly research, which was to be accessed by a global audience. In the other class, the emphasis was to help students find reliable, free resources and cite them using a blogging citation style. As a number of students, who self-publish, increases, discover how we met the challenge of teaching students how to find, use, and cite information for life-long learning and effective communication in their local and global communities.
Teaching from the Edge: Transitioning into the Online Course utilizing Instructional Design and Rubric Evaluation
Kim A. Glover and Nikhat J. Ghouse (University of Kansas) - Presentation (.pdf) - Handout (.pdf)
Since 2006, the University of Kansas Libraries has offered a traditional, one credit class on information literacy research methods. In 2010, librarians began the process of revising this classroom-based course for online delivery in the spring 2012 semester.
This presentation will walk attendees through the process of online course development of an information literacy class from its creation to completion. The presenters and co-instructors will discuss the shared responsibilities and challenges related to teaching an online course. The design of this online class will be broken down into different aspects related to development from a traditional library class course into an online only environment. The uses of instructional design concepts were an integral part of course development with the intention of enhancing student learning. The customization of learning objects was created using the SoftChalk software, online activities and video tutorials. The overall process of integrating these tools into the course management system, Blackboard, will also be detailed along with the challenges.
The use of learning objectives and course activities, in particular, were utilized to address and assess weekly course milestones and to introduce and reinforce ARCL Information Literacy Standards as well as the learning goals (critical thinking, active learning) promoted on our campus. The presenters will discuss the course development process which included feedback from colleagues and the use of the Quality Matters™ Rubric a tool selected over other available rubrics to shape and guide our curriculum.
The Assessment Buffet, Coming Back for Thirds
Elisa Slater Acosta (Loyola Marymount University) - Presentation (.pptx)
Every year we use assessment to bake a better batch of library instruction for freshman English students. This presentation addresses the universal challenge that many instruction librarians face, “How can we assess student learning outcomes in a one-shot instruction session?” LMU’s Reference Department created a standardized introduction to the research process which could apply to any topic, developed learning objectives, and measured them for the three years. The presenter will highlight assessment successes and what went back to the Test Kitchen. Our assessment buffet consists of a variety of sweet dishes: a worksheet and grading rubric, interactive online LibGuide, keyword self-quiz, pre-lesson poll, peer teaching evaluation, and several surveys.
The Disappearance of Controlled Vocabulary in Bibliographic Instruction: In Memoriam?
Stephanie Wiegand (University of Northern Colorado) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.pub)
At one time controlled vocabulary was an essential component of bibliographic instruction sessions. Today, whispered conversations among librarians and the lack of conference presentations, blog posts, and professional literature on the best use of controlled vocabulary seemingly indicate an evanescence of this content. Yet professional communication channels are also silent on the disappearance of controlled vocabulary. In this session, the presenter will share preliminary results of a regional survey of librarians concerning current instruction trends for controlled vocabulary. Attendees will discuss whether controlled vocabulary still has a place in bibliographic instruction.
The Role of Information Literacy in Service Learning Courses: A Case Study and Best Practices
Chris Sweet (Illinois Wesleyan University) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx)
Service Learning is a quickly growing movement within higher education that empowers students to utilize classroom knowledge to solve a problem or effect a change within their local community. Service learning courses exemplify the concept of active learning because students are continually applying knowledge to a “real problem.” Service learning is distinct from volunteering or participating in many internships because it focuses not only on the action –the doing- but also on the broader sociopolitical contexts of a project. Information Literacy is critical for getting students to understand the “why” and “how” that should ground all service learning projects.
This presentation will begin with a broad overview of the service learning movement and a few brief examples of academic librarian involvement in service learning courses. Next, I will present a case study that draws on my own experiences as an embedded librarian in the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar at Illinois Wesleyan University. The students in this service learning course are tasked with identifying an environmental problem within the local community and then working with a community partner to identify ways to solve or alleviate that problem. In my experience, teaching information literacy through service learning has been the single best method getting students to understand how information literacy actually works in real world settings. Student feedback from the course will also be shared. The presentation will conclude with summarizing some of the emerging best practices for incorporating information literacy into service learning courses.
21st Century Skills and Teacher Education: Targeting Pre-Service Teachers to Ensure Future Librarian/Teacher Collaboration
Jillian Brandt Maruskin (Ohio Wesleyan University) - Handout (.pub)
The phrase “21st century skills” has been a buzzword among librarians for some time now, but is still working its way into the vocabulary of educators and education administrators. 21st century skills (critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, creativity, communication, and innovation) are an integral part of ensuring a successful transition into college. It has become clear that efforts to ease this transition are to be a collaborative effort among librarians, educators, and administrators. Academic librarians in particular hold a great responsibility in this effort because well-prepared college freshman increase the likelihood of retention and student success.
This session will outline the content of a library workshop given in conjunction with Ohio Wesleyan University’s Teaching Workshop (a companion course to student teaching). In the workshop, pre-service teachers learn how to effectively use library resources, web applications, and school librarians in the classroom. The workshop also instructs students how to complete a Technology Assignment wherein they are asked to create a lesson plan that responsibly and effectively engages technology in the classroom.
In addition to the workshop content outline, session attendees will receive a link to the workshop's LibGuide. Time will be allotted to share other successful collaborations and brainstorm plans for future workshops.
Using Summon to Teach Historical Primary Sources: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Carol A. Singer and Stephen Charter (Bowling Green State University) - Handout (.docx)
The use of a discovery layer transforms the process of identifying and accessing library resources, including archival, published, and virtual historical primary sources. The content of a discovery layer database is not identical with the sum of the online catalog plus the various databases to which the library subscribes. Some kinds of historical primary sources, or their finding aids, may not be included. Even when virtual resources are included in the discovery layer database, reliable access to full text may not be easily available. However, some virtual resources which were not previously accessible through library databases may now be easily discoverable and accessible through the discovery layer. In addition, the resources that are searchable in the discovery layer database may be much more likely to be discovered by a researcher since they are no longer sequestered in a specialized database.
The presenters compare teaching strategies used for historical primary sources before and after Summon implementation. They use classroom examples to demonstrate how students can effectively utilize Summon’s searchable, library-specific, interdisciplinary database. Classroom examples are also used to demonstrate when and how to teach the use of other tools for discovering and accessing historical primary sources.
Using the Learning Cycle to Engage Students
Marcia Rapchak (Duquesne University) - Presentation (.pptx) - Handout (.docx) - Learning Style Inventory (.docx)
What sort of learner are you? Do you like to take notes while listening to a lecture, or do you like to jump into an activity without any instruction? Did you know that your preferred learning style can affect the way you teach? With questions about the validity of the Fleming model of visual, auditory, and tactile learners, instructors should become more aware of other learning style theories that can help them engage students in a class session. Through an introduction to the attributes of each learning style, this session will introduce participants to Kolb’s (1984) Learning Cycle and Learning Styles, which, though nearly twenty years old, can improve library instruction by showing the need to use various methods (including active learning) to engage students participants will understand how their preference for certain learning style(s) – accommodating, assimilating, diverging, or converging – affects their teaching approach. Then, participants will see how the learning cycle can be used to teach students how to evaluate information by viewing a lesson that guides learners through every step of the cycle, allowing them to actively engage in the discovery of evaluation methods, to reflect on their discovery, to test their newfound knowledge through more active learning, and to consider the implications of this knowledge. Using this lesson as an example, participants can create their own lesson plans that use the learning cycle to engage their students in a new and invigorating way at their own institutions.
We Got Game! Using Games for Library Orientation
Lesli Baker and Annie Smith (Utah Valley University) - Presentation (.ppt)
Working with Millennial students requires librarians to use new approaches to engage and reach them effectively. Games offer an entertaining and effective means of teaching students basic information literacy principles while introducing them to the library and library services. Over a two-year period, the Utah Valley University (UVU) Library created and piloted two self-paced orientation games to introduce the library and library services. The Get a Clue game used clues placed throughout the building to orient students to the physical library and basic services while solving a mystery. LibraryCraft used an online game to introduce students to the library’s website and electronic resources while working to slay a dragon.
This program will address the educational foundations of gaming, why it is an appealing instructional method, how the UVU Library created orientation games, and what lessons the library staff learned to help other libraries in their quest to create appealing games.
June 1, 2012