This sample activity corresponds to a chapter in the upcoming (2022) ACRL title: Teaching Critical Reading Skills: Strategies for Academic Librarians.

This sample activity corresponds to a chapter in the upcoming (2022) ACRL title: Teaching Critical Reading Skills: Strategies for Academic Librarians.

This sample activity corresponds to a chapter in the upcoming (2022) ACRL title: Teaching Critical Reading Skills: Strategies for Academic Librarians.

This sample activity corresponds to a chapter in the upcoming (2022) ACRL title: Teaching Critical Reading Skills: Strategies for Academic Librarians.

Annotated bibliographies have become a popular assignment in college courses and a way to scaffold research papers. Gathering a bibliography before turning in a completed research project allows students to focus on searching strategically and get feedback on the sources they obtained. Annotating that bibliography requires them to think critically about the sources they choose and their relationship to the research at hand.

We use Google every day, but we do really understand why we get certain results? This event will explain what an algorithm is, how search engines use them, and how bias exists in our search results. Attendees will have a chance to reflect on the ways biased results can echo larger biases for representation in society.  Access this site at your convenience at: https://jmu.libwizard.com/f/algorithms-bias

Co-creators: Malia Willey and Alyssa Young.

In this hands on activity, students will find and compare/contrast news stories on a single current event/topical discussion to learn the importance of lateral reading and understand how bias can influence information production. 

This assignment was created to help undergraduate students use research articles to help inform their argument about a "text."  This exercise has been used in library instruction sessions for art history, composition, english literature, women's studies, and history classes. After reflecting on what they know about a text (or image or multimedia), brainstorming search terms, and tracking relevant patterns in search results, students can synthesize information from a variety of sources in an organized, methodological fashion. 

During this activity, students work with their lab partners to apply Mike Caulfield’s “Four Moves and a Habit” to a piece of science information they have found on the open web.

During this activity, students work with their lab partners to apply Mike Caulfield’s “Four Moves and a Habit” to a piece of science information they have found on the open web.