Description: Development of effective instruction in the use of information resources and technologies in all types of library settings. Special attention is paid to adult learning theory and to the integration of information seeking behavior with instructional design. Students practice instruction in cooperation with librarians and library users in various settings. Synopsis: Course Objectives - To examine perspectives on the educational role of librarians
- To identify varying needs of diverse information seekers for assistance in learning to use libraries, information resources, and information technology
- To introduce adult learning theory
- To explore instructional designs and modes of facilitating learning, in relation to differing contexts, learners, and purposes
- To practice designing, delivering, and evaluating instruction, both in-person and computer-assisted.
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: - Identify their personal learning and teaching styles and will be able to articulate their instructional philosophy
- Demonstrate their ability to apply instructional design to meet the learning needs of specific audiences
- Produce some basic learning aids.
Organization of the Course - Perspectives on libraries as educational institutions and librarians as educators; rationales for expanding user instruction roles
- Adult learning theory and information literacy
- Types of library instruction and instructional design
- Computer-assisted instruction
- Planning, marketing, delivering, and evaluating user instruction
Major Assignments - Please do your best to attend all classes and arrive on time
- Keep a journal to record observations, reflect on readings and teaching, etc.; post weekly in eCompanion
- Present brief reports on readings and observations informally in class
- Prepare and deliver one formal presentation in class, which will be videotaped
- Carry out learning style and personality type exercises
- Apprentice yourself to an instructional librarian; attend a minimum of six classes to observe, assist, and participate in planning and presentation; create or adapt appropriate learning aids
- Evaluate a variety of in-person, computer-assisted, and written instruction
- Prepare a written instruction module for a novice user
- Write a concluding entry in your journal describing your personal understanding of and approach to learning and teaching,
- based on your experience in this course
A note about the journal: Because I will not be able to observe you performing all the assignments for this course, the best evidence that I will have that you are keeping up with the required work and are meeting the learning objectives is your journal. It should include your comments on the readings and online sites and tutorials; your observation of library users and instruction given by librarians; critiques of any vendor training sessions that we might be able to schedule; observations about your own and others' presentation styles; other thoughts. When you comment on readings, don't simply regurgitate content; write about what you make of it. It is OK to question, disagree, critique! Methods of Assessment While a lot of your effort will go into teaching undergraduates at Rutgers and working with your instruction librarian mentor, I will not be able to observe that work directly, nor is feedback from the instruction librarians always possible. Therefore the teaching component comprises only a small portion of the grade, and is judged mainly on the basis of your descriptions and the lesson plans and handouts that you create or adapt. Ask for feedback from your students and mentor via e-mail, and share that with me. Criteria for each of the grading components are: Journal: - submitted before class
- shows evidence of thoughtful completion of assignments
- provides a record of ongoing development of personal understanding of learning and teaching
Class presentation: - Material selected for presentation is pertinent to the class
- Content is summarized and explained well enough for audience to gain meaningful insight or acquire some useful information
- The time limit is respected
- Manner of presentation holds the interest and aids understanding
- Differences in learning styles are taken into account
- Class is helped to recall source and content
Written instructional module: - Instructions are clear and easy to follow (KISS guidelines have been observed)
- Your user is helped to recognize some concepts, not just directed (e.g., shown where to "point and click"
- The user is guided in evaluating information
Teaching: In cases where you are presenting a class scripted by someone else, you should be able to observe what worked as intended, and where something did not, to think about how you might do it differently In cases where you are on your own, your lesson plan should show objectives, use instructional design principles, and pay attention to differences in learning styles There should be evidence of encouraging learners to seek more help from you and librarians in general Final grade will be based on: | Journal | 45% | | Class presentation | 15% | | Written instruction module | 20% | | Teaching | 20% | Course Outline | ____Week____ | Schedule | | Week 1 | Student experiences and expectations; course overview; introduction to terms and concepts. What is "user instruction?" -- "information literacy?" vs library skills; -- learning? History, rationales, issues. Assignments for Week 2: See eCompanion for readings and Web sites on definitions and conceptualizations of information literacy; comment in the Journal space Visit a library reference area and observe individuals as they use the OPAC, indexes, other resources. Watch for any teaching on the part of library staff, learning on the part of users. Enter your observations in your journal; comment, with reference to conceptions of information literacy. Begin to arrange the apprenticeship--in DocSharing, select "Apprenticeship" under Select view | | Week 2 | Discuss your in-library observations; review readings; take learning style inventory Assignment for Week 3: Readings on learners and learning styles; androgogy vs pedagogy; work on arrangements for apprenticeship | | Week 3 | Learning styles and cognitive styles; generational differences and information behaviors Assignment for Week 4: Readings on learning theories; recall your experiences as a learner and note in your journal the theories-in-practice that you have observed teachers and librarians use. Confirm apprenticeship | | Week 4 | The relationship of instructional design to learning theories and approaches to teaching. Assignment for Week 5: Readings on instructional design Start your selection of one or two articles to share with the class on Week7, in a maximum seven-minute presentation (I will videotape). This serves two purposes: We will cover more of the literature, and you will gain experience in presenting information to a group. I am giving you a list of suggested readings, but you may propose your own selection. Give me a slip with the citation, so that we can avoid duplication. We will want to include various learners in different settings; case studies of different modes of instruction; and facilities design (we'll agree to who covers what). Prepare for presentation to class over the next few weeks with the help of readings on presentation over the next two weeks. | | Week 5 | Instructional design; practice writing objectives; lesson plans Assignment for Week 6: Readings on presentation Readings on teaching | | Week 6 | Discussion of higher order thinking skills, critical thinking; culture, disabilities, gender and other learner characteristics in relation to learning. We hope to observe a vendor training session as a group, in order to have a common base for assessing user instruction. Selection of readings to present in Week7. For use during your apprenticeship and during any vendor workshop, see former RUL instruction librarian Patricia Libutti's observation guide. Assignment for Week 7: Polish your presentation Be sure to practice with a timer so that you can stay within the seven-minute limit. If you will need equipment, please let me know in advance. | | Week 7 | Presentations. Assignment for Week 8: Include a self-assessment of your presentation in your journal. Critique as many online library instruction tutorials as you can, starting with RUL's tutorial Searchpath http://searchpath.libraries.rutgers.edu/.. For suggestions of other tutorials to look at and guidelines on how to evaluate, see links in eCompanion. | | Week 8 | Debrief presentations. Discuss your investigation of tutorials. Assignment for Week 10: Review instructional design concepts Readings on tutorial development, effectiveness More readings on face-to-face instruction | | Week 9 | Semester break | | Week 10 | Introduction to handouts, pathfinders, using PowerPoint or overheads, other instructional aids. Discussion and review; apprenticeship reports Assignment for Week 11: Write a first draft of instructions on how to use the Internet to search for information. See eCompanion for suggested topic. Write your instructions assuming that your patrons know little about using the Internet for information seeking. Remember the principles of adult learning, and see my notes on writing instructions in eCompanion. If you find it easy to include screen shots, go ahead and use them, but you are not expected to produce a polished, elegant handout for this exercise. Include URLs so that we can go to your selected sites. Include guidance on how users can judge the quality of the information they find. Keep your instructions as short as possible. Try them out on someone who is not a skilled searcher, preferably someone not very familiar with the Internet. Sit together at the computer and let the person follow your instructions, while you refrain from coaching or comment (in real life, the user might be alone with no one to help, with only written instructions to rely on). Pay attention to confusion. Revise. When describing this in your journal, note how you reacted to your learner's response to the directions. The main purpose of this assignment is to give you experience in writing clear, unambiguous, how-to instructions of the sort that librarians need to prepare as hand-outs, as part of Web pages, or as part of online tutorials. | | Week 11 | Try out your instructions on each other. Discussion of general and subject research guides, pathfinders, faculty collaboration. Assignment for Week 12: Revise your written instructions and hand in. Check out ACRL documents on information literacy, etc., and consider what might be adapted for settings other than academic libraries See examples of pathfinders/research guides on the RUL Web site and elsewhere (see eCompanion). Take a look at my pathfinder outline for the kind of research guide you might want to create for a graduate level course. | | Week 12 | Introduction to management issues (policy, costing, marketing, staffing, planning and evaluation). What are the issues involved in developing and managing a user instruction program? Assignment for Week 13: Readings on information literacy/user instruction programs | | Week 13 | Management issues, continued. Special attention to student proficiency assessment and evaluation of user instruction. Assignment for Week 14: Readings on assessment and evaluation\ Readings on librarian personality, learning, and teaching | | Week 14 | Take Kiersey temperament inventory. Discussion of how personality types might relate to instructional approaches as well as to management Assignment for Weeks 15 and 16: Summarize your apprenticeship and overall course experience in your journal. Make sure you have commented on all the readings and exercises. Review your entries and write a brief conclusion about how you are synthesizing course content in the process of developing your own understanding of information literacy and approach to user instruction. | | Week 15 | Final reports on apprenticeships; teaching styles | | Week 16 | Resources for continuing to learn about user instruction. Discussion of philosophy of user education. Course feedback. |
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