Library and Information Science

Submitted by Justin de la Cruz on December 15th, 2019
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Short Description: 

A primer on how to read academic articles by guiding the class through a series of questions. Give students 5-15 minutes per slide to answer the questions (individually or in groups) before talking about their answers to questions with the whole class.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Reading Academic Articles.pdfdisplayed 1581 times67.6 KB
Learning Outcomes: 
  1. Students will learn how to quickly categorize academic articles based on content.
  2. Students will learn about three levels of engaging with an academic article — reading, analyzing, and contextualizing — and what to do during each step.
  3. Students will better understand how academic articles are written.
  4. Students will better understand how to read academic articles.

Individual or Group:

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Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
de la Cruz, Justin. "Reading Academic Articles." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/reading-academic-articles.
Submitted by Pascal Martinolli on November 8th, 2019
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Short Description: 

An open access MOOC in French to bonify the information literacy skills of university students (with Moodle).

Learning Outcomes: 

Students will know how to identify references in a bibliography, how to define their research subjects (synonyms & thesaurus), how to combine their keywords, which service to use (catalog, database, Google,...), how to assess the credibility of their sources, how to cite and respect copyrights, how to produce a bibliography with Zotero, how to adopt good practices for publishing (publishing process, open access, predators), how to set up alerts on topics, and what are bibliometry and literature review.

Individual or Group:

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

Integrated completely or partially into undergraduate and graduate courses. Also used as support to upgrade a specific information literacy skill of a student after a reference interview.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
Each module is assessed by a 10 questions test.
Suggested Citation: 
Martinolli, Pascal. "MOOC BoniCI ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/mooc-bonici.
Submitted by Chelsea Nesvig on August 6th, 2019
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Short Description: 

This assignment/activity works to pair students in fully online or hybrid courses in order to discuss, via phone or messaging app, any topic of choice. In this example, students in a 100-level composition course discuss their research topic of interest with their partner and offer each other suggestions for refinement. This assignment could be adapted in a variety of ways to support other research assignments or projects.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Project CORA Activity Instructions.docxdisplayed 1014 times17.66 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

After completing this activity students will... - Be able to define their research topic more clearly - Understand that discussing research with each other leads to new/different ideas - Have made a connection with a classmate in an online course that could continue beyond this assignment

Individual or Group:

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

I have used this activity in both an online and a hybrid (50%) section of an English 102 Research Writing Course. It serves as a way to pair students for research conversations when they are not physically in a classroom together. These pairs could be used throughout the quarter/semester for regular research conversations between students and/or peer-review exercises. This activity is highly adaptable to your teaching context, course, and research assignments. I look forward to hearing how others are able to use it!

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

Executing this activity well, especially the first time, can require a good amount of hands on time from the librarian/instructor implementing it. As noted in the assignment description document, pairing students with the Donut app on Slack takes time; using a random pairing generator doesn't take as much. The biggest potential pitfall is students not being able to connect with their partner. Online courses can have students who do not check in regularly enough to allow them to connect with their partner before the due date. I would not penalize students whose partners did not show up. I did pair myself with a student once who didn't have one due to odd numbers in the course.

Suggested Citation: 
Nesvig, Chelsea. "#researchspeeddate (think/pair/share for an online or hybrid class)." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/researchspeeddate-thinkpairshare-online-or-hybrid-class.
Submitted by Peter Catlin on July 10th, 2019
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Short Description: 

A classroom activity and lesson plan for first-year students. Your students will learn to differentiate between different categories of items -- such as Popular/Scholarly, or Primary/Secondary/Tertiary -- by playing this fun and easy game.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
The Sorting Machine - lesson plan.pdfdisplayed 1464 times567.85 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will:
• Correctly categorize library items.
• Describe the different role that each category plays in the research process.
• Discuss how particular items could be used in the research process, in the context of each item’s category.

Individual or Group:

Suggested Citation: 
Catlin, Peter. "The Sorting Machine." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/sorting-machine.
Submitted by Chelsea Heinbach on May 16th, 2019
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Short Description: 

This low-stakes, in-class assignment is designed to help first-year seminar students learn about important library resources and present their findings to their fellow students. In teams, students complete a series of authentic research tasks (called challenges) such as selecting and citing images from our digital collection and using our discovery tool to find books on the library shelves. Each team is also assigned a unique challenge to learn more about the library. Students spend the last twenty-five minutes of class designing a quick presentation in Canva and using it to teach each other about what they learned through their unique challenges.

Attachments: 
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Lesson Plandisplayed 933 times17.1 KB
Activity Challengesdisplayed 900 times109.77 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will identify uses for library technologies and resources in order to teach their classmates. Students will examine metadata from an image found via the UNLV digital collections in order to write an accurate image citation. Students will design a slide in Canva that showcases library resources and technologies.

Individual or Group:

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

We used this lesson plan to provide library instruction for a first-year seminar for liberal arts students. The course was loosely themed around the idea of “a domain of one’s own,” i.e., equipping students to become thoughtful creators of digital content. The session was not tied to a particular research assignment, but the course instructor thought it was important to provide students with a general introduction to the library. The course instructor gave Mark few parameters for developing the lesson, instead asking Mark “to just tell them about the library.” Mark decided to collaborate with Brittany and Chelsea to transform the generic “welcome to the library” session that the instructor had asked for into something more vibrant.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
Student groups checked in with us as they completed the succession of challenges in order to move on to the next stage. We also reviewed students’ presentations and Canva slides for evidence that students fulfilled our learning outcomes.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

Although the goal of this lesson plan is to provide a casual, low-stakes learning experience for the students, the constraints of time and logistics require the instructors to undertake careful planning in advance. The clearer you can make your directions for each challenge, the more time students can devote to discovering library resources and sharing what they learned. You will probably want a second instructor to help students with logistical questions. If you cannot get an additional librarian colleague, an experienced student worker or even the course instructor could fill this role, but make sure that they understand the plan in advance. Try to avoid extending the lesson plan by shifting the presentation to an additional class session, as it will likely cause students to overthink what is meant to be a low-stakes and engaging activity.

Suggested Citation: 
Heinbach, Chelsea. "A Peer-to-Peer Introduction to the University Library." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/peer-peer-introduction-university-library.
Submitted by Tessa Withorn on April 15th, 2019
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Short Description: 

The goal of this activity is to explore spaces, services, and information literacy (IL) concepts through problem-based scenarios, guided discovery, and peer teaching. Ideal for orientations for K-12, undergraduate, transfer, or graduate students, but can also be used for instruction requests with no clear research assignment or at the start of a research project. Students work in groups to find solutions to a scenario using guided directions and tools, and then teach the rest of the class based on their findings. The activity takes approximately 30-45 minutes, including student presentations, depending on class size and complexity of scenarios.

Attachments: 
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Problem-based Scenarios for Library Instruction Lesson Plan.docxdisplayed 1799 times23.76 KB
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Problem Based Scenario Worksheet Template.docxdisplayed 1024 times26.62 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

After this activity, students will be able to:
● Describe study spaces and services within the library
● Navigate the library’s website
● Describe how the library provides resources necessary for academic success

Individual or Group:

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

Scenarios in the lesson plan have been used for a first-year English Composition course with about 15 students and no research assignment, but the instructor wanted a broad overview of the library, and a new student orientation for 30 transfer students.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
Ask students to write down 1 thing they learned and 1 question or thing they are still unsure about. Answer any remaining questions.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

Timing: Works best when scenarios take approximately the same amount of time for each group to explore and answer the So What? question. Or, have a back-up activity or task for students to work on if their group finishes early.

Complexity and discovery: In crafting your scenario and guided instructions, think about what students might already know and how they can use that knowledge to think about libraries and information literacy in new ways. The goal of the scenario should be more than just completing a simple information retrieval task or learning how an information system works. Focus on getting students started by suggesting tools and strategies they may be unfamiliar with, but encourage students to explore, discover, and reflect on the scenarios in relationship to their own processes and experiences.

Suggested Citation: 
Withorn, Tessa. "Problem-based Scenarios for Library Instruction." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/problem-based-scenarios-library-instruction.
Submitted by Robert Miller on March 27th, 2019
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Short Description: 

Students self-reflect on ways in which they do research and create knowledge. This is a discussion topic in an online library research class. My students are mostly adult learners with full-time jobs.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
You as Knowledge Creator.docxdisplayed 875 times14.39 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will be able to articulate a situation in their life where they conduct research, create knowledge, and share it with others.

Individual or Group:

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

A graded discussion in a 1-credit, online, library research class.

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

It might be nice to have the students read something on metaliteracy, because that is what they are doing here--self-reflecting on research and knowledge creation. But I have gotten as far as that, identifying and giving them a reading.

Suggested Citation: 
Miller, Robert. "You as Knowledge Creator." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/you-knowledge-creator.
Submitted by William (Bill) Badke on March 26th, 2019
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Short Description: 

A two-credit online undergraduate information literacy course used in an adult degree completion bachelor's program.

Learning Outcomes: 

The student will:

Gain an understanding of the characteristics of information and its dissemination in the information age.
Develop an appreciation for topic analysis and research focused around a question or hypothesis.
Learn to strategize research procedures using a wide variety of tools and information sources, based on an understanding of information systems and their manner of operation.
Acquire a deeper ability to use critical thinking to interact with diverse concepts, evaluate truth claims, synthesize data and make conclusions.
Show an appreciation for the ethical requirements of research and writing within Christian and marketplace contexts.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

All resources are linked in the course site.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
Graded assignments, rubrics
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

Online instruction requires a great deal of interaction with students, ready availability, and a 24 hour turnaround time on assignment grading.

Suggested Citation: 
Badke, William (Bill). "UNIV 110 OL - Scholarly Inquiry and Research Methods (online)." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/univ-110-ol-scholarly-inquiry-and-research-methods-online.
Submitted by Michelle Keba Knecht on December 10th, 2018
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Short Description: 

Did fake news affect the presidential election? Do websites purposely publish misleading stories? In this workshop, learn how to evaluate the trustworthiness of news stories while responsibly sharing reliable information.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Fake News Harmless or Disruptive Lesson Outline.pdfdisplayed 1675 times216.03 KB
Keba Fighting Fake News Presentation SEFLIN Conference 2018.pptxdisplayed 1146 times9.92 MB
Learning Outcomes: 

After completing the library instruction session, students will be able to:
• evaluate the trustworthiness of the information in news stories
• explain the ethical responsibility of readers to evaluate information sources

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
Keba Knecht, Michelle. "Fake News: Harmless or Disruptive?." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/fake-news-harmless-or-disruptive.
Submitted by Michelle Keba Knecht on December 10th, 2018
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Short Description: 

Are you finding reliable sources for your research papers and projects? Has your professor asked you to use scholarly sources? What is a scholarly source anyway? In this workshop, learn how to critically evaluate the information you find through books, articles, and websites.

**This lesson plan was adapted from "Establishing and Applying Evaluation Criteria" p. 74 -78 in Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts Lesson Plans for Librarians, edited by Bravender, McClure, and Schaub (2015).**

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Authority is Constructed and Contextual Lesson Plan.pdfdisplayed 2468 times196.92 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

After completing the library instruction session, students will be able to:
• produce criteria for evaluating information sources in order to cultivate a skeptical stance and a self-awareness of their own biases and world views.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
Keba Knecht, Michelle. "Who’s an Authority? Recognizing Scholarly Sources in the Library." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/who%E2%80%99s-authority-recognizing-scholarly-sources-library.

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