Education Commons^™

Information Literacy Opportunities Within The Discovery Tool Environment, Nancy E. Fawley, Nikki Krysak

Nancy Fawley

Discovery tools such as Primo, EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, and WorldCat Local aim to make scholarly research more intuitive for students in part because of their single interface for searching across multiple platforms, including the library, fee-based databases, and unique digital collections. Discovery tools are in sync with the way many undergraduates look for information because they offer a more “Google-like” experience in contrast with previous methods of research that required first knowing which database to use, then searching each one differently according to its specifications. However, broad searches across multiple formats with different systems of controlled vocabulary force instructors …

The D.B. Weldon Library's Instruction Portfolio: A Grassroots, Team-Based Approach, Kim Mcphee, Melanie Mills, Marg Sloan

Marg Sloan

In an effort to address ever-shifting staffing levels and evolving service demands, staff in the Research & Instructional Services department of The D.B. Weldon Library at Western University developed and implemented a new and strategic approach to structuring their work. The ‘Portfolio Model’ provides a framework for organizing the primary functions of the department - collections, instruction and reference - while at the same time preserving liaison at its core. Through a close examination of this grassroots effort and in particular, the achievements realized and challenges faced by the team of librarians and library assistants who together comprise the ‘Instruction …

Anatomy Of An “Instruction Plan”: Information Literacy, Abet Lifelong Learning, And The Engineering Curriculum, Debbie Morrow

Debbie Morrow

Planning library instruction to help disciplinary departments meet accreditation is a strong way for academic libraries to demonstrate value. During 2012 the Liaison Librarians at Grand Valley State University undertook a new initiative to develop “instruction plans” for each of our liaison departments. The goal of a departmental instruction plan is to profile the curriculum in a discipline and strategically identify prospective courses for offering library instructional support where the greatest number of students can experience the most benefit, relevant to specific assignments and discipline-specific skill areas. The plan also captures specific information literacy core competencies that the librarian plans …

The D.B. Weldon Library's Instruction Portfolio: A Grassroots, Team-Based Approach, Kim Mcphee, Melanie Mills, Marg Sloan

Western Libraries Presentations

In an effort to address ever-shifting staffing levels and evolving service demands, staff in the Research & Instructional Services department of The D.B. Weldon Library at Western University developed and implemented a new and strategic approach to structuring their work. The ‘Portfolio Model’ provides a framework for organizing the primary functions of the department - collections, instruction and reference - while at the same time preserving liaison at its core. Through a close examination of this grassroots effort and in particular, the achievements realized and challenges faced by the team of librarians and library assistants who together comprise the ‘Instruction …

The D.B. Weldon Library's Instruction Portfolio: A Grassroots, Team-Based Approach, Kim Mcphee, Melanie Mills, Marg Sloan

Melanie Mills

Bringing The Library To The Students: Using Technology To Deliver Instruction And Resources For Research, Judith Arnold, Jennifer N. Sias, Jingping Zhang

Jennifer N Sias

To provide equitable services and access to off-campus students, librarians must meet the challenges of the digital divide and the geographic divide. Instruction and document delivery are key services that can determine how successful a library is in meeting its responsibility to distance learning. This session will focus on technological solutions to instruction, access, and document delivery in technology-challenged and remote environments.

Bringing The Library To The Students: Using Technology To Deliver Instruction And Resources For Research, Judith Arnold, Jennifer N. Sias, Jingping Zhang

Jingping Zhang

To provide equitable services and access to off-campus students, librarians must meet the challenges of the digital divide and the geographic divide. Instruction and document delivery are key services that can determine how successful a library is in meeting its responsibility to distance learning. This session will focus on technological solutions to instruction, access, and document delivery in technology-challenged and remote environments.

Preliminaries To Haptic-Integrated Pronunciation Instruction, William Acton, Amanda Ann Baker, Michael Burri, Brian Teaman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on aspects of a haptic (movement plus touch) integrated system for classroom pronunciation instruction. It is based, in part, on established pedagogical practice in the use of somatic/kinesthetic techniques such as gesture in language instruction (Acton, 1984, 2012; Celce-Murcia, Brinton, Goodwin & Briner, 2010; McCafferty, 2004), and management of vocal resonance in singing and voice training (Lessac, 1997). The pedagogical method is designed for use by relatively untrained instructors and is generally best delivered through video with classroom follow up. Relatively recent research and development in haptics, especially in the areas of gaming, prosthetics and robotics, provides …

Integrating Fluent Pronunciation Use Into Content-Based Esl Instruction: Two Case Studies, Amanda Baker

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines the teaching practices of two ESL teachers who integrated pronunciation instruction into intermediate-level, content/task-based, oral communication courses in an Intensive English program. These practices are analysed according to five categories of pronunciation instruction: Language Awareness; Controlled Practice; Guided Practice, Fluency Development and Free Practice. The fourth category, Fluency Development, is defined based on the work of Nation and Newton (2009), who list, among several criteria, pressure to perform at greater speeds or at least "more smoothly" as central to improving learner fluency. Based on classroom observations, interviews with teachers and student questionnaires, the degree to which the …

Write For Your Life: Developing Digital Literacies And Writing Pedagogy In Teacher Education, Shartriya Collier, Brian Foley, David Moguel, Ian Barnard

English Faculty Articles and Research

The need for the effective development of digital literacies pervades every aspect of instruction in contemporary classrooms. As a result, teacher candidates must be equipped to draw upon a variety of literacies in order to tap into the complex social worlds of their future pupils. The Write for Your Life Project was designed to strengthen teacher candidates’ skills in both traditional and digital writing literacies through the use of social networks, blogging, texting, online modules and other social media. The project, to a large degree, was structured according to Calkins’ (1994) Writing Workshop Approach. This process encourages teacher candidates to …