1 / 18

Teaching the Teachers: Building Information Literacy Into the Biology Curriculum

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

maris-holcomb
Download Presentation

Teaching the Teachers: Building Information Literacy Into the Biology Curriculum

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Teaching the Teachers: Building Information Literacy Into the Biology Curriculum MerisMandernach James Madison University LOEX 2008

  2. Introduction • Why IL is important for science • Expectation upon graduation • Questionable scientific information • Transferable skill • How to integrate information literacy into science curriculum…

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. Objectives of Biology Instruction • Sources • Research strategy • Credible sources • Evaluate quality • Organization of library • Use library resources

  6. Semester One: Teaching the StudentsFall 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.

  7. Semester Two: Teaching the TeachersSpring 2007 • Rationale: • Eight lab sessions • More student buy-in • Librarian available for appointments • Self-guided tutorial • Handouts • Assessment test to determine effectiveness.

  8. Web Guide

  9. Tutorial

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. Semester Three: Understanding The AssessmentFall 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”

  13. Semester Four: Teaching the Teachers IISpring 2008 • Refresher for instructors • Faculty took assessment test • Length of test • No-point value • Wording

  14. Refining the Assessment Tool • Tweaking the test • Point-value assigned • Given different week than other course assessment • Anecdotal evidence

  15. Plans for the future • Evaluate assessment tool • Examine possibilities of expansion • Develop additional learning objects to support course

  16. 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

  17. Questions…

  18. More Information… • http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/ • http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/Bio124class.aspx • MerisMandernach • manderma@jmu.edu

More Related