IDE1 Final Project: Academic Assignment-Driven One-Shot

This post is the culmination of the ideas and concepts we have been learning in this course. My previous posts have explored these in greater detail, but this post is meant to be a refined bigger picture of how I want to conduct future assignment-driven one-shots. Since each course assignment students are working on will be different, this represents the overarching library literacy concepts and some ideas for ways to enable students to learn them.

Environment

        The one-shot library instruction classes I teach are assignment-driven and tend to be for freshmen groups. Occasionally there will be a sophomore or junior, but the students usually have no experience doing in-depth research. I teach these classes face-to-face in a classroom equipped with computer workstations for every student and a podium computer attached to a projector with screen. Classes run about 50-60 minutes. My end goal from the learning session is that students understand research is a trial and error process and takes time and creativity, and I'd like them to understand the application of research to life decisions (buying a house & car, health decisions, etc).

Learning Outcomes

         In order to reach the goals I have for students, there are a few outcomes I'm looking for in my one-shot session. I'd like students to be able to apply critical-thinking skills to perform searches and modify them by trying different keywords and applying Boolean and limiters. I'd like students to be able to evaluate resources for their credibility, and in history one-shots, know how to differentiate a primary resource from a secondary resource. I'd also like students to understand the value in what they're learning and how all of these skills have application outside of the single assignment they're working on for the class they're currently taking. I'd like them to see the bigger picture, as I mentioned in my goals above.

Assessing the Learners

          All of my assessments will be formative, and prominently in the format of discussions with immediate feedback. I have mentioned some other assessments in previous posts and I will likely try those out in the future, but for now I know that transitioning from my "talk at you" format to interactive discussions is a major step in the right direction. Each concept will be an interactive discussion. While demonstrating database searches, my students should be following along on their own computers. As I talk about Boolean and limiters, they must use their critical-thinking skills when I ask questions like "What do you think will happen to the results when I use the word "or"?" and "Can anyone explain what happened to my results when I added quotations around this book title?" Discussion will also be used to cover primary vs secondary sources, why databases are better than Google for research, and what a peer reviewed article is. I will be able to immediately praise students for correct answers, and ask for additional thought for wrong answers. The discussion format for these one-shots align with the outcomes I listed above.

Learning theories & instructional approaches

          I can use all three learning theories in my class: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. The discussions about databases vs Google and evaluating resources will stem from a video they will watch from Yavapai College. The discussion about primary vs secondary resources will stem from working through a couple questions as a class from this Ithaca College quiz. Positive feedback alone is a method of behaviorism, but in particularly large classes I will use free swag such as pencils, pens, notepads, and more as rewards for correct answers and discussion participation. The theory of Cognitivism can be applied by the use of drawing venn diagrams to explain AND/OR/NOT of Boolean (using paint program on the PC, or pulling in one of our mobile whiteboards). Constructivism is apparent with an end-of-class assessment of a couple short questions asking students to evaluate their learning experience. I'd also like to ask them to think of the ways they can apply what they've learned post-graduation.

Tools of delivery

            There will be a few tools I will use to deliver the content. The Yavapai video will be useful in getting the students to start thinking about other resources other than Google & Wikipedia, and where to locate credible content. The Ithaca College quiz is perfect for giving examples of primary and secondary sources. Students can follow along on their own computers to answer the question and see if they're correct before we go over it as a group. If they have selected an incorrect answer they know they need to pay closer attention to the discussion to understand why. Using a whiteboard to draw venn diagrams about Boolean logic will be especially useful for visual learners. Students will be able to see the logic to understand why results increase when using "or." The self-assessment will be delivered through google forms, and students will be able to write a couple short sentences about what they've learned. This will get them thinking about how they can apply what they've learned in the future while also fulfilling my goals for the course. This will also help me to tweak my class to be more effective when I go over them at a later date.

What I've learned

             This is my first time ever taking any type of educational course. I knew that education specialists have been studying how people learn for centuries (or longer?) so I'm not surprised how in-depth every concept and idea is. I think I was more surprised by how many things an instructor must think about while designing a course. I've noticed that I frequently have to go back and look at the readings while crafting blog posts to make sure I'm understanding things correctly. I think the biggest thing that has been most useful for me is considering ways to move away from the "talk at you" format I have been using before. I taught a class of 90 IB students on Thursday and utilized the discussion methods I listed above to deliver content. I also distributed free swag for correct answers and discussion participation. Their answers showed me that they were indeed learning the content as I had hoped. Continuing from here I know that I will make sure every activity I do will relate to my outcomes and goals so that the course can be integrated. I can see how it would be easy to try new technologies and accidentally fall away from how that technology reinforces the content you're trying to teach. I know I will make sure everything is interlinked properly!

Coursemates' Blogs

             There is not any one particular blog that has been particularly useful, but I have generally been reading all of the ones related to one-shot classes. Tess had a great post where she mentioned self-assessment tests. I loved that idea! I want to use it, and I did incorporate it above. I did get some ideas from reading the other one-shot blogs that maybe I'll experiment with in the future. I think the biggest thing I was looking for in other blogs was ideas for activities, and I'm happy to say I'm coming away with a few! Hooray!

Week 4: Technologies in academic assignment-driven one-shot

 Technologies that would be useful for my final project

        Reading through this week's materials I feel like my final project/classes are pretty vanilla!  I need some sprinkles! Nevertheless, the ideas I've been gathering these last few weeks have improved my class plans quite a bit. In the past I was stuck on lecture-mode and really didn't use anything other than my computer hooked up to a screen to show the students what I was doing (databases, library website). The students followed along on their computers, but that was it! I started showing the Yavapai College database video from Youtube that I've mentioned a few times only recently. I think I'm going to make that a regular thing for the future.
         -"technology 1": Youtube video
                     Yavapai College database video followed by discussion to enhance learning of theories covered. The Horizon Report considers youtube videos social media, which I suppose is true- especially if you're uploading videos. We would upload anything or comment on the video in class, but we would certainly stream the video to the classroom.
       -"technology 2" Primary vs Secondary online quiz
                     Ithaca College Primary vs Secondary "quiz" followed by discussion as a whole class or in small groups. We would work through the quiz together as a group or I'd ask them to work on specific questions in groups. Groups or not, this is an example of the collaborative learning trend mentioned in the Horizon Report.
        -"technology 3" assessment
                     I got this idea from another student in this class, but I loved the idea of giving the student a self-assessment to explore their own learning progress from the class. This could be done on a Google form and would not only give them an opportunity to think about what they learned and how to apply it in their future, but also will give me feedback on how they're learning in the one-shot class. I can made adjustments and brainstorm new ideas to help the students learn better. This is an example of the data driven/assessment trend mentioned in the Horizon Report.

I am sure that all of these 3 things will be major improvements over my "talk at you" format from before. I'm not sure that they're the best ways to get the information in these one-shots across, but it's certainly an improvement! Considering I've never taken any kind of instructional design or education course before I think it's a pretty good start! The above technology examples aren't really cutting edge, but I would rather them be fully functional in getting concepts across than flashy and weak. I could supplement this all with swag to up the motivation and participation, but I want to also try it without freebies to see how it works as well.

I'm teaching a one-shot to 90 students tomorrow and I'm planning on using the first two technologies I listed above in a class discussion format. It will be a bit experimental, but we will see how it goes!

IDE1: Week 3, Theories & Motivation in an academic assignment driven one-shot

This week I'm going to try to stay away from specific assignment-driven one shots I've done in the past and focus more on concepts that could be transferable across all classes regardless of assignment. I just might need to tweak activities to better fit the needs of the instructor.

We focused on some different theories this week, and in my one-shots I can see behaviorism and cognitivism playing heavy roles in my classroom. I could see constructivism as well, but it's not a primary role (unless the assignments have this built in like the job outlook assignment I've mentioned in earlier posts).

Here are some activities/assignments/exercises based on behaviorism:

          Positive reinforcement through the giving away of 'prizes.' These prizes could be candy, pens, pencils, sticky notes, and other free items my library usually gives away at resource fairs and market days. I would probably not use these items all the time though. I think I would keep their use to large classes that will require more effort to keep focused, or for high school AP/DE/IB programs which we get a few times a year. The primary mode for giving these out would be during discussions and moments where I specifically ask them to answer my questions. I can think of two instances: 1- the discussion following the viewing of the Yavapai College databases video, and 2- discussion while working through the primary vs secondary tutorial as a group. In each of these cases we could discuss as a whole class, which would work well for small classes of less than 15 people, or in small groups and report back to the greater whole. In particularly large classes, I think it would be best to list a few questions on the screen, break them into groups to discuss, and then ask each group to respond to a question as everyone else listens. For the primary vs secondary tutorial, I could break the class into groups and assign each group a question to work on. Then they report back to the class about their answer and explain how they came to their conclusion. My only concern is that the group work would take up a lot of precious time!

Here are some activities/assignments/exercises based on cognitivism:

       To teach the concept of evaluating resources properly, I could use the CRAAP Test. I could pull up a couple examples on the screen and ask them to evaluate it using this method. I could also put the 'chart' on the screen and then give them examples to pull up on their own computers in small groups. They would then evaluate the resource on their own and do short 2 minute presentations to the larger class. I would not use the CRAAP test while teaching AP/DE/IB students because I would be concerned about their reaction to the acronym.

      Another example would be drawing Venn diagrams to explain Boolean searching- specifically AND, OR, and NOT. I have done this sort of activity in previous classes, and I ask the students to think critically about what function will produce which results, and I ask them to give their predictions. I then do search demonstrations to show them how it works, and ask them to follow along on their computers. With each demonstration we evaluate whether our predictions were correct.

Here's an activity using Constructivism:

       I saw another student in this course post about self-evaluations at the end of class. I really like that idea, and I think it's something I could occasionally offer in these one-shot classes. At the end of the class I could offer them either a paper or online format 3-5 question assessment that asks them questions about their understanding of the material and the ways they could apply it in the future. This will make students evaluate the success of their learning and also recognize that what they have learned can be applied later in life. Realizing the connection to post-graduation could cause students to find more meaning in what they learned, therefore combating the notion that students begin forgetting what they learned the moment they step away from the computer. I could collect them at the end of the class for my own course evaluation as well.



Motivation

      There are a few ways I can motivate my class to learn. Perhaps the most significant motivator is that what they learn can directly improve their grade on the assignment at hand (achievement motivation). Students generally feel the need to do well and achieve good grades so they can obtain their degree. Based on the activities I mentioned above, there is also some extrinsic orientation, as students will be asked to participate and answer questions correctly as a means to receive a reward (pencil, candy, etc). Curiosity may be a motivator for some students that feel interested in and connected to their topics, especially if it's a for an assignment like their job outlook after graduation. Regular feedback will also build confidence, which can motivate students to take risks and try new things (like different search strategies), as well as satisfaction as they perform successful searches.





That's it for week 3! I'm looking forward to compiling everything and turning it into something I can actually use in my upcoming one-shot classes.

Week 2 Post 2: Integration & Course Design Worksheet

Integrating Steps 1-4

1. Situational Factors

          I think that the situational factors are reflected well in the other steps I have written about. Continuing off the job outlook scenario, the only problem I can think of is that freshmen students may have no idea that these resources even exist. As a result, they may not even know to go to them. For example, I worked 1-on-1 with a student a week after his class came for library instruction. We had spoken about professional organizations in class, but did not have the chance to delve deeper. He was interested in the medical field, but was not aware that there were professional organizations he could join such as the American Medical Association (or any listed here: http://www.meditec.com/resourcestools/professional-associations-list/), but he was unaware of what they do. I explained that they have conferences, committees, networking and job search resources, and more. Therefore, I could see some trouble with expecting students to find professional organizations if they don't know they exist or what their function is (I could do a whole class on those alone!). 

        I don't foresee any disconnects in the way I propose to run my course, other than that in the grand scheme of things I'm doing assignment-driven one-shot classes. Each class will be a bit different, and because I may focus on specific types of resources for a class, those students are not going to have a true overview of what kind of resources the library has for all kinds of classes and topics. 

2. Learning Goals and Feedback & Assessment

        The job outlook scenario addresses the full range of learning goals well. As I said in an earlier post, a goal is for students to understand how to search for credible information through college and beyond. Having mastered this, students can begin joining professional organizations and applying to jobs while still in college, and then use what they've learned later in life when moving up the job ladder. They will also be able to apply this to looking for houses, cars, and healthcare. Feedback does give information about all of the goals, because asking questions and having a discussion allows the opportunity to give praise for correct answers and to further explore areas that are lacking. If I do the peer discussions about the information found, it would help students learn how to evaluate each other which will give way to them thinking more critically about evaluating their own work. If the peer discussions don't happen, the class discussions could also do this, it just may take a bit longer to get to that point.

3. Learning Goals and Teaching/Learning Activities

        Yes, I believe the class discussion or peer discussions would effectively support the learning goals. The video I like to show about why searching databases is better than the internet will still apply in the job outlook scenario, but there could be a couple gaps in that job outlook searching will also require a bit of Google use in addition to library resources.

4. Teaching/Learning Activities and Feedback & Assessment

         I feel like this is the most difficult part. If I were giving an actual grade during the one-shot I feel like this would apply more, but since I'm not it's a little harder to evaluate the efficiency of the feedback loop. I think the practice learning activities and feedback opportunities do prepare students for assessment activities, though. The only real evaluation that can truly be done would be by their instructor that would read their completed papers on the job outlook and assign a grade based on similar criteria that I mentioned in my previous post.

Here is a link to the worksheet. 

Week 2; Post 1: Assessment of an academic one-shot class

Continuing on my first post where I discussed the situational factors, goals, and outcomes are for my assignment-driven one-shot courses, this post will discuss the assessment portion of the instructional design.

Procedures for Educative Assessment

 

1. Forward-Looking Assessment

        Depending on the assignment the class is working on, the forward-looking assessment could vary. I'm going to go ahead and recall a class I taught in Spring 2015 for this. 

   The class was a freshman English course, and the instructor was having them work on an assignment where they were researching the job market for their individual majors. I could have done a basic introductory overview of our resources, but in alignment with the instructions vision for the assignment, I asked them to think more deeply about the paper. I asked them to imagine they are graduating from college and they are looking to begin their career based off their major. There are a number of websites to visit while applying for jobs. Are there any professional organizations they can belong to that will provide them with additional connections and job opportunities? When they begin getting interviews, how will they learn about the company/organization? (Looking back on that class now, this instructor was a pro at instructional design!) Since this scenario was likely to be something that the students would actually experience in a couple years, this is a great example of forward-looking assessment.

2. Criteria & Standards

      While there are a number of criteria for evaluating the successful mastery of the above scenario, let's just pick out one for this worksheet. High quality work would be demonstrated by a student's ability to gather current information about a company/organization from a credible resource. Let's imagine this in a written assignment to make this a bit easier. They can copy/paste info to be more time efficient in a quick one-shot.
                Standards: 1- how recent is the information? The more recent, the higher the grade. 2- Are the resources credible? They should include links to the information they found. There are a number of places students could retrieve this information such as business & statistic databases and company/organization websites to name a couple. 3- How thorough is their information? Students should have at least a couple paragraphs of information . This information should include some of the following: company history, mission/purpose goals or values, size of company, net worth if applicable, potential salary for the student, location, and more.

3. Self Assessment

       Just thinking for a moment, I think a great way to self-assess this kind of project would begin with groupwork. By dividing the class into groups of 2 or 3, students can read each others assignment and then ask questions about missing information. From this kind of activity the students will learn what types of questions they should be asking themselves while gathering company information. This will also help them later when they do their interview for the job because they'll be better prepared!

4. "FIDeLity" Feedback

          Since this is a one-shot class  I'm pretty much giving feedback the entire time The students have their own computer workstations to follow along with me, so perhaps walking around the room more often could give me visible evidence that they're on the same page as me (no pun intended). I do like to ask them questions throughout the class and have a discussion after showing them a short video by Yavapai College on Databases (found here) to digest what they learned. When they answer my questions correctly I tell them so. When they're close I'll tell them they're close and to think about it more (I allow others to chime in). When they're wrong I am gentle about telling them so, and then we revisit the topic together.




Phew! This is actually pretty difficult for one-shot classes! I hope I'm on the right track!

IDE Week 1 Blog post

I am the First Year Outreach Librarian at a medium sized university, with a population of about 15,000 students. My university offers a semester-long 1-credit class on library research, but I do not yet help with that class. Instead, I do the 1-hour one-shot library instruction classes as needed, and I regularly work with freshmen level classes.

Most of the time I'm lucky enough to get an assignment outline from the professor, but sometimes I don't. I have a generic 'overview' outline I follow for the times when I don't get that assignment insight, but when I do have it I'm able to structure my time to better suit the students' needs. I will base the worksheet answers on a situation where I have an assignment outline.

Week 1 Worksheet

Situational Factors to Consider

1. Specific Contest of Situation:

          Most of the assignment-driven one-shot classes I teach tend to have between 15-30 students. These students are usually low-level FTIC, or new transfer students. While these classes meet multiple times a week, I usually only have the opportunity to teach them library instruction just once. I may see some faces again in other semesters, but that is unfortunately rare. The classes take place in our 2nd floor classroom which is equipped with 40 computer workstations for students, and a podium with computer workstation and projector/projector screen. I am able to show the website and databases while they follow along at their own computers. I can also show short videos. We do not have a white board so I cannot draw diagrams to better explain a concept. 

2. General Context of Learning Situation:
          Library instruction was something that was required in early English classes until Fall 2014 when the curriculum was changed. Now library instruction is not a requirement, but we are happy to see that many instructions understand the value of library literacy and schedule instruction with us anyway. As the instructor, I expect to teach the students basic research skills and resource evaluation methods that they will carry on with them post-graduation. 

3. Nature of the Subject:

         I think that these instruction classes are a mixture of theoretical and practical knowledge. In my sessions I provide them with the practical skills to manipulate searches to their needs such as keywords and limiters, but at the same time the skills are linked with the theoretical knowledge on why the search changes when different limiters are applied (and/or/quotations are my favorites to use as examples). I'm not too familiar with divergent and convergent concepts with relation to instruction, but I can see how one-shot library instruction skills could fall under both. I can see how it's divergent because there is not really a wrong way to reach topical information as long as proper resource evaluation methods are being employed. Sometimes the best resources are found when least expected. However, I can also see it as convergent because a series of utilized skills will yield a specific result. 

There are some changes with the information literacy framework, which has given librarians in the profession a new set of ideas for giving instruction. I could see this playing a part in all library instruction for the future.

4. Characteristics of the Learners:

          Most of the students I see in one-shot classes are young. Most of them live on campus, as it is required for freshmen students. I do not know if they are working while in school, though I would not be surprised if some of them have part-time jobs. When the students enter the classroom, the vast majority have not had any type of library instruction before. I am usually not made aware of their preferred learning styles, but often know what databases, skills, or concepts the course instructor would like me to cover.

5. Characteristics of the Teacher:
         I think learning how to properly conduct research is an important skill that lasts for life! I would be overjoyed if these students remembered how to properly use search strategies and apply research concepts after they graduate. It's important! With these skills graduates will be better equipped to make life-changing decisions such as which car to buy, how to buy a house, which hospital to give birth to their child, how to find more information on a particular disease, and more. I know that sometimes a one-shot class can be overwhelming since I pack a lot of information in one hour, but I always make sure to emphasize the idea that: "If you forget everything else I said today, please just remember how to get help- there are 7 ways!" I like to make them repeat the ways at the end of class, too. Even after they graduate, they will know there is a librarian at a public library nearby they can ask for help when needed. 

      I am relatively new to teaching library instruction. I have done it for about 2 years, teaching maybe 5-10 classes per semester during this time. This will increase beginning in Fall 2015 as the instruction coordinator gives me more responsibility (now that I have been at the institution for a year).   Even though I am new to this, I routinely receive positive feedback on my energy, enthusiasm, and content explanations, so I think I'm on the right track!

Questions for Formulating Significant Learning Goals

A year or more after this course is over, I want and hope students will still be able to utilize search strategies and evaluate resources effectively when doing research in future courses and while making major life decisions.

1. Foundational Knowledge

          The most important information I'd like students to come away with are the search skills such as choosing keywords and using limiters, and the concepts behind this: i.e. why are there more results when using "or" and why do quotations make a difference? With this knowledge they should have a number of ideas for how to retrieve relevant information in various formats. I want the students to understand when to use certain databases and why Google & Wikipedia aren't always the best options. I'd also like them to understand how to evaluate a resource for credibility and political slant.

2. Application Goals
          I think that these one-shot courses will primarily utilize critical and practical thinking. Students will use critical thinking when analyzing and evaluating resources. They will use practical thinking when making decisions about which limiter they should apply to manipulate results. There may be some creative thinking involved when determining keywords to search. Thinking in all of these ways will help students master these research skills to better their research capabilities. 

         There are a number of ways students can manage complex projects, and I think that the methods for managing them will vary from student to student. Some may gather all research materials they find relating to their topic, while others may search for materials that specifically answer particular questions they have. I prefer to teach students about RefWorks so they are able to better organize their ideas and have citations that enable them to easily return to resources. I have suggested that students create a new folder for each paper, but in cases where some students have particularly complex topics I've suggested multiple folders-- each one representing a specific idea to support the greater whole of the paper or project. I also want students to know when they can come to a librarian for help if they get overwhelmed.

3. Integration Goals
          Students should be able to recognize the connects between how this one-shot library instruction course will help them in their other classes when performing research for papers and projects. Many courses require research papers/projects and mastering these skills will directly influence their paper/project grade and grade for the course. Additionally, students should recognize the connections between various search manipulators and the received search results. With any luck, they will also recognize how research skills connects them to their success after college while making life decisions. I want them to know how to seek credible information when they have questions at any point in their life.

4. Human Dimension Goals

          From these classes, students should learn that they're able to find relevant search results if they put their mind to it. Research is a process with no single path toward an end; it's a process of trial and error, over and over, until one end or potentially many ends are reached. Students should also understand that no two people will come to a result in the same way. Each person is different and may choose different search strategies to find relevant materials than the next, but no one way is incorrect.

5. Caring Goals
          I hope that the students will adopt feelings of curiosity and a deeper interest of their topics while learning how to do research in a one-shot library instruction class. I hope that the combination of these two things will give them new ideas about their topic and additional interests to explore in relation to it, which may give way to new avenues of critical thinking and exploration as they complete their papers/projects.

6. "Learning-how-to-Learn" Goals
          Aside from how to get help when they are stuck, I want my students to walk away not only having learned the skills, but also having learned that research is a trial and error process. I think that by knowing this they won't give up as easy while conducting searches, and persistence is a characteristic of a good student in a course like this. Additionally, coming into a one-shot class with a topic already in mind means that the students already know what their own personal objectives are: they want to find materials on their topic. It's even better if they've already tried some searching on their own! Then they will learn additional methods to augment their previous attempts while in class, and they will have ideas about what to try in the future on their own.