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)

Files over 10MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "Save as..."

Share

COinS
 
Feb 21st, 1:45 PM Feb 21st, 3:00 PM

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.