Investigating the Threshold Concept of Format: Creating Instruction Kits to Engage Students
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
Room 1220B
Proposal
This poster will describe an inventive activity to introduce biology students to library resources in their subject area. The biology department at our university invited freshmen biology majors to participate in a one week “Biology Boot Camp.” The schedule included a 30 minute visit to the library. During this library session students worked in groups of three and received a kit which included a plastic insect and step-by-step instructions on using three different resources. Each member of the group used one of the three resources to find information on the assigned insect. They then compared the information found and answered questions pertaining to the usefulness of their resources. The groups then shared their findings with the class. As a result of the session, the students were able to recognize that different types of resources are better suited to specific research needs. With only 30 minutes allotted for each of these library instruction sessions, we wanted to steer away from simply demonstrating searching techniques and maximize our time by moving quickly into active learning integrating threshold concepts. The use of the kits was a creative way to engage students in a subject in which they were already interested and this idea can be easily applied to other subject areas. Overall, the students seemed to enjoy the session which served to reinforce their return visit to the library for a more general orientation as part our information literacy program. We will provide ideas for improving this type of activity and revisions for future sessions.
Short Description
This presentation will describe an inventive activity to introduce biology students to library resources in their subject area. The biology department at our university invited freshmen biology majors to participate in a one week “Biology Boot Camp.” The schedule included a 30 minute visit to the library. During this library session students worked in groups of three and received a kit which included a plastic insect and step-by-step instructions on using three different resources. They then compared the information found and answered questions pertaining to the usefulness of their resources. The groups then shared their findings with the class. As a result of the session, the students were able to recognize that different types of resources are better suited to specific research needs. With only 30 minutes allotted for each of these library instruction sessions, we wanted to steer away from simply demonstrating searching techniques and maximize our time by moving quickly into active learning integrating threshold concepts. We focused on the threshold concept of Information Creation as a Process and emphasized identifying different formats. The use of the kits was a creative way to engage students in a subject in which they were already interested and this idea can be easily applied to other subject areas. Overall, the students seemed to enjoy the session which served to reinforce their return visit to the library for a more general orientation as part our information literacy program. We will provide ideas for improving this type of activity and revisions for future sessions.
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Bryan, Jacalyn and Karshmer, Elana, "Investigating the Threshold Concept of Format: Creating Instruction Kits to Engage Students" (2015). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 80.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2015/2015/80
Investigating the Threshold Concept of Format: Creating Instruction Kits to Engage Students
Room 1220B
This poster will describe an inventive activity to introduce biology students to library resources in their subject area. The biology department at our university invited freshmen biology majors to participate in a one week “Biology Boot Camp.” The schedule included a 30 minute visit to the library. During this library session students worked in groups of three and received a kit which included a plastic insect and step-by-step instructions on using three different resources. Each member of the group used one of the three resources to find information on the assigned insect. They then compared the information found and answered questions pertaining to the usefulness of their resources. The groups then shared their findings with the class. As a result of the session, the students were able to recognize that different types of resources are better suited to specific research needs. With only 30 minutes allotted for each of these library instruction sessions, we wanted to steer away from simply demonstrating searching techniques and maximize our time by moving quickly into active learning integrating threshold concepts. The use of the kits was a creative way to engage students in a subject in which they were already interested and this idea can be easily applied to other subject areas. Overall, the students seemed to enjoy the session which served to reinforce their return visit to the library for a more general orientation as part our information literacy program. We will provide ideas for improving this type of activity and revisions for future sessions.
