Just in case, just in time, or just don't bother? Assessment of one-shot library instruction with follow-up workshops (original) (raw)
Related papers
2015
The need to teach information literacy skills to undergraduate students is often framed as a 21 st century concern, but debate over the value and practice of teaching this set of skills can be found as far back as the early 1900’s. This article reviews the history of information literacy instruction in academic libraries from its origins to the present, examines the current state of information literacy instruction in academic libraries, and explores possible future directions that this instruction may take. Looking to the past, present and future shows that while library instruction has evolved, many central concerns remain unanswered.
Quick library fix or basic educational skills?: information literacy in higher education
2011
This thesis is concerned with how students in higher education can benefit from an embedded information literacy (IL) course. Most information literacy courses are given, by librarians, as single, stand-alone lectures, unconnected with the subject discipline. This is in sharp contrast to most of the learning theorist, who state that learning in context is vital.
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice
Objective – Librarians at Rider University attempted to discern the basic information literacy (IL) skills of students over a two year period (2009-2011). This study aims to explore the impact of one-session information literacy instruction on student acquisition of the information literacy skills of identifying information and accessing information using a pretest/posttest design at a single institution. The research questions include: Do different student populations (in different class years, Honors students, etc.) possess different levels of IL? Does the frequency of prior IL Instruction (ILI) make a difference? Do students improve their IL skills after the ILI? Methods – The librarians at Rider University developed the test instruments over two years and administered them to students attending the ILI sessions each semester. The test was given to students as they entered the classroom before the official start-time of the class, and the test was stopped five minutes into the cl...
Journal of Education for Library and Information Science Online
Information workers are not born information fluent. Like other students, incoming library science students enter graduate programs with a broad range of information and technology skills. The aim of this study was to determine if systematically designed online tutorials would be effective in preparing university students with information literacy skills. A needs assessment was conducted to identify what information and technology skills faculty expected of entering library students. A series of 46 online tutorials were used to address the required competencies. Pre-tests were designed to determine whether a particular student needed to complete a given tutorial. Post-tests and proficiency projects were used to determine whether students reached mastery. The results of the study indicated that this type of individualized instruction was effective in preparing library science students with information literacy skills. While the study focused on the library science program, the results may have applications for other types of information literacy instruction. There is a need to expand this individualized, self-paced tutorial approach to other information literacy courses in other disciplines.
Teaching literacy: Methodologies for studying and improving library instruction
Teaching literacy: Methodologies for studying and improving library instruction, 2012
Objective – The aim of this paper is to evaluate teaching effectiveness in one-shot information literacy (IL) instruction sessions. The authors used multiple methods, including plus/delta forms, peer evaluations, and instructor feedback surveys, in an effort to improve student learning, individual teaching skill, and the overall IL program at the American University in Cairo. Methods – Researchers implemented three main evaluation tools to gather data in this study. Librarians collected both quantitative and qualitative data using student plus/delta surveys, peer evaluation, and faculty feedback in order to draw overall conclusions about the effectiveness of one-shot IL sessions. By designing a multi-method study, and gathering information from students, faculty, and instruction librarians, results represented the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Results – The data collected using the three evaluation tools provided insight into the needs and perspectives of three stakeholder groups. Individual instructors benefit from the opportunity to improve teaching through informed reflection, and are eager for feedback. Faculty members want their students to have more hands-on experience, but are pleased overall with instruction. Students need less lecturing and more authentic learning opportunities to engage with new knowledge. Conclusion – Including evaluation techniques in overall information literacy assessment plans is valuable, as instruction librarians gain opportunities for self-reflection and improvement, and administrators gather information about teaching skill levels. The authors gathered useful data that informed administrative decision making related to the IL program at the American University in Cairo. The findings discussed in this paper, both practical and theoretical, can help other college and university librarians think critically about their own IL programs, and influence how library instruction sessions might be evaluated and improved.
Methods, Effect and Challenges of Library Instruction in Academic Libraries
This study investigated library instruction methods, effect and the challenges in academic libraries using the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE) students as the target population. Library instruction is a core activity of the academic libraries that entails educating, enlightening, guiding and helping the library users to identify, understand and utilize library information resources effectively. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population consists of seven hundred and seventy-three 100 level students who registered for Use of Library (GSE 112) course in the first semester of 2015/2016 academic session. The questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Using a consensus sampling technique, all the 773 students participated in the study during a seminar organized for the 100 level students at the end of the second semester by August 2016. All the questionnaires were retrieved while 643 were found usable representing 83 percent. The finding showed that classroom teaching, library orientation and library guide (X = 3.00, SD = 000) were the methods mostly used while guided library tour (X = 2.53, SD = 667), library and one-on-one mentoring (X = 2.48, SD = 716) were also used to instruct the library users. It also reveal that Ask a librarian, FAQ, library Blog, library Website, Text messaging were not used to instruct the users. The finding also shows that library instruction was effective for identification of books on the shelves (X = 3.78, SD = 416), access and retrieval of information materials in the library (X = 3.67, SD = 471), enable students to cite and reference books with ease (X = 3.11, SD = 874) and turned users into regular library users (X = 3.45, SD = 497). It however, shows that library instruction has no effect on students’ academic excellence (X = 3.44, SD = 687). The findings however reveal some of the challenges facing library instruction including non-expository of the program (X = 2.78, SD = 785), inadequate time for library orientation (X = 3.00, SD = 815), non-utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) for library instruction (X = 2.78, SD = 787) and students’ lack of interest in library instruction programs (X = 3.56, SD = 684). The study, therefore, concluded that library instruction is an effective means of educating users and creating awareness of available information resources in the library. Librarians should ensure that library instruction impact students’ academic excellence while viable methods of engaging and instructing the users in making them effective users and life-long learners be encouraged and explored.
Complementary Information Literacy Training Practices in University Teaching and Academic Libraries
International Journal of Digital Literacy and Digital Competence, 2018
Students now have information processing behaviors characterized by rapid shifts in attention, less reflection and failure to deploy metacognitive processes, preferring activities that bring immediate rewards for their information needs, even if the quality of the information they obtain is low. Consequently, they run into significant difficulties in the selection and critical evaluation of the information they find during university learning activities. This article presents two information literacy training initiatives addressing these issues at the University of Padova (Italy): one in a course in educational technologies offered as part of a second-cycle degree program, and the other in two of the university library system's training facilities. The training workshops sought to be complementary, covering both the search engine and the library OPAC approach to information seeking.
1991
Noting that information retrieval in the library is a task that is ubiquitous and easily overlooked in colleges, this paper discusses the importance of possessing effective library research skills. The speaker recounts his experiences with conducting library research as a doctoral student and describes how this problem eventually evolved into a library skills course offered at Fordham University (New York). The course, "Advanced Library Methods," was a free, non-credit experimental course targeted specifically for first-year students interested in social science. Seven students participated in this course, and all indicated that they found the course to be valuable. It is noted that Fordham plans to expand and institutionalize this course in 1992. Concluding the paper are a table listing the seven students' self-reported problems in the library, an annotated list of major sources of access to the social science literature, and instructions for searching the literature. (12 references) (MAB)