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Active Learning In, Through, and Beyond the University Library and Classroom Stephanie Solomon, Mark Wenger, and Kevin Flickner Welcome! To begin, please sit in groups composed of individuals from diverse institutional affiliations (colored cards can help us sit in varied groups)
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Take a moment and introduce yourselves to those around you. Here is who we are: Mark Wenger Associate Professor of English at Columbia International University (Columbia, SC). I have taught freshman composition for over 15 years, beginning in 1993. I began using Library Skills Exams in 2004/2005.
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Kevin Flickner Reference Assistant, CIU Library staff for 9 years Just began MLIS studies at University of South Carolina
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Stephanie Solomon Library Director, CIU Previously: Public Services Librarian Reference and Electronic Resource Librarian at CIU Reference Services Librarian, Midlands Technical College, Columbia, SC
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Columbia International University Columbia International University’s G. Allen Fleece Library – serving a community of approximately 500 residential students in a student body of about 1200 on the north side of Columbia SC.
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Columbia International University Private, 4 year Christian University – Undergraduate degrees, Master’s programs, Ed.D. and D.Min. 560 undergraduates 544 graduate students Approx. 85 students in English 1110 each fall English major began in 2006 About 25 students per class, usually three sections Approximately 600 students have received this training since 2005.
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G. Allen Fleece Library at the center of CIU’s campus.
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English 1110 – Written Composition Practice academic writing and develop your capacity to understand and communicate the written word, particularly through the use of modern information resources. After a period of evaluation and development of your skills in writing and essential college level information literacy, you will [draft] four essays involving the use of academic information resources [and] complete an annotated working bibliography as part of a full research project on a current social issue.
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Taking Learning To Task Jane Vella “Learners arrive with the capacity to do the work involved in learning.” “Learners learn when they are actively engaged – cognitively, emotionally, and physically – with the content.” “New content can be presented through learning tasks.” “Learning tasks promote accountability.”
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Station 1: Locate and distinguish between subject specific and general databases. 1) Scroll over the “online resources” link on the left hand side of the library’s webpage and select databases. 2) Scroll down the page until you see the Gale Cengage Learning databases, underneath it will be a listing of the databases beginning with the description: “Search up to 14 databases simultaneously.” 3) Click on the link; a new window will open up. 4) Examine the list of database and compare the descriptions underneath Academic Onefile, General OneFile, and Literature Resources from Gale. 5) Discuss the differences and decide as a group which is (or are) the general database(s) and which is (or are) the subject specific database(s). 6) Write them down in the appropriate column. 7) Go back to the library database page. The window should still be visible. 8)Examine and compare the descriptions underneath Academic Search Premiere, Oxford Reference Online, and Scribner’s Writer’s Series. Again, decide as a group into which column each database belongs. Examine Scribner’s Writers Series, General OneFile and Academic OneFile. Determine which two would best help you write your literary analysis paper. Why? Subject Specific DatabaseGeneral Database
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Station 2: Finding articles in an electronic database 1) Select Academic Search Premiere from the library’s collection of databases. Follow the instructions on the screenshot to find criticism on the poem “Tintern Abbey.” Who is the author? Examine the abstracts and discuss what makes these articles literary criticism. Write them down; we will discuss your ideas. 2) Select Oxford Reference Online. Do a search for the author of “Tintern Abbey.” Click on a few of the entries and read them. Tell us something about him. (One or two lines will be sufficient.) Discuss what makes Oxford Reference Online different from the other databases we have examined so far. Write your thoughts down; we will discuss them. 3) Click on Literature Resource Center. Do a “person” search for a poet of your choice. There are six tabs that contain information. Examine the information represented by each tab. List the ones that would be most useful for your poetry analysis and state why.
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Scroll down & use Ctrl key to select both doc types.
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Task 3: Finding articles in a print reference source. 1) Locate the Dictionary of Literary Biography and Poetry Criticism in the Reference section of the library. 2) Identify the cumulative index in each set. 3) Select a poet and locate the volume which contains his or her entry. Do this in both the DLB and PC. Briefly scan the articles about the poet in both sources. Note the difference and the similarities in the articles. Examine the volumes you have found. Discuss in your group and note your impressions about the way the DLB is organized and the way PC is organized.
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Personal Inventory Page
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Discussion Session Use the Personal Inventory Page to discover how you might incorporate this into your own contexts. Remember to take into account ethical and privacy concerns.
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Using the P.I.P. Consider the following comment, “If it’s not about skateboarding, I really don’t care.” Use the P.I.P. questions to get past the immediate need of this particular researcher. Include in your discussion how you would do this without violating any ethical or privacy issues.
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The “Library Skills” training takes place both in the classroom…
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… and in the library.
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A total of 3 training sessions Session 1 = general introduction to staff and an overview of available resources. Session 2 = Reference Resources, especially Subject-specific Reference (both print and electronic).
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Today’s Goals List two topics to compare and contrast. Explore subject specific resources for your topic – print and electronic Determine keywords related to your topic.
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1. Your Research Topic Finish this sentence: I am going to compare and contrast________ and _____. This is important to me/I am interested in this topic because_____________. This subject falls under the broad area of _______ Find someone who is researching in your broad area of interest and get together.
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2. What do you know about your topic? NamesDatesTerms
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3. Find a Subject Specific Print Source Working with your partner or group, use the library’s catalog to find a print resource on your subject. Write down title and call number.
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4. What don’t you know about your topic? Look up both of your main topics using Wikipedia. – Write down new names, dates, and terms you discovered from these sources. Look up both of your main topics using another source accessible through our databases. – Write down new names, dates, and terms you discover from this source. These will be the search terms you use to find information in the library’s databases.
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5. Compare and Contrast Compare and contrast Wikipedia and the subject specific source you used. List some differences. List similarities.
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Find a Book Use the keywords you have to locate an appropriate book on your topic. Write down the title and call number. Scholarly books are great sources for background information.
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Session 3 = Databases and Interlibrary loan.
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Library Skills Exam The keystone to the whole are the library skills exams…done one-on-one, in 20 minute appointments, providing the students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability with a variety of resources. (Gen. Ref., Subj. Spec. Reference, Peer-reviewed Journals, Print & Ebooks.
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General Reference for Background Reading – and practice using indexes.
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Searching the Catalog for Subject Specific Reference
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A key “skill set” is knowing to ask for help when you need it.
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Understanding how to use call numbers.
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Indexes, Table of Contents, Bibliographies in Reference Sources
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Learning to browse the shelves
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Demonstrating ability with field searching (subject terms, author, peer- reviewed journals, etc.)
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Video https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xz8h8y3ty965b7z/AAALnhi0n-BkESsQ5o6aZJnVa?n=197865751 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xz8h8y3ty965b7z/AAALnhi0n-BkESsQ5o6aZJnVa?n=197865751
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Discussion How to incorporate this into your context 1.How to connect with the person, not just the research task? 2.How to create scope and sequence in your context for the active learning taking place? 3.How to allow active learning feedback from patron/learner to information literacy trainer, in your particular context?
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Student Comments When Kristin (CIU freshman English student fall of 2008) transferred from our university to a school closer to home, in Myrtle Beach, SC, she wrote me soon after, exclaiming how she was the only one in the whole class who knew how to use the database search engines effectively, and how helpful it was to her studies to have gone through the library skills training.
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Student Comments I realized how beneficial that exam was when I was in Grad school at Wheaton College. During both my Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) class as well as my Research class, I had to conduct some research. The CBT class, I made use of books as well as the internet databases. The research class, I only made use of the databases. Many of my classmates were dreading the assignments due to the research. I found it to be quite easy. I got great scores on my use of research. So, thanks for requiring us to learn those skills! They have been helpful and have helped me get some useful research - both for class and for practical use in the future.” (9/24/2014)
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Student Comments Brian Miller (2003), “Absolutely, I thought I was a bad student in high school (turns out I just didn't care about what I was learning) when you care about what you are learning or understand clearly how it impacts you, you put so much more effort and it imprints on you far far better.” Brian, as we were discussing the need to identify a topic about which they cared, interrupted me “Mr. Wenger, if it isn’t about Jesus or skateboarding, I don’t really care about it at all.” It took much work, but he eventually completed a project on the value of skateboarding as an intramural sport in inner-city schools. He now lives and works in British Columbia, where he was on staff for nearly a decade in an urban church, a church which helped him build a skate park on the church property to reach the neighborhood youth.
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Future Directions: Having done this for nine years together, we hope to develop quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method research from our collaborative efforts. We welcome our colleagues input – suggestions, advice, or collaboration. ssolomon@ciu.edu mwenger@ciu.edu kflickner@ciu.edu Thank you! kflickner@ciu.edu
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