NELIG Winter Meeting, December 2, 2011

Submitted by lhibbler on Thu, 11/03/2011 - 3:31pm

Often when we are at NELIG events, we hear our colleagues discussing innovative activities they have done with classes at their school. Sometimes we might even watch a great conference presentation where a librarian describes an activity he or she has done with classes, but we don’t actually get to see our colleagues “in action.” The December NELIG Meeting was a great opportunity to watch some of our creative colleagues conduct activities that they run, or are planning to run, in their classes. Those of us in the audience acted as their college students.  Through this experience we were reminded of what it is like to be sitting in the seat of the student and learn new teaching techniques and exercises from each other.
There were 5 locations for the Winter Meeting, each with a great group of speakers. Please see below for details for each site.

Keene State College, Keene, NH
Meeting Notes

  • Why Are We Here?: Using the Socratic Method to Enhance Student Learning, Laura Braunstein (Dartmouth College)
    How can we use the Socratic Method – an ancient active learning practice – to help students learn to use the library? This session will explore the Socratic Method as a teaching method that enhances student learning. Attendees will gain an understanding of the structured questioning of the Socratic Method and will develop approaches to using this method in their own teaching. Sample script
  • “Speed Databasing”: Making Lasting Connections in 10 Minutes or Less, Rachel Blair Vogt and Carolyn Gamtso, UNH Manchester
    Inspired by the speed dating phenomenon, our lesson gives students a chance to experience relevant resources which they “get to know” by researching during class. When the bell rings, students move to the next station. This lesson allows students a personalized in-context and hands-on research session in a short amount of time. The librarian serves as a guide and facilitates topic exploration and reflection. PowerPoint and Handouts: Gathering Keywords, Creating a Boolean String, Starting the Research Process
  • Digging deeper: Finding Information in the WWW, Melinda Malik, Merrimack College
    In 2011, Melinda collaborated with a computer science faculty member to develop an interesting and engaging lesson plan on advanced web searching using a fictional research scenario on the Titanic. In class, students engage in the discovery of information in both the visible and invisible web in order to fully understand where information lives online and how to find it. Attendees will be introduced to the complete lesson plan and participate in a dialog of where information lives in the visible and invisible web.

Providence College, Providence, RI
Meeting Notes

  • Library Scene: Fairfield Edition: Orienting First-Year Students to the Library Using Interactive, Multimedia Game Play, Laura Weber & Jessica McCullough, Fairfield University
    Incoming Freshmen will be divided into four groups to play the interactive multimedia game Library Scene: Fairfield Edition. The game, based on the DVD game Scene It, consists of an introductory video, followed by four separate video segments set in different physical areas of the library. After each video segment the groups will compete to answer four interactive questions based on the content of that video segment. The goal of the video segments and questions is to point out important information about the library, its resources and services.
  • Encouraging "Excellence at Brown": a library's welcome for underserved students, Carina Cournouyer, Brown University
  • The Power of Video: Creating a rapport in the classroom that extends throughout a semester, Kari Mofford, UMass Dartmouth
    Fifty minutes. One shot sessions. How hard is it to not only teach a lesson in that time, but also create an atmosphere where students will both listen with the same respect they give their regular instructors, and feel comfortable enough with you to ask questions both in the session and after.
    I’m using library videos which are distributed beforehand to help create that atmosphere. I’m also experimenting with information literacy minute videos to help reinforce skills introduced in the classroom. After viewing a few of the videos, I’ll discuss how we come up with the story, characters, casting, and the great collaborations that have formed along the way. While the minute videos were originally intended for students, the response from faculty and staff has also been very interesting and may have benefited an audience that doesn’t always feel comfortable asking questions about the library. Handout
  • Mastering Music Searching, Erica Charis, Berklee College of Music

Tufts University, Medford, MA
Meeting Notes

  •  Beyond the One Shot: Excerpts from a Faculty Information Literacy Collaborative, Karla Fribley & Christina Dent, Emerson College
    In May 2010 and May 2011, Emerson librarians partnered with our Teaching and Learning center to run a 3-day faculty workshop called the “Information Literacy Collaborative.” Goals for the workshop focused on increasing faculty understanding of information literacy, creating information literacy-based learning outcomes, and designing information literacy-based assignments.  We’ll be showing 2 activities—one that involved a skit to help participants understand the importance of clear learning objectives, and the other to get them thinking about how to scaffold steps into a research assignment.
  • Parsing the Sexy Title: Looking Beyond the Academic Colon to the Core of the Article, Catherine Fahey, Salem State University
    Searching a database for "A scholarly  peer-reviewed article about madness in Hamlet" doesn't work, because scholars write papers called "'Noises,/Sounds, and Sweet Airs': The Burden of Shakespeare's Tempest" or  "The 'Tree of Life' and the King's Arboreal Bodies in Shakespeare's Cymbeline." How can you tell what these articles are about, without reading them? Are there clues in the titles to the contents? This exercise will look at ways to parse article titles and extract their meaning. This exercise is geared toward a mid/upper level English class, but can be adapted to any upper-level discipline specific information literacy class. Handout
  • Effective Research Strategies for Academic Assignments, Stacy Schwartz, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
    What do you do when multiple librarians teach the same basic first year class multiple times in the span of two weeks? How do you keep students interested and engaged, without losing your voice (or mind, for that matter)? At Simmons College, we utilized technology in the classroom through tutorials and survey software to make the sprint of teaching the first year course manageable and fun.
  • Google vs. The Library: Transitioning Your (Re)Search, Zachary Newell, Salem State University
    I will explore effective ways to get students to think about the way they access and use information, including discussion about Google, politics and “Filter Bubbles”.  This is part of a series of sessions I offer on the Ethics of Information that explores creative ways to engage students to think about larger issues around information and its impact on their lives. LibGuide

University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Meeting Notes

  • Bubble Over: Filter Bubbles, Internet Personalization, and You, Sarah Faye Cohen, Andy Burkhardt, Michele Melia, Champlain College
  • Fake Hemmingway: Paraphrasing for Non-Native Speakers, Nikki Krysak, Norwich University
    I introduce foreign language students to real-life plagiarism through art, music, fashion, and literature. We view passages from the 2006 Kaavya Viswanathan book, How Opal Metha Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, and compare them with nearly identical passages from original authors. Students then work in groups to come up with acceptable paraphrases to exercise their translation skills and creativity.
  • Understanding plagiarism through case studies, Rachel Pusateri, Green Mountain College

 Western New England University, Springfield, MA
Meeting Notes

  • Gathering Background Info – Credo v. Wikipedia, Jennifer Ditkoff, Keene State College
    This exercise asks students to compare a variety of reference sources and to use those sources to gather keywords to get to know their topic.
    Reference entry (Britannica, Credo) v. Wikipedia
    Goal: Students recognize gathering background information as part of the research process, find topic in a reference book (online or in print) and find topic in a wikipedia entry and compare.
  • Finding What you Need: Choosing your Own Adventures in Library Research, Laura Robinson Hanlan, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
    Do you find that student researchers learn about library search tools but still fail to find great resources due to poor keyword selection and search techniques? On December 2, be a “student” in a class in which you will engage with a topic, carefully plan a search adventure, and then finally hit the trail. You will consider the facets of your topic and who might produce and distribute answers, develop thoughtful keywords, and find one outstanding source. From that source you will choose your own adventure by following reference leads, forward citations, sophisticated keywords, subject terms and more. In Class Activity
  • Build Your Research Foundation: Every Great Project Begins with a Plan, Joy Hansen, Middlesex Community College
    English 101 is the fundamental research skill-building course all students are required to master; however, librarians visit these classes only once a semester. While many tools are made available for independent learning of information-gathering principles outside the classroom, it is imperative that students begin with an effective research plan.  Using basic classroom exercises such as brainstorming, answering guided questions to form a thesis, and using a library database to generate keywords, students develop a plan for tackling their research assignment. Worksheet and PowerPoint
  •  Mind Mapping Software: Improving the Student Research Process through Inspiration©, Joshua Becker, Western New England University