KRISTIN JOHNSON, M.L.S.

REFERENCE LIBRARIAN, NORTHEAST LAKEVIEW COLLEGE JULIE NICHOLS, M.L.S.

LIBRARY INSTRUCTION COORDINATOR, NORTHEAST LAKEVIEW COLLEGE

BLACKBOARD VISTA, INFORMATION LITERACY, AND COLLEGE FRESHMEN

The newest of the Alamo Colleges, Northeast Lakeview College began offering classes in outreach centers in 1996 and became a fully operational college in 2007. It was set up to serve the varied residential areas of northeast Bexar County, Randolph AFB, and the expanding business community.

Enrollment Fall 2009: 5,197 Spring 2010: 5,055 Fall 2010: 5,686 Spring 2011: 6,062

         Dean 3 FT Librarians (2 inst. services, 1 tech services) 3 Adjunct Librarians (PT) 3.5 Staff Open 71.5 hours per week 142 students 104 2410 students 162 instruction sessions taught in Fall 2009, reaching 3137 instruction sessions taught in Spring 2010, reaching instruction sessions taught in Fall 2010, reaching 4220 students 163 instruction sessions taught in Spring 2011, reaching 4078 students!

    Why? Desire to formalize info lit instruction into the core. Critical thinking included as outcome in many core courses.

Selected courses– English 1301/1302. ACRL standards mapped to English learning outcomes. NLC Library

 ◦ English 1301: Freshman Composition I Training in reading and writing skills with emphasis on critical thinking and evaluation. Course requires expository essays based on provocative and critical readings. Also emphasizes defining need by certain criteria like audience, purpose, etc.

 ◦ English 1302: Freshman Composition II Builds on learning outcomes of 1301 as a writing intensive course. Introduction to research process with defining need, evaluating resources, accessing information, and ethical use of information by appropriate documentation and citation.

 ◦ ◦ ◦ English 1301 Degree requirement Introduction to using creditable research sources in argumentative/persuasive essays #1 in terms of enrollment in Alamo Colleges  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ English 1302 Builds on this use of library sources in formal research Used to evaluate the educational objectives specified by the THECB in the formal research paper Provides data that can be used for continuous improvement #5 in terms of enrollment in Alamo Colleges

   ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Largest demand for information literacy instruction in English. 50% or more of total requests in Fall, 60%+ in Spring.

ENGL 1301 Fall 2009 – 29 sections with 726 students Spring 2010 – 25 sections with 593 students Fall 2010 – 26 sections with 646 students Spring 2011 – 26 sections with 644 students Learning outcomes logical match to information literacy standards

   o o ◦ o o o Accessible Online format Can take anywhere at any time Self-paced – ability to go back and forth Assessment o o o Tests and quizzes - easy data creation Grades sent to English professors Commitment by Department to using post-assessment score as a graded event in ENGL 1301 Base to build from Our ENGL 1301 instruction is comprised of BBV modules AND face-to-face instruction Face-to-face instruction sessions can assume knowledge base Time for knowledge base not taken from class

   Research 101 – University of Washington TIP (Tutorial for Information Power) – University of Wyoming SearchPath – University of Michigan

 ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Our course consists of Begin Here module Orientation quiz (course agreement) 20-question pre-assessment Six content modules     Basics Information Cycles Research Topics Searching Finding   Evaluating Modules conclude with a 3-question quiz that must be completed before the next module is available 20-question post-assessment Anonymous Student survey

    o o Modified content Edited content for relevance Added specifics Quizzes to move forward o o Demonstrate understanding Demonstrate completion Pre and Post assessment o o o o Assess knowledge base Assess tutorial effectiveness Module Content Each module covers a separate research skill Relevant to national Information Literacy standards and our college English Department learning outcomes

  The module content and the assessment questions are mapped to ACRL’s Information Literacy Standards http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/informati onliteracycompetency.cfm

The Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Standards defines an information literate individual as one who is able to: 1.

Determine the nature and extent of information needed 2.

3.

4.

5.

Access needed information effectively and efficiently Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into one’s knowledge base Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

 We view ENGL 1301 AND ENGL 1302 as a complete entity and skill development is on a continuum  ◦ ◦ ◦ Our ENGL 1302 instruction consists of: Two face-to-face library instruction sessions Pre- and post-assessments given in the Library using SynchronEyes, a classroom management system Competencies based on ACRL and department standards (established Student Learning Outcomes)

 

Don’t wait until the last minute! OK, so don’t procrastinate. Better planning is highly recommended!

  • • Browser Compatibility • testing in different browsers • knowledge of coding problems in various browsers • knowledge of coding languages Java Headaches ensuring correct Java version is installed using browser checks from BBV

    Delivery methods – initially, BBV self-registration by students caused confusion ◦ Camtasia tutorials and Word/PDF documents with screen shots created to help students with this process New course creation – LIBR 0001 – linked to ENGL 1301 Beginning in Fall 2010, students who registered for ENGL 1301 were required to also register for LIBR 0001 This course now appears in a student’s “My Courses” in ACES (portal to student information) no more self-registration

     Student understanding of how to use Blackboard Vista ◦ Camtasia tutorials and Word/PDF documents with screen shots helped students learn how to navigate our course These tutorials were first included on a Library wiki page http://nlclibrary.pbworks.com/ In Summer 2010, the “getting started in Research 101” Camtasia video and text documents were imbedded in the BBV course In Fall 2010, we began conducting 10-minute “how to” demos in each ENGL 1301 class.

Student access to the course now begins only AFTER these in-class demos

     ◦ ◦ DIALOGUE!!

Faculty Buy-In Relevance to department/faculty objectives Emphasizing that modules do not take away from class time Faculty comfort level with BBV technology ◦ ◦ Handouts and workshops for faculty Spring 2010 - BBV assessment results emailed directly to faculty How faculty use the results ◦ ◦ Students often ask: “Is there a grade for this?” Surveys indicate most use this as a quiz grade, also used as a participation or assignment grade DIALOGUE!!!

Makes the library visit more worthwhile

What our faculty said in response to: Do you feel your students benefited from using Research 101?

Qualified yes … those who read and follow directions benefited

Pre Test Post Test  70 ◦ ◦ ◦ Fall 2009 ENGL 1301: 6.61% increase in score on post test ◦ 58% of completed students improved 71% of enrolled students completed Average scores: 70.55/77.16

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 50  ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Spring 2010 ENGL 1301: 3.52% increase in score on post test 54% of completed students improved 66% of enrolled students completed Average scores: 71.22/74.75

40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Pre Test Post Test  ◦ ◦ ◦ Fall 2010 ENGL 1301: 5.65% increase in score on post test ◦ 61% of completed students improved 60% of enrolled students completed Average scores: 72.06/77.70

100 90 80 30 20 10 0 70 60 50 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100  100 90 Spring 2011 ENGL 1301:     80 70 6.00% increase in score on post test 60% of completed students improved 68% of enrolled students completed Average scores: 69.82/75.83

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

300  ENGL 1301 BBV year at a glance ◦ Fall 2009- Spring 2011:    5.59% increase in score on post test 59% of completed students improved 66% of enrolled students completed  Average scores: 70.98/76.57

250 200 150 100 50 0  ENGL 1302 Fall 09 & Fall 10 semesters at a glance ◦ Students who had taken BBV tutorials in previous semesters improved their ENGL 1302 post assessment scores by 5.40% ◦ Students who did not take or complete the BBV tutorials in previous semesters improved their ENGL 1302 post-assessment scores by 3.88%

Q2 Post/Pre

Which of the following is the most effective way to use keywords and the connectors AND, OR, or NOT to find information about the topic, Immigration along the US border with Mexico?

a. Immigration and illegal aliens b. Immigration and Mexico c. Immigration or Mexico d. US border and Mexico

Distributions Test=Pre Level Count Prob Distributions Test=Post Level Count Prob

2a 2b 2c 2d 64 203 7 254 0.12121

0.38447

0.01326

0.48106

2a 2b 2c 2d Total Total 528 1.00000

42 174 5 222 443 0.09481

0.39278

0.01129

0.50113

1.00000

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q

• ENGL 1302 Post Test Scores by Instructor • Very different scores • Number of factors A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O • Potential problems o Not apples to apples comparison – number and content of questions o Factors beyond our control – ENGL faculty, grades attached, etc.

o Each 1302 section can potentially have different librarian providing instruction o Faculty buy-in – if they don’t use the assessment grades, students won’t care o Still new – not a lot of data

very informative

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE CONFLICTED – WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAID

… didn't like taking all those quizzes I learned something valuable without even stepping into the library …too long and time consuming It’s cool

     ◦ ◦ ◦ Analyzing data … and RE-analyzing data Assessment results Survey responses from students and faculty More dialogue with faculty about content and use of assessment “Tweaking” the assessment questions: Linking question results to English & Reading Department student learning outcomes for SACS accreditation purposes Assessing current questions ◦ Adding more interactive features to the BBV modules Expanding to other courses (need for more librarians!)