TEACHING THE TEACHERS: BUILDING INFORMATION LITERACY INTO THE BIOLOGY CURRICULUM Meris Mandernach James Madison University LOEX 2008
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Transcript TEACHING THE TEACHERS: BUILDING INFORMATION LITERACY INTO THE BIOLOGY CURRICULUM Meris Mandernach James Madison University LOEX 2008
TEACHING THE TEACHERS:
BUILDING INFORMATION LITERACY
INTO THE BIOLOGY CURRICULUM
Meris Mandernach
James Madison University
LOEX 2008
INTRODUCTION
Why IL is important for science
Expectation upon graduation
Questionable scientific information
Transferable skill
How to integrate information literacy into science
curriculum…
THE COURSE
BIO 114 – Organisms
BIO 124 – Ecology and Evolution
BIO 214 – Cell and Molecular Biology
BIO 224 – Genetics and Development
BIO 124
Offered every semester
Typical students
INFORMATION LITERACY WORKSHOP:
SUMMER 2006
One-on-one collaboration between
faculty and librarians
Led by facilitator
Stipend (and lots of food)
What they do to get the money
Alter assignment to include IL Objectives
Design effective active-learning assignment
Plan instruction
Summarize success of the implementation of changes
OBJECTIVES OF BIOLOGY INSTRUCTION
Sources
Research strategy
Credible sources
Evaluate quality
Organization of library
Use library resources
SEMESTER ONE: TEACHING THE STUDENTS
FALL 2006
Pilot Study
Librarian taught 4 lab sections
Some lecture, some hands-on
Background of scholarly literature
Scholarly vs. Popular articles
Review vs. Research articles
Searching Biology databases
Search syntax
Evaluating information sources
Assessment Test
Approach for Spring semester
Collaboration (Miller and Bell1 )
1. Miller, W. & Bell, S. (2005) A new strategy for enhancing library use: Faculty-led information
literacy instruction. Library Issues, 25 (5), 1-4.
SEMESTER TWO: TEACHING THE TEACHERS
SPRING 2007
Rationale:
Eight lab sessions
More student buy-in
Librarian available for appointments
Self-guided tutorial
Handouts
Assessment test to determine effectiveness.
WEB GUIDE
TUTORIAL
CREATING AN ASSESSMENT TOOL
30 item test
Fall 2006, test questions
Spring 2007, full cycle
6 Content areas
Selecting reference sources and databases
Searching databases
Retrieving full-text books and articles
Evaluating information
Understanding and using the internet
Citing sources
ASSESSMENT TOOL (CONT.)
Analysis by Center for Assessment and Research
Study (CARS) at JMU
After first complete cycle:
Increase in overall score
Few questionable items
Withdraw question
Revise question
Remove entirely
Overall tips:
Shorten the correct answer
Fewer choices for multiple choice questions
SEMESTER THREE: UNDERSTANDING THE ASSESSMENT
FALL 2007
Same instructors teaching lab sections
No “teaching the teacher” refresher
All instructors gave pre-test
Post-test hiccup
Assessment test examined again by CARS
No significant differences observed
Student cohorts
Faculty unaware of test content and objectives
Refresher of “teach the teachers”
SEMESTER FOUR: TEACHING THE TEACHERS II
SPRING 2008
Refresher for instructors
Faculty took assessment test
Length of test
No-point value
Wording
REFINING THE ASSESSMENT TOOL
Tweaking the test
Point-value assigned
Given different week than other course
assessment
Anecdotal evidence
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Evaluate assessment tool
Examine possibilities of expansion
Develop additional learning objects to support
course
THANK YOU
JMU Libraries and Educational Technologies
JMU Biology Department
Dr. Reid Harris
Prof. William Flint
Instructors of Biology 124
Center for Assessment and Research Study
Donna Sundre and graduate students
QUESTIONS…
MORE INFORMATION…
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/Bio124class.aspx
Meris Mandernach
[email protected]