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 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.

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.

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 IISPRING 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 manderma@jmu.edu