Building Data and Information Literacy in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum

The Literature and Seminar sequence at James Madison University has been used to develop the chemistry information literacy skills of chemistry majors for over four decades. These courses have been continually updated to emphasize information literacy skills for the twenty-first century. This chapter describes the methods that have been developed to improve chemical, data and general information literacy at a large, public, primarily undergraduate institution. The focus of the first semester course, described in this chapter, is on skill building rather than teaching specific resources. It is a model of integration and collaboration between chemistry faculty and chemistry librarians. Changes in information resources, disciplinary standards, and assessment are used to inform and refine course instruction. While implementation of a course is always unique because of the size, curricular structure, culture, and students associated with an institution, we think that the approach described herein will be applicable to other programs

Supplemental Materials for Building Data and Information Literacy in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum

Course syllabus from Chem 481, Fall 2015, to supplement the chapter Building Data and Information Literacy in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum in the monograph Integrating Library and Information Literacy Into Chemistry Curricula - ACS Symposium Series, ACS Publications

The Evolution of Library Instruction Delivery in the Chemistry Curriculum Informed by Mixed Assessment Methods

As information continues to evolve over time, the information literacy expectations for chemistry students also change. This article examines transformations to an undergraduate chemistry course that focuses on chemical literature and information literacy and is co-taught by a chemistry professor and a chemistry librarian. This article also describes results from assessment of both content knowledge and student perception, and discusses how the assessment was used to inform changes to the course. This type of student assessment and evaluation has not previously been examined in the delivery of required undergraduate chemistry information courses. Since this course has used in-person, online, and blended delivery methods, the article describes what students can learn from online modules, and where they need more intensive classroom instruction.Publisher allows immediate open acces

Pediatric colloid cysts: a multinational, multicenter study. An IFNE-ISPN-ESPN collaboration

OBJECTIVE Colloid cysts (CCs) are rare at all ages, and particularly among children. The current literature on pediatric CC is limited, and often included in mixed adult/pediatric series. The goal of this multinational, multicenter study was to combine forces among centers and investigate the clinical course of pediatric CCs. METHODS A multinational, multicenter retrospective study was performed to attain a large sample size, focusing on CC diagnosis in patients younger than 18 years of age. Collected data included clinical presentation, radiological characteristics, treatment, and outcome. RESULTS One hundred thirty-four children with CCs were included. Patient age at diagnosis ranged from 2.4 to 18 years (mean 12.8 ± 3.4 years, median 13.2 years, interquartile range 10.3–15.4 years; 22% were \u3c 10 years of age). Twenty-two cases (16%) were diagnosed incidentally, including 48% of those younger than 10 years of age. Most of the other patients had symptoms related to increased intracranial pressure and hydrocephalus. The average follow-up duration for the entire group was 49.5 ± 45.8 months. Fifty-nine patients were initially followed, of whom 28 were eventually operated on at a mean of 19 ± 32 months later due to cyst growth, increasing hydrocephalus, and/or new symptoms. There was a clear correlation between larger cysts and symptomatology, acuteness of symptoms, hydrocephalus, and need for surgery. Older age was also associated with the need for surgery. One hundred three children (77%) underwent cyst resection, 60% using a purely endoscopic approach. There was 1 death related to acute hydrocephalus at presentation. Ten percent of operated patients had some form of complication, and 7.7% of operated cases required a shunt at some point during follow-up. Functional outcome was good; however, the need for immediate surgery was associated with educational limitations. Twenty operated cases (20%) experienced a recurrence of their CC at a mean of 38 ± 46 months after the primary surgery. The CC recurrence rate was 24% following endoscopic resection and 15% following open resections (p = 0.28). CONCLUSIONS CCs may present in all pediatric age groups, although most that are symptomatic present after the age of 10 years. Incidentally discovered cysts should be closely followed, as many may grow, leading to hydrocephalus and other new symptoms. Presentation of CC may be acute and may cause life-threatening conditions related to hydrocephalus, necessitating urgent treatment. The outcome of treated children with CCs is favorable

The Evolution of Library Instruction Delivery in the Chemistry Curriculum Informed by Mixed Assessment Methods

As information continues to evolve over time, the information literacy expectations for chemistry students also change. This article examines transformations to an undergraduate chemistry course that focuses on chemical literature and information literacy and is co-taught by a chemistry professor and a chemistry librarian. This article also describes results from assessment of both content knowledge and student perception, and discusses how the assessment was used to inform changes to the course. This type of student assessment and evaluation has not previously been examined in the delivery of required undergraduate chemistry information courses. Since this course has used in-person, online, and blended delivery methods, the article describes what students can learn from online modules, and where they need more intensive classroom instruction

Building an Online Teaching Community: An Evolving Tale of Communication, Collaboration, and Chemistry in Enhancing Learning with Online Resources, Social Networking, and Digital Libraries

The Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC) has grown from a small group of faculty to a national and international network focused on improving inorganic chemistry learning. IONiC’s vision is to create a community of teachers and learners who make teaching visible using social networking tools to share, discuss, test, and assess their teaching methods. The features that have allowed the IONiC community to develop and grow and IONiC’s vision for the future are described. It is likely that the lessons learned apply to other groups seeking to develop professional communities through social networking

Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic Resource Learning Objects in Organometallic Chemistry

Four Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic Resource (VIPEr) learning objects featuring organometallic chemistry are highlighted