Presented at the 7th Annual Georgia Conference on Information Literacy, Savannah, GA, October 2010.Presentation on a library information literacy course given to students in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Program

Li, Lisha

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Teaching Information Literacy Through Senior ProjectsPresented at the 7th Annual Georgia Conference on Information Literacy, Savannah, GALisha LiLibrary and Information CenterGeorgia Institute of TechnologyOct. 1, 2010Outlines• Background• Initial collaboration• Information literacy workshop – Design – ACRL IL Standards– Implementation– Feedback and Improvements– Assessment/Evaluation• Workshop outcomes• Discussions and conclusionsCEE Background CEE: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (1896) Civil and environmental engineering deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment,including structures and materials, transportation of people and goods, air and water quality, natural materials in engineered systems, sustainable resource management, and environmental biotechnology, etc.CEE Background Total Full Time Faculty: 81 Total Students (Fall 2009):          1,190•Undergraduate: 857•Graduate: 333Course Background• Course  - CEE 3000: Civil engineering systems• Introduced in 1999.• Description: “…introduces students to a sustainable engineering approach for planning, design, implementation, operation and renewal of civil engineering systems.”• Required senior course (3 credit hours)• 2 classes offered each semester with 60 - 65 students in each class (- mostly CEE, some Arch, IE, ME, BMED)Course Background (cont’d) Multidisciplinary perspective (technical, economic, environmental and socio-political) Group project based (~3-5 students in each group) Bibliography of information and data sources Project report and team presentation Course evaluation for Project Report:          20%ASCE* Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025(*ASCE: American Society for Civil Engineers)Course Objectives 4 Modules:• Sustainable engineering and the system approach• Mathematical tools and systems performance analysis• Economic decision-making tools and projects evaluation• Project presentations 2 Objectives• Engineering communication• Library information skillsProjects Examples Sears Tower vs. Petronas Towers Dallas Fort Worth Airport vs. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Itapu Dam vs. Hoover Dam Atlanta area vs. Chicago area transportation systems Port of Rotterdam vs. Port of Singapore Georgia Dome vs. Roman Coliseum Japan’s Shinkansen vs. France’s TGVComparative Systems Analysis Characterizing the systems• Purpose, background, functional characteristics, linkages (environmental, economic, social, political) Comparing the systems• Performance, environmental impacts, benefit/cost, social/political analysis Evaluating the systems• Identification of better system with justification, recommendations for improvement, limitation of analysisWorkshop Development Time LineFall 06 –Spring 07: Feedback & ImprovementSummer 08: Paper submissionSpring 06 : 1st Library IL Workshop offeredFall 2005: Initial collaborationSummer 06:  Student project report reviewsFall 07 –Spring 08: IL workshop expansionFall 08: IL Workshop assessment ; standardi-zationSpring 09- : IL Workshop offered to every class Initial Collaboration with Faculty It all started with…• Journey to Planet Earth (DVDs)Rivers of DestinyThe Urban ExplosionLand of Plenty, Land of WantOn the BrinkSeas of GrassHot ZonesFuture ConditionalThe State of the PlanetState of the Planet's Wildlife State of the Ocean's Animals State of the Planet's OceansACRL IL Standards for Sci-Tech Information Literate students:• determines the nature and extent of the information needed;• acquires needed information effectively and efficiently;• critically evaluates the procured information and its sources, and as a result, decides whether or not to modify the initial query and/or seek additional sources and whether to develop a new research process;• Understands the economic, ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and its technologies and either as an individual or as a member of a group, uses information effectively, ethically, and legally to accomplish a specific purpose;• understands that information literacy is an ongoing process and an important component of lifelong learning and recognizes the need to keep current regarding new developments in his or her field. IL Workshop FocusFocus Information Knowledge and Skill SetsInformation Structure Understand how information is created, disseminated and organized-Know the scholarly publication process-Know the concepts of database, indexes, thesaurus and classification systemsInformation Access Effectively apply information retrieval skills and know where and how to obtain useful information-Be familiar with resources available and their features-Form effective search strategies and apply useful search tips-Access full text and obtain materials through interlibrary loan servicesInformation Integration Critically evaluate information and its sources and incorporate information effectively into their projects-Apply information evaluation criteria-Use styles and citation management tools-Be aware of copyright and fair use issuesIL Workshop Setting Held at Homer Rice Center – a library classroom with 32 student computers, and 1 instructor computer with data projector Offered as an one time session outside the course meeting time Provided two identical sessions on different day/time for student to choose from through registration Opened follow-up consultations sessions/hours IL Workshop Layout & Follow up Session Information resources:• 30 min. Information access and integration demo:• 30 min. Hands-on exercises:• 30 min.Information Structure/Resources Overview of scholarly publishing process, databases, indexes, thesaurus  Major databases for civil and environmental engineering Databases in broader scope: social, economic, and public policy aspectsResources by Type of ProjectInformation Structure/Resources (cont’d) CrossSearch features Customization features  Advanced databases search features•Advanced search• Save search• Export recordsInformation Access  Brain storm keywords and forming search strategies - using examples from previous classes Refine search results using facet feature Review, select,  and export results Full text article access• Through SFX; • print; • ILLiadInformation Integration Information evaluation criteria Annotated bibliographies Citation styles (ASCE, APA, MLA, Chicago) Citation management tools (EndNote) Copyright and fair use issuesHands-on Exercises Locate books• GIL/GIL Universal catalogs• WorldCat Search and access journal articles• Database searches for project topics• Electronic journals and SFX Locate Technical Reports• Print reports• Reports on microform• Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) documentsFollow-up  E-mail questions and answers Consultation sessions by request (held at consultation area for 1-3 students, or a library class room for more than 3 students)• Project specific issues• Resource specific questions• Search strategies and search terms• Obtaining specific items• BibliographiesEvaluation and Assessment Short surveys after classes Informal feedback from students and faculty Formal assessment through CETL* Email responses Observation through follow-up consultation* CETL: Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, GA TechAfter Class Survey This workshop provides me with enough resources to start my search of information for my project.• Strongly agree 64%• Agree 36% This workshop teaches me necessary information skills to conduct my research using library resources.• Strongly agree 91%• Agree 9%Suggestions and Improvement Made For  future improvement of the similar workshop, I would recommend:•Add more international resources (-added)•Use a microphone•Offer more sessions * (- two sessions offered for each class)(* 39 students showed up in class one time)Registration (Survey Monkey)Formal Assessment Through CETL* 2008 Class of 1969 Teaching Fellowship Class Observation by the Fellowship Program Director and her assistant After workshop dialogue/discussion with students Feedback collected* CETL: Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and LearningFeedbacks from CEE 3000 Students What helps you learn in this library workshop?• The students unanimously agreed that the following techniques/tools help them learn:  1) the research guide web site;  2) the hands-on time for learning;• Many students agreed that the following help them learn:  3) PowerPoint slides;  4) the handouts What changes in this library workshop would improve your learning?• Speak louder* (All students agreed with this except the ones in the front row.)• Provide more information about citations (styles)• Explain about preparing bibliographyFeedbacks from CEE 3000 Students (cont’d) What is the most important feedback you want your instructor to hear?• “Thank you! We appreciate you taking us through this information.”• “This was a good workshop because now we know what resources we have.”• “Integrating practice time and coaching into the PowerPoint presentation would be very helpful.”Informal Responses “It was very helpful.” – students “It was worth it”- students “Your slides were very informative and helpful.” – students “Glad to see more quality references used by students.”- faculty “Overall quality improvement (of project reports).” – teaching facultyResources Use Survey 2008 (Graduate – CEE/ME)Q:  Where do you go to meet your academic information needs? (Please rank your 1st, 2nd, 3rd... choices) – (Graduate)Resources Use Survey 2008 (Undergraduate CEE/ME)Q:  Where do you go to meet your academic information needs? (Please rank your 1st, 2nd, 3rd... choices) – (Undergraduate)Student Project Report Reference Review Student Project Report Reference Review Student Project Report Reference Review  Percentage of scholarly journal articles cited among all references*:• Spring 2005: 4.7%• Spring 2006: 10.4%• Spring 2007: 20%• Fall 2007: 18%• Fall 2010: N/A(* Not including articles from trade journals and magazines)Student Project Report Reference Review (cont’d)•Use of scholarly journals, technical reports and government documents Before the workshop offered:            16%After the workshop offered: 31%(through 2007)Workshop Outcomes Students gained knowledge of value-added resources and were able to select appropriate search tools for their projects Students learned how to conduct effective searches and evaluate results Students learned how to effectively manage, and incorporate  info. into their reports Students were aware of rights issues and asked related questionsWorkshop Outcomes (cont’d)  Workshop expansion: • offering two sessions for each class• including all classes for the same course Workshop are offered every semester including summer. Workshop standardized in course syllabus Librarian has more opportunities working with different professors each semester.CEE 3000 Course SyllabusCenter for Sustainable Engineering (CSE) Benchmark Assessmenthttp://www.csengin.org/EIS Documents Digitization ProjectScholarly Communication & Digital ServicesDistance Learning Session for GT Savannah Students (Wimba)CompendexDemo through Podcasting (Camtasia)Resources Page Via  T-Square (Sakai)Course Guide (LibGuide)Course Guide Use StatisticsLibraryWorkshop Lessons Learned  Students were enthusiastic about participating Students were interested in when relevant example was used Uneven student information skill level ( -suggest introductory class for transfer students)Lessons Learned (cont’d) Learn from teaching • Individual teaching -> classroom lecturing -> project based teaching -> learner-centered teaching Show them the “tricks” (e.g. EndNote, annotated bibliography, LibX GT) Learn from the students (e.g. invited to student project presentations)Discussions Students pay series attention to IL classes if it is emphasized especially by teaching faculty. Students are curious to learn how to search databases effectively, though some of them may not have enough patience. Reference analysis and other assessment measures. (quality, quantity)Conclusion Teaching information literacy through senior projects can be an effective way to engage students in learning.  Collaborating with teaching faculty, librarians can win trust and embrace new opportunities. Be flexible and willing to learn and implement new methods in teaching information literacy.Bibliographies Adjo A. Amekudzi, Lisha Li, Michael Meyer. “Cultivating Research and Information Skills in Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students.” Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 136, No. 1, January 2010, pp. 24-29, (doi 10.1061/(ASCE)1052 -3928(2010)136:1(24)) ASCE. 2007. “The vision of civil engineering in 2025.” Association of College and Research Libraries ACRL. 2007. “Information literacy standards for science and engineering/technology.” (http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/infolitscitech.cfm) Li, Lisha; Baer, William. “Library and information use patterns by engineering faculty and students.” ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, 2009. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, June 14, 2009 - June 17, 2009. Phyllis Blumberg. “Developing learner-centered teaching: a practical guide.” Jossey-Bass, 2009.Questions?Thanks!

Teaching Information Literacy Through Senior Projects

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Teaching Information Literacy Through Senior Projects

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