Renewing our Role as Educators in Physical and Virtual Classrooms

Cory Laverty, Queen’s University (lavertyc@queensu.ca)

Librarians continue to search for venues to forge partnerships with faculty. As we consider new forms of engagement, it's good to re-assess the meaning of information literacy. What has changed in the inquiry process? What types of assignments, technologies, and resources enhance student learning? The more we know about how our students find and use information, the more likely it is that faculty will view us as complementary teaching partners.

University centres that support the development of teaching strategies offer us a platform for bringing new ideas about information literacy to the attention of faculty. At Queen’s University in Ontario, I served as a Learning Technology Faculty Associate for four years within the Centre for Teaching and Learning, working with faculty to address learning and teaching interests across the campus. This work involved:

The Centre for Teaching and Learning also offers a professional development series called Focus on Foundations for faculty, staff, and students in an onsite classroom. The program consists of a ten-module series with completion leading to a certificate in the theoretical and practical foundations for teaching and learning. This past year I contributed to the re-design of the modules in an online format. My role was to integrate aspects of information literacy throughout the modules, provide interesting learning resources, especially multimedia, and ensure that the role of liaison librarians in the learning and research process was highlighted throughout. The modules are open to the public and offer ideas on the following topics: curriculum planning; discussion-based teaching; lecturing; assessment; inquiry-based learning; active learning; team/group learning; evaluating teaching; scholarship of teaching and learning; and working with teaching assistants.

This presentation will explore the evolving role of librarians as teaching partners and illustrate key sections of the modules that address teaching strategies of interest to librarians such as inquiry-based learning and active learning.

Dr. Corinne Laverty is currently Head of the Education Library at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Her research and teaching interests are in the area of information literacy development, active learning techniques, and best practices for the integration of educational technologies in university classrooms both physical and virtual. She has built a range of online resources including an e-learning wiki, distance courses, library tutorials, and a certificate program for faculty on teaching in the academic classroom.

Fast, Flashy, and Fun:  Information Literacy and Orientation Week

Eva Dodsworth, University of Waterloo (edodswor@library.uwaterloo.ca)
Nancy Collins, University of Waterloo (ncollins@library.uwaterloo.ca)
Tim Ireland , University of Waterloo (tireland@library.uwaterloo.ca)

Orientation events for new students can be fast and furious affairs. Where does your library fit in?  At the University of Waterloo, librarians have combined information literacy basics with a flashy outreach approach. The result?  An upbeat (no-buns allowed) introduction to the Library that includes videos, student-generated content, and quick demonstrations that not only promote further services, but have students hanging on to every word. The goal?  Reaching students with the right messages at the right time. In this session, you will learn how to effectively connect with students during orientation week to help them form an interest and understanding for future learning.

Eva Dodsworth is the Geospatial Data Services Librarian at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario Canada. Her primary role is the on-going development of the library’s geospatial services program. Eva holds a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario.

Nancy Collins is the Communications Librarian at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.  In this position, Nancy coordinates outreach and promotional initiatives, as well as manages communications strategies for large scale projects and the Library’s key constituencies. In addition to her communications work, Nancy is also the Liaison Librarian for Drama, Speech Communication, and Women’s Studies. Her research interests fall primarily within the scope of communications, outreach, and marketing in libraries, with a particular focus on student engagement.

Tim Ireland is the Liaison Librarian for Psychology, Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

New Approaches to Teaching Information Literacy in Writing Program classes at Syracuse University

Lisa Moeckel, Syracuse University Library (lemoecke@syr.edu)
Patrick Williams, Syracuse University Library (jpwill03@syr.edu)
Noreen Gaubatz, Syracuse University (nbgaubat@syr.edu)

Historically, the Syracuse University Library has offered information literacy instruction to all Writing Program 105 and 205 classes in face-to-face sessions based on curriculum developed and delivered by librarians to address the content of these classes. Due to resource constraints and reorganization, the SU Library needed to radically change its approach to teaching information literacy skills for these classes. This presentation will report on several simultaneous strategies that SU librarians are implementing to deliver information literacy instruction within the context of a newly reorganized library. The librarians have been fortunate to work closely with Writing Program faculty, staff, and teaching assistants, as well as the SU Office of Institutional Research and Assessment in the development and assessment of these strategies. Based on an internal self-study conducted by the Writing Program, it was learned that instructors were using library instruction to address a variety of needs within their WRT 105 and 205 classes which diverged somewhat from the uniform curriculum in place. Working with the Writing Program faculty over the Summer of 2009, a team of librarians developed strategies to address these differing needs, including:

During the Fall 2009 semester, the library began the development of online alternatives for delivering this content to students and instructors and the phasing out face-to-face library instruction for WRT 105 sessions. After a pilot instructional module was created, librarians sought the assistance of the SU Office of Institutional Research and Assessment to conduct focus groups with four Writing Program Instructors and their classes with the aim of to generating student and instructor feedback on the instructional module. In this presentation, the librarians will discuss how they used this feedback to revise and augment the materials they created and to inform the other instructional strategies they are implementing.

Lisa Moeckel, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education, Syracuse University Library

As Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Lisa focuses on enhancing the quality of undergraduate education and improving student outcomes in the Syracuse University Library. Her responsibilities include administrative oversight of the Library’s two Learning Commons and also developing and administering online educational programs focused on undergraduate library use. In addition, Lisa’s role includes identifying trends and best practices in undergraduate academic education, leading the planning for Library programs and services for undergraduates, and working with students, student organizations, and others to gain understanding of undergraduate students from their perspective. Lisa’s prior experience includes increasingly responsible roles in the delivery, and supervision of reference, instructional services, and government publications at Franklin and Marshall College and at Loyola University Chicago, and in the management and administration of reference and public services at Syracuse University Library. Lisa holds an MLS from Southern Connecticut State University and BA in English from North Park University (Chicago), which included a year abroad in Scotland at the University of Aberdeen.

http://library.syr.edu/about/people/staffbio/Moeckel_Lisa.php

Patrick Williams, Subject Specialist Librarian for English, Linguistics, and Communications & Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University Library

Patrick joined the Syracuse University Library in January 2009 as Subject Specialist Librarian for English, Linguistics, and Communications & Rhetorical Studies in the library’s Unit for Research, Collections, and Scholarly Communication. Additionally, he serves as the library’s liaison to the Writing Program. Prior to arriving in Syracuse, he served as Web and Instructional Design Librarian at the College of Staten Island / CUNY and Coordinator of CSI’s Center for Excellence in Learning Technology. Patrick holds a B.A. in English from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an M.S. in Information Studies from the School of Information at The University of Texas at Austin. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Information Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His dissertation research focuses on social interaction surrounding texts in online learning environments. Patrick has also worked as a graphic designer, an information architect, a community technology consultant, and a dj.

http://library.syr.edu/about/people/staffbio/Williams_Patrick.php

Noreen Gaubatz, Assistant Director, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, Syracuse University

As Assistant Director of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, Noreen focuses on the assessment component of the office. She coordinates various assessment efforts involving faculty, directors, and administrators, in addition to fulfilling various administrative responsibilities. Her work includes developing evaluation plans, designing survey instruments, conducting interviews and focus groups, analyzing and interpreting both quantitative and qualitative data, and communicating results to the appropriate audience. Noreen supports a variety of University-wide assessment initiatives, including Middle States Accreditation, national research studies, assessment of student learning, and internal research studies. She consults with faculty on assessment strategies for their sponsored research. Additionally, Noreen is responsible for the office’s student ratings of teaching effectiveness (course evaluations) initiative and has developed several instructional pieces for faculty. She has presented on student ratings at national conferences, published several articles on the topic, and received awards for her work at both the University and national level. Her prior experience includes teaching biology at the high school and college levels with research work in molecular biology and environmental science. Noreen holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Syracuse University, a M.S. in Biology from Northeastern Illinois University, and a B.S. in Biology from Carroll College.