Using a Poster and Survey Model to Reach New Heights at Library Orientation

Background : Although active learning techniques have the potential to enhance the learner’s experience, it can be difficult to efficiently and effectively incorporate them into unstructured events outside of the classroom such as an orientation fair. This presentation will show how we took a successful poster and survey activity used by academic medical librarians at a community career fair and then adapted it for graduate medical education orientation fairs. We designed a simple poster along with a short survey to help us actively connect with small groups of new medical residents while introducing them to library resources and services. Description : Since 2011, librarians have participated at an annual community career fair. Despite being creative with themes at the fair, our exhibit was largely overlooked by disinterested students due to its lecture-based format until its redesign as an active learning poster and a short survey activity. The poster’s information and graphics did all the “talking” while students were asked to “help” the librarians by reading and critiquing the poster information using a short survey. The success of the poster and survey in the community encouraged us to try the same model with new medical residents at their orientation fair. The redesign prompted more questions and interesting conversations among residents and librarians than in the past. Preliminary review of three years of survey data has revealed an 80% survey completion rate with 100% satisfaction with the poster as an active learning tool. Conclusion : Survey results suggest that the poster and survey model resulted in students retaining more information about the library resources and services while expressing greater satisfaction with this teaching format. Dana Medical librarians continue to use this active learning activity, to study its results, and to build on its success with other library presentations

From Passive to Active: A New Model for Library Orientation

Objectives This poster shares the experience of academic librarians turning a traditional, passive library orientation at a Graduate Medical Education Fair for new residents into an active learning activity. Methods Every summer, new residents enter postgraduate medical training programs at the medical center. In an effort to introduce the library early in their clinical careers, liaison librarians have participated at a Graduate Medical Education fair since 2012. In the past, the library’s orientation activity consisted of a table full of paper handouts, staffed by overzealous librarians. Feedback from the residents, however, revealed that they politely collected the paperwork but frequently used or understood little of its content. In 2016, the library orientation for new residents was completely redesigned and updated. The traditional library handouts were replaced by an active learning exercise centered around a poster that highlighted the essential resources and services provided by the library. Residents were asked to spend just 1 minute reading through the library poster, and then invited to complete a brief poster survey. Results Results of this new orientation format were quite revealing. Completed poster surveys were returned by more than 85% of the residents, showing that they liked the poster format and its effectiveness in introducing the library. The poster also prompted many questions and interesting conversations among residents and librarians right on the spot. The simple design of the survey questions encouraged residents to identify what they liked and wanted to learn more about the library. In addition, the survey fostered a perfect opportunity to ask questions about anything important that was included or missing from the poster. Conclusions Librarians plan to continue to use this poster driven learning activity, to study its results, to modify its content when appropriate, and to build on its success in other library presentations

How to Prevent Your Flip from Flopping: Five Key Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Flipped Classroom Model

Contrary to popular perception, successfully adopting the flipped (or inverted) classroom model requires more than just recording videos of lectures for students to watch outside of class. This poster will highlight five key mistakes that teachers sometimes make when adopting the flipped classroom model, and outlines effective strategies to avoid them

Not Your Mother\u27s Library Orientation

This presentation outlines how the authors transformed a traditional orientation for new University of Vermont Medical Center residents into a more active learning experience. Specifically, it describes how they focused on making connections between what the residents already knew, or what they wanted to know, about libraries and the resources and services available at Dana Medical Library

Together We Learn: Collaborating with Medical Students to Build an Online Anti-Racism Guide

In the summer of 2020, students from the medical school’s Social Justice Coalition asked if the library could support their project to build a digital collection of anti-racism resources. Specifically, they asked if the library could host the collection and purchase relevant materials when possible. The project presented interesting policy and technical issues related to LibGuides, the platform we eventually selected. It also provided educational opportunities for the medical students, staff, and the library. After six months of hard work, we launched the collection, titled “Together We Learn: Resources for Our Journeys in Justice & Inclusion” in December 2020. While, initially, it appeared that this would be a simple project to complete, we quickly discovered unique challenges. For example, LibGuides was chosen as the obvious technical platform to use, but there was consensus among the authors, students, and their advisor that the students should retain editorial control over the content. This ran counter to library practice and we had to argue our case and receive permission to move forward. The project team also worked closely on design. This involved educating the students and their advisor about how LibGuides operates, which impacted how content appeared. Finally, we had to develop new workflows to address issues like reviewing and updating guide content. This required another adjustment to established library policy. The final guide includes a rich mix of resources, such as books and videos, that cover a variety of crucial topics. The guide was launched in December 2020. The initial reception was enthusiastic and supportive with hundreds of views that month. Like many end-of-year projects, however, it was soon overshadowed by holidays, the January spike in COVID-19 infections, and events in Washington D.C. Our goal for the spring 2021 semester is to reintroduce the guide to the public. The medical students and their advisor are developing a plan to accomplish that goal. We also need to grow the guide and we have already started to receive suggestions via an embedded “Recommend a Resource” form. As a result, the guide remains an ongoing project and we are honored to continue working with our medical students on something they are so passionate about

Putting a Squeeze on PubMed

How do you squeeze a 13-hour professional development class on PubMed into a 1-hour staff development workshop? This was the challenge that we, the workshop organizers, faced after completing the PubMed for Trainers class in the summer of 2013. Although the University hosted the class, there were several UVM librarians who could not attend. The issue facing us was how to effectively pass along the valuable information from the workshop to those absent colleagues. Our solution was to distill the most essential information from the class into a series of micro-presentations and deliver them using a modified Pecha Kucha format. This poster outlines that process

Let\u27s Meet at Your Place: Integrating Library Content Into a Student Portal

For years, librarians have been encouraged to go where students are instead of waiting for them to come to the library. In the digital environment, where can libraries position themselves to meet the most users and provide the most timely assistance? For UVM students, one of the highest-traffic and highest-visibility locations is the “MyUVM” portal, their one-stop shop for many essential services, such as email, grades, and advising. In this presentation, you will learn how UVM librarians collaborated with Registrar’s Office Banner programmers to integrate point-of-need educational content into the portal and extend instruction services into a key student space

Our Library, Your Portal: Integrating Dynamic Library Content Into A Campus Portal

Learn about an innovative and collaborative project in which instruction librarians worked with their institution’s Registrar’s Office to integrate library resources and services into a campus-wide portal. Integration has been implemented in two phases: the development of a global library page for all campus-users, then customized date-specific content for targeted groups of students and employees based on characteristics including major and academic status