English

Submitted by Kirsten Hansen on December 19th, 2017
Short Description: 

During this activity, students work in small groups to explore assigned databases and then share back what they learn in a Google Doc projected at the front of the classroom.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Database_Exploration_with_Google_docs.docxdisplayed 2131 times287.4 KB
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Sample_Lesson_Plan_databases and google docs.docdisplayed 1735 times120.5 KB
Relevant links: 
Database Exploration Google Doc template
Learning Outcomes: 

• Students will construct a search using their keywords in a designated database in order to find three articles are superficially relevant to their research topic. • Students will analyze one database in order to articulate one useful feature of the database for their research assignment, and explain why or how the feature might be useful to their assignment.

Discipline: 
AnthropologyArtBiologyEducationEnglishEnvironmental StudiesMultidisciplinarySociology

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

I frequently use this activity for first year research classes across a wide variety of disciplines when the faculty member teaching the class has asked me to demo databases. I have also used it with great success in higher-level discipline specific classes including biology and my colleagues have used it with graduate students. This activity works best for classes with a research assignment and when students have received the research assignment and are starting to think about their research topic prior to the IL session. However, I've also had classes where students have not yet received their research assignment and working with a single research question as a whole class works just fine. In that case, I usually have a research question that I've created that we can work with but with discipline specific classes we've also created research questions together at the beginning of class.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

To see how this activity fits into my somewhat-typical first year instruction session, see the sample lesson plan below. Please note: This is a real lesson plan and thus refers to class activities not explained here. The lesson plan is mostly meant to show how the google doc exercise can fit into a larger class session. If you have questions about the other activities mentioned in the lesson plan, please ask!

Collaborators: 
Lydia Bello
Suggested Citation: 
Hansen, Kirsten. "Exploring Databases with Google Docs." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/exploring-databases-google-docs.
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Submitted by Elisa Acosta on July 2nd, 2017
Short Description: 

This activity was created to introduce first-year students to library resources they can use for their annotated bibliography assignment. In pairs, students are assigned a task card that requires them to find an information source. After finding a source meeting the criteria of their task card, the student teams input their answers into a Google Form. Formative assessment takes place during class, allowing the librarian to modify instruction on-the-spot based on the responses from the form.

Summative assessment takes place at the end of the semester, when a rubric is applied to a sample of student responses from the activity. This assessment provides a more thorough picture of where students may have succeeded or struggled with the activity, and may provide ideas for how to adjust the activity in the future.

This recipe is from The First-Year Experience Cookbook, edited by Raymond Pun and Meggan Houlihan and written by Elisa Slater Acosta and Katherine Donaldson.

Relevant links: 
Taste Testing for Two: Using Formative and Summative AssessmentTask CardsGoogle Form Additional Resources
Learning Outcomes: 

The student will use information ethically by providing basic citation information for their source.
The student will be able to identify the appropriate information type based on their information need.
The student will be able to properly identify the format of the information source they find.
The student will be able to use effective keywords for their information need.
The student will be able to describe the purpose of a specific information source.
The student will be able to articulate how they could support a social justice argument using a source.
The student will be able to find a relevant source to match their information need.

Discipline: 
EnglishMultidisciplinaryRhetoric, Composition, and Writing

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

This activity takes place after the Research Exploration Exercise and before the Annotated Bibliography .

Collaborators: 
Katherine Donaldson
Suggested Citation: 
Acosta, Elisa. "Taste Testing for Two: Using Formative and Summative Assessment." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/taste-testing-two-using-formative-and-summative-assessment.
Copyright icon to go along with copyright rules.
All assignments contributed to this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike United States License

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Submitted by Laura Massa on January 5th, 2017
Short Description: 

In small groups students give a presentation examining how the popular media reports scientific findings.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Science in the Media presentations assignment & rubricdisplayed 1770 times19.28 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

• Discriminate between scholarly and popular modes of knowledge through an understanding of the peer review process. • Engage critically and reflectively in scholarly discourse. • Exercise critical thinking in oral discussion and writing.

Discipline: 
BiologyBusinessChemistryCommunication StudiesEconomicsEducationEngineeringEnglishEnvironmental StudiesEthnic StudiesFilm and TVGeologyLiberal StudiesLibrary and Information ScienceLinguisticsMultidisciplinaryPhysicsPolitical SciencePsychologySociologyUrban StudiesWomen's and Gender Studies

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

Before I introduce the assignment I ask students to rate how accurately they believe that the popular media reports scientific findings. After all of the presentations have been given, I ask them to rate this again, and engage in a bit of reflective writing. I ask them explain why their rating has stayed the same or changed, how they will approach science in the media moving forward, and what they think the main take-aways from this assignment have been. We then discuss those take-away messages-- which usually results in a much broader and deeper understanding of information sources.

Suggested Citation: 
Massa, Laura. "Science in the Media." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/science-media.
Copyright icon to go along with copyright rules.
All assignments contributed to this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike United States License

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