One Shot? Make it Four!: Planning and Assessing a Multi-Session Information Literacy Experiment Maureen Williams Neumann University Aston, Pennsylvania

How many do one shot classes? How many do semester long classes? Anyone do anything in between?

What are the major drawbacks to one shot classes?

Introduction and Background Hi! Information Literacy at Neumann Relationship with Education Department and Upper Level Instructors Information Literacy Assessment at Neumann ◦ Work with Core Committee

Breakdown of IL Classes Fall Total Classes 30 First Year Classes 17 Upper Level/Subject Classes Spring Total Classes 28 First Year Classes 19 Upper Level/Subject Classes Fall Total Classes 28 First Year Classes 35 Upper Level/Subject Classes* Spring Total Classes 28 First Year Classes 29 Upper Level/Subject Classes *8 were part of the Education/Library Collaboration

What am I going to talk about? Background of collaboration What happened in each session Assessment & sharing results How it can transfer to your program

Library/Education Department IL Experiment How did it start? Who was involved? What did we do? ◦ 2 Classes ◦ 4 Session Each

Research Packet Documented the research process for the students Provide a step-by-step progression Based off of the AAC&U Information Literacy VALUE Rubric and the ACRL IL Standards Accompanying Rubric

Rubric Based Off AAC&U Rubric mationLiteracy.pdf

Class Breakdown 2 Classes. Each visited 4 times. 15 Week Semester ◦ Sophomores: Week 4, 7, 11, 13 ◦ Juniors/Seniors: Week 2, 5, 7, 10 Even though classes were different and were seen in different weeks, the research process was addressed the same way

Session 1: Background Research in Google and CREDO Often overlooked part of research process (by students and faculty) Very good feedback Timing is key

Session 2: Using Databases and Finding Articles Closely resembled a typical ‘one shot’ upper level IL session Students already had keywords and had completed a free write about their topic Students saved articles to their EBSCO folders, with the intent to use them in the next session

Session 3: Finding, Reading and Evaluating Articles Students spent time reading and filled out the part of the Research Packet that broke down one article Worked on thesis questions becoming thesis statements ◦ Major work needed on this Students were eager for one-on-one attention

Session 4: Outlining and Catchall Students were asked for three supporting points and article/page/quote that would support each point Exercise was well received One-on-one attention still needed APA and citation overview

Grading Students were graded based on IL Rubric Faculty member & I graded the same for 6 students Faculty member graded higher for 14 students I graded higher for 3 students Grading was challenging!

Student Survey Results

Even if a Librarian isn’t present, do you like the idea of dedicating several class periods SPECIFICALLY to working on your research assignments for class? Yes 95.7% No 4.3%

Student Survey Results Did you find the handouts that were used over the course of these sessions helpful/useful? Very Helpful 56.5% Helpful 43.5% Not helpful at all 0%

Did you find these sessions more or less helpful than other times a librarian has come to your class in the past? Why or why not? ‘more helpful, it was easier to have the step by step process rather than doing it on our own ‘This was more helpful because I always have trouble finding information on research papers.’ ‘More helpful because I did not know much about research papers before these classes.’ ‘I found these sessions very helpful. I have not had this in the past.’ ‘Less helpful. Had a librarian in class for English 101 and 102 so by now we know how to write a paper on our own. Having one now in class is distracting and slows down the process.’

Why does this discrepancy happen? Students need the research help, but they don’t recognize the value of the library session.

What was most useful to you about these situations with a librarian? ‘The process was laid out for me in a way I have never seen before. We were able to work step by step to make sure we were doing the right steps to create a great research paper.’ ‘What i found to be most useful during these sessions was just having some extra help on writing my research paper and having someone around to ask questions.’ ‘she took us step by step and made it easy for us to put the paper together’

What else would you have liked to see in these sessions? ‘I would have liked for the librarian to be able to come around and help each individual student more. Also, I wish we could have had more than three visits together to follow the process all the way through.’ ‘More one on one assistance.’ ‘Having our thesis statements revised in order for us to know whether were on the right track or not’ ‘Less handouts and more time to plan on our own. Or have the handouts optional.’ ‘More in depth help with each handout’ ‘Proof reading of assignment prior to due date.’

Reflection and Recommendations to the Core Committee More class time spent reading and analyzing articles Better incorporation of research into writing

Redux? Time consuming Faculty member implemented a modified version of our collaboration in Spring 2013 Spread IL instruction to faculty members ◦ ‘Teach the teachers’ Make good research a goal of all on campus

How Can YOU Do It Too?

Target a department or faculty member that is already involved with the library Plan and time carefully ◦ Communicate with students – let them see the big picture ◦ Plan assessment Market it as a ‘trial’ or ‘experiment’ Collaborate on everything!

How Can YOU Do It Too? Handouts/Worksheets ◦ Don’t over do it (my mistake) Have someone to report results to ◦ Director, Dept. Head, Core Curriculum Committee What is the next step?

Questions? Maureen Williams Neumann University Library