1. T EACHING THE T EACHERS : B UILDING I NFORMATION L ITERACY I NTO THE B IOLOGY C URRICULUM Meris Mandernach James Madison University LOEX 2008

2. I NTRODUCTION Why IL is important for science Expectation upon graduation Questionable scientific information Transferable skill How to integrate information literacy into science curriculum…

3. T HE C OURSE BIO 114 – Organisms BIO 124 – Ecology and Evolution BIO 214 – Cell and Molecular Biology BIO 224 – Genetics and Development BIO 124 Offered every semester Typical students

4. I NFORMATION L ITERACY W ORKSHOP : S UMMER 2006 One-on-one collaboration between faculty and librarians Led by facilitator Stipend (and lots of food) What they do to get the money Alter assignment to include IL Objectives Design effective active-learning assignment Plan instruction Summarize success of the implementation of changes

5. O BJECTIVES OF B IOLOGY I NSTRUCTION Sources Research strategy Credible sources Evaluate quality Organization of library Use library resources

6. S EMESTER O NE : T EACHING THE S TUDENTS F ALL 2006 Pilot Study Librarian taught 4 lab sections Some lecture, some hands-on Background of scholarly literature Scholarly vs. Popular articles Review vs. Research articles Searching Biology databases Search syntax Evaluating information sources Assessment Test Approach for Spring semester Collaboration (Miller and Bell 1 ) 1. Miller, W. & Bell, S. (2005) A new strategy for enhancing library use: Faculty-led information literacy instruction. Library Issues, 25 (5), 1-4.

7. S EMESTER T WO : T EACHING THE T EACHERS S PRING 2007 Rationale: Eight lab sessions More student buy-in Librarian available for appointments Self-guided tutorial Handouts Assessment test to determine effectiveness.

8. W EB G UIDE

9. T UTORIAL

10. C REATING AN A SSESSMENT T OOL 30 item test Fall 2006, test questions Spring 2007, full cycle 6 Content areas Selecting reference sources and databases Searching databases Retrieving full-text books and articles Evaluating information Understanding and using the internet Citing sources

11. A SSESSMENT T OOL (C ONT.) Analysis by Center for Assessment and Research Study (CARS) at JMU After first complete cycle: Increase in overall score Few questionable items Withdraw question Revise question Remove entirely Overall tips: Shorten the correct answer Fewer choices for multiple choice questions

12. S EMESTER T HREE : U NDERSTANDING T HE A SSESSMENT F ALL 2007 Same instructors teaching lab sections No “teaching the teacher” refresher All instructors gave pre-test Post-test hiccup Assessment test examined again by CARS No significant differences observed Student cohorts Faculty unaware of test content and objectives Refresher of “teach the teachers”

13. S EMESTER F OUR : T EACHING THE T EACHERS II S PRING 2008 Refresher for instructors Faculty took assessment test Length of test No-point value Wording

14. R EFINING THE A SSESSMENT T OOL Tweaking the test Point-value assigned Given different week than other course assessment Anecdotal evidence

15. P LANS FOR THE FUTURE Evaluate assessment tool Examine possibilities of expansion Develop additional learning objects to support course

16. T HANK Y OU JMU Libraries and Educational Technologies JMU Biology Department Dr. Reid Harris Prof. William Flint Instructors of Biology 124 Center for Assessment and Research Study Donna Sundre and graduate students

17. Q UESTIONS …

18. M ORE I NFORMATION … http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/ http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/Bio124class.aspx Meris Mandernach manderma@jmu.edu