1. Affective Change: Integrating Pre-sessions in the Students' Classroom Prior to Library Instruction Dale Vidmar Electronic Resources Coordinator/ Education and Communications Librarian Southern Oregon University Library vidmar@sou.edu http://www.sou.edu/library/dale/loex98

2. “Affective Change” presents: The results of a study into the effectiveness of offering a pre-session in the classroom of students prior to library instruction Overall conclusions of the research and beyond Observations of librarians going into classrooms outside the library at Southern Oregon University

3. What is the Affective Realm? The area of human experience that deals with feelings, attitudes, perceptions, intentions, and emotions. Applies to the feeling-response or general reaction to an object or idea. How individuals perceive their social environment and how they interact within it.

4. What are Some of the Typical Attitudes and Feelings Students Associated with the Library and Librarians?

5. Typical Feelings Associated with the Library Anxiety Fear Uncertainty Frustration Confusion Inadequacy Helplessness

6. What Can Happen to Students Who Enter the Library with these Feelings? Reluctant to Learn Prefer Not to Be There Difficulty Concentrating Do Not Readily Accept the Librarian Do Not Understand Why They Need Any Instruction

7. Instruction Can Administer to Affective Experience by: Creating curiosity Building enthusiasm Initiating surprises to alter preconceptions Building confidence and empowerment Engendering a sense of relevance and meaningfulness Creating a sense of mastery through the synthesis of the material

8. The Pre-session Ten to twenty-minute session Involves the librarian going outside the library and into the classroom Outlines objectives for library instruction Allows the librarian to take a needs assessment to learn something about the class prior to the instruction session Offers initial assistance or guidance to individuals who may lack needed skills

9. Hypothesis of the Study A pre-session offered to individuals in their classroom prior to instruction in the library will have a positive effect upon the attitudes, feelings, intentions, and perceptions in conjunction with the library, librarians, library use and research, and library instruction sessions.

10. Goals of the Pre-session Introduce librarian and establish rapport Outline objectives of library instruction-- preferably with a handout Arouse curiosity and interest Take needs assessment and use assessment to prepare and customize instruction Set-up and prepare individuals for class in the library Try to reduce anxiety and resistance

11. 4 Levels of the Affective Realm Measured by the Study Feelings - How Individuals Feel about the Library, about the Importance of Doing Research, and about their Library Skills Attitudes - How Approachable are Librarians and Do Individuals Consult Them if Necessary. Intentions - Current Library Use vs. Intended Use After Instruction. Perceptions - How Useful is Library Instruction and How Well Does it Attend to Personal Needs.

12. Research Methodology: The Grouping of Students Study compared pre-test/post-test scores of 125 students in 6 freshman composition classes 6 classes were paired into 3 sets, each pair having the same instructor and same librarian 3 classes in the Control (no pre-session) group and 3 in the Experimental (pre- session) group.

13. Research Methodology: Pre-Tests/Post-Tests Compared the Pre-test/Post-Test Scores of the Pre-session (Experimental) Group and the No Pre-session (Control) Group. Pre-tests were administered two days prior to either the pre-session or the instruction session in the library. Post-tests were administered two days after instruction session in the library. Tests were one page questionnaires that asked 9 questions, scored using the semantic differential scale.

14. Research Methodology: Analysis of Results Reported as the difference between mean scores of the Pre-session (Experimental) Group and the No Pre-session (Control) Group. Raw scores based on a 1 to 7 scale. A low raw score 1 indicated a negative response. A high raw score 7 indicated a positive response. Presumably, students in both groups would score higher on post-tests as a result of the library instruction class.

15. The Semantic Differential Finding information in the library is easy |_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| difficult (polarizing term X) (7) (6) (5) (4) (3) (2) (1) (polarizing term Y) The numbered scale positions are defined as: (7)extremely X (6)quite X (5)slightly X (4)neither X nor Y; or equally X and Y (3)slightly Y (2)quite Y (1)extremely Y

16. How Individuals Feel in the Library (relaxed - 7) (tense - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.575.21 Difference of Mean Scores.64 Probability.0261* No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 5.275.13 Difference of Mean Scores -.14 Probability.5853

17. How Individuals Feel About Having the Ability to Do Research (essential - 7) (not important at all - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level How Individuals Feel About Having the Ability to Do Research (essential - 7) (not important at all - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 5.316.09 Difference of Mean Scores.78 Probability.0032* No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 5.385.91 Difference of Mean Scores.53 Probability.0387*

18. How Individuals Believe their Research Skills Compares With That of Others (stronger - 7)(weaker - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level How Individuals Believe their Research Skills Compares With That of Others (stronger - 7)(weaker - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.314.72 Difference of Mean Scores.41 Probability.1417 No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.474.83 Difference of Mean Scores.36 Probability.1605

19. How Approachable are Librarians (approachable - 7) (unapproachable - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 5.685.86 Difference of Mean Scores.18 Probability.4515 No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 5.525.57 Difference of Mean Scores.05 Probability.8244

20. How Often Do Individuals Consult Librarians When Having Difficulties (always - 7) (never - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level How Often Do Individuals Consult Librarians When Having Difficulties (always - 7) (never - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 5.086.04 Difference of Mean Scores.96 Probability.0012* No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.835.56 Difference of Mean Scores.73 Probability.0324*

21. How Often Do Individuals Intend to Use the Library After Library Instruction (often - 7) (rarely - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level How Often Do Individuals Intend to Use the Library After Library Instruction (often - 7) (rarely - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.665.72 Difference of Mean Scores 1.06 Probability.0010* No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.575.54 Difference of Mean Scores.97 Probability.0016*

22. What Do Individuals Think About Using the Library to Find Information (easy - 7) (difficult - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level What Do Individuals Think About Using the Library to Find Information (easy - 7) (difficult - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.385.07 Difference of Mean Scores.68 Probability.0139* No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.754.96 Difference of Mean Scores.21 Probability.4464

23. How Well Did the Library Instruction Session Attend to my Personal Needs (completely - 7)(not at all - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level How Well Did the Library Instruction Session Attend to my Personal Needs (completely - 7)(not at all - 1) *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 4.495.61 Difference of Mean Scores 1.12 Probability.0001* No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testMean Score 5.305.50 Difference of Mean Scores.20 Probability.4599

24. Comparison of the Difference of the Total of All Mean Scores Comparison of the Difference of the Total of All Mean Scores Pre-session Group No Pre-session Group Pre-testPost-testPre-testPost-test Mean ScoreMean ScoreMean ScoreMean Score 4.805.514.97 5.33 Difference of Mean Scores.71.36 Probability.0461* *Indicates a significant difference at or below the.05 level

25. Conclusions of the Study Findings of the study suggest that pre-sessions improve the affective experience students have when using the library--more positive attitude, enhanced confidence, and an intent to use the library Comparison of pre-test and post-test scores indicated students generally felt better about the library, librarians, and research Pre-sessions may help individuals overcome initial feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and tension Although more study may be needed, the integration of pre-sessions into library instruction merits serious consideration in attending to the needs of individuals

26. Observations of the program by Southern Oregon University Librarians Despite initial skepticism, the pre-sessions have been effective in reducing anxiety and increasing effectiveness of instruction Pre-sessions gave librarians an opportunity to establish a relationship with students as a mentor Students got to know the librarians and began to ask questions as a part of the pre-session Students were more responsive during the actual instruction session at the library

27. Observations of the program by Southern Oregon University Librarians Taking needs assessment of a group of students prior to instruction helps immeasurably in terms of tailoring lessons to the particular students Instructors were sometimes more willing to give up class time for the pre-session than they were for the actual instruction session in the library The pre-sessions were effective and would be continued as a part of the information literacy program

28. Affective Change: Integrating Pre-sessions in the Students' Classroom Prior to Library Instruction Dale Vidmar Electronic Resources Coordinator/ Education and Communications Librarian Southern Oregon University Library vidmar@sou.edu http://www.sou.edu/library/dale/loex98