Katherine E. Tirabassi, PhDElizabeth Dolinger, MLIS

Jennifer Ditkof, MLISKeene State College

Keene, New Hampshire

From Tools to Transferability:

Collaborations between first-year writing faculty

& librarians to develop thinking, information literacy, and writing

Keene State College

• ~4,900 undergraduate, ~100 graduate, ~800 continuing ed students

• SAT scores 1350-1640

• “Integrative Studies” general education

Integrative Studies Program (ISP)Conceptual FrameworkIncorporates the concept of Integrative Learning for a liberal arts education.a process by which students:

• connect and apply knowledge/skills from multiple sources and experiences in varied settings.

• utilize diverse points of view and understand issues contextually. Students are able to:

• see connections in seemingly disparate information.

• adapt skills learned in one situation to problems encountered in another.

• demonstrate a breadth of outlook and an awareness of complex interdependencies.

• judge/decide (synthesize) and take into account different dimensions of a problem, seeing it from different perspectives, making conceptual links.

• connect skills and knowledge from multiple sources and experiences.

• utilize diverse and contradictory points of view and understand contextual frames. Knowledge in both individual and multiple disciplines is the foundation upon which integrative

learning builds. Integrative learning often occurs as learners put theory into practice, "making meaning" as they apply abstract concepts in practical settings.

From English 101 to Integrated Thinking and Writing (ITW) 101

English 101: 5 required essays, focused on narrative, taught by English Dept. FTTT and Adjunct faculty.

ITW 101: One of two foundations courses in the ISP, focusing on a sustained, semester-long research/writing project, taught by FTTT and Adjunct faculty across the curriculum.

Core Principles for Thinking and Writing 101:

• That students’ writing ability is largely a function of their thinking ability. Generally, the better students are as thinkers, the better they are as writers. This premise is supported by years of studies on student writing development.

• That the heart of academic writing is developing and supporting a complex claim or stance. In other words, it is not enough to provide information on a topic or craft a one-sided argument—academic writing requires the student to make a commitment to a stance or position while demonstrating an awareness of multiple perspectives on the issue.

• That in order to learn how to write well, students need to write about a subject in depth, over time, with consistent feedback and opportunities to revise.

Core Practices for the Thinking and Writing Course

Offer a clear focus or theme.

Require a 15-20 page sustained writing/research project.

Require students to think for themselves. Students in ITW must generate their own topics, claims, or questions and engage in independent research.

Require at least three drafts of the long writing project. Students are given substantial instructor and peer feedback on each draft. Work with a library faculty collaborator and a Writing Center liaison. Teach students about academic honesty. Teach students that learning how to write for college takes time, effort,and thought..

Challenges of the current ITW 101 structure

1. The struggle between focusing on research & writing vs. "content."

2. The challenge of getting to the research/writing early in the semester.

3. The challenge of faculty across the curriculum feeling authorized to teach writing and research processes.

Addressing These Challenges

Continuing to offer faculty workshops.

ITW Subcommittee: Reviews course proposals. Revisits the course proposal forms/process.

Reviews assessment reports and revises ITW Student Learning Outcomes.

ITW Student Learning Outcomes

• Writing• Reading• Critical Thinking

Information Literacy: Understand research as a multi-stage recursive process that includes finding, evaluating, reflecting on, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources.

"Library research" focus on library place & tools

recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate,

and use effectively the needed information.

"Information Literacy"

Kuhlthau's Information Search Process

Information Search Process

Collaboration

The ITW coordinator and IL Librarian work to create opportunities for librarians and ITW faculty to "develop a unique perspective on their topic, as well as a body of common knowledge, practice and approaches."

Library/faculty collaboration

2009From "list of tools" to a focus on skills Today

Working together to model a “multi-stage, recursive process” and focus on skills

Perspectives from ITW Faculty

"in this digital revolution, how does one sort through the multiple sources to separate the biased from the objective, the conventional wisdom to fact-based research and assessments. Once students practice their skills in separating the ‘wheat from the chaff’, they tend to cruise through our library’s resources with more confidence, and their research papers reflect better informed investigations." Professor Foley

Perspectives from Students

Challenges• Frequently rotating ITW faculty • Determining level of IL skills and

communicating need for explicit IL instruction

• Providing support to ITW faculty to develop IL, writing, critical thinking

• Developing common experience for students in ITW

• Concerns of standardization• Assessment of Information Literacy

ReferencesKeene State College Integrative Studies Program:

http://www.keene.edu/isp/Conceptual%20Framework.cfm

Keene State College's Thinking and Writing 101 home page: http://thinkwritelearn.wordpress.com/

Kuhlthau, Carol C. Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. Print.

Wenger, Etienne, Richard A. McDermott, and William Snyder. Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press, 2002. Print.