civic engagement

Submitted by Tierney Gleason on May 15th, 2023
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Short Description: 

Learn how to go beneath the headlines and current debates to examine the text of laws and/or proposed legislation with a focus on Congress, the Supreme Court, Executive Orders, and state legislatures. This introductory workshop will highlight library resources, open government resources, and search strategies to support researchers across many disciplines and interest areas to navigate legal and legislative history resources.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Workshop Slidesdisplayed 757 times1.52 MB
Lesson Plandisplayed 585 times18.23 KB
Learning Outcomes: 
  • - Participants will understand the importance of collecting background information to support searching for laws & legislative history.
  • - Participants will learn about the pros & cons of library databases versus open government resources.
  • - Participants will become reacquainted with civics/how government works as they learn to select information resources based on jurisdiction and navigate database limiters that organize information by legislative activity and/or document type.
Discipline: 
Law

Individual or Group:

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

Iterations of this session have been offered as workshops. This session appeals to students across many disciplines who use legal research (Journalism, Social Work, Education, Political Science, History, etc) as well as activists, genealogists, and more.

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

Lesson plan includes search examples and background information that help with searching for legal resources.

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
Gleason, Tierney. "Researching Laws & Legislation." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2023. https://projectcora.org/assignment/researching-laws-legislation.
Submitted by Elisa Acosta on January 25th, 2017
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Short Description: 

In an effort to provide students with an open space to learn about and discuss recent national concerns over “fake news,” the library offered four sessions of the workshop “Keepin’ It Real: Tips & Strategies for Evaluating Fake News” during a campus-wide Inauguration Teach-In on Friday, January 20, 2017. During this session, students had the opportunity to talk about how misleading news sources (encompassing misinformation, disinformation, click-bait, propaganda, etc.) have affected their views on civil discourse, specifically relating to the recent U.S. presidential election. By the end of the session, we hope students became more confident in their ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability of news reports, whether they come via print, television or the internet.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Lesson Plan displayed 4349 times612.04 KB
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Activity #1displayed 3818 times143.59 KB
PowerPointdisplayed 2539 times496.98 KB
Handout / Activity #2displayed 2898 times185.37 KB
Handout / Activity #2displayed 3014 times126.82 KB
Activity #2 Answer Key / Additional Instructions displayed 3628 times15.7 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

• Students will practice techniques for evaluating the credibility of news stories.
• Students will reflect upon their reactions to stories and practice identifying and distinguishing between their emotional responses and logical analyses of the items.
• Students will learn the value of information and sources from multiple perspectives.
• Students will become credible, trustworthy publishers in the digital age (sharing news).

Individual or Group:

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

The campus-wide breakout sessions were from 11:00-12:30pm (1.5 hours). Faculty were encouraged to cancel classes 8am-12:30pm so that students could watch the Inauguration together and attend one breakout session.

• Inauguration Day Teach-in website:  https://web.archive.org/web/20180117195647/http://academics.lmu.edu/teachin/breakoutsessions/

The library decided to offer four 45-minute break out sessions. Approximately 90 students attended. Several staff members and faculty attended also.

• Library Breakout Session Description: 

https://web.archive.org/web/20170113072807/https://librarynews.lmu.edu/2017/01/keepin-real-tips-strategies-evaluating-fake-news/

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

Activity #2 could be spun off into a reflective assignment for students to critically examine their own news media consumption and information behaviors.

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

We had too much material for a 45-minute workshop. Perhaps 60-90 minutes is more realistic. Set aside more time for student discussion. As time marches on, choose a more timely "Fake News" story for Activity #1.

Suggested Citation: 
Acosta, Elisa. "Keepin It Real: Tips and Strategies for Evaluating Fake News." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/keepin-it-real-tips-and-strategies-evaluating-fake-news.