Educating Hungarian medical librarians in special literature

In Hungary the completion of a thirty-month course is required of those who wish to qualify as medium-level librarians. Medical librarians are given a special course which differs from the general course in that it covers the subjects of medical terminology and information in special literature. The latter subject is accorded the highest number of teaching hours, since the subject matter is vast and since, in addition to theory, much time must be spent on exercises and the presentation of reference books. The students become familiar with the main Hungarian and foreign information systems in the medical and related fields and with special bibliographies, encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries. We take special care to familiarize students with the abstracting journals and indices. For several semesters they have homework and lesson exercises in the use of the Hungarian Medical Bibliography and Index Medicus.     

Finding Our Way as “Embedded Librarians”

ABSTRACT

Librarians at the University of Central Missouri were invited to provide research assistance for an online history course delivered through the Blackboard course management system. In consultation with the course instructor, it was decided that we would serve as “embedded librarians,” offering online tutorials on library resources and providing research assistance to students as they worked on a short research paper assignment. Our experiences with the course instructor and with students have provided us with some clear insights into the particular challenges that librarians face in an online course environment.     

Combined Use of Online Tutorials and Hands-On Group Exercises in Bibliographic Instruction for Pharmacy Students

This study describes the new blended learning methodology implemented in a Drug Literature Evaluation course for pharmacy students that involves combined use of online tutorials and in-class group exercises. Assignment grades earned by 909 students enrolled in the course before and after the new methods were implemented (2008–2010) were studied to measure student performance. Course evaluations were analyzed in order to ascertain students’ perceptions. The hybrid approach used to deliver the course content allowed students to perform at the same level as traditional didactic teaching. Students’ evaluations reported a positive educational experience and favorable perceptions of the new course design.     

Assessing college students' information literacy competencies using a librarian role-playing method

Exploring benefits and drawbacks of using a librarian role-playing method to assess student information literacy competencies enables researchers to move beyond existing methods that tend to rely on self-reports of attitude, confidence, and behavior. Two empirical studies are presented in which a librarian role-playing activity was employed along with card-sorting exercises and interviews. Thirty-two first- and second year undergraduate students participated in these two studies, during which they were instructed to imagine themselves as librarians and demonstrate how they would assist users in searching for information (Study 1) and evaluating particular sources (Study 2). Findings indicate that college students are able to use the role-playing method to perform, demonstrate, and explain their search behavior and source evaluation strategies without difficulty or discomfort. Results show that this method is effective for eliciting student reflections on and understandings of their own information literacy competencies.     

Getting to Know You: Breaking the Ice in the Public Speaking Course

Objective: To allow students an opportunity to speak publicly on the first day of class while becoming familiar with fellow students. The activity encourages students to examine the perceptions and stereotypes they have about one another by blindly guessing certain characteristics about their partner. By participating in the exercise, students will begin to think about how they will deal with anxiety in a speaking situation, and they will be introduced to the concept of audience analysis. The exercise also allows the instructor an opportunity to assess beginning speaking ability and level of speaking comfort while getting to know students quickly.

Course use: The exercise is intended for the basic Public Speaking course but can be adapted to many other communications courses. The icebreaker is ideal for public speaking because it gives students a chance to speak publicly, often for the first time, without the pressure of getting a grade. Being paired with a partner also seems to help students reduce their speaking anxiety. The activity would also work well in a basic communication course as it allows for the exploration of key concepts such as perception and stereotypes. Regardless of the course, the key to the successful execution of the ice breaker is to conduct it on the first day when most students are unfamiliar with each other.     

Microcomputer management of instruction: The advanced learning system

The Advanced Learning System, developed at Western Illinois University is a micro-computer managed, self-paced, multi-media, and student centered system of instruction which is currently being used to teach two beginning courses in economics. Students progress through the course by accomplishing the objectives established for each unit of instruction. Learning is individualized in that each student chooses the materials which help him to learn best. Traditional textbooks are used along with videotape presentations, audiotape/workbook combinations, discussion groups, and written exercises. Students determine when they are ready to display their understanding of the objectives by testing on the micro-processor controlled CRTs. Each student receives a randomly selected test. Upon completing the test, the student immediately receives feedback on whether or not he passed, which questions he missed, why they were wrong, and in which areas he needs restudy.The system has been in operation for four years and evaluation of results reveals that students perform as well or better than students in traditional classroom settings. Of particular interest is the fact that slower students seem to gain even more from te system than do the brighter ones. The authors indicate that the Advanced Learning System can be used in many disciplines almost without modification.     

Rising like a glorious turkey from the ashes of burnout

Abstract

Mississippi State University (MSU) Libraries recently held its first library-centered First-Year Experience course. To develop an appealing class for first-semester students, the authors turned to game-based learning in conjunction with a portion of the school identity to teach the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy that they hoped would resonate with the students. This article discusses the games that were implemented along with the corresponding IL framework and assessment of the course. The authors were able to increase student scores from 66.4% (pretest average) to 84.31% (post-test average).     

Paper Trail: One method of information literacy assessment

Assessing students' information literacy skills can be difficult depending on the involvement of the librarian in a course. To overcome this, librarians created an assignment called the Paper Trail, where students wrote a short essay about their research process and reflected on what they would do differently. Through reviewing and grading these papers, librarians determined whether students understood the difference between the library catalog and article databases, evaluated the students' search terms to see if they used effective topic keywords and Boolean operators, and learned more on how the students reflected on their research process.     

卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机影响因素与提升策略

目的：研究卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机影响因素及其提升策略.方法：采用自评问卷调查法,调查了蚌埠医学院卫生信息管理专业136名本科生的学习动机及其影响因素.实结果：不同性别和年级分组学生的外生学习动机存在差异,高考志愿分组学生的内生学习动机存在差异,＂喜爱所学专业＂、＂了解所学专业＂、＂了解就业去向＂、＂对信管类课程有信心＂和＂认可所学课程与就业的联系＂是卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机的主要影响因素.结论：建立健全学习激励机制、加大就业宣教、提高专业主干课程的教学质量,是提升卫生信息管理专业学生学习动机的有效措施.     

Utilizing WebQuests for Information Literacy Instruction in Distance Education

ABSTRACT

The increasing use of problem-based learning in higher education affords librarians new avenues for promoting the development of information literacy skills among students. Information literacy instruction supports problem-based learning activities by providing students with skills to locate relevant resources for developing solutions to these exercises. The author created three WebQuests (together with tutorials) aimed at promoting faculty-librarian partnerships to deliver information literacy instruction through a problem-based learning approach in the context of course work in a distance learning environment. These problem-based learning WebQuests can be adapted to various disciplines as well as to traditional learning environments. Lastly, these WebQuests promote the development of information literacy skills in students as well as increase their exposure to problem-based learning. doi:10.1300/J106v14n03_03     

Information Literacy and Research-Intensive Graduate Students: Enhancing the Role of Research Librarians

This article investigates how psychology graduate students find information for coursework and research, who teaches them how to find it, and whether differences emerge over the course of their graduate careers. Findings indicate that these graduate students are comfortable using campus libraries, prefer electronic resources, ask supervisors when they need assistance locating information, and have some interest in furthering their information literacy knowledge. Finally, the master's students use different information management skills than do the PhD students, as evidenced by the use of bibliographic management software. Suggestions for furthering the role of research librarians focus on being more proactive, rather than expecting students to come to librarians for assistance.     

Contemplating library instruction: Integrating contemplative practices in a mid-sized academic library

In recent years there has been growing interest in the integration of contemplative practices into higher education, but little has been published regarding contemplative practices or contemplative pedagogies in academic libraries. Nor have explicit links been made to critical librarianship (critlib), particularly regarding the stress associated with the profession and the “resilience narrative” of “doing more with less”. In this paper, we review the literature and describe our experiences introducing a variety of contemplative elements into our library instruction program, most recently in the virtual environment. Building on the three levels of “intervention” modeled by Barbezat and Bush (2014) to include librarians, and incorporating critlib theory, we describe the contemplative practices we have used with a view to alleviating librarian, student, and faculty stress and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anecdotal reports suggest a broad interest in such practices and their potential effectiveness in reducing distraction and stress. However, future study is needed to systematically evaluate the outcomes of CP during library instruction.     

Thoughts on Online Teaching with a Focus on Management

This article gives the author's evaluation of the relative structural advantages and disadvantages of classroom and online education. He believes that online education is more effective in teaching concepts and individual skills because it offers the possibility of requiring all students to interact more frequently with course content and allows them to work at their own pace and to review course materials. He was not, however, willing to teach management online because the classroom experience is better at teaching, through interactive exercises, a focus on student interactions, and the use of guest lecturers, the soft skills needed for successful management.     

Reading Format Attitudes in the Time of COVID

The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19-related changes to educational delivery on students' academic reading format preferences and behaviors. Pre-pandemic studies showed that students preferred print when needing to engage in academic texts for their coursework, and that under certain circumstances, students learned better when using print texts. During the pandemic however, many institutions implemented a sudden shift to remote learning and electronic readings. We questioned whether students would adjust their learning strategies to accommodate the abrupt change, and whether the increased experience with e-formats would boost their favorable attitudes towards digital reading. This study's data from students at a North American university does not support this hypothesis. While some respondents did report improved attitudes towards e-reading during COVID, most attitudes were less favorable or reflected no change. Nearly half the respondents stated that they highlighted and annotated their readings less than they did before, and over a third said they completed their assigned readings less frequently. Negative feelings may reflect a new trend in attitudes or they may be a temporary outcome of general screen fatigue. The findings reinforce the importance of providing print format options for students during this time.     

We May Be Teaching Information Literacy,but Are the Design First Year Students Actually Getting It?

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes of information literacy instruction for the Design first year students at the Temasek Polytechnic Library. Also of interest was whether or not the librarian was being seen as easily approachable, and if the students were deeming the lessons to be worthwhile. A participant action research approach was used, with the data being collected from multiple choice tests delivered via the institutional learning management system, group exercises, and a diagnostic assessment that was delivered before the workshops. It was found that the students did see the librarian as someone who was eminently approachable, and the majority of them found the lessons to be of value. It was concluded that the use of a diagnostic tool can be very useful in highlighting the gaps in students' knowledge, and that it would be beneficial to use it for all information literacy instruction at TP. Suggested future research could include a study of how much the students retain of IL skills into their third year of study.     

A new method of using student self-assessment: Bridging gaps between teaching content and student learning

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal pilot study developed and tested an instrument to assess students’ perceptions of the extent to which they accomplished the learning objectives that were listed in a number of communication course syllabi. In addition to students’ perceptions that they had improved from the start to the end of the semester in achieving course objectives, the findings revealed that students’ assessment was related positively to their ratings of professors’ teaching effectiveness. The instrument provides valuable information about students’ accomplishment of teachers’ course learning objectives.     

Preparing for Practice: Strengthening Third-Year Medical Students’ Awareness of Point-of-Care Resources

This column describes the development and implementation of a responsive library course designed to train third-year medical students as they begin their clerkships. The course design consisted of a brief face-to-face introduction during third-year orientation and an online course developed in Canvas, an online learning management system. The objective of the course was to not only introduce students to the resources but also to teach them how to effectively use those resources at the point-of-care. Students evaluated the course to assess the overall effectiveness of the instruction. Course development and content, feedback provided by students, as well as suggestions for improvement are discussed.     

Maximizing and assessing a one-shot information literacy session: A case study

This case study describes collaboration between an instructor and business librarian to maximize a one-shot information literacy session for a required marketing class for business majors. It includes an active-learning exercise where groups use three key business databases to conduct a company and industry analysis and an environmental scan for a company. The instructor then guides them in developing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis. This session prepares students for the SWOT analysis they will have to submit for their actual projects. This article includes assessment of groups' in-class exercises as well as citation analysis of the assignments they turned in for their actual projects.     

Library Instruction and Information Literacy for the Adult Learner: A Course and Its Lessons for Reference Work

Summary

The creation of a course, offered through UCLA University Extension, called “Research Methods for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Film Writers” was motivated by the observation that many adult learners lack information skills and the opportunity for formal library instruction. The content and format of this librarian-taught course have changed through the years both to incorporate more electronic resources and to employ more active learning methods. This article describes the need for the course, the course content and its evolution, and the active learning exercises employed. What an academic reference librarian derives from teaching such a course informs reference work with adult learners, whether or not they are part of the university community.