Effective Practices in Academic and Research Librarianship

http://www.lib.umt.edu/services/teaching.htm

This information literacy program targets first-year students and their graduate student Teaching Assistants into a fully integrated learning environment. The learning environment not only imbeds information literacy into the curriculum of the required English Composition and Public Speaking courses but relies on the Teaching Assistants to provide the instruction within the framework of their classes. This model requires a high degree of collaboration between teaching librarians, Teaching Assistants and faculty coordinators to create a learning environment that is student centered. Ongoing assessment has been used to modify the program based on effective learning outcomes.

First-year students learn within the comfort of their own class environment; they are successful in locating information for an assignment; they learn the value of research and its relevance to their curriculum, and they acquire expertise in information literacy appropriate to their student status.

This practice meets the mission of the library by addressing the unique needs of first-year experience students and their retention. It also targets the special needs of graduate students, in both their teaching and research, while also supporting the overall University curriculum.

In this model, web-based post-tests were completed by students and used to refine the information literacy components until the student outcomes reflected the instruction goals. Results were then compared to comparable lower-division classes taught by librarians. These data support the model of teaching the teachers for required first-year classes. In the spring of 2003, teaching assistants were also queried concerning the program and were asked if the information presented was understandable; the information was useful; the information assisted them in teaching their courses; the amount of information was right; the handouts and folders were useful; the sessions helped them in their graduate studies; the information helped them in their overall teaching. The results of this survey will be used to adjust the format of the TA Camp in the future.

The practice is sustainable because it works to continue imbedding information literacy into the curriculum at The University of Montana, while also helping librarians build relationships with graduate students.

This practice is transferable because it can be customized to other groups of teachers, including other campus faculty, adjuncts, peer teachers, or even high school teachers. Librarians should work collaboratively with others that come in contact with students to ensure the acceptance and spread of information literacy concepts.

This practice responds to the needs of academic libraries in three major ways. It provides outreach to a large number of students, it builds collaboration with teaching faculty, and it does both of these without increasing the teaching load of librarians.