Sessions

Interactive Workshops

Beyond the University Gates: Effective Methods for Teaching Career-Oriented IL Skills to Students in Professional Programs
Katherine Hanz and Jessica Lange (McGill University)
- Presentation (Web)

Professional programs provide a fantastic opportunity for librarians to showcase how information literacy skills are integral to success beyond university. A business librarian and an education librarian from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) will share their own best practices for reframing IL sessions to focus on the development of real world rather than solely assignment-driven information skills. Attendees will work together to develop a repertoire of problem-based learning activities, which can be used in future IL sessions for students from a range of professional programs. Such activities focus on the development of lifelong problem-solving and information literacy skills, which transcend the university classroom and are applicable to professional careers. The workshop will provide time for participants to develop their own activities as well as obtain feedback from their colleagues. Participants will:

  • Be able to describe the benefits of problem-based learning activities in information literacy workshops.
  • Be able to design problem-based learning activities for their own workshops.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Call and Response: The Art of Asking Effective Questions
Christina Heady (Coastal Carolina University) and Joshua Vossler

Who doesn’t like being asked a good question? Good questions enhance discussion and the best questions can evoke larger meaning from a topic. Attending an academic conference presentation can be educational, but it is the opportunity to hear presenters respond to interesting questions that can be the most illuminating. It’s like a musical performance--each one is different, and the direction the music takes largely depends on the artists involved and even the audience. The most potential is to be gained from bringing together people with a variety of perspectives to consider subjects in new and unexpected ways. This concept, and the discovery of truth through means of questioning, has been an educational technique used since the Greek philosophers. There is an art to asking clear, concise questions that stimulate ideas. This lively, hands-on workshop will supply attendees with a method for creating constructive, effective questions and suggest ways to implement those skills in other areas of our professional lives, such as interviewing, participating in committee work, or interacting with students in a classroom. Participants will:

  • Analyze presentation content in order to identify useful avenues for inquiry.
  • Construct meaningful questions in order to solicit productive replies from a presenter.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

“Don’t Start Believin’”: Flimflam, Fraud, Razzle-Dazzle and Other Useful Tools for Teaching Information Literacy
Jessica Critten, Anne Barnhart and Craig Schroer (University of West Georgia)

Critical thinking and evaluation are notoriously difficult information literacy skills to teach. Nevertheless, today’s media-saturated society makes those skills more important than ever to learn, master, and rigorously practice. Librarians at the University of West Georgia have created an exercise to help students develop these vital critical thinking skills by exposing manipulative rhetoric techniques in popular media. In this interactive workshop, participants will engage in a version of this active learning exercise, examining common rhetorical tricks and then applying this knowledge to a popular entertainment series (Penn & Teller: Bullshit!). Participants will:

  • Identify standard rhetorical tricks by their commonly used names and the nature of the logical fallacies they embody in order to establish the basic skills needed to create exercises based on the analysis of rhetoric.
  • Articulate the value of analyzing rhetorical tricks as a means of evaluating arguments in order to explain the value of this skill in relation to developing the critical thinking skills necessary to IL programs.
  • Identify popular culture sources that would lend themselves to this exercise in order to adapt it for their institutions and populations.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Fine Tuning the Group Activity Using the 4S Structure
Allison Hosier (Coastal Carolina University)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Supplemental Material (Web)

Group activities are a creative way to enliven one-shot information literacy sessions, but when students fail to respond meaningfully and tune out when other groups give their answers, designing group work may not seem worthwhile. The 4S structure for application exercises, a key element of Team-Based Learning, avoids these common pitfalls by using the following components: significant problem, same problem, specific choice and simultaneous reporting. This presentation will take participants through several example activities using the 4S structure to give them a feel for the design and help them think of ways to use the structure as part of their own instruction. Participants will:

  • Be able to design group activities for information literacy instruction using the 4S structure.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Fostering Discovery: Collaborative Solutions for Teaching with Discovery Tools
Dunstan McNutt (Amherst College) and Mary Moser (Babson College)
- Presentation (.pptx)

For as long as students have embraced Google for “comprehensive” research, librarians have been trying to find an equivalent “one-stop shop.” Discovery tools such as Summon, EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), Primo Central, and WorldCat Local are said to fill this gap. And yet, librarians have good reason to worry about the effect these tools will have both on information literacy instruction and on the deeply held tenets of our profession. In this collaborative workshop, participants will explore barriers to teaching and learning with discovery tools and develop practical solutions for working past them to embrace the future of library teaching. The workshop will include break-out sessions and structured discussion around both participants’ experiences and common teaching scenarios. The facilitators will frame the workshop with a brief introduction to the technology behind discovery tools and a quick review of the published literature for this emerging topic. We anticipate the workshop will be accessible to attendees with all levels of experience with both teaching and discovery tools. Participants will:

  • Debate the merits of discovery systems in order to determine the relevance of discovery tools to our library teaching mission.
  • Discuss the challenges of teaching discovery systems in order to address the barriers to research processes that discovery tools present.
  • Brainstorm creative approaches for teaching discovery tools in order to build collaborative solutions for moving forward as a profession with discovery tools.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Harmonious Learning Spaces Can Make Your Instruction Sing! Designing Pedagogy-Focused Classroom and Consultation Areas
Emily Rimland (Penn State)
- Presentation (.pptx)

This interactive workshop will explore innovative instructional spaces and space planning, as well as incorporating interactive principles into any classroom, new or existing. The presenter will provide a brief overview of space planning considerations for instructional spaces, drawing on examples from her own experience with Penn State Libraries’ newly redesigned Knowledge Commons and the Krause Innovation Studio in the Penn State College of Education. Attendees will have opportunities to work together to explore and discuss how to maximize innovation within new instructional spaces as well as how to integrate dynamic ideas for engagement into existing spaces. Participants will:

  • Develop a list of desirable elements present in an engaged, interactive classroom or learning space.
  • Understand the basic principles for designing innovative instructional spaces in libraries.
  • Learn how to identify opportunities for innovation in learning space planning.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

I Meta Friend of Yours Today: Using Metacognition Theory to Make Your Library Instruction Session a Hit
Terrence Bennett (The College of New Jersey) and Brent Nunn (DePaul University)
- Handout 1 (.docx)
- Handout 2 (.docx)

As “accidental teachers,” subject librarians may lack a solid strategy for effective delivery of their carefully compiled information during a bibliographic instruction session. Without grounding in learning theory, subject librarians may be hesitant to try pedagogical techniques that venture beyond lecture and demonstration. Such instruction sessions may fail to engage new learners and miss an opportunity to instill in these learners an understanding of how and why information literacy skills matter.

Samford University psychology professor Stephen Chew has gained national recognition for his teaching methods, some of which are informed by the concept of metacognition—learners’ ability to assess their own knowledge and skills. Students who inaccurately measure their own understanding and abilities (that is, students with poor metacognition skills) are likely to be poor learners and may remain unmotivated to become better learners. Chew’s pedagogical approach is designed to refine students’ metacognition skills, thereby enhancing their ability to learn.

After establishing a theoretical foundation, workshop facilitators will engage attendees with exercises that show how Chew’s ideas for classroom teaching can easily be incorporated into library instruction. Adhering to metacognition theory as applied by Chew, attendees will experience how a brief, low-stakes pre-instruction formative assessment leads students to deeper understanding and retention of the instruction that follows.

Intended for all instruction librarians, this interactive workshop will be especially useful to subject specialist librarians who are eager to try new teaching techniques. Workshop participants will be guided through a series of exercises to develop instruction techniques appropriate to many academic disciplines. Participants will:

  • Recognize the role of metacognition in learning theory so they can act to reduce the effects of poor metacognition on student learning.
  • Analyze the impact of brief formative assessments on metacognition in order to develop such assessments as an integral component of effective library instruction.
  • Construct and evaluate formative assessments suitable for library instruction in several academic areas in order to rate the application of metacognition to learning theory across disciplines.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Increasing Our Reach While Preserving Quality: Creating and Using Information Literacy Assessments and Rubrics for Non-Librarians
Rory Patterson, Angela Rice and Jeremy Roden (Liberty University)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Worksheet (.pdf)
- Annotated Bibliography A (.pdf)
- Annotated Bibliography B (.pdf)
- Grading Rubrics (.pdf)
- Adding Rubrics (.pdf)

Administrations and accreditation teams want proof that Information Literacy (IL) initiatives are effectively educating students. While assessment of one-shots and IL via institution-wide standardized tests has been addressed before, this session will demonstrate how grading classroom assignments for their IL content can provide both micro assessment of IL at the project and class level and macro assessment of program effectiveness for an institution. This session will also illustrate methods to increase a library’s assessment efforts by having classroom instructors implement normalized grading rubrics to produce standardized assessment results.

The three presenters have over 20 years of teaching experience, 10 years of Information Literacy assessment experience, and over 10 years of experience creating rubrics. They are currently working at one of the ten largest institutions of higher education in North America where they create and use rubrics in online and residential classes taught by librarians and non-librarians.

The presenters will walk attendees through how to create an IL rubric that is usable by both librarians and non-librarians, and give attendees an opportunity to begin their own rubrics. They will provide justifications for normalizing rubric grading and assist attendees in formulating an elevator speech justifying the use of normed rubrics in assessing IL in classroom assignments. The presenters will also demonstrate how to norm grading so that non-librarians and librarians grade similarly while using rubrics. Lastly, the presenters will answer some technical questions regarding how to incorporate rubrics into Blackboard to speed grading and improve the collection of assessment data. Participants will:

  • Understand how to construct usable rubrics in language non-librarians can use.
  • Be able to justify the time and/or funds necessary to norm a rubric.
  • Be able to demonstrate how to norm an assessment rubric.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Librarians as Synthesizers: Helping Students Generate New Sounds in the Library Instruction Classroom
Clay Howard and Trenia Napier (Eastern Kentucky University)
- Presentation (Prezi)

Recent research by The Citation Project and Project Information Literacy reveals that college students nationwide are citing credible, reliable sources—indicating they possess the ability to locate and evaluate information. These studies also reveal these same students tend to copy, summarize, and paraphrase indiscriminately from the sources they cite—implying they do not understand the rhetorical context of those sources or how to synthesize source material with their own voices.

In this hands-on workshop, presenters will lead attendees through a mock instruction session designed to assist students in not only locating and evaluating sources, but also in integrating and synthesizing sources. Attendees will be divided into groups, given a claim, asked to develop reasons to support their claim, and then directed to use their reasons to locate, evaluate, and synthesize (use) information to support their claim. Attendees will also be encouraged to share their own experiences and recommendations. Participants will:

  • Be able to apply new approaches in the one- or two-shot classroom in order to support students in synthesizing research.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Lift Up Your Voice! Using Vocal Techniques to Strengthen and Enliven Your Teaching
Lisa Louis (Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Handout (.pdf)

Most of us take our voices for granted, and yet our voices are central to communicating our message in the information literacy classroom. Voice is a tool you can use to convey not just meaning but also warmth and enthusiasm, to capture the attention of the listener and to inspire excitement in your students. In this workshop, you will learn more about how the voice works, how it should be prepared and cared for, and how you can explore your voice to add new resonance to your teaching.

You don’t have to be a professional musician to benefit from these techniques, nor is this knowledge only accessible to people who spend years studying singing. This presentation will include exercises involving vocal range and anatomy exploration, warm-ups, and breathing techniques. We'll also discuss vocal tiredness, issues such as breathlessness while speaking, and performance anxiety. Participants will:

  • Be more aware of how their voices work and how breathing, posture and tension and external factors affect the voice.
  • Learn techniques for exploring their vocal range to add more color to their speech and warming up the voice to prepare for teaching.
  • Learn strategies for dealing with illness and stage fright.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Make It Pop: Integrating Visual Literacy into Your Teaching “Songbook”
Kaila Bussert (Cornell University), Ann Medaille (University of Nevada, Reno) and Nicole E. Brown (New York University)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Handout (.pdf)

Images are everywhere and today’s students are immersed in a highly visual culture. Do you ever wonder how you can use images to engage students? How about teaching them to work with visuals? It doesn’t take a degree in art history to incorporate visual literacy into information literacy instruction.

In this workshop, facilitated by members of the ACRL Visual Literacy Task Force, participants will reflect upon their role in teaching, supporting, and promoting visual literacy. The Visual Literacy Standards will be presented as a flexible teaching and learning tool that can be used in conjunction with familiar information literacy concepts and standards to creatively incorporate images into assignments, the classroom, and other instructional contexts. Gain strategies for helping students use images creatively and critically while jazzing up your own teaching with visuals. Learn how to make your teaching “pop!” Participants will:

  • Engage with visual literacy concepts in order to apply them in interdisciplinary teaching and learning contexts.
  • Explore techniques for teaching with images in order to integrate visual literacy into information literacy instruction.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Remix Your Data: Visualizing Library Instruction Statistics
Brianna Marshall and David Edward “Ted” Polley (Indiana University)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Sample dataset and tutorial (web)

This interactive session focuses on strategies for visualizing library instruction data. Participants will have the option of bringing laptops to which they can download sample data sets provided by the presenters. The presenters will show examples of visualization techniques, discussing how they can be matched with instruction data that participants have. Next, the presenters will walk participants through two hands-on visualization activities, one for qualitative data and the other for quantitative data. Participants will be able to keep the files and instructional packet, ensuring that they will leave the session with resources for creating engaging visualizations from their institution-specific data. Participants will:

  • Learn basic data visualization techniques in order to create visualizations from quantitative and qualitative library instruction data.
  • Understand the power of visualized data to illuminate the influence of librarians’ teaching.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic

The Qualtrics Tempo: Check the Pulse of the Class Using Qualtrics Survey Software for Real-Time Assessment and Evaluation
Lesley Moyo and Tracy Gilmore (Virginia Tech)
- Presentation (.pptx)

This interactive session simplifies lesson assessment and evaluation and demonstrates how you can generate real-time assessment data. The session promises a “prelude to finale” experience that will take you from a lesson plan through evaluation and data analysis using Qualtrics 360 in a seamless and effortless way.

During the interactive lesson, participants will learn how to use Qualtrics for real-time library instruction evaluation in a robust hands-on session covering survey creation and administration, report generation and data analysis. For participants without devices, iPads will be provided. Those who prefer to learn by observation may opt out of the hands-on activity and watch via the projected presenter screen. The session will be captured and posted online for later viewing. 

To demonstrate a classroom assessment technique, participants will provide session feedback via a short Qualtrics survey, generating instant evaluation data. Survey questions will largely be Likert scale type and multiple choice for quick response, with two open ended questions for qualitative feedback. For data analysis and review, this feedback will be displayed in examples of instant reports that can be generated using the Qualtrics system. Additional data crunching will be demonstrated using the inherent data analysis/presentations features of the system. Finally, the value of Qualtrics for library research will be explored. The session will end with a recap and Q&A. Participants will:

  • Discover how to use Qualtrics to create and administer robust surveys for class assessment and evaluation purposes (CAT).
  • Be able to conduct simple data analysis (correlational study) using Qualtrics’ Cross-tabs.
  • Be able to generate instant Qualtrics reports from survey data using Qualtrics’ reporting system.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic

Train Your Ear, Find Your Voice: A Creative Protocol for Developing Instructional Talent
Nicole E. Brown (New York University) and Kaila Bussert (Cornell University)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Worksheet (.pdf)

This interactive workshop will lead participants through the Charette Protocol, a structured reflection and problem-solving technique commonly used in design fields. Attendees will have an opportunity to reflect on their teaching, share a teaching challenge, actively listen, and propose novel solutions to common instructional challenges. This engaging and creative technique encourages the exchange of ideas and helps instructors of all levels to find their voice in the classroom. Participants will:

  • Engage with the Charette Protocol in order to experience a creative problem-solving and discussion framework.
  • Reflect on teaching and learning in order to share trouble spots and offer solutions.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Tune Up Your Pedagogical Questions for Effective Use of Classroom Response Systems
Emily Johnson (Virginia Commonwealth University)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Handout (.pdf)

Use of the Classroom Response System (CRS) in higher education has grown rapidly in the last decade. The CRS was developed to pose questions and to provide the opportunity to capture real-time feedback from all participants during the session. 

Questions can be deliberately created to aid and increase learning. To develop more effective questions to use with a CRS, the instructor needs to prepare either content questions, used to directly assess student learning, or process questions, used to gather information from students to help shape students' interaction with each other and class content. CRS instruction modalities and question taxonomy will be presented to help formulate appropriate questions for library instruction. The participants will view examples of types of questions and instruction modalities and have small group time to discuss potential questions for instruction.

Session participants will explore three web-based CRSs: Poll Everywhere, Socrative, and Mentimeter. The presenter will use them to provide examples of questioning, giving participants an interactive overview of usability and features for instruction sessions. 

Overall, this session will focus on the importance of pedagogy rather than learning to use CRS technology in the classroom. The CRS is a vehicle for questioning and polling during instruction and should be used with solid pedagogical foundations. Participants will:

  • Review appropriate pedagogical methodologies and taxonomy for question building for Classroom Response System technology.
  • Compare and select the appropriate web-based Classroom Response Systems for their instruction needs.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

 

Presentations

A New Spin on an Old Classic: Effective Online Database Instruction
Yvonne Mery, Leslie Sult and Erica DeFrain (University of Arizona)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Handout (.docx)

Looking for a way to encourage active learning online while teaching students how to navigate a database? Do you want something more engaging and easier to update than a video? This presentation will introduce you to the Guide on the Side, an effective tool developed by the University of Arizona Libraries that allows librarians to quickly and easily create online, interactive tutorials based on principles of authentic and active learning. You will learn about the best practices, pedagogical strategies, and future plans of this innovative software, and how to begin using it at your library. Participants will:

  • Be able to describe the Guide on the Side from its development history to unique features.
  • Be able to explain how to download the Guide on the Side and successfully install it at their own libraries.
  • Be able to design their own Guide on the Side tutorial following the best practices outlined in the session.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Achy Breaky Classroom: Resetting the Stage for Active Learning
Marjorie Leta and Megan McGuire (Mesa Community College)
- Presentation (.ppsx)
- Space Design for Active Learning Resources and Lessons Learned (Web)

Active learning is an essential component in student engagement, critical thinking, and analytical skills in information literacy instruction. Planning and good teaching contribute to the success of active learning; however, a well-designed learning space is important in promoting an active learning environment.

Attendees of this session will learn about different collaborative learning environments such as the TILE and SCALE-UP model classrooms, flipped classrooms, and a variety of flexible non-traditional learning spaces; choosing a designer and executing a remodeling plan for big and small spaces; how color can impact learning, behavior, and attitude in a learning environment; how to tap into your internal resources and use student and faculty input in the choices you make; technologies and computing options to evaluate, including security and the use of hidden technology; durability, comfort, and design options to consider in the selection of furnishings; lighting and flooring options to enhance a comfortable learning environment; and how to address ADA compliance and accommodate the needs of a diverse student community.

We will share how our remodeling process at Mesa Community College helped us rethink our instructional design strategies and how we implement active learning techniques to fulfill our learning objectives.

At the end of this session, you will be able to identify both substantial and inexpensive changes you can initiate in your space along with active learning techniques you can apply in a variety of learning spaces. Participants will:

  • Define active learning and flexible learning spaces.
  • Design a plan to implement big or small changes in your learning spaces.
  • Demonstrate how environment affects teaching and learning.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Adopting the Amazing Library Race: Utilizing Mobile Devices and Social Media to Engage First-Year Students in Library Orientations
Katherine Boss and Katelyn Angell (Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Questions Handout (.docx)
- Answer Sheet Handout (.doc)
- Assessment Rubric Handout (.docx)
- Logo (.jpeg)

In fall of 2012, the presenters created a pilot orientation project based upon Katherine O’Clair’s Amazing Library Race for first-year students. A total of more than 80 students in six classes participated in the 50-minute orientations, which the presenters co-taught. Working in small groups, each class was directed on a scavenger hunt designed to address library anxiety and inform students of basic resources and services. Each challenge combined traditional research methods with discovery-learning activities that utilized mobile devices and promoted the library’s social networks. This pilot project provides a replicable model for institutions interested in creating library orientation sessions with similar learning outcomes. Participants will:

  • Learn how to create an active, team-based library orientation session for first year students which focuses on addressing students’ library anxiety.
  • Become familiar with pedagogies related to discovery learning.
  • Be introduced to strategies for incorporating mobile devices and social media into orientation sessions to appeal to a generation of digital learners.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Apps for Scholarly Research: Implications for Discovery and Learning
Robin Canuel (McGill University) and Chad Crichton (University of Toronto Scarborough)
- Presentation (.pptx)

Many university faculty and students are already using mobile apps in their day-to-day lives. From personal banking to news and social media applications, people use apps on their phones and tablets in a wide variety of contexts. At the same time, many discipline-specific apps are now available to researchers with features relevant to their research activities. Libraries, library vendors, and other content providers are increasingly producing apps to make accessing scholarly information on the go quicker and easier. This session will explore a number of specific apps that are useful for research and teaching and that leverage the unique technological features commonly found in today’s mobile devices. Discussion will focus on the functionality and use of discipline-specific apps that can be used for academic research. For example, historians might use an app to access historical photos of a city they are researching, allowing them to see, superimposed on their screen, what the scene before them would have looked like 100 years ago. Technological literacy is an important component of information literacy, and academic librarians should therefore keep abreast of the available apps that can help support research. As part of the academic librarian’s role in supporting information literacy development, keeping researchers informed about current trends in information technology, such as the emergence of mobile applications, is an increasingly essential role. Participants will gain an understanding of the current uses of mobile applications to support research and will learn how mobile technology is impacting the future of research and teaching. Participants will:

  • Discover the value of mobile applications for scholarly research in a variety of disciplines.
  • Appreciate the breadth of teaching opportunities afforded by mobile technologies.
  • Understand the ways in which mobile technology is impacting the future of research and teaching.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

Beyond the One-Hit Wonder: How to Harmonize with Faculty and Use Graded Library Assignments to Extend Student Learning
Julie Nanavati and Rosie Hanneke (Loyola/Notre Dame)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Handout 1 (.docx)
- Handout 2 (.docx)

Librarians face a tough choice when limited to a single 50-75 minute instruction session: either include as much information as possible and risk information overload, or cover only the most essential concepts, frequently omitting key information or skipping the evaluation step. As a result, these instruction sessions can easily go the way of the one-hit wonder: catchy at first, but then quickly forgotten.

This presentation will explore the idea of collaborating with faculty to integrate library assignments into the curriculum, alleviating some of the pressure and time constraints of an hour-long session. Librarians from Loyola/Notre Dame Library will discuss how they developed such assignments for three vastly different student groups: traditional undergraduate English students, an undergraduate nursing class made up of adult learners (RN-to-BSN), and pharmacy students in a four-year program working toward their PharmD. The presentation will demonstrate how library assignments have successfully extended student learning beyond the one-shot while simultaneously evaluating research skills.

Come hear recommendations on how to introduce or improve graded assignments at your library. Participants are welcome to share personal examples of chart-topping library assignments and harmonious collaborations with faculty. Participants will:

  • Explain how a collaborative graded library assignment can be used to reinforce, assess, and encourage student learning.
  • Identify student groups or courses for which a collaborative graded library assignment could be implemented in their libraries.
  • List three components of a successful assignment.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Changing Our Tune: Using Logic Models for IL Program Planning, Evaluation and Communicating Value
Karen Nicholson and Robin Sakowski (University of Guelph)

Program logic models are an innovative approach to IL program planning and evaluation for librarians and managers. Logic models link short and long-term outcomes and goals with program activities/processes, and help to clarify theoretical assumptions or frameworks. In addition, because they can provide a visual representation of a program, logic models can be a useful tool in communicating with and getting feedback from diverse audiences and stakeholders. Drawing from the scholarly and professional literature and our own on-the-ground experience, we will provide insight into the benefits and challenges of using logic models, visualize how logic models can help to better align program activities, outputs and outcomes to enhance IL programs, and help you to select an appropriate model for your program. You will also have an opportunity to experience firsthand some of the insights (and frustrations!) involved in creating a basic logic model. Participants will:

  • Recognize various types of logic models in order to select an appropriate model for their needs (program planning, implementation or evaluation).
  • Describe how logic models can help to better align program activities, outputs and outcomes in order to see the benefits and limitations of logic models for IL programs.
  • Create a rudimentary logic model in order to reflect on selecting appropriate measures for demonstrating IL program value.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Collaborating to Overcome the High School/College Divide: Using HeLIOS Information Literacy Tutorial to Prepare Students for College Level Research
Joanne F. Christensen (Weber High School) and JaNae Kinikin (Weber State University)
- Presentation (.pdf)

Bring your own device (iPads, tablets, cell phones, laptops) to participate in this interactive program in which participants will view and evaluate the Hemingway Library Information Online Skills (HeLIOS) tutorial. HeLIOS is a free online tutorial designed to help high school students learn essential library and research information literacy skills required for college level research. It includes 18 different information literacy concepts. Students can work through the lessons on an as-needed basis or teachers and librarians can assign specific lessons for students to work through to learn particular library research skills or concepts needed to complete required homework assignments. Skills learned using the tutorial will assist students in finding information for research papers and projects. The tutorial’s content was a collaboration of academic librarians, high school teacher librarians, and a graphic designer. Participants will:

  • Recognize the utility of the HeLIOS tutorial and examine it during the session.
  • Comprehend the need for library skills at the high school level for research readiness at the college level.
  • Identify uses of the HeLIOS tutorial and implement them in their individual school’s curriculum.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

Double Live Gonzo! Double Your Impact with a Flipped Classroom
Beverly Kutz, Bo Baker and Lane Wilkinson (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)
- Presentation (.pdf - Slides with notes)
- Handout (.pdf)

In a perfect world, many of us would love to put on an epic live set of info lit in the classroom but, in reality, we are often constrained to a one-off classroom session. In a riff on the flipped classroom trend, we expanded our set into a double album by incorporating a full pre-class module that leverages students' existing Internet research skills in order to ease the transition to academic research, and prompts students to take a holistic view of perspectives related to a research topic. Learn how to implement this model in your own instruction program.

LP 1: Live! Tonight! In Your Dorm Room!
The first set is a pre-class assignment that incorporates video presentations with a worksheet that students complete and bring to class. The video presentation models how we all conduct iterative searches on the Internet naturally and demonstrates a method of concept mapping that helps students consider multiple perspectives. Using a downloaded worksheet, students generate keywords for each perspective.

LP 2: Live! In the Classroom!
The pre-class assignment opens up space in the classroom to emphasize critical thinking and guided practice. Through in-class polling, we engage big-picture issues of academic research, the need to explore perspectives, and the modern academic library. We teach general similarities of databases to encourage exploration and confidence.

Session participants will have the opportunity to experience tools and techniques created for this flipped class approach. Presenters will share results and describe their experience delivering this model to over 2,000 first-year students. Participants will:

  • Be able to evaluate the UTC 2013 framework for flipped library instruction in order to assess whether they wish to implement it in their own instruction programs.
  • Be able to use and experience the tools presented (videos, worksheet, clicker discussion) in order to evaluate their usefulness in the participants’ own instruction programs.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Expert Opinions: A Delphi Study on Threshold Concepts for Information Literacy Instruction
Lori Townsend (University of New Mexico) and Amy R. Hofer (Portland State University)

As information literacy instructors, we regularly encounter students who have difficulty understanding foundational concepts of our discipline. And yet, as evidenced in the literature, our profession hasn’t reached consensus around what to teach in order to promote information literacy, how to teach our content, and the relationship between daily practice and our professional standards. A Nashville record producer might ask, “Have you rushed into the recording studio before the lyrics were finished on your next platinum album?” This presentation attempts to answer our producer’s question and whisk us to stardom.

The authors’ research agenda explores how threshold concepts, a pedagogical approach for higher education that has been tested in a variety of disciplines, can clarify our thinking on information literacy instruction and help us become more thoughtful and engaged teachers. A threshold concept, as described by Jan Meyer and Ray Land, transforms the learner's view of content and helps integrate previously learned material. Threshold concepts are portals that, once traversed, bring insight into how to think and act like a practitioner within a discipline. 

This presentation will report on the preliminary analysis of a Delphi study. For this study the researchers consulted prominent scholars and practitioners in our field in order to explore threshold concepts as a method of framing information literacy content. This work will shape the theoretical underpinnings of future research and perhaps a new model for information literacy instruction. Participants will:

  • Gain an understanding of threshold concepts of pedagogical theory as applied to information literacy instruction.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Frame it in the News: Teaching Information Literacy without a Research Paper
Willie Miller (Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis)
- Presentation (.pptx)

Librarians struggle to teach information literacy skills to first-year students in courses without a research component. Without a need to know how to consume information, students can disengage from learning. Using news as the frame for IL instruction is a solution.

News media outlets have significant power in society. As Masterman (1985) wrote in Teaching the Media, “the media tells us what is important and what is trivial by what they take note of and what they ignore, by what is amplified and what is muted or omitted.” As news media are pervasive institutions concretely entwined with everyday life and require critical analysis for responsible engagement, the news makes for a prodigious frame in which to teach information literacy. 

This session will share a one-shot news literacy lesson plan for first-year undergraduates, using close readings and active learning in analyzing news articles. First, students are lectured on information and news literacy, during which students are exposed to a definition of bias and its forms, the difference between news and opinion pieces, and library resources. Then, students are presented with one of three articles covering the same event. Starting with close readings of each article individually, students analyze each article and identify the textual evidence of bias in a class discussion. The class then engages in a discussion on the importance of becoming critical consumers of information and news. Participants will:

  • Recognize how news can be used to teach information literacy, especially in courses with no research papers.
  • Identify ways in which this model for information literacy instruction can be replicated.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

From Bad Karaoke to Grammy Winners: Get Your Team in Tune
Carolyn Caffrey Gardner (University of Wisconsin Superior) and Kim Pittman (University of Minnesota Duluth)
- Presentation (.pdf)

Is your team singing out of tune? Whether members of your teaching group are well-versed or just finding their voices, all instruction librarians can benefit from ongoing professional development. Find out how to get everyone in the same key using proven strategies for instructional improvement from two institutions, including low cost in-house methods, collaborations with campus partners, and regional professional development networks. Sampling from theories of instructional leadership and change management, presenters will provide the resources you need to take your instruction team from lip-synching to stealing the show. Participants will:

  • Be able to identify components of instructional leadership in order to recognize their own innate leadership abilities and be empowered to be instruction advocates.
  • Be able to analyze the professional development examples provided in order to identify needs and opportunities for programmatic or individual training at their own institutions.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Gettin' to the Research Roots: Musical Metaphors for Citation Tracking
Christina Sheldon (California State University, Los Angeles)

Nothing is produced in a vacuum, neither a published article nor a hit song. All creators--including scholars, musical artists, and students--naturally build their work upon that which has come before them. Yet undergraduates sometimes have difficulty understanding and applying this truth in their own research, both in recognizing the cycle of scholarship wherein new publications build upon earlier foundational research, and in tapping into that foundation for themselves by “mining” an article’s bibliography to locate relevant resources to apply in their own school work.

Christina Sheldon will share original curriculum designed to better help undergraduate researchers understand these premises through the use of musical analogies. Today’s pop stars acknowledge the influences upon their own work by prior artists: Lady Gaga is indebted to Madonna; Adele to Dusty Springfield; Justin Bieber to bubble-gum hits of the 60s and 70s; Jack White to blues musicians of the 30s and 40s. In tracing the musical roots of popular artists, students can better envision the cycle of creativity and then apply it in considering the research roots of a scholarly article. Using videos and musical excerpts, students consider the brief history of several pop hits, then turn to a scholarly article to consider its own research history and retrieve one or two of its most promising cited texts. Scaffolding from the “fun” of music to the “nitty-gritty” of peer review, students are more successfully introduced to the complex skill of citation tracking in research. Come out to sing or hum along! Participants will:

  • Learn a creative approach to instructing undergraduate students on how to conceptualize the cycle of published scholarship and how to track citations for useful resources from a published article.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Gracefully Dancing the Two-Step: Strategies for Highlighting Librarians as Instructional Designers
Michelle Costello and Kimberly Davies-Hoffman (SUNY Geneseo)
- Presentation (.pptx)

Recent professional presentations of a unique three-person library-based instructional design (ID) team have evoked a librarian fear of stepping on faculty members’ toes: "They are the teachers; they are the content experts. How can a librarian advise professors in more effective teaching methods?” This presentation will address our team’s multi-pronged approach to reaching out to faculty and introducing them to new interactive teaching techniques--many times including new technologies. Our “fan-base” has grown gradually but with only one and a half years under our country belts, we foresee a sold-out crowd in the future.

This session will engage participants by using strategies and online technologies such as group discussion, think-pair-share, and Google Docs (as well as other tools). Participants will:

  • Engage in a think-pair-share exercise in order to reflect on the current status and structure of Instructional Design at their institutions.
  • Inventory existing strengths within the realm of Instructional Design in order to envision (with plans to implement) an outreach plan to share these attributes with your faculty.
  • Respond to various engaging methods shared by the presenters in order to adapt ideas and strategies to fit their respective institutional cultures.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Harmonizing with Graduate Students: Creating an Information Skills Workshop Series in Collaboration with Georgia Tech’s Graduate Student Government Association
Crystal Renfro and Lori Critz (Georgia Institute of Technology)
- Presentation (.pdf)

This presentation will outline the evolution of a collaborative relationship between the Faculty Engagement Department (FED) of the Georgia Tech Library and the university’s Graduate Student Government Association. We will describe the resulting Graduate Library User Education (GLUE) series, the iterative cycle of refinement used to optimize the classes, and discuss subsequent collaborations that have resulted from this project. Assessment tools in use and under development will be shared, along with lessons learned and tips for establishing effective collaborations with student associations. Participants will:

  • Be able to list several techniques for initiating and developing collaborations with campus student groups.
  • Identify the various components of launching a new instruction series in collaboration with outside groups and be able to assess how they might best introduce such a project on their campuses.
  • Compare several assessment tools designed to measure learning outcomes in walk-in workshops tailored to graduate students.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

I Hear the Train a Comin’: Common Core is Rollin' 'Round the Bend
Susann deVries and Sarah Fabian (Eastern Michigan University)

Get to know the basics on the Common Core State Standards: what they are, how they address content-area and information literacy, and what you can expect of the students moving from grade 12 to grade 13 and beyond. Will our expectations of incoming first year students change? How will this shift in state and national standards alter skill sets of our future students? How will research instruction change as a result? Find out about the new standards and the impact they will have on student learning and instruction ‘round the bend. Participants will:

  • Understand and explain the Common Core and its impact on incoming college students.
  • Identify how instruction librarians will respond to this shift in K-12 education in terms of altering their expectations of incoming students’ skills.
  • Identify how this shift in K-12 education affects the methods and strategies for teaching students information literacy skills at the college level.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

I Saw the Light: Using a Survey of Freshmen English Faculty to ‘Illuminate’ the Way to a Better Information Literacy Course
Stephen A. Sanders and Mary Lou Strong (Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond)

Instructors of a one-credit hour Information Literacy (IL) course evaluated whether their class not only served student needs, but also met faculty expectations. Freshmen English faculty were surveyed about their observations of student IL abilities. The survey also asked which IL skills they as instructors most valued. With a 73% response rate, they shared a unique—and sometimes surprising—perspective. Creation of the survey, results, and implications for IL programs will be discussed. Participants will receive useful tools to make faculty insights an essential part of assessment. Participants will:

  • Be able to design an assessment model that measures faculty perceptions of students’ Information Literacy skills and needs.
  • Know how to make faculty input an integral part of ongoing Information Literacy evaluation.
  • Receive the necessary tools to adapt the program to their academic institutions.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

I Want My NYT! Using Apps and News Databases to Help Students Gain News Literacy
Julie Piacentine, Rebecca Starkey and John Kimbrough (University of Chicago)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Handout (.pdf)

“Does our library subscribe to the New York Times?” became a frequent question at the University of Chicago Library’s reference desk after the Times and other major newspapers placed content behind paywalls. In response, the Library developed a new workshop, “I Want My NYT! News Databases and Apps.” In the workshop, we demonstrated subscription resources available for students to read U.S. and international newspapers. We covered key issues in news literacy such as licensing, the differences between PDF and HTML formats, and effective search techniques. Using iPads, we also provided an overview of news apps for tablets and smartphones, highlighting issues with news aggregators and the impact of social media on news literacy. Students left the program understanding not only how they may avoid a paywall, but also how to critically evaluate the sources they select. In this presentation, we’ll provide details about how you can implement a similar program at your library. We’ll cover the different aspects of news literacy that we covered in the workshop. We’ll review our experience using iPads for demonstrating apps, and some of the lessons we learned using tablets for teaching. We’ll also examine the challenges we faced marketing the program, as we discovered that students did not associate news resources with the Library. At the end, we invite you to discuss with us the role of news sources in the broader context of information literacy. Participants will:

  • Be able to define key competencies in news literacy.
  • Be able to implement a news literacy workshop at their libraries.
  • Recognize the benefits and challenges of using news apps in library instruction.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

In Perfect Harmony: Faculty-Librarian Collaboration and LibGuides
Eleonora Dubicki (Monmouth University) and John Siegel (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
- Presentation (Prezi)
- Handout (.pdf)

The challenge for faculty and librarians is to help students effectively tap into the myriad of electronic resources available as they conduct research for class assignments. This session will discuss how librarians at two institutions work collaboratively with health education faculty to develop customized research guides, LibGuides, as teaching tools. Feedback was gathered from students to assess the value of materials included in the LibGuides with the goal of improving content in the guides based on students’ research needs and resulting in finely-tuned learning tools that extend the learning process beyond information literacy instruction and completion of class assignments. Participants will:

  • Be able to improve collaborative information literacy efforts with teaching faculty.
  • Understand the effectiveness of online research guides based on student feedback.
  • Understand the type of resources students used most heavily during the research process.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Information Literacy and the Social Network: Meeting New Challenges in Using Facebook as an Educational Tool
Amanda Foster (Coastal Carolina University)

Recent changes to Facebook's news feed algorithm have presented new challenges in successfully reaching users with educational content. This presentation will cover what Kimbel Library has done to create more engaging educational posts to meet these new changes. These new challenges also provide an opportunity for libraries to teach students about the information culture in which they live. The presentation will also cover how the presenter has used Facebook in the library’s for-credit Information Literacy course to start a conversation about more complex information literacy concepts like privacy, copyright, and the filter bubble. Participants will:

  • Describe how Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm favors engaging content when determining which posts reach fans.
  • Generate ways to successfully reach users with engaging, educational content via Facebook.
  • Identify information literacy concepts that can be taught to students using Facebook and other social media tools as examples.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

Library’s Got Talent! New Library Instructors Discover Their Voices
Rebecca K. Miller, Chris Barb and Tracy M. Hall (Virginia Tech)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Handout (.docx)

The instruction team at Virginia Tech Libraries recently welcomed a group of new instructors from other library departments as part of a multifaceted plan for supporting the evolution of library services. This session will describe the factors that contributed to the need for more instructors, the training model used to prepare new instructors, and preliminary assessments illustrating the program’s success. Session participants will also engage in discussion about transformations in library services and how information literacy programs can and should evolve along with other twenty-first century library services in order to address new information needs in higher education. Participants will:

  • Be able to identify and explain the process and benefits of training non-teaching librarians and staff to teach in order to support transformation within a library instruction program.
  • Discuss and analyze examples of how an instruction team can leverage the diversity of its members in order to enhance the team’s effectiveness and range of perspectives.
  • Be able to apply the principles from Virginia Tech’s professional development model and reproduce this model at their home institutions in order to prepare librarians and staff for embracing and promoting the evolution of twenty-first century library services. 

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Lookin’ for Collaboration in All the Right Places: A Librarian’s Role in the Changing Preparation for College Writing Landscape
Rachel M. Minkin (Michigan State University)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Handout (.docx)
- Working with International Students Handout (.pdf)
- Student Citation Worksheet (.pdf)
- Student Inquiry Generation and Evaluation Worksheet (.pdf)

Inquiry-based teaching and learning is well established in Michigan State University's First Year Writing program (FYW) and in our corresponding information literacy sessions. However, the student makeup of one group of FYW students--those in Preparation for College Writing (PCW)--is shifting to a majority of international students. Information literacy instruction emphasizing inquiry and discussion-based teaching is not working as well with these students. With whom do MSU librarians collaborate to overhaul instruction to these classes? How do we reconfigure our sessions when the PCW curriculum itself is in flux? Participants will:

  • Articulate challenges for international students in an inquiry-based information literacy instruction context.
  • Identify possible collaborative partners for revising pedagogical approaches for international students.
  • Develop an outline for a collaboration plan.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Measure by Measure: Composing and Rehearsing a Campus-Wide IL Rubric
Jim Kinnie, Mary C. MacDonald and Elaine Finan (University of Rhode Island)
- Presentation (.pptx)

This presentation examines a pilot program supported by the University of Rhode Island’s Office of Student Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Accreditation, in which faculty librarians and subject faculty collaborated to create, test and evaluate an information literacy rubric designed to be used across the curriculum of a mid-sized research university. Adapting the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) VALUE Rubric for Information Literacy, the project produced measurable results in the assessment of student learning in undergraduate academic programs and general education courses. Learn how this project developed a shared understanding of information literacy across disciplines and how this understanding helped to support several spin-off IL projects. Participants will:

  • Identify opportunities for applying an information literacy (IL) rubric that engages multiple disciplines in order to adapt new ideas to their home institutions.
  • Learn a model for building faculty collaboration in order to support and influence the assessment work of their colleges and programs.
  • Learn to inculcate IL outcomes within program student learning outcomes in order to ensure student achievement and to satisfy IL requirements from accrediting agencies and academic administrations.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

One Shot? Make it Four! Planning and Assessing a Multi-Session Information Literacy Experiment
Maureen Williams (Neumann University)
- Presentation (.pptx)

Many librarians feel limited by the 'one shot' sessions they so often teach. When given the opportunity to move beyond the ‘one shot’ to teaching multiple sessions during a semester, librarians must work with instructors to time and design the sessions to be as effective as possible. Simply seeing students more than once is not enough; the sessions must be purposeful, planned, and show a progression of learning.

This presentation will highlight such a situation. I was approached by a faculty member about seeing two education classes four times each, with the sessions spaced throughout the semester. I will discuss the collaborative nature of this experiment, how I executed and assessed information literacy learning in these sessions, and will provide recommendations for other librarians pursuing similar instruction opportunities. Participants will:

  • Recognize ways to approach teaching multiple information literacy sessions within a semester in order to make the most efficient and effective use of the time with students.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Orchestral Maneuvers for Assessment in Blackboard: Putting Together Harmonic Ensembles of Tools to Measure Short and Long Term Learning
Ethan Pullman (Carnegie Mellon University)
- Presentation (.pdf)

Librarians who teach information literacy typically do so in 50 minute sessions where systematic assessment of learning can be a struggle or, at best, focuses on short term retention. Whether information literacy librarians teach a 50 minute session or a term-long course, this presentation provides a multidimensional approach for assessing short and long term learning. These dimensions will be discussed in the context of student learning and assessment. We will see examples of how various tools in Blackboard can be applied to various information literacy instruction contexts. Participants will:

  • Use Bloom’s Taxonomy in order to recognize assessment requirements and identify appropriate assessment strategies.
  • Examine available Blackboard tools in order to map them to various levels of cognitive skills and design the appropriate assessment.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Picture This! Instruction Librarians Promoting Academic Integrity
Amanda Click (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Claire Walker (Belmont University)
- Presentation (.pptx)

Anyone who follows higher education knows that scandals involving cheating and plagiarism have made headlines in recent years. Academic integrity (AI) has become both a hot topic and cause for concern on many campuses. Supporting an ethical learning environment is a cross-campus endeavor, and it is crucial that librarians recognize the connection between information literacy and AI and are involved in these efforts. This session includes the results of an ethnographic study about AI conducted on two campuses—one in the American South and one in the Middle East. The qualitative data was collected using an ethnographic method called photovoice, which provided unique student perspectives. Participants were asked to take a series of photographs that illustrate how they conduct their academic research and how they engage with issues of academic integrity in the process. Participants will:

  • Describe the connection between academic integrity and information literacy in order to develop teaching techniques and tools to improve students' scholarly research and writing.
  • Integrate opportunities to teach students about academic integrity into library instruction sessions in order to demonstrate the importance of ethics in research.
  • Identify and nurture opportunities for collaboration across campus in order to encourage ethical scholarly conduct.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Play It Backwards: Flipping the Library Instruction Classroom
Teague Orblych and Michelle K. Dunaway (University of Michigan – Dearborn)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Handout (.pdf)

The flipped classroom is a model of instruction in which the typical lecture and assignment elements of a course are reversed. This presentation will focus on various processes of “flipping” the library instruction classroom through the development of learning objects in the form of Jing tutorials and LibGuides for students to review prior to library instruction sessions, the design of active learning exercises for students to complete during instruction sessions, and the use of rubrics during library instruction sessions to assess students’ information literacy skills. This presentation will show that the various processes employed help students understand information literacy concepts at a higher level. The various processes will be compared to provide some idea of what process may be more useful than the other for "flipping" the classroom. Participants will:

  • Learn what the flipped classroom is and what it is not.
  • Learn about two possible ways to apply the flipped classroom approach to library instruction.
  • Learn how to engage students with screenshot video tutorials and LibGuides and assess the use of those interventions.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

Putting Research under a Microscope: Teaching ‘Micro-Level’ Information Use in First-Year Writing
Aaron McCollough and Kelly Davenport (University of Michigan)
- Presentation (.pptx)

With many rhetoric and composition instructors moving beyond the traditional “find 10 sources at the library” research paper, where does the librarian fit into a system that asks students to work with already provided material? This presentation will report results from a study of “information use behaviors” in first-year writing courses, examining information literacy habits that blur the line between writing and research. Learn about new approaches to taking library instruction beyond the one-shot and into direct student engagement with source material via online modules that offer a scalable solution. Participants will:

  • Identify new zones of information literacy intervention for librarians to support learning in writing-intensive courses.
  • Develop strategies for deploying micro-level information literacy lessons through embedded online course modules.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

Research Swag Bag: Building a Student Research Takeaway
Jessica Long (Miami University Middletown)
- Presentation (.pdf)

Teaching students how to successfully conduct research and navigate online tools is an integral part of most information literacy courses. Historically, our students were taught through in-class lectures with handouts and walkthroughs with the online resources, with additional class time spent practicing using these tools and discussing their importance and usefulness to the research process. But passing out handouts and working in the university’s learning management system (LMS) create temporary resources that are often lost, misplaced or that are inaccessible after the course ends. Building on the importance of maintaining effective research skills in both academic and professional careers, the presenter will show how to use Google sites as a template for building a research takeaway that students will be able to access long after they finish their course. Participants are invited to learn about the creation of our Google Sites template and how it was used by students in our information literacy online course. They will have the opportunity to see a finished site as well as those that are in process, while learning about the effectiveness of our research takeaways and how they may be used in their own courses. Participants will:

  • Learn how to build a website template using Google Sites.
  • Learn how it can be used to build a lasting resource for students to use throughout their college and professional careers.
  • Identify how to apply the takeaway in their own classes.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Show Me, Show Me, Show Me: Performance Based Assessment in Library Instruction
Melissa N. Mallon (Wichita State University)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Handout (.pdf)

Assessment of student learning is more necessary than ever, especially in an era of budget cuts and staff reductions. Academic librarians are no strangers to assessment, but figuring out how to implement authentic assessment can be tricky. We all want our instruction to help students, but how do we know if they are actually learning? Performance based assessment requires students to demonstrate, often in creative ways, that they have actually learned what you set out to teach them. This presentation will provide techniques for designing assessment that requires students to perform real-world tasks tied to information literacy learning outcomes. The presenter will share successful, practical assessment methods that will have students showing off their skills in no time. Participants will:

  • Describe the characteristics of performance based assessment in order to authentically measure students’ information literacy skills.
  • Critically analyze assessment scenarios in order to determine which methods fall into the category of performance based assessment.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Singing from the Same Hymnbook: Creating a National Framework for Information Literacy
Cathie Jackson (Cardiff University, UK)
- Presentation (.ppsx)

Wales, the Land of Song, can offer an upbeat message of how harmonizing our national approach to information literacy can bring benefits beyond expectations. This presentation will feature a tale worthy of the great balladeers, of how a band of librarians pioneered a national information literacy framework encompassing all sectors and in tune with government priorities.

The vision of the project, launched in July 2010, was to enhance information literacy throughout Welsh society. First, examples were gathered of best practice in schools, colleges, universities, public libraries and lifelong learning venues to highlight the impact that information literacy can have across contemporary Wales—on the very young to the elderly, on Welsh speaking communities, on students, workers, the unemployed and the unwell. Drawing inspiration from the Scottish framework, the project then developed a framework for information literacy which mapped to the qualification framework for Wales in order to deliver a consistent approach across and beyond the formal curriculum. The focus of the session will be on how we achieved engagement from within and beyond our profession to create and promote a truly national framework for information literacy and the exciting initiatives that have resulted.

The presentation will sing out how such a framework can add to our repertoire, inspiring those beyond our profession to blow the trumpet of information literacy in places beyond which our own voice will carry. Participants will:

  • Describe the key characteristics of the national information literacy framework for Wales and the benefits, both planned and unanticipated, which have been evidenced.
  • Evaluate the merits of the approach and assess whether this would strike a chord in your local and national environment.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Stand by Your Lesson Plan: How the Karaoke Experience Can Improve Your Instructional Practice
Carrie Donovan (Indiana University) and Jennifer Corbin (Tulane University)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Handout (.docx)

Teaching demands that we are at our best in terms of mental presence and physical stamina. Like athletes and performers, we must seek out spaces to practice and to challenge our limits. For instruction librarians, the karaoke stage is precisely this space. Karaoke incorporates best practices used in instructional design to achieve teaching effectiveness and create memorable experiences. This presentation will draw on research and strategies for determining prior knowledge of an audience and using developmental approaches to achieve desired outcomes. It will explore the karaoke stage as a training space for practicing good presentation techniques and harnessing anxiety and endorphins to develop powerful instructional prowess. Participants will:

  • Acknowledge the physical and mental requirements of teaching in order to appreciate the importance of practice as a method of instructional improvement.
  • Be introduced to the aspects of karaoke that correspond with teaching, including stage presence, use of voice, knowing the audience, and a personal approach.
  • Understand the process which the brain and the body undergo during performance or public speaking in order to realize the physical and mental stamina required for teaching.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Strum a New Chord: Shifting to Learner-Centered Library Instruction
Courtney L. Eger and Jim Benner (Northampton Community College)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Handout (.pdf)

Are you tired of lecturing about library databases in front of a group of bored college students? Do faculty members request that you come into their class early in the semester to give a library orientation that is not related to an upcoming research assignment? Stop humming the same old tune and shift the way you approach your one-shot library classes. Learner-centered instruction gives students the power to be agents of their own learning. We’ll cover the theories behind this method, how it can be translated into class activities, and how it is related to assessment and learning outcomes. Participants will:

  • Create a learning outcome for a library instruction class.
  • Choose a learner-centered activity and related assessment technique to apply to a specific library class situation.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Take This IL Program and Shove It . . . Across the Curriculum: Integrating Information Literacy Learning Outcomes into Institutional Planning and Assessment
Benjamin R. Harris (Trinity University)

As we consider ways to increase momentum in local information literacy programs, one of our tasks will continue to be the location of connections between our objectives and disciplinary/institutional initiatives. Since 2004, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has required institutions to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve and assess student learning. While some plans focus on IL specifically, a considerable number integrate IL within other topics. Using evidence from 58 “IL-integrated” proposals, this presentation offers librarians various alternative—and in some ways subversive—perspectives on strategies for the integration of IL across the curriculum. Participants will:

  • Be able to increase their awareness of opportunities available to them during curricular or strategic revision procedures that may facilitate enhancement of local information literacy teaching, learning, and programming.
  • Be able to identify the types of assessment-oriented learning outcomes that can be utilized to enhance IL programming at their local institutions.
  • Be able to recognize that conscious IL-across-the-curriculum programs, while ideal, are not the only method for integrating IL learning outcomes into core/common curricula and expectations within the disciplines.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic

Teaching as Virtual Repertory: Tuning Embedded Instruction to the Online Course
Jason Ezell (Towson University)
- Presentation (.pptm)

Can we as online embedded librarians better complement our courses by developing a richer repertoire of embedding strategies and parallel teaching methods? In this session, I propose four categories of online embedding and discuss the course types to which they seem best suited. Providing examples of the teaching methods associated with each, I hope to offer a range of online collaborative tenors and phasing strategies which could help our online instructional programs become more responsive and intuitive. Participants will:

  • Be able to recognize the qualities of the four embedding models in order to match an appropriate model to a given course type.
  • Be able to identify online teaching methods fitting to each model in order to begin building a repertoire of instructional offerings for online courses.
  • Be able to indicate several benefits associated with the use of the models and repertoire in order to inform planning of an online instructional program.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

Telling Stories about the Library: Student-Generated Comics as Information Literacy Narratives
Matt Upson and Alex Mudd (Emporia State University)
- Presentation (.pptx)

In a visual culture with media that incorporates texts and images seamlessly, there is an increasing need for students to be active participants in information creation to reinforce core concepts in information literacy.

By integrating narrative and media production into reflective assessments of student learning through the visual medium of comics, students are presented with an opportunity to express their research narratives in a more engaging and effective manner. From scripting and editing to the eventual creation of an original comic, students can address their thoughts, struggles, and success with the research process with creativity, thought, and humor.

This presentation will provide an overview of methods used to integrate sequential art into instruction programs, identify ways of incorporating narrative into instruction, and present active learning strategies to aid students in reflective practices. The presenters will discuss the value of research narratives, the planning and implementation of the comic assignment, incorporation of ACRL information literacy standards, and will provide student feedback on the utility of comic narratives in the information literacy classroom. Participants will:

  • Be able to identify potential strengths and weaknesses with narrative reflection in information literacy instruction.
  • Be able to integrate narrative into information literacy instruction.
  • Be able to formulate methods to integrate visual literacies into the classroom.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

The Assessment Two-Step: It’s More than a Line Dance
Debbi Renfrow (Moreno Valley College)
- Presentation (.pptx)
- Supplemental Material (web)

In March 2010, Moreno Valley College became the 111th accredited community college in California. Responsibilities came with that accomplishment. The college quickly rallied to complete the standards set forth by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). From this accountability came classroom assessment techniques driven by student learning outcomes (SLOs). In this session, presenters will demonstrate how the library implemented “sustainable continuous quality improvement” in its one-unit library course. We will also relate how the library’s one-unit class maps assignments to SLOs and uses those results to make improvements.

The standards of the ACCJC state that in order to be proficient, “The institution identifies student learning outcomes for courses, programs, certificates, and degrees; assesses student achievement of those outcomes; and uses assessment results to make improvements” (Standard II.A.1c). Focusing on ACCJC’s Standard II: Student Learning Programs and Services, Instructional Programs, this presentation will lead attendees through the process of creating an assessment cycle, developing assignments that are mapped to student learning outcomes. Participants will:

  • Understand a successful translation of ACCJC standards to the classroom.
  • Receive sample assignments and rubrics used for resource requests in program reviews.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

The Ballad of the Librarian and the Infographic: A Tale of Data Visualization
Caitlin A. Bagley (Gonzaga University)
- Presentation (.pptx)

The session will focus on a project that allowed students to create their own infographics based on datasets that they found in government and business resources. This presentation will offer a guide and rubric to other librarians looking for an activity that encourages students to think about where their information comes from. The lesson plan also allows for a broader ethical look and discussion of how visualization can both help illuminate and skew the truth in the data. Participants will:

  • Learn how to create infographics.
  • Discover resources for finding infographics and datasets.
  • Learn how to design their own lessons and classes around infographics.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

The Doceri Mashup: Instructional “Music” in the Classroom
Sharon Whitfield (Cooper Medical School of Rowan University) and Claire Clemens (The College of New Jersey)

The interactive whiteboard has been successfully used to engage students in learning. Now, Doceri provides the means to deliver an effective library session with the portability and simplicity of an iPad. By connecting to the desktop computer at the classroom podium, Doceri allows librarians, teaching faculty, and students to communicate across a range of platforms during instruction. Doceri easily establishes remote access to the desktop, allowing the instructor freedom to move about the classroom with iPad in hand. No longer is the teacher tethered to the front of the classroom in order to operate the desktop keyboard or to write on the blackboard.

Library instruction can benefit from computer-supported learning, specifically with interactive whiteboards, enabling the construction of new knowledge through collaboration, interaction and discourse. Traditional whiteboards are often cost-prohibitive and become a stagnant fixture in classrooms. They lack the portability and flexibility of technologies such as iPads and other handheld devices. As technology evolves, applications become more affordable and accessible to classroom teaching. The new iPad application called Doceri is an excellent example of how advances in an existing technology benefit teaching and learning. This presentation will address the implementation and instructional uses of Doceri, the advantages and disadvantages of this technology, and the effects on library sessions from both the instructor and student perspectives. Learn the steps needed to start using Doceri and be inspired by live examples of how librarians are integrating Doceri and iPads into the classroom. Participants will:

  • Be able to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and applicability of Doceri for individual classroom settings.
  • Be able to design instruction with Doceri to teach across platforms.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

The Librarians' Active Learning Institute at Dartmouth College
Laura Barrett and Karen Gocsik (Dartmouth College)
- Presentation (.pptx)

In 2011, the Library's Education and Outreach Program partnered with the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning to launch the Librarians' Active Learning Institute (LALI). LALI derives from one of the Center's most successful programs, the annual Active Learning Institute for faculty (ALI). Using ALI’s framework, LALI helps teaching librarians develop and refine their skills as learner-centered teachers, instructional designers, and collaborators. This two-day program, which will be offered for three consecutive years, successfully supports the teaching needs of librarians, furthers the teaching mission and culture of the Library, fosters partnerships with faculty, and, ultimately, improves student learning. Participants will:

  • Learn about Dartmouth’s successful, collaborative approach to providing innovative professional development to teaching librarians, and they will reflect on how they can apply this approach at their own institutions.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

The MOOC and the Library: How Massive Online Only Courses Could Change the Future of Library Instruction
Laura Burt-Nicholas (North Park University)
- Presentation (.pptx)

In November 2012, the New York Times dubbed 2012 “The Year of the MOOC.” MOOCs (Massive Online Only Courses) are free to the public and provide instruction on topics from the humanities to health to technology. In the media they are seen as both a huge opportunity for higher education and the catalyst of its eventual death. I will share current research about MOOCs and my experiences as a student in a MOOC. The presentation will finish by examining the role libraries and instruction librarians can play in this new model of higher education. How can we adapt and what should we change? Participants will:

  • Describe what a MOOC is, how it is comprised, and what teaching methods professors of MOOCs use.
  • Predict ways in which library instruction sessions and programs may need to change in response to the MOOC trend.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic

“The Only Prescription is More Cowbell!” Collaborating to Bring Your Information Literacy Program to the Next Level
Jessica R. Olin (Wesley College)

Typical undergraduates, especially first-year students, seek research help from everywhere and everyone else, especially their peers, before turning to librarians. In an effort to get more first-year students to seek help from the library, the Information Literacy Instruction Program at the Hiram College Library started collaborating with people on campus who are responsible for the training of teaching and writing assistants—students to whom first-year students are likely to turn for help. This session will present the evolution of this collaboration, including lessons learned and improvements made, results that have been realized, and suggestions for how to adapt this program to other contexts and types of colleges. Participants will:

  • Be able to discuss the benefits of diversifying an information literacy program to include working with nontraditional groups such as teaching assistants.
  • Be able to evaluate their own information literacy programs in order to present an argument for or against this kind of approach.
  • Be able to modify this approach to suit the needs of their own institutions.

Intended audience: Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Video Saved the Orientation Stars: Our 60 Day Journey from Groupies to Video Production and Social-Media Assessment Rock Stars
Lea Susan Engle, Melissa Edwards and Chance Medlin (Texas A&M University)
- Presentation (Web)

Twenty-one presentations, 100 miles from campus, 6,000 students, four presenters, a shoestring budget, one big challenge, and one wild ride. Welcome to the Research Games!

In 2012, we faced a fantastic challenge. We had the opportunity to present to 6,000 students and wanted to be engaging, informative, entertaining, and consistent. Building on the momentum of a popular book/movie franchise, we created an innovative video with the help of a talented group of students. The video not only reached the 6,000 students at orientation, but also was tweeted and retweeted, pinned on Pinterest, and received another 4,000 hits on YouTube.

We chose The Hunger Games as our cultural touchstone. The video organically incorporated library services into characters’ plot lines. We did not create a list of services and shape the story around them; instead, we used a story that is popular with the targeted population and found ways library services naturally fit into the storyline. The video was tied to incentives that encouraged students to interact with the Libraries’ online resources and to attend our fall open house, which in 2012 broke all previous attendance records.

We learned how to build successful cross-campus collaborations, write a compelling story, produce an engaging video, and measure its success using social media analytics.

Join us and benefit from our success and challenges, create an action plan to empower you to be a rock star on your own campus, and learn how to ensure that the odds are ever in your favor.

Watch the video: guides.library.tamu.edu/howdy

Participants will:

  • Understand twelve key issues essential to the creation of a positive, effective, and popular outreach video.
  • Leave the session with an action plan and concrete strategies to “make it happen” in their own communities.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go: Using Unlikely Examples to Engage Students in Information Literacy
Jean Cook (University of West Georgia)
- Examples and Resources (Web)

While librarians everywhere believe that information literacy is important, often they struggle to make it interesting. Apathetic students fail to see the relevance of library content outside of the current assignment. This presentation will demonstrate how one library instructor engaged her students in lively discussions of information literacy concepts through the use of examples from the media, the Internet, and popular culture. By pulling case studies from Beyoncé to Twilight, Hurricane Sandy to Sad Keanu, she demonstrated the utility of information literacy in and out of the classroom. Attendees will leave with practical examples and methods to engage their students. Participants will:

  • Be able to identify likely examples of applied information literacy from the media, the Internet, and other sources in order to supplement their library curriculums.
  • Be able to derive information literacy concepts from real-world examples in order to create new lessons plans for their own instruction.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

What's Up, Doc? Transforming Information Literacy Instruction with Documentary Films
Carrie Dunham-LaGree (Drake University)
- Presentation (.pptx)

This session will explore strategies for incorporating documentary film into information literacy instruction. Its focus will be on three ways the presenter has successfully incorporated documentary film into library instruction: in an accelerated three-week, three-credit information literacy course; in a three-credit semester length information literacy course; and in one-shot information literacy sessions. The approaches to these three types of instruction have varied, but valuable insight has come from all three. Documentary films have proven to be an effective vehicle for engaging students and impacting their learning, both in credit-bearing courses and one-shot sessions. Documentary films provide a dynamic starting point to challenge students to think critically about the filmmaker's research, as well as to question assumptions about a film’s content and message. The presenter will provide an overview of her experience designing and teaching courses and developing one-shot sessions. Attendees will leave equipped with examples of assignments and in-class activities. Participants will:

  • Recognize opportunities for incorporating documentary films into their information literacy programs.
  • Identify opportunities for using documentary films to expand information literacy programs.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic; Considerable experience with the topic

Wikipedia as an Authentic Learning Space
Michele Van Hoeck (California State University, Maritime)
- Presentation (.pdf)
- Handout (.pdf)

Wikipedia is legendary as the enormous, popular, amateur-built-and-run encyclopedia covering everything from Goo Goo Clusters to the Battle of Nashville. But did you know every Wikipedia article has a “Talk” page where editors discuss disagreements, assign ratings, and organize articles into WikiProjects? Did you know Wikipedia has published research guidelines that are surprisingly similar to the standards we teach students? This presentation will describe a credit-bearing information literacy class that joined Wikipedia’s U.S. Education Program and helped students move beyond just using Wikipedia as a source to becoming amateur authors themselves. In the process, they sharpened their information literacy skills by writing for an authentic audience.

Pitfalls and challenges associated with using Wikipedia in the classroom will be touched on. The presentation will include assessment data on student learning and research practices exhibited by students enrolled in the class. Participants will:

  • Identify the most effective Wikipedia-editing assignments and exercises in order to improve student learning in information literacy instruction.
  • Identify Wikipedia policies that overlap with ACRL IL Standards in order to draw on this popular source to motivate students during information literacy instruction.

Intended audience: Brand new to the topic; Some experience with the topic