Muchos Mentores en Iowa : The Pedagogy of Student to Student Mentoring in Information Literacy

1. MuchosMentores en Iowa: The Pedagogy of Student to Student Mentoring in Information Literacy Julia Bauder, Beth Bohstedt and Phillip Jones Grinnell College Libraries LOEX National Conference Fort Worth, TX May 7, 2011

2. Peer Mentoring in Your Library • Is it appropriate for your campus? • How do you teach information literacy? How could student mentors fit into your instruction program? • Do you have a campus culture that is supportive of peer mentoring? What other programs on your campus employ students to teach other students? • If so, what initial steps would you need to take to implement it?

3. Grinnell in a Nutshell • Selective, residential liberal arts college. • 1600 undergraduate students. • Curricular emphasis on inquiry-based learning.

4. Information Literacy at Grinnell • Locally customized version of the ACRL information literacy standards • Information literacy curriculum based on the customized standards

5. Reference Is Information LiteracyInstruction

6. 2011 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award The information literacy and student mentoring programs were both cited by the award committee.

7. Mentoring: Two Definitions • Model 1: Campus-wide, students teaching students • Model 2: Academic libraries, mentoring students into profession of librarianship Grinnell’s programs are closer to Model 1 than Model 2.

8. A Culture of Peer Mentoring at Grinnell College • Math Lab • Science Learning Center • Academic Advising • Writing Lab • Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab • Intercultural Affairs

9. Why Introduce Peer Mentoring to the Libraries? • Acknowledge and support existing practice • Encourage consistency of service • Offer basic research advice at all public service desks, not just the reference desk • Students might be more comfortable learning from a peer? • Give librarians more time to do classroom-based instruction and research consultations • Expand late night and weekend service

10. Basic and Advanced Services • Basic Information Service • Provided at all public service desks • Available whenever the library is open • Reference Assistant Program • Provided at the reference desk • Available 10:00pm to midnight Sunday - Thursday (and some afternoons)

11. Basic Information Service

12. Goals • All students working at the Libraries’ public service desks will: • Be able to answer basic information questions • Know when and how to refer a student for more in-depth help

13. Basic Information Service Training

14. Required materials / Equipment • Agenda Outline/Checklist • Computers (one per student is ideal) • Laser pointer to highlight elements on the screen • Link or file for the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” game (prepared ahead of time) • Candy

15. Outline for Lesson • Introductions (5 minutes) • Basic Website/Catalog (5-7 minutes) • Research (12-15 minutes) • Referrals (10-12 minutes) • Review (12-15 minutes) • Closing (2 minutes) Total time: 45 minutes – 1 hour

22. Follow-up to BIS Training • Send sample reference questions every few weeks • Talk to the students working the public desks to see how it’s going

23. Reference Assistants: “Desirable, meaningful positions.”

24. Reference Assistant (RA) Job Description and Ad • Needed to create positions, aid recruitment • Help in development and promotion of the Libraries’ reference services • Attend and participate in weekly RA meetings and training sessions • Earn senior student rate of pay

25. Who are our RAs? • 3 RAs each semester, 4 positions for 2011-12 • Social studies majors; a double major in art history & psychology • Varied academic concentrations: global development studies, linguistics • Foreign language skills: Spanish, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Hindi, and Nepali

26. Recruiting and Interviewing RAs: A Collaborative Effort • Faculty recommendations • Librarians invite applications • Library general applicant pool • Sought after jobs: interested students apply specifically for RA positions • Interview questions sent to applicants • Ask for and check references

27. RA Training: Focused and On-Going • Complete Basic Information Service Training • RA training = 10 hours, early in semester, readings and discussion • Shadow a librarian and an RA • Regular training during weekly RA meetings

28. RA Work Schedules: Varied and Flexible • 1.5 hour weekday afternoon shift • 9:30 pm-12 am shift(s) Sunday - Thursday • 1 hour RA meeting weekly • Remainder: flextime to work on projects

29. RAMeeting

30. RA Reference Questions

31. Promoting Information Literacy

32. We want to take information literacy to the students… • Facebook • Grinnell Plans • Posters in the dorms • Ads in the campus newspaper

33. Without creating creepy treehouses Photo by Flickr user discovernaturewalk. http://www.flickr.com/photos/discovernaturewalk/3066918873/ More about creepy treehouses: http://flexknowlogy.learningfield.org/2008/04/09/defining-creepy-tree-house/

34. Promoting Information Literacy on Facebook

35. Ads and Posters: RA and Librarian Collaborations

36. Instructional videos

37. Were efforts to promote information literacy in student-oriented media effective?

38. Yes!* *With some caveats.

39. Assessing the RA Program Total questions by hour, October 2009 to March 2011

40. Testimony from the RAs

41. What’s Next? • Recruit science students as RA applicants • Hiring fourth RA for 2011-12 academic year • Statement of Mentoring Philosophy • Shared peer mentoring general orientation across campus

42. Peer Mentoring in Your Library • Is it appropriate for your campus? • How do you teach information literacy? How could student mentors fit into your instruction program? • Do you have a campus culture that is supportive of peer mentoring? What other programs on your campus employ students to teach other students? • If so, what initial steps would you need to take to implement it?