The role of forest stream corridor characteristics in influencing stream and riparian ecology

This PhD thesis seeks to consider conifer forestry stream corridor design in relation to both in-stream and riparian zone biodiversity and functioning. The contribution, availability and source of basal resources within varying corridor conditions are the focus of this project. This approach is combined with surveys of community diversity on a number of key trophic scales in order to determine how the corridor characteristics and their associated resource availability, affects community structure. The effects of varying design and management of the riparian buffer zones within afforested stream systems on in-stream and overall habitat diversity and functioning remains largely unknown. Although guidelines have been implemented for several years (Forest and Water Guidelines, Forestry Commission), recommendations, although based on sound assumptions, are subjective assessments and tend not based on scientific research or data. As such, the premise of this project is to consider a variety of corridor physical parameters adjacent to low-order streams within two afforested catchments in South-West Scotland, between 2003 and 2005, in order to contribute to the understanding of system functioning within the limitations of forestry land-use and management. A number of different approaches were employed in order to define the proportional contributions of allochthonous and autochthonous material within the benthos of the stream systems. This was done in order to define resource availability, biofilm characteristics, stream functioning and the role of corridor design in influencing resource availability. Yet, despite significant autochthonous productivity, allochthonous organic matter was the primary resource utilised by many taxa. However, conversely, light regime was found to be fundamental in shaping production and community structure within these ecosystems. Consequently, here I explore a number of different trophic scale responses to riparian conditions in order to define the biotic responses to variation of resource availability, with the aim of contributing information which may aid in design and management of afforested riparian zones

We’re Both Your Librarian: A Course Collaboration Between an Academic Library and a Health Sciences Library

The University of South Alabama is in the process of merging its academic library and health sciences library, which have previously functioned as essentially separate entities. This ongoing process requires many changes, from budget and staff considerations, to revisiting the roles the librarians play in their respective academic communities. This last concern led to a collaboration between two librarians--the Assistant Director for Strategic Initiatives at the health sciences library and the Social Sciences and Student Engagement Librarian at the academic library--in response to a faculty request for an embedded librarian to support a fully-online graduate nursing class in scholarly writing. In this presentation, we will discuss three ways in which this project has underscored the necessity of cross-discipline partnerships in libraries. First, the complementary skill sets of the two librarians resulted in an information literacy course module that reflects more robust content than would have been achieved in a siloed model. Second, the collaboration has identified new avenues for ameliorating short-staffed library services as faculty at both libraries increasingly work together and foster a willingness to cross discipline boundaries that is essential to sustaining an embedded librarianship model. Finally, both the challenges and successes encountered in this partnership can be useful to other libraries undergoing similar mergers or seeking to improve collaboration between librarians with different specializations

Developing a Research Topic Using the Library

This lesson is designed to guide students in developing a research topic starting with news headlines. After this lesson, students will be able to generate keywords for searching, develop an initial research topic, and find sources using a library search tool. The lesson relates to the frame “Searching as Strategic Exploration” in ACRL\u27s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The lesson could be used in a one-shot session or as part of a credit-bearing course. Included in the document is a lesson plan with suggested assessment questions and a three-page worksheet

Meeting Students Where They Are: Using Assessment Data to Inform One-Shot Curriculum

How do students use the sources we help them find during library instruction sessions? To answer this question we scored research papers written by students enrolled in a firstyear experience course to assess how well they were finding, incorporating, and citing appropriate sources. During this presentation we’ll share our assessment process, from developing and norming the rubric to using the data to inform changes to our one-shot lesson plan. We will also share preliminary assessment results following implementation of the new curriculum. Our results may inspire you to rethink the focus of your first-year instruction

Meeting Students Where They Are: Using Rubric-based Assessment to Modify an Information Literacy Curriculum

The authors conducted a performance-based assessment of information literacy to determine if students in a first-year experience course were finding relevant sources, using evidence from sources effectively, and attributing sources correctly. A modified AAC&U VALUE rubric was applied to 154 student research papers collected in fall 2015 and fall 2016. Study results indicate that students in the sample were able to find relevant and appropriate sources for their research papers; however, they were not using evidence to effectively support an argument or attributing sources correctly. The authors discuss changes to the library instruction curriculum informed by the assessment results

Faculty Collaboration for Assessment Success

Faculty collaboration is key in developing successful summative assessments. We have used our mini grant to participate in two off-campus retreats dedicated to designing summative assessments for the student learning outcomes of 100-level LIB credit courses. During our first retreat in December 2016, we worked together to improve our existing SLOs and create signature summative assessments for each SLO. For our upcoming May 2017 retreat, we will tackle developing an assessment plan and analyzing collected assessment data

Assessment: 100-Level LIB Course Assessment Plan

The University of Northern Colorado Libraries Curriculum Committee developed this assessment plan and summative assessment overview to document our process for assessing shared student learning outcomes (SLOs) in our 100-level information literacy credit courses. The assessment plan provides a big-picture summary of the assessment methods for all SLOs, including who is responsible for data collection, analysis, and reporting. It also describes when and how often assessment occurs. The summative assessment overview provides instructors with information about how to embed the signature assignment in their course and collect data for assessment. It also includes a description of the analysis procedures and reporting practices