the mindful instruction librarian and the "one-shot"
TRANSCRIPT
The Mindful Instruction Librarian and the “One-Shot”
Meredith Farkas Portland Community College
Association of Christian Librarians Conference | June 13, 2016
Hi! I’m Meredith
Faculty Librarian at Portland Community College and part-time faculty at San Jose State University’s iSchool
Previously
Head of Instructional Services, Portland State University
Head of Instructional Initiatives, Norwich University (VT)
Distance Learning Librarian, Norwich University (VT)
What we’re going to talk about
Limitations of one-shot instruction
Extending the one-shot and infusing information literacy into the curriculum
Meaningful assessment
Reflective practice and peer learning for instructional improvement
The Framework for Information Literacy and its impact on our practice
What does your instruction program look like?
Issues with the one-shot
Time constraints
The need to focus on just a few things in the session
We don’t know where students are
in their learning
Students don’t know what they
don’t know
What is covered is often out of sync
with where students are
Students are coming into a
foreign context
The difficulties in building rapport
The difficulties in building on anything we
do
Alternatives to the one-shot
Flipped instruction
Workshops
Sequenced, scaffolded library instruction across a course or a series of courses
Disciplinary faculty also teach information literacy
Being embedded in a class
Co-teaching
For-credit information literacy courses
What does your instruction program look like and what would you like it to look like?
Embedded in the curriculum or dependent on individual instructors?
Intentional or “by request”?
Mostly one-shots? For-credit? Embedded? Scaffolded?
What does your instruction program’s assessment work look like?
The keys to meaningful embedment of information literacy
Build strong relationships with faculty and departments
Get on committees, join faculty discussion groups/communities of practice/etc.
Get involved in curriculum development/design and review
Don’t just focus on library goals
An example at PCC: Developmental Education and Composition/Lit
Most of our students go through the Reading/Writing course sequence (RD 115, WR 121, WR 122)
Library activities
Participating in department meetings
Participating on Dev. Ed. redesign committees
Participating in RD/WR community of practice
Speaking at teaching and learning symposia
The results of that work
Lots of great collaborations with faculty and opportunities to try new methods of instruction
Close embedment of information literacy in Reading 115 classes.
Working with disciplinary faculty to develop information literacy video tutorials (more on that later)
Course outcomes for new Integrated Reading/Writing 115 class include information literacy
We are always invited into conversations about curriculum and pedagogy now
My experience with flipped instruction: Web-based pre-
assignments that teach and assess
The specifics
Can be created in Google Forms or Qualtrics (even Survey Monkey would work)
Text and video that teach skills; activities that allow students to practice those skills
Students do authentic research on their own research topic
The secret sauce
Pre-assignment is required (for a grade)
Instruction session is developed based on the results of the worksheet
The results
My understanding is increased
My instruction is more tailored
I can cover more ground / less DB demoing
Students are more engaged
Students directly benefit from the assessment
The Challenges
Having enough lead time
Getting faculty on-board
Having time to analyze the results
Tutorial integration
A solution to the problem of teaching the right things at the wrong time
Tutorials
Integrate into classes via faculty outreach
Have students watch in-class at logical points in their learning
Have students watch as homework with an activity that has them practice those skills
Have students watch before library session (perhaps with a library pre-assignment)
At PCC
Grant to build video tutorials to support Reading, Writing, and ESOL classes at the 100 and pre-100 levels
Working collaboratively with faculty to develop learning outcomes, get feedback on storyboards, etc.
Meant to supplement library instruction
Building Toolkits and Training the Trainers
At Portland State university in the Freshman Inquiry (FRINQ) program
Developed learning objects and activities that address most important outcomes for Freshman Inquiry
Created LibGuides toolkit to support faculty and peer-mentors in teaching information literacy beyond our one-or-two-shot
Train-the-trainer
Participated in orientations for peer mentors and faculty in-service
Consulted with faculty and peer-mentors to create custom lesson plans
Step 2 of PCC tutorial grant project
Build a toolkit to package tutorials with activities, lesson plans, etc. for faculty
Work on outreach and communication for faculty
Influencing student information literacy through assignment design
Learning Assessment Council’s College Writing Assessment
Advanced Design Process
Led by Center for Online Learning instructional designers
For programs and departments, not individuals
Focused on backwards design
Library gets four hours 2 hrs. using library resources in classes2 hrs. research assignment design
What skills do your students need to have to successfully complete your current
assignment?
Which of those do you explicitly teach?
After the Advanced Design Workshops
Quarterly library workshops on assignment design for faculty
Hampered by low attendance
Discussions with GenEd Writing Coordinator to create a FRINQ Model Research/Writing Assignment Repository
Discussion
Where do you see opportunities at your institution for doing some of this work and going beyond the one-shot?
What would it take to make it happen?
Assessment and the One-Shot
Assessment fallacies
Assessment must objectively measure student information literacy skills (iSkills, etc.)
Assessment is a measure of how well we did as instructors
We can isolate the librarian’s/library's contribution to student information literacy
Assessment must happen during the one-shot to be useful
Types of assessment
Self-assessment
Satisfaction survey
Reflection
Tests / quizzes
Analyzing student work (papers, portfolios, bibliographies, etc.)
Classroom assessment techniques / performance assessment
Action research
Assessment in the one-shot
Formative assessments / pre-assignments
Self-assessment
Satisfaction survey
Reflection
One-minute papers
Performance assessments
Assessment beyond the one-shot
Self-assessment throughout the course
Reflection at the end of the term
Assessing student work
Action research
Building a culture of instructional assessment
Start small, where the light is good; build short-term wins
Start from a place of curiosity
Don’t make it about individual results or judgment
People need time to learn about assessment, experiment with assessment, analyze results, and learn from assessment
Learn together, share results
Reflective Practice and Peer Learning for Instructional
Improvement
What do you do after you teach a class?
Take the time to reflect!
What went well?
What didn’t?
What made you feel uncomfortable?
What made you feel great?
What would you like to do differently next time?
What do you want to remember for the next time you work with that instructor?
Learning and reflection are amplified in a learning
community
Ways to learn together
Instructional observation
Reflective Peer Coaching
Community of Practice
Which is best and how these are structured depend on your setting/culture.
Instructional observation
Colleagues watch each other teach
Can involve pre-session discussion, debrief, and/or constructive suggestions or not
Reflective Peer Coaching
“Examines intentions prior to teaching and reflections afterwards.” - Dale Vidmar
Pairs meet once before a session to discuss goals
Pairs meet after the session to debrief
Focused on reflection and questioning, not suggesting or advising
Vidmar’s model includes an observer who makes sure that the pair is focused on questioning, not suggesting or advising and makes note of interesting comments
Vidmar, Dale J. “Reflective peer coaching: Crafting collaborative self-assessment in teaching.” Research Strategies 20.3 (2005): 135-148.
Community of Practice
“We need others to complement and develop our own expertise.” - Etienne Wenger
Focused on learning, not work
Purposes
Workshop instructional ideas/problems/sessions
Journal club
Discuss information literacy issues
Etc.
The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
-Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
“Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to ‘recognize when information is
needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the
needed information.’”
The InfoLit Competency Standards
Defined what an information literate student looked like through outcomes — things they could do
Examples:
“Explores general information sources to increase familiarity with the topic”
“Identifies keywords, synonyms and related terms for the information needed”
“Recognizes prejudice, deception, or manipulation”
“Selects an appropriate documentation style and uses it consistently to cite sources”
Is information literacy just a set of mechanical skills that students can quickly learn?
Does it include dispositions, affect, and habits of mind?
What about curiosity? Help-seeking? Persistence?
-Learning the Ropes: How Freshmen Conduct Course Research Once They Enter College
“It was daunting to conduct online searches for academic literature.
Nearly three-fourths of the sample (74%) said they struggled with
selecting keywords and formulating efficient search queries.”
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
“ Two added elements illustrate important learning goals related to those concepts: knowledge practices, which are demonstrations of ways in which learners can increase their understanding of these information literacy concepts, and dispositions, which describe ways in which to address the affective, attitudinal, or valuing dimension of learning. ”
Examples of “dispositions” from the Framework
“develop and maintain an open mind when encountering varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives”
“value intellectual curiosity in developing questions and learning new investigative methods”
“value persistence, adaptability, and flexibility and recognize that ambiguity can benefit the research process”
“seek appropriate help when needed”
“exhibit mental flexibility and creativity”
“understand that first attempts at searching do not always produce adequate results”
The Framework is structured around “Threshold Concepts”
“Core ideas and processes that define the ways of thinking and practicing for a discipline, but are so ingrained that they often go unspoken or unrecognized by practitioners.”
Characteristics
Transformative
Troublesome
Irreversible
Integrative
Bounded
Townsend, L., Brunetti, K., & Hofer, A. R. (2011). Threshold concepts and information literacy. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 11(3), 853-869.
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
Defines six threshold concepts central to information literacy
Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
Information Creation as a Process
Information Has Value
Research as Inquiry
Scholarship as Conversation
Searching as Strategic Exploration
The Framework is flexible
“Neither the knowledge practices nor the dispositions that support each concept are intended to prescribe what local institutions should do in using the Framework; each library and its partners on campus will need to deploy these frames to best fit their own situation, including designing learning outcomes. For the same reason, these lists should not be considered exhaustive.”
This is a big shift for some, not so big for others
We can’t do this alone and the Framework sees information literacy
instruction as a partnership
How do we know they are information literate? Student reflection is critical
Threshold Concepts Golden Line Activity
Choose one of the concepts from the Framework
Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
Information Creation as a Process
Information Has Value
Research as Inquiry
Scholarship as Conversation
Searching as Strategic Exploration
After a close reading, select at least one phrase that
speaks to you.
How can the framework inform our teaching?
Let’s Assess!
1. Something useful you learned or thought more about today2. Something you wish was covered in more depth or at all
Questions? Comments? Challenges?
Meredith Farkas
meredith.farkas [at] pcc.edu
Blog: meredith.wolfwater.com
Twitter: librarianmer
Slides available at
Selected ReadingsThe entire 7.2 (2013) and especially 9.2 (2015) issues of Communications in Information Literacy.
Brasley, Stephanie Sterling. “Effective librarian and discipline faculty collaboration models for integrating information literacy into the fabric of an academic institution.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning 2008.114 (2008): 71-88.
Bravender, Patricia, McClure, Hazel, and Schaub, Gayle. Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts : Lesson Plans for Librarians. Chicago, Illinois: Association of College and Research Libraries, A Division of the American Library Association, 2015.
Dempsey, Paula R., and Heather Jagman. "“I Felt Like Such a Freshman”: First-Year Students Crossing the Library Threshold." portal: Libraries and the Academy 16.1 (2016): 89-107.
Fister, Barbara. “Fostering information literacy through faculty development.” Library Issues: Briefings for Faculty and Administrators 29.4 (2009).
Head, Alison J. "Learning the ropes: How freshmen conduct course research once they enter college." Project Information Literacy (2013).
Hofer, Amy R., Lori Townsend, and Korey Brunetti. "Troublesome concepts and information literacy: Investigating threshold concepts for IL instruction." portal: Libraries and the Academy 12.4 (2012): 387-405.
Selected Readings (cont’d)Kvenild, Cassandra, and Kaijsa Calkins, Ed. Embedded Librarians: Moving Beyond One-Shot Instruction. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2011.
Oakleaf, Megan. "A roadmap for assessing student learning using the new framework for information literacy for higher education." The Journal of Academic Librarianship 5.40 (2014): 510-514.
Oakleaf, Megan, and Neal Kaske. "Guiding questions for assessing information literacy in higher education." portal: Libraries and the Academy 9.2 (2009): 273-286.
Oakleaf, Megan, Michelle S. Millet, and Leah Kraus. "All together now: getting faculty, administrators, and staff engaged in information literacy assessment." portal: Libraries and the Academy 11.3 (2011): 831-852.
Olivares, Olivia. 2010. The sufficiently embedded librarian: Defining and establishing productive librarian-faculty partnerships in academic libraries. Public Services Quarterly 6 : 140.
Swanson, Troy A., and Jagman, Heather. Not Just Where to Click : Teaching Students How to Think about Information. Chicago, Illinois: Association of College and Research Libraries, a Division of the American Library Association, 2015. Print. ACRL Publications in Librarianship ; No. 68.
Townsend, Lori, Korey Brunetti, and Amy R. Hofer. "Threshold concepts and information literacy." portal: Libraries and the Academy 11.3 (2011): 853-869.
Vidmar, Dale J. "Reflective peer coaching: Crafting collaborative self-assessment in teaching." Research Strategies 20.3 (2005): 135-148.
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