ILA Informal Meeting Notes 10/15/15

The Information Literacy Interest Group met for our annual informal gathering at the ILA Fall Conference recently. Seven different institutions from across the state were represented by ten librarians, including two librarians new both to Iowa and the profession. Much of the meeting was spent introducing ourselves and talking about the state of IL at our respective institutions. Across the state Information literacy is embedded in pieces across required courses, an explicit Core outcome, a component of the Core without a dedicated course, in IL-designated courses, and in a professional development type course. There was talk of portal courses, integrating research and writing centers, and the “suggestion” model (meaning the variety of levels that faculty are expected to incorporate IL instruction with their course, ranging from strongly recommended to lip service with minimal library contact). The topic of incorporating more storytelling into teaching was raised and Josh Vossler’s work about constructing stories (presentation & handout) and using active ideas framed around big issues was shared. Kristy Raine, from Mount Mercy University, also talked about a course in which she compiled a backpack containing what a local child might actually have to better illustrate and make personal the idea of poverty impacting women and children in the U.S. The group plans to meet again during the IPAL and ILA-ACRL spring conferences.

We started with introductions, welcoming two new-to-the-profession (and to Iowa) librarians to the group. Then we went around the table and shared where we currently are in terms of IL within our institutions.

Those from Central College shared that they have been embedded in the first-year seminar course since 2000, with a big change in that course's organization having taken place last year. Previously the courses were all common, meaning texts and syllabi were the same. Now the courses have shifted so that a fourth of the content is shared across all sections (to meet the same learning outcomes) but the readings or approaches are not common. The librarians are working to find a balance in how much instruction they are able to do with each section; 4 sessions was too much, 2 was too few, so working to find the sweet spot. Currently they're working to modify their approach and brainstorm new ideas for working with this first-year population. Beyond that, librarians have involvement in the research and writing class where they work to bridge the divide between research and writing.

One of the new professionals in the group was from Wartburg College, and is still growing in her understanding of the level of library/librarian involvement, but provided the group with the following information. Currently there are 5 IL librarians embedding in a variety of classes, withing within the upper level courses/subject specific courses, but also working with a first year course for basic collegiate skill stepping stones such as ENGL 101 and other 100-level classes wherein they usually do approximately 2 workshops per semester per section.

Librarians from Grand View University shared that their focus has shifted from 1-shot sessions (though they do still happen in upper level courses) to a focus on embedding within the core courses after a curriculum update a few years ago. Each section of their first-year seminar has an embedded librarian where the librarian sees their section between 4-8 sessions. Instructors work with the librarians to meet the needs of their students, using a "menu" of sorts where they can select when various skills/approaches to IL will be covered in their course. This embedded relationship ensures all traditional freshmen receive instruction to help build their IL foundation in their first year. Then that foundation is built upon in a way that is subject/assignment specific, using different activities and approaches, should they return to the library for future instruction in upper-level courses. This helps prevent "library fatigue" and the "I already know this because I was in the library for class all freshman year" response. Throughout the curriculum there are courses that have to meet an IL requirement, which has led to faculty seeking out librarians as they develop assignments and look to teach their students more.

Librarians from Simpson College shared that they use scavenger hunts to increase engagement with students, getting them into the library and exploring the resources and space. Information literacy is part of the core, and IL instruction from librarians is suggested for faculty to incorporate (which many do). They've also found success in having students be required to meet with them for a research appointment (and then receive the librarian's signature after it is complete). They've cultivated a good relationship with the Writing Center where they refer students back and forth depending on their needs (i.e. Editing? Writing Center. Finding good stuff? Librarians.)

At Brown-Mackie College their non-traditional student population tackles month-long classes, which can be intensive. The librarian has access to the new, incoming student classes approximately three times. Because it is an iPad campus, 2 sessions are allotted for technology (iPad use, Apps), with the other being databases use/resource finding and APA citations. There is some interest in composition classes and others, but it can be difficult given time and staffing constraints to get into more classes.

Those from University of Dubuque shared that the campus has a wide range of student populations, academically ranging from traditional undergraduates, non-traditional/adult learners, seminary students, and masters level students. IL has been a core objective for the last 5 years, and librarians have been highly active with their instruction for the last 10-15 years, which took time to build up. In many of the core classes, students see librarians several times (6ish?), and there are many IL menus/modules lessons for professors to select from (and then are tailored to their class, particularly upper-level courses). They also work with the BRIDGE program, which is set up to help at-risk students be successful and develop strategies for how to approach assignments and classes at the college level. Librarians also help with assessment of student presentations/posters, both in developing the IL rubric, and assessing student work using the rubric.

The Mount Mercy representative indicated that, while there is no free-standing IL dedicated course, IL is a part of their core curriculum. There are portal courses for all freshmen, built around a theme, and several student support services are incorporated into the course, including the library. However, the level of involvement/buy in varies depending on the professor. Some departments have more interest in having a librarian partner with them in their courses for IL instruction than others (i.e. nursing has a lot of involvement and it is difficult to make headway in business). The librarian emphasized the importance of building relationships with faculty and advocating for library instruction; by building connections and serving faculty, the students are also served.

Interest was expressed in using more storytelling in library instruction. Josh Vossler’s work about constructing stories (presentation & handout) and using active ideas framed around big issues was shared. Kristy Raine, from Mount Mercy University, also talked about a course in which she compiled a backpack containing what a local child might actually have to better illustrate and make personal the idea of poverty impacting women and children in the U.S. In the bag she included what these kids (in the specific community they were examining) would have or not have, i.e. food, supplies, latch-key kid type foods that they could make or eat by themselves, etc. Others have mentioned using icebreakers, like having students pair up and share the story behind their name, can start to get conversation going.

We also briefly mentioned the Evernote repository where attendees of previous iLOVE events have shared resources, ideas, visuals, etc.

We're looking forward to seeing folks again soon for the spring conference -- Keep your eyes peeled, but it is looking like it will be held May 19, 2016.

Becoming Plagiarism “Experts”

I am by no means the foremost plagiarism expert on campus but, after a revision of the university academic dishonesty policy, I had several proactive faculty and students coming to me wanting me to teach a class or share recommendations for how to prevent plagiarism (accidental or otherwise).

Faculty:

Faculty will come to me and ask me to “talk to their students about plagiarism.” While that’s fine, it’s more helpful to everyone if we can lay some groundwork with the faculty as they develop their assignments as well. 

It’s always best to prevent plagiarism before it happens, and one way to do so is to have faculty build in checkpoints. It is a lot harder for students to procrastinate and fake it if there are several check-ins, drafts, annotated bibliographies, and individual conferences along the way. 

In terms of instruction for their students, I try to fold the idea of plagiarism into other things. I go through what plagiarism is and why it’s important to know about. But the bulk of my time isn’t spent looming scare tactics and hefty consequences over their heads (though consequences are mentioned). The bulk of my time is spent helping them develop strategies to prevent it, focusing on:

• Staying organized
• Knowing where information comes from
• What their note-taking is like 
• Are direct quotes marked in their notes? 
• How do they know what they’ve paraphrased
• How do they designate direct quotations?
• What’s considered common knowledge or general fact?
• Keeping track of citations
• Knowing what’s required for their citation style or by their professor (because sometimes professors decide to make up their own “citation style” which is a messy hybrid of Chicago, MLA, and APA from 25 years ago). 
• Page numbers
• Author information
• In-text versus bibliography/works cited
• Practicing paraphrasing, because so many of our students haven’t had much purposeful paraphrasing practice: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tUPc53s9FVWHcEJ8-m8a_ZP2fiA_J6aXuUuVfmdal5s/edit?usp=sharing 
• Practicing creating citations for both the bibliography/works cited and in-text citations. Students have liked breaking down the elements of their citations using charts like this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HwXhs6OEaLMEgJ4F-rfkRr2AuUQDOUa67NDXizMMLwI/edit?usp=sharing
• Annotated bibliography writing techniques and tools. The Purdue OWL has some great guidelines and examples here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/
• Spotting plagiarism can be tricky, so we practice that too: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z3fQcGOZmSLAkWwcX2mzj4JeI9B_AXNoTSgf_Tr8CZc/edit?usp=sharing 

If it’s something that raises a red flag for the faculty member after the final draft has been submitted, it’s helpful for them to:

• Google any quotes or sections that sound fishy
• Look for a brand new voice not seen in any of their other writing (throughout their semester’s work)
• Conduct interviews with the student(s) about the topic of their paper (where the student comes in and visits, without any notes) -- This one is especially helpful. If the student has trouble talking about many (or any) details from their paper, perhaps they didn’t write it themselves. Often faculty forget about this option. 

Students:

If a student approaches me individually I try to explain it in direct relation to the assignment they’re working on.  

• Sometimes, however, we wind up catching it mid-project. Perhaps their instructor has gone through a draft of their paper and noted some areas of concern, i.e. “If this were your final draft, it would be plagiarism. Please fix this” or just “Plagiarism! Fix!” with a section circled. While this helps the student see something is wrong, it doesn’t help them understand what is wrong or how to fix it. That’s where our conversation comes in. Usually when this happens I ask the student a series of questions:
• Did you know this information on your own, before ever reading or seeing it somewhere? (Usually the answer to this question is no.)
• Where did you get the information? Then we track it down to the exact page number and paragraph, make note of the necessary information to cite it with, see if what they used was a direct quote, paraphrased, or sort of paraphrased but not changed enough to quite fly.  
• If it’s not quite paraphrased enough, I’ll have the student flip the resource over (sometimes I’ll even ask if I can hold onto it), hide their original draft, and I’ll open up an email, address it to them, and ask them “tell me about…” or “describe …” or “explain to me…” while I type what they tell me. This forces them to put it in their own words, helping with paraphrasing. If they don’t know the content well enough, it will be evident. If they think there’s no other, or no better, way to say it, then we return to the original and work through the direct quote process. 
• We also have a conversation about how using too many direct quotes counts as plagiarism -- The instructor wants to see the student’s thoughts, evidence of understanding, and interpretation in the writing, too! It can’t just be a regurgitation of quotes from others. That doesn’t count as original work from the student. (If they wanted that, they’d ask for a list of their favorite quotes or a book report.)

I prefer the individual interview as it is really effective in helping the student step back from the sources to figure out what the words within actually mean. Without that understanding the deeper discussion, interpretation, and application of ideas can’t happen. 

There are tons of great activities and lessons others have done and shared online. What are some things you’ve found work well in helping students identify plagiarism and prevent it in the future?

Building Your Instruction Toolkit ILA/ACRL 2015

The Activity
Pair off and share an instruction strategy, technique or lesson plan with each other. Find another pair and share again.

The Recap

Please share  your ideas in the iLOVE Ongoing Repository (info. here: http://bit.ly/ipalinstructionswap) or email bcanovan@dbq.edu any details, manipulatives, or resources to add to our Evernote instruction database. 

The Activity

How do you brainstorm your instruction? What do you consider first? How do you balance faculty

expectations and the realities of time & student skill development?

The Recap

Did I miss something or do you have something to add to the conversation? Share it in the comments below!

Circuit Training IPAL 2015

The Activity
Explore your choice of 5 different stations, then switch to another area of interest when the bell rings. Stations included:

• Instruction - Getting to "Go!:" brainstorm teaching ideas, discuss where you get your inspiration, and how you get past instruction "writer's block"
• Instruction - Bells & Whistles: discuss manipulatives/learning objects for inspiration, flipped classrooms and other strategies & activities
• Computers vs. Non-Computers: when is it best to walk away from computers? How do you work when you're not in a computer lab?
• Potpourri: just like on Jeopardy, it's a little bit of everything from assessment to accreditation, formal/informal ideas, great tools & technology, closing the gap, sharing information with students or instructors, and anything else you happen to think of!
• Beyond Instruction: brainstorming professional development for librarians and ways to provide development for faculty, workshop offerings, sharing scholarship, and strategies for reflection and improvement

The Recap
There were several wonderful ideas that were shared during the Circuit Training session; you can find the notes from the various stations in the embedded document below. Did I miss something or do you have something to add to the conversation? Share it in the comments below!

Solution or Sympathy IPAL & ILA/ACRL 2015

The Activity

Write down (or share) instruction/library-related questions or concerns. Share the questions anonymously to see if the group has experienced something similar. Offer up possible solutions, or sympathize, and let the person who submitted the question know that at least they're not alone. 

The Recap
I'm so glad we were able to try out the Solution or Sympathy activity this year! It's wonderful sharing ideas and visiting about struggles and successes. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion! After Thursday's discussions, we thought utilizing the unconference time during Friday's ILA/ACRL conference to continue the conversation would be helpful, and it was so nice to have that extra time to share and discuss. You can find notes from both days below -- Did I miss something or do you have something to add to the conversation? Add it in the comments below!

There were several wonderful questions that were submitted during the Thursday morning IPAL session but, unfortunately, we ran out of time to discuss them all. We are sharing those as Ask the Masses posts over the next several weeks, so check back in regularly (or follow the blog in your RSS) and comment with your ideas.

IPAL IL Interest Group Solution or Sympathy

ILA/ACRL Unconference Solution or Sympathy

Discussion Points from ILA Meetup - 10/23/14

Eleven instruction-minded librarians gathered after the ILA/ACRL meeting to discuss, brainstorm, and sympathize for the IPAL IL Interest Group informal meetup on Thursday, Oct. 23. We began with introductions and jumped right into instruction ideas. (If I missed anything or my notes are incorrect, please let me know in the comments!)

Jen Bishop, Kirkwood Community College, shared a fun idea: Zombie Concept Map. Focusing on critical thinking in her College 101 courses, students are given the scenario that zombies have taken over campus and that this class of students are the last humans on earth. Students are given 5 minutes to find good hiding spots in the library, and then come back and report back to the class their chosen location, describe it, and explain why they chose that location. (This helps orient the students to areas within the library, and helps get the activity rolling.) Next they are asked to discuss in groups what is most important to know, do, and save during a zombie apocalypse. What knowledge must be preserved? What skills or other knowledge would be helpful? Turning issues into questions to be answered, the students come up with research questions such as: Would I have to kill my dog? By discussing this question, they can shift it to research similar to what they might be doing in classes, looking at human-to-animal disease transfer factors, etc. I believe somewhere in this process a winning group is chosen by the course instructor and the other groups become zombie bait.

I posed a question about online instruction. I have struggled, and have seen others struggle, with making online instruction engaging and helping students achieve higher-level thinking. We've all seen examples where the coursework is standard: read, fill out a worksheet, post something in a discussion, take a test, repeat. We've also seen great examples of engagement and interesting discussion, but unfortunately that sometimes feels like the exception to the rule. We discussed options for two-way communication, engaging assignments/activities, and other ideas.

• Students can create videos as parts of their assignment (can help those who may have stronger speaking skills over writing, and also helps the students -- & instructor -- feel more connected, like they know their classmates rather than just a name on the screen. 
• Sara Scheib (University of Iowa) mentioned that Dan Gall (also U of I) has students do a video assignment where they essentially flip the classroom; the students select a database and create a video teaching that database to their peers. 
• Discussion boards can sometimes be tricky. Some just use them as correspondence between an individual student and the instructor, while others use them to help connect students (students post and also respond to the posts of others). 
• Instructor feedback for every activity helps students feel more connected. 
• Course wikis: good for a running log/discussion (rather than having to go and click into each discussion post), better flow perhaps?
• Can we use full online programs/colleges as models or glean best practices from them to use in our blended or completely online courses? Can they help serve as a model for us?
• Online courses can be helpful for introverts or those less likely to speak up in a traditional classroom; in the online environment each student is individually held accountable for their contribution to the discussion
• Identifying what types of students are attracted to online over traditional study:
• Self-starters?
• Adults?
• Other life circumstances?
• Identifying characteristics of online learners can help us craft a better online learning environment for them
• Tools for feedback:
• Voicethread: record vocal comments http://voicethread.com/ ($) - Creates a thread where students can respond with text, voice, or video.
• Similar technology from Notre Dame: Remix: http://learning.nd.edu/remix/
• University of Wisconsin Milwaukee has online instruction modules that balance video, text and worksheets
• Libguides can help
•  You can have upper-level students create libguides to helpstudents who will be coming after them. A "what I wish I would have known/had" experience; gives students choice and a sense of power and helps first-year students
• Skype or Google Hangout office hours weren't really utilized 

Some of the other things we discussed were:

• Satellite office hours: it's best to have regular, established hours (so they know your schedule/routine); shows students you are part of the department and can help engagement with both students and faculty in that department
• Instances of "oh, yeah! I was going to ask" or "since you're here."
• How to make it scalable to research/state schools? 
• How to get more librarians willing to teach/more comfortable teaching? Breaking them out of their comfort zone a little...
• Offering observation time
• Collaborative prep/lesson development or developing the lesson and providing it for them
• Asking for their input (they're experts in another area; you're developing a lesson plan for that area; ask for their help with developing the lesson; ask for them to come observe you as you teach) - This may help them feel more comfortable with the idea of it if they've had input about what should be taught, how it should be taught. 

There was also discussion of having some more similar brainstorming/work sessions during both IPAL and ILA/ACRL conferences in the spring, so keep your eyes peeled! 

Instruction Swap Ideas and Ongoing Repository Project

It was suggested that we collect the Instruction Swap ideas and share them with each other. I've uploaded all that were sent into an Evernote notebook, and added a few tags to help folks navigate and find what they're interested in.  View it here: https://www.evernote.com/pub/iloveinstruction/firstnotebook

Also, others mentioned in their IPAL session evaluations that creating some sort of drop box or  repository where people could easily share instruction ideas at any time (not just during IPAL) would be helpful. It wouldn't have to be polished, or fancy, or overly detailed--Just enough detail for someone else looking at it to get the gist and figure out if the lesson plan or document is something that they could adapt/use. If that's something you're interested in, add the following email to your address book and start sending away: iloveinstruction.3a8241a [at] m.evernote.com

When using email to contribute to an Evernote notebook, your subject line becomes the title of the new note. You can add tags (identifying categories/labels used to group like notes together) after your note title in the subject line by using the hashtag symbol (#). For Evernote, your tags can include spaces (see image below). When you click send, Evernote will then upload your email as the note, apply the labels you've indicated, and include any attachments you added.

If you have any questions or issues, feel free to contact Cara Stone (cstone [at] grandview.edu).

IPAL IL Discussion Group Photos

As you can see from the photos, there were so many wonderful conversations happening during the IPAL Information Literacy Interest Group morning session held May 1, at Grand View University in Des Moines!

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

As mentioned in earlier posts, we plan on compiling the Instruction Swap materials and will get those distributed to those who attended.

Interested in what was discussed during the Circuit Training sessions? Check our our previous post: http://ilove-instruction.blogspot.com/2014/05/ipal-recap-2014-circuit-training-notes.html 

IPAL Recap 2014: Circuit Training Notes

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended the IPAL Information Literacy Interest Group session held May 1, 2014 at Grand View University! I did my best to get around to as many different groups as I could during both the Instruction Swap and the Circuit Training sessions, and loved the conversations that were happening! As was discussed during the session, attendees will be contacted and asked to email me (Cara) your Instruction Swap ideas, which I will then compile and share again with the whole group. We will also be going through the surveys (thank you for sharing your feedback), and will be using those to help plan future events and blog posts.

It will take some time to compile the Instruction Swap resources, so, in the meantime, here are the notes from the different "Conversation Stations."

Those who went to this station had the following prompt, but were free to take anything within the topic & run with it:

Logistics

Interested in talking about library spaces, configurations, labs and opportunities for using other areas across campus? What about scheduling, staffing (full-time and student workers), or faculty relationships? Then this Conversation Station is right for you!
Please appoint someone to help keep track of the ideas you discussed by taking notes in this Google Doc.
All of the Google Docs will then be made available to the rest of the IPAL IL Discussion Group so others can benefit from multiple discussions. You don’t have to miss out on the conversation from one group because you decided to join another!

Find this group's notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gLGCp3j3SG1qDh3l-8PQMyYQaBK-hCgPkNP2X8W0Vm0/edit?usp=sharing

Those who went to this station had the following prompt, but were free to take anything within the topic & run with it:

Creativity

Interested in brainstorming instruction ideas? Looking for inspiration (or interested in sharing what inspires you)? What about moving beyond instruction “writer’s block?” Wondering how others practice self-reflection or what new teaching strategies they’ve used? Then this Conversation Station is right for you!

Please appoint someone to help keep track of the ideas you discussed by taking notes in this Google Doc. 

All of the Google Docs will then be made available to the rest of the IPAL IL Discussion Group so others can benefit from multiple discussions. You don’t have to miss out on the conversation from one group because you decided to join another!

Find this group's notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kNKCj5V2w8sBYakPrGL7mr7WIybK6jyiqInMCg2JYDQ/edit?usp=sharing

Those who went to this station had the following prompt, but were free to take anything within the topic & run with it:

Computers vs. Non-Computers

Wondering what others do when a computer lab isn’t available for their library instruction? Wondering when it’s best to walk away from the computers? Interested in new computer-based or non-computer based activities? Then this Conversation Station is right for you!
Please appoint someone to help keep track of the ideas you discussed by taking notes in this Google Doc.
All of the Google Docs will then be made available to the rest of the IPAL IL Discussion Group so others can benefit from multiple discussions. You don’t have to miss out on the conversation from one group because you decided to join another!

Find this group's notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Faosd7NOXDWGSIippy-SikKcpEDpkYR1VshUREAJskE/edit?usp=sharing

Those who went to this station had the following prompt, but were free to take anything within the topic & run with it:

Assessment Ideas

Interested in sharing different assessment approaches and considerations? Wondering about formal and informal assessment, and tech tools to help you assess? What about closing the gap or revisiting classes to share or discuss their assessment results? Then this Conversation Station is right for you!
Please appoint someone to help keep track of the ideas you discussed by taking notes in this Google Doc.
All of the Google Docs will then be made available to the rest of the IPAL IL Discussion Group so others can benefit from multiple discussions. You don’t have to miss out on the conversation from one group because you decided to join another!

Find this group's notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sbdmGjdZ9AUUQmfeRkRQyxQJ-9a7Tscjs776_-OMgqU/edit?usp=sharing

Those who went to this station had the following prompt, but were free to take anything within the topic & run with it:

Beyond Instruction 

Interested in discussing professional development for librarians? Wondering about librarians providing faculty development opportunities? What about webinars, sharing scholarship, programming, or other things that don’t fit within the other categories? Then this Conversation Station is right for you!
Please appoint someone to help keep track of the ideas you discussed by taking notes in this Google Doc.
All of the Google Docs will then be made available to the rest of the IPAL IL Discussion Group so others can benefit from multiple discussions. You don’t have to miss out on the conversation from one group because you decided to join another!

Find this group's notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10XXbBgOhI6SW7puCUjamENmkaWRI8f1INsJ7fyeKaJU/edit?usp=sharing

IPAL 2014 Preview

Yes, we are still alive and are beyond excited to have the opportunity to meet again, face to face, with the Information Literacy Discussion Group at this year's IPAL conference! The theme is "Say Something: A Great Big World of Academic Libraries." (It looks like someone on the conference committee is a great big Christina Aguilera fan...P.S. If you cry easily, don't watch that music video.)

This year's conference will be held May 1, 2014 at Grand View University in Des Moines. If you're looking for registration information, follow this link: http://www.ipalgroup.org/IPAL_conferences.html

We have some great activities planned, with plenty of time for discussion and sharing. Only have 30 seconds? Check out this brief "commercial" (inspired by the swap meet commercials on late night TV from the 80s):

We'll start out with an "Instruction Swap." Have you ever heard of a clothing swap or a book swap? It’s where you bring something you've used to a get-together and trade it for something someone else has brought. We’d like to get the discussion started with something similar.

In preparation for the IPAL IL Discussion Group gathering, we’d like for attendees to bring a physical copy something you've used in your IL instruction to share (it can be an activity description, a whole lesson or a chunk of a lesson plan, a reflective piece, a concept map, manipulatives or learning objects you use, etc.). Whatever it is, be prepared to share it with someone you meet at the session and they’ll swap their idea with yours! (It doesn't have to be anything fancy, jewel encrusted, laminated, earth-shattering, or super-formal. Just something you that has worked well for you that you would enjoy sharing & you think might also be helpful to another librarian who does instruction.)

After the "Swap" we'll break out into smaller, themed discussion groups for “Circuit Training” to share ideas, then rotate to another station that interests you. We'll conclude the morning with a few rounds of "Solution or Sympathy" where attendees write down instruction/library-related questions or concerns they have which will then be shared anonymously to see if the group has experienced something similar, can offer up possible solutions, or sympathize, and let the person who submitted the question know that at least they're not alone. We hope this range of activities will allow attendees the flexibility to focus the discussions on their instruction needs, making it as relevant as possible.

We hope to see you there!

When New Books Arrive in the Mail

 

Find more fun gifs from When in Academia at http://wheninacademia.tumblr.com

Merry librarian-snark-mas to all and to all a good snark! Enjoy your break, and we'll see you in the new year! 

When You Search a Works Cited List for Articles and Three of the Citations You Need Put the Incorrect Journal

Find more fun gifs from When in Academia at http://wheninacademia.tumblr.com

When Someone Teaches Me a Formatting Shortcut

Find more fun gifs from When in Academia at http://wheninacademia.tumblr.com

Ask the Masses: Grading for Embedded Classes and One-Shots

This week's AtM question relates to something I've been spending a lot of time doing lately: grading/assessment.

My question is:

At what level are you involved with grading and formally assessing student assignments/projects in the classes you work with? Do you provide feedback, but leave grading up to the course instructor? Do you grade library assignments? Do the course instructors count library assignments or activities for course credit? Let's have a conversation about assessment and grading!

Web Quality (or Primary Sources) Game

For the longest time I've wanted to figure out a way to spice up my instruction regarding web evaluation. I wanted to do something that would emphasize the evaluation criteria and the need for students to dig deeper into their evaluation and reflection process when doing online research.  I have used my Wikipedia example in the past (found on slide 12 in the presentation below--you may wish to make it full screen to check out those circled parts; that definitely helps students think about the changing nature of information on the web--especially community edited information), but wanted something more interactive.

That's when the idea to do "Telephone Pictionary" or "Teletionary" or "Pictaphone" came to me. Though it's really well suited for explaining primary resources, this activity can also hammer home the importance of knowing where your information is coming from, just as a general concept.  I typed 8 different sayings into a table in MS word and cut the pages in half lengthwise (below).

Pictionary Telephone by stonca01

Then I cut squares out of folded in half cardstock (I used construction paper for my first semester with this game, but it just didn't hold up so I switched to cardstock) so that only 2 boxes would show.

Every student starts with the given prompt and then draws a picture. They cover up the prompt so that just their picture shows and pass it along to the next person in the line, who then writes a new caption based on their interpretation of the drawing. They cover up the picture so that only their caption shows and pass it along to the next person. This continues in a cycle until all boxes are filled.  We then discuss how the messages and pictures changed over time (usually with lots of giggling as some of the changes can be pretty silly...), and then we tie it back in to research and web quality (outlined in the presentation below).

After we go through the web evaluation criteria I show the students how to use Google's advanced search tool, and then they're off to complete the web evaluation checklist (digitized using Google Forms--the link is on slide 18) for 2 websites related to their paper topics. Usually this activity works best with classes that are 80 minutes long (our Tues./Thurs. classes), but with a few modifications we have made this work in 50 minute classes. 

I have had several professors compliment me on this activity and note how their students' web search skills improved noticeably after this lesson. I think the activity helps students remember that they really need to look more closely at the resources they are selecting.  

What fun games do you use in your library instruction? 

When You are Eating Lunch and Suddenly Have an Epiphany About Your Work

Find more fun gifs from When in Academia at http://wheninacademia.tumblr.com

Ask the Masses: Teaching Energy

We've all been in this situation, no matter how committed to or excited you are about your job. How do you recoop spent energy after a particularly draining instruction session? There are some classes that are exhausting but energizing at the same time. The students' energy and your energy are combining to help them learn and you see those light bulb moments happening. Sometimes there are classes that simply exhaust you. How do you recover so you have the energy you need to be successful in your next session (whether it's immediately after a particularly draining session, or a little later in the day)?

The Research Process: Now with More Detail!

Teaching the research process isn't anything new to me. Many of the classes I work with (especially those I work with in an embedded librarian capacity) request that "module" (which is what we call the lesson plans from the First-Year Core Seminar's recommended "menu" of sessions). When I most recently taught the research process session to one of my embedded Core Seminar I groups, however, I took a new approach (while building off of what we've previously used in our instruction). Why a new approach? Well, it came down to necessity. The class I was working with presented a few challenges:

1. This semester was the first time the instructor had worked with first-year students, especially those outside her field of expertise.
2. Within the student population there was a wide range of experience levels in regards to research, writing, and study skills.
3. Usually the research process takes no longer than 20-30 minutes, with time to work at the end of class. This time, however, I had 1 hour and 20 minutes with the group, and was teaching in their classroom, not a computer lab.
4. Even though I had only worked with this group of students once, I knew from visiting with the instructor, and from observing classroom behavior, that they would need a highly structured lesson in order to stay focused on the content. 

All of the steps below are included in more detail in the presentation (embedded at the end).

In order to further my understanding of the students' background knowledge and experience with research I began the class with some prewriting and reflection. I allowed them plenty of time to reflect and write, then had them partner up with someone next to them. Then I had them switch partners and talk to someone who was sitting across the room. This helped them realize the wide range of experience levels within their class, and it helped me learn more about the students as I wandered from group to group and listened. (I also had students turn in their papers so I could review them in more detail and discuss them with the course instructor.)

Then we discussed the steps of the research process and how to select or narrow your research topic. This is typically all I've done in the past, and then spent some time focusing on selecting a topic. Usually I have students brainstorm three possible topics and do some background searching to see how they want to explore that topic within the requirements of their paper or project. With this group, I spent more time focusing on understanding the requirements of the paper (which had not been introduced or provided to the students before my class session), and study strategies/planning. With each required element for the paper, I also put a date next to it. I explained to the students that the dates listed were the class periods when we would discuss how to do each element, so if they didn't know what something was or were unsure how to go about completing a part of the assignment, that's okay! We're going to discuss it and learn how to do it on the dates listed.

I then provided them with a Research Progress Plan for them to write out on a calendar what they planned to do & when. Though it was only for this one project for this one class, I recommended they do this for all of their assignments and put the information in their planners. This way they could see when big deadlines are coming up for all of their classes and plan ahead in order to do well with all of them. After they took some time to plot out their action plan steps on their own, I showed them my detailed research plan and explained why I planned certain things at certain times. I think seeing the level of detail in my research plan helped the students understand that they are facing a new level of research and writing than what they have done in the past. Though we spent a lot of time focusing on study strategies rather than research strategies, I think it was something important we needed to cover in order for the students to have the foundation they need in order to be successful in their research.

In their reflective pieces they completed at the end of class I was encouraged that several students listed having a research plan as a new strategy they would use in their approach to the project. Others noted the research process as something that was new to them. Previously they had just picked a topic and started writing. I'm hoping that once they put their plan into action and follow the recommended steps of the research process they'll see that having this structure to help guide them helps make their research easier and helps them produce a better written product.

What is something new you've used in your classes that doesn't typically fall under your purview as an instruction librarian, but was something you knew the students needed anyway in order to be successful with the library concepts you were teaching?

When All Your Friends are Partying at the Big Academic Conference and You're Stuck at Home

Find more fun gifs from When in Academia at http://wheninacademia.tumblr.com

Ask the Masses: Call for Questions

Greetings iLOVE readers! 

It is that time of year again: the start of the academic year! That means campuses are bustling, computers are humming, keyboards are clicking, and instruction planning and delivery is happening! 

We'd love to help out by offering up our ideas and posting your IL questions to the rest of the iLOVE readership so they can share their ideas, suggestions, tried-and-true activities, and so much more with the community, but in order to do that we need your questions. All are welcomed to submit their questions and observations using the link below. (You know the ones... The "Has anyone else run into this?" types of scenarios, or the "How and the heck am I going to do this?" questions, or the "I have something that works, but am looking to mix things up or do it better" situations.)

http://ilove-instruction.blogspot.com/p/ask-masses.html

We're looking forward to hearing from you!