Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
PARB 239
Abstract
Although a 2-credit hour information literacy course had high enrollment, with multiple sections offered each year across several campuses, course completion rates were not as high as hoped. Originally designed for freshman or sophomores, many upper-level students were enrolling in the course because they needed the credit hours, not because of interest in the course content, and overall engagement with the course material was low. With these concerns in mind, we undertook a team project to redesign the course. In this presentation, we will highlight the significant changes we made to course focus and content that were intended to increase the relevance to students at all levels, make the course more engaging, and improve internal motivation for completion. These changes included decreased emphasis on academic research scenarios, increased emphasis on information use in the workplace and everyday life, the addition of resume building text, unique discussion boards, and new content related to students’ roles as information creators and sharers. When making such changes, we shifted focus from learning how to search to understanding what it means to be a responsible digital citizen.
Presentation Description
Hear how we brought a problematic credit bearing course with high enrollment but low engagement into the roaring ‘20s. Due to the unique circumstances of this being a two-credit course, students were often enrolled for credits rather than content. By focusing on student motivation, ensuring course work had relevance beyond academics, and adding a new emphasis on digital citizenship, we were able to create a more engaging course for a wider audience.
Keywords
course redesign, information literacy, student engagement, distant learning, motivation, digital citizenship, student success, undergraduates
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Hammons, Jane; Primeau, Hanna; Ramey, Diana; and McKenna, Stacey, "I Just Need Two Credits: Looking at Motivation When Redesigning an Online Credit-bearing Information Literacy Course" (2020). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 44.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2020/2020/44
I Just Need Two Credits: Looking at Motivation When Redesigning an Online Credit-bearing Information Literacy Course
PARB 239
Although a 2-credit hour information literacy course had high enrollment, with multiple sections offered each year across several campuses, course completion rates were not as high as hoped. Originally designed for freshman or sophomores, many upper-level students were enrolling in the course because they needed the credit hours, not because of interest in the course content, and overall engagement with the course material was low. With these concerns in mind, we undertook a team project to redesign the course. In this presentation, we will highlight the significant changes we made to course focus and content that were intended to increase the relevance to students at all levels, make the course more engaging, and improve internal motivation for completion. These changes included decreased emphasis on academic research scenarios, increased emphasis on information use in the workplace and everyday life, the addition of resume building text, unique discussion boards, and new content related to students’ roles as information creators and sharers. When making such changes, we shifted focus from learning how to search to understanding what it means to be a responsible digital citizen.