Chemistry

Submitted by Lauren deLaubell on January 17th, 2025
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Short Description: 

The most powerful wizards have gathered to battle one another.  Only one will win.  Wizards must use reliable sources to research incantations for the battle, or their spells will fizzle.  Truly wise wizards must learn to tell the difference. 

Research Wizards is an information literacy card game designed to teach students ages 12+ about source evaluation.  Research Wizards corresponds to the Frame Authority Is Constructed and Contextual, from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.  Players will discuss and challenge the relative value of various sources, each representing a different suit in the game.  The game includes four major actions/phases:  Parley, when players discuss and decide for themselves the relative value of each suit; Battle, which includes competition, player actions, and Challenges; Vengeance, for eliminated players to impact and speed up the remainder of the game; and Victory.

The Research Wizards website contains free game files, player directions, and printing tips for librarians and teachers who wish to use the game in their classrooms.  The website includes an editable, Microsoft Publisher version of the game.  Noncommercial use of the game is free for educational purposes with attribution to the author.  Librarians and teachers are encouraged to adapt the game as needed for their subject areas, student needs, and as the sources in the game evolve over time.  Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

Players:  3-5 per deck

Play Time:  20-30 minutes, plus discussion

Research Wizards by Lauren deLaubell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Player directionsdisplayed 1592 times1.02 MB
Printing tipsdisplayed 1509 times26.71 KB
Card deckdisplayed 1550 times2.51 MB
Relevant links: 
Research Wizards
Learning Outcomes: 
    • Wizards will define a variety of traditional and emerging information formats.
    • Wizards will compare a variety of information formats and discuss their relative reliability.
    • Wizards will explore the variation in quality found within specific categories of information (e.g., the wildcard of using resources located by or generated with artificial intelligence).
Discipline: 
AnthropologyArchaeologyArtBiologyBusinessChemistryClassicsCommunication StudiesEconomicsEducationEnglishEnvironmental StudiesEthnic StudiesFilm and TVHealthHistoryInformation ManagementLiberal StudiesLibrary and Information ScienceMultidisciplinaryPhilosophyPolitical SciencePsychologyRhetoric, Composition, and WritingSocial WorkSociologyUrban StudiesWomen's Studies

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

It is recommended to review directions out loud with students, with pauses for students to sort their decks and conduct the Parley phase of play.  To contextualize and reinforce learning, it is recommended to conclude the game with discussion questions; sample questions are provided at the bottom of the player directions file but may be adjusted as needed.

Suggested Citation: 
deLaubell, Lauren. "Research Wizards." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2025. https://projectcora.org/assignment/research-wizards.
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Submitted by Lydia Bello on March 31st, 2021
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Short Description: 

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.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Lesson Plan displayed 1265 times229.33 KB
Pre-lab Canvas Quiz questions developed by Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry displayed 1379 times99.7 KB
In Class Activity Templatedisplayed 1250 times55.69 KB
Relevant links: 
Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers, by Mike Caulfield
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Upon completing this activity, students will
    • Identify strategies to evaluate scientific information or media on the web in an efficient manner
    • Understand the characteristics that differentiate scholarly versus popular literature
Discipline: 
BiologyChemistryEnvironmental StudiesMultidisciplinary

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

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

I use this activity every year in the lab section of General chemistry. At this level of chemistry students are rarely doing research work that involves chemistry literature, and don’t necessarily have chemistry research questions or a need for understanding the library research databases for for the class. However, students at this level are engaging with science information in the classroom and outside the classroom, and this is a great opportunity to build skills needed to engage with information in online spaces. 

Since I developed this assignment, Mike Caulfield has developed a new framework based on the Four Moves, called SIFT. At this point I’ve stayed with Four Moves and a Habit because it comes with an open textbook that I can assign pre-class reading from, and because the named concept of lateral reading has been useful for students.

Many thanks to Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry, for her work on developing this lesson plan and developing the pre-lab quiz questions.

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

I’ve included a lesson plan, word document of the in-class activity, and copy of quiz questions used in Canvas as a pre-lab quiz. The lesson plan does not include much of the language I use to describe the concepts. If you want to know how I frame my explanations, please don’t hesitate to ask! 

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
There is no assessment criteria for this assignment, other than completion.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

THe most successful way to teach these moves is to demonstrate them live, with all the risks that may entail. It is useful to identify one or two examples that you can use to practice the different moves. During the activity it is useful to keep an eye on the collaborative document (Google Doc) students are working on, and use it to check in with individual groups. 

Suggested Citation: 
Bello, Lydia. "“Four Moves and a Habit” in General Chemistry Lab ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2021. https://projectcora.org/assignment/%E2%80%9Cfour-moves-and-habit%E2%80%9D-general-chemistry-lab-0.
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
Submitted by Lydia Bello on March 31st, 2021
Share this on: 
Short Description: 

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.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Lesson Plan displayed 1265 times229.33 KB
Pre-lab Canvas Quiz questions developed by Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry displayed 1379 times99.7 KB
In Class Activity Templatedisplayed 1250 times55.69 KB
Relevant links: 
Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers, by Mike Caulfield
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Upon completing this activity, students will
    • Identify strategies to evaluate scientific information or media on the web in an efficient manner
    • Understand the characteristics that differentiate scholarly versus popular literature
Discipline: 
BiologyChemistryEnvironmental StudiesMultidisciplinary

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

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

I use this activity every year in the lab section of General chemistry. At this level of chemistry students are rarely doing research work that involves chemistry literature, and don’t necessarily have chemistry research questions or a need for understanding the library research databases for for the class. However, students at this level are engaging with science information in the classroom and outside the classroom, and this is a great opportunity to build skills needed to engage with information in online spaces. 

Since I developed this assignment, Mike Caulfield has developed a new framework based on the Four Moves, called SIFT. At this point I’ve stayed with Four Moves and a Habit because it comes with an open textbook that I can assign pre-class reading from, and because the named concept of lateral reading has been useful for students.

Many thanks to Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry, for her work on developing this lesson plan and developing the pre-lab quiz questions.

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

I’ve included a lesson plan, word document of the in-class activity, and copy of quiz questions used in Canvas as a pre-lab quiz. The lesson plan does not include much of the language I use to describe the concepts. If you want to know how I frame my explanations, please don’t hesitate to ask! 

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
There is no assessment criteria for this assignment, other than completion.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

THe most successful way to teach these moves is to demonstrate them live, with all the risks that may entail. It is useful to identify one or two examples that you can use to practice the different moves. During the activity it is useful to keep an eye on the collaborative document (Google Doc) students are working on, and use it to check in with individual groups. 

Suggested Citation: 
Bello, Lydia. "“Four Moves and a Habit” in General Chemistry Lab ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2021. https://projectcora.org/assignment/%E2%80%9Cfour-moves-and-habit%E2%80%9D-general-chemistry-lab.
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

Teaching Resource

IL Test for Chemistry Students

Short answer and multiple choice questions based on the ACRL IL Standards for chemistry students.

Submitted by Janelle Bitter on October 9th, 2019
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Short Description: 

This think-pair-share activity in which students compare a popular and scholarly source will help them progress from answering observable questions (type of language and format) to analytical questions (intended audience). As a class, students will discuss their answers and talk about whether the popular source accurately represented the scholarly source.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Step-by-step instructions on using this activitydisplayed 921 times19.2 KB
The worksheet to be used in this activitydisplayed 920 times14.17 KB
PowerPoint presentation given at a conference about this activitydisplayed 1021 times1020.35 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will describe the information creation process for popular and scholarly sources, compare and contrast the type of information disseminated by each, and explain the ways in which authority and accuracy are contingent upon information need. Therefore, students will evaluate the accuracy and authority of a source based on discipline and information need and recognize and select appropriate resources for academic research.

Discipline: 
BiologyChemistryEngineeringEnvironmental StudiesGeologyHealthMultidisciplinaryPhysics

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

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: 

Using technology can unnecessarily complicate this activity, so printing articles and using the Post-it Note option would be better for a low-tech option.

Suggested Citation: 
Bitter, Janelle. "Scientific research in popular sources classroom activity." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/scientific-research-popular-sources-classroom-activity.
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All assignments contributed to this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike United States License
Submitted by Pascal Martinolli on July 24th, 2018
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Short Description: 

Comment envoyer une minorité d'étudiants surmotivés sur des objectifs pédagogiques intégrés et connexes dont le parcours est structuré ?
1) Faire une courte introduction engageante (15min.)
2) Identifier la minorité surmotivée et leur distribuer un parcours.
3) Assurer une supervision mininal avec un suivi distant et ponctuel au besoin.
Avec 2 exemples de parcours: une auto-initiation en 5 niveaux pour contribuer à Wikipédia; et un programme de 12 semaines pour démarrer un blogue sur un sujet de recherche.

How to get the few really motivated students involved? By asking them to fulfil « side-quests » learning activities in a structured itinerary :
1) Present a short but engaging initiation [sur quoi?] (15 min.) ;
2) After identifying the motivated students, give them a formal checklist [pour quoi?];
3) If needed, provide minimum mentoring and follow-up
Here are two examples : 5-steps self-initiation on how to contribute to Wikipedia and 12-weeks program to start a blog on research topic.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Wikipedibus: Parcours personnel de Wikipédia pour un usage universitaire (in French)displayed 1236 times526.77 KB
IncubaBlog : Programme en 12 semaines pour démarrer un blogue sur votre sujet de recherche (in French)displayed 1171 times345.66 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Contributing to Wikipédia and starting a research blog.

Discipline: 
AccountingAnthropologyArchaeologyArtBiologyBusinessChemistryClassicsCommunication StudiesComputer ScienceDanceEconomicsEducationEngineeringEnglishEnvironmental StudiesEthnic StudiesFilm and TVGeologyHealthHistoryInformation ManagementLawLiberal StudiesLibrary and Information ScienceLinguisticsMathematicsMultidisciplinaryMusicPhilosophyPhysicsPolitical SciencePsychologyRhetoric, Composition, and WritingSocial WorkSociologyTheater ArtsTheologyUrban StudiesWomen's Studies

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

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: 
Martinolli, Pascal. "Missionner les étudiants surmotivés sur des objectifs connexes / Self-driven side-quests with minimum mentoring." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/missionner-les-%C3%A9tudiants-surmotiv%C3%A9s-sur-des-objectifs-connexes-self-driven-side-quests.
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All assignments contributed to this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike United States License
Submitted by Pascal Martinolli on July 24th, 2018
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Short Description: 

The purpose of this activity is to inspire students to adopt structured methods when they explore and retrieve information. It is based on lab notebooking methods and on managing and documenting the flow of references in Zotero, a reference management software.

The first principle is based on a tree of collections to manage the references arriving in the Zotero library. Some basic methods are suggested and the students are invited to create their own. The second principle is based on standalone notes to document all the research process through online database, libraries and experts.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Description of the activity (in English)displayed 1783 times587.94 KB
Description de l'activité (en français)displayed 1754 times753.58 KB
Relevant links: 
Download ZotLog for Zotero (in French)Video tutorial (in French, with English subtitles)
Learning Outcomes: 

Adopting structured methods when exploring and retrieving informations;
Managing and documenting the flow of references in Zotero.

Discipline: 
AccountingAnthropologyArchaeologyArtBiologyBusinessChemistryClassicsCommunication StudiesComputer ScienceDanceEconomicsEducationEngineeringEnglishEnvironmental StudiesEthnic StudiesFilm and TVGeologyHealthHistoryInformation ManagementLawLiberal StudiesLibrary and Information ScienceLinguisticsMathematicsMultidisciplinaryMusicPhilosophyPhysicsPolitical SciencePsychologyRhetoric, Composition, and WritingSocial WorkSociologyTheater ArtsTheologyUrban StudiesWomen's Studies

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Suggested Citation: 
Martinolli, Pascal. "ZotLog: Inspiring students to adopt structured methods in Zotero." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/zotlog-inspiring-students-adopt-structured-methods-zotero.
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

Teaching Resource

Subject-Specific ICT Literacy

This website provides several subject-specific guides to ICT literacy resources (bibliographies, websites, articles, learning activity ideas) to help faculty incorporate ICT literacy into their curriculum.

Teaching Resource

The Embedded Librarian's Cookbook

Ideas for embedding library instruction into courses. Includes a section for online learning.

Teaching Resource

Arizona State University Library Tutorials

Collection of online tutorials from Arizona State University Library. Includes tutorials on citation styles, plagiarism, finding sources, database searching, and more.

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