Geisel Library Program Design
Overview
Instructing students and faculty in the effective use of information resources is central to the mission of Geisel Library. To this end, the library has established a tiered instructional program designed to cultivate information literacy in students. Starting with mandatory sessions in the fall and spring semesters of freshman English, librarians teach instruction sessions for students at multiple stages of their undergraduate careers. These sessions build upon one another, ensuring that students gain an increasing level of sophistication with performing college-level research.
The session objectives at each level of the program are tied explicitly to the standards of information literacy advocated by ACRL. Sessions for intermediate and advanced-level classes are tailored to specific projects, teaching students the important resources and research techniques needed in their chosen disciplines. The tiered program culminates in advanced research sessions for capstone courses in many of the college's academic departments. The program's success is gauged by measuring outcomes of student learning.
Specific Levels of Information Literacy Instruction
- New Student Orientation
- First Semester English EN103
- Second Semester English EN104
- Intermediate level: Discipline-Specific Instruction
- Advanced level: Capstone Projects
Primary Modes of Instruction
- Course-integrated instruction
- Create and maintain Subject Research Guides
- Create and maintain Course Research Guides
- Create and maintain Research Guides and Tutorials
- Create and maintain Faculty Resources webpage
Other Modes of Instruction
Instruction takes place in many ways using a variety of teaching methods, including:
- Reference Desk instruction
- Individual reference appointments
- Ask-a-Librarian
- Video tutorials
- Faculty collaboration and consultation
- Specialized workshops
- Virtual tour
Evaluation and Assessment
There are a variety of approaches to assessing student acquisition of information literacy skills. Below are examples of such evaluation metrics, some of which have been applied by Geisel Library. Faculty may wish to adopt one of these to measure student demonstration of information literacy.
- Bibliography Rating Scale (PDF/12KB)
- Checklist (PDF/23KB)
- In-Class Exercises
- Observation (PDF/11KB)
- One Minute Paper (PDF/11KB)
- Pre-test/Post-test
- Research Portfolio
- Rubric for Assessing Research Papers (PDF/25KB)
