Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Hands-On Learning In Special Collections: A Pilot Study, Sarah M. Horowitz, Stefanie R. Bluemle, Ellen Hay, Mark Salisbury

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This Assessment in Action project addressed the effect of using original primary materials on first-year students’ information literacy (IL) and critical thinking skills. IL and critical thinking are among Augustana College’s college-wide student learning outcomes. More than 25% of Augustana first-years use Special Collections each year, yet we had little data on how this affected student learning. The study evaluated a worksheet given as a pre- and post-test around class visits to work in Special Collections, and papers by students who did and did not visit Special Collections with class.

Beyond Search: Information Literacy, Special Collections, And The First Year, Stefanie R. Bluemle, Sarah M. Horowitz

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

Recent research in information literacy (IL) suggests librarians should shift the emphasis of IL instruction toward higher-level concepts rather than search mechanics. This session describes how the Augustana library drew upon the results of local assessments and national research to re-imagine its first-year learning outcomes so as to focus on higher-level skills and recognize the importance of special collections in teaching IL in the college’s required first-year sequence. We address transforming IL pedagogy throughout the library as well as designing special collections as a hands-on learning laboratory.

Concept/Context: Information Literacy And Assessment In The First Year, Stefanie R. Bluemle, Amanda Y. Makula, Margaret W. Rogal

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

At Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where the academic calendar consists of trimesters, all first-year students enroll in a year-long sequence of three "Liberal Studies First Year" (LSFY) courses, which are taught by faculty from a variety of disciplines. LSFY emphasizes core competencies in reading, writing, oral communication, and information literacy.

Since 2011, the Augustana librarians have been using performance-based assessment to evaluate their work with LSFY classes. This qualitative approach, which encourages real-life application of skills, has proven well-suited to an information literacy program in which concepts carry more weight than the mechanics of searching. Each term, the …