| The EKU Library Instruction program is committed to assignment specific, topic specific library instruction with the ultimate goal of producing students who are information literate. It is still the case, however, that many students come to campus with very little in the way of information literacy. As such, library assignments should be designed so that educational goals can be effectively met, while promoting the goal of an information literate, lifelong learner. Fortunately, consulting with your library liaison will be extremely helpful with this important process. |
| Educational Objectives |
To ensure that students gain from library research assignments, it is important that they understand the educational objectives that you have set. A few sample objectives could include the ability to:
- Determine and develop a suitable research topic.
- Select and employ the best catalogs, indexes, general and subject databases, and Internet search tools to locate and retrieve relevant and timely materials.
- Distinguish and evaluate popular and scholarly sources, regardless of format.
- Quote and cite information sources to give proper credit and avoid plagiarism.
|
| Flexible & Active Designs |
The more narrow the library assignment, the more unlikely that students will be able to actually retrieve the sources that they need. As such, flexibility is important. It is also a good idea to make sure that students are actively engaged in their learning. This flexible approach to active learning can be achieved by a variety of methods and research assignments. For example, students may do one or more of the following:
- Select their own paper topic (as opposed to a single, assigned topic). This promotes involved and active learning, and makes the student responsible for ensuring that sufficient library sources are, in fact, available.
- Compare and contrast different information formats (books, periodicals, and web sites) and evaluate the content of all three for the selected topic.
- Prepare an annotated bibliography of scholarly and/or popular information sources on their topic.
- Keep a log of their research processes, what they found, and how it influenced how they thought about their topic, and the information sources that they used.
|
| Things to Avoid with a Library Assignment |
| Having students track down vague, esoteric, obscure, or unclear information that may be found in one source (or less) at EKU Libraries is to be avoided. Along these lines, scavenger hunts and trivia pursuits often frustrate and confuse students when they can't find a purpose or a source for the questions. These types of assignments often end up putting the librarians through their paces, but rarely do they facilitate student learning. |
| Customized Library Instruction: Search Strategies & Library Resources |
| It is often helpful to suggest a number of different sources and search strategies that will help students effectively navigate the myriad of information that is available. To address the complexity of these information sources and the search strategies needed to access them, EKU Libraries offers hands-on, customized library instruction. Employing up-to-date technologies, librarian instructors teach effective search strategies, key information sources, and how to evaluate what is retrieved. As a result, students will be able to find much more than one or two Internet sites of questionable worth. |
| Acknowledgements |
| Adapted with permission from the Library, University of California, Berkeley. See http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/assignments.html. |