The Evolution of Critical Thinking Skills in Library Instruction, 1986–2006: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography and Review of Selected Programs

ABSTRACT

Undergraduate students are increasingly being asked to conduct higher-level research in their areas of study. In order to address undergraduate needs, many academic librarians, especially those charged with crafting instruction, take critical thinking as a given in the teaching of information literacy skills. However, this review of the literature has revealed that, though there was some discussion of critical thinking in a library context in the mid 1980s, the concept did not really take hold until the 1990s, when higher education reform began to appear on many campuses. Additionally, the literature regarding critical thinking skills during this period exhibits four themes: (1) a lack of agreement among librarians and others on what critical thinking is and how it can be defined, (2) the importance of subject and course integration in the teaching of critical thinking skills in libraries, (3) the necessity of reaching undergraduate students, and (4) the special challenges of teaching critical thinking skills in an age when technology is changing so rapidly.     

Unlocking the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States

A newly revised Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States was approved in 2016, the 100th anniversary of its first appearance. This article outlines the 2-year, iterative revision process undertaken by the ALA RUSA STARS Codes, Guidelines, and Technical Standards Committee, including the results of two public surveys and significant changes to the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States. The authors hope to provide a template for future revisions and share the process with the entire interlibrary loan community.     

4. FOREIGN/COMPARATIVE MEDIA SYSTEMS

James Duncan Jr.'s American Radio: Spring '77 Report (Gilmore Advertising, 200 Michigan Bldg., Kalamazoo, Mich. 49006—$37.00 with a university rate of $28.00, paper)

F. Earle Barcus' Commercial Children's Television on Weekends and Weekday Afternoons (Action for Children's Television, 46 Austin Street, Newtonville, Mass. 02160— $25.00, paper)

Elmo I. Ellis' Opportunities in Broadcasting (Skokie, Ill.: National Textbook Co., 1977—$5.50/3.95)     

General Media and Related Subjects

Paul Wasserman and Janiece McLean's Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory (Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1973—$45.00),

Brian Rust's The Complete Entertainment Discography from the mid-1890s to 1942 (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1973—$12.95)

Stefan Kanfer's A Journal of the Plague Years (New York: Atheneum, 1973—$7.95)

K. Aubrey Stone's I'm Sorry, the Monopoly You Have Reached is not in Service (New York: Pallantine/Grassroots, 1973—$1.50, paper)

Richard F. Hixson's Mass Media: A Casebook (New York: Crowell, 1973—price not known, paperback),

Donald I. Rogers' Since You Went Away (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1973—$8.95),     

General Film History

Jack C. Ellis' A History of Film (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1978---$11.95, paper)

John L. Fell's A History of Films (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1978---price not given, paper)

Anthony Slide's Aspects of American Film History Prior to 1920 (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1978---$7.50). In the short (173 pages)

Two recent additions to the Ungar Film Library (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1978---at prices shown)     

Cartoonish Claims: Editorial Cartoon Depictions of Religion

During the 2006 controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons mocking Muhammad and Muslims, many conservative Christians claimed that the media were harsher on Christians than Muslims. This study explores those claims by analyzing how religion and religious individuals are depicted in editorial cartoons. This study offers insights into differences in the treatment of various religions, as well as the topics in which religious individuals are discussed and the reasons religious individuals are mocked in the cartoons. Implications address the partially inaccurate claims by conservative Christians concerning media attention and the impact the editorial cartoon portrayals may have on the religions involved.     

Characterization of microfluidic shear-dependent epithelial cell adhesion molecule immunocapture and enrichment of pancreatic cancer cells from blood cells with dielectrophoresis

Current microfluidic techniques for isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from cancer patient blood are limited by low capture purity, and dielectrophoresis (DEP) has the potential to complement existing immunocapture techniques to improve capture performance. We present a hybrid DEP and immunocapture Hele-Shaw flow cell to characterize DEP''s effects on immunocapture of pancreatic cancer cells (Capan-1, PANC-1, and BxPC-3) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with an anti-EpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) antibody. By carefully specifying the applied electric field frequency, we demonstrate that pancreatic cancer cells are attracted to immunocapture surfaces by positive DEP whereas PBMCs are repelled by negative DEP. Using an exponential capture model to interpret our capture data, we show that immunocapture performance is dependent on the applied DEP force sign and magnitude, cell surface EpCAM expression level, and shear stress experienced by cells flowing in the capture device. Our work suggests that DEP can not only repel contaminating blood cells but also enhance capture of cancer cell populations that are less likely to be captured by traditional immunocapture methods. This combination of DEP and immunocapture techniques to potentially increase CTC capture purity can facilitate subsequent biological analyses of captured CTCs and research on cancer metastasis and drug therapies.     

An Experimental Comparison of a Conventional and a Project Centered Method of Teaching a College General Botany Course

Research on teacher behaviors that actively promote student intrinsic motivation to learn has been relatively scarce. In this article, 2 studies exploring the effects of teacher enthusiasm on both students' intrinsic motivation to learn and their pychological vitality are presented (Ryan & Frederick, 1997). In Study 1, a questionnaire including measures of intrinsic motivation, vitality, teacher enthusiasm, and numerous other positive teacher behaviors was administered to 93 college students. Among the teacher variables, enthusiasm was the most powerful unique predictor of students' intrinsic motivation and vitality. In Study 2, level of teacher enthusiasm (high vs. low) was manipulated in an experimental design with 60 college students. The students who received an enthusiastically delivered lecture subsequently reported greater intrinsic motivation regarding the lecture material and experienced higher levels of vitality. The authors speculate about possible mechanisms for and limitations to the positive motivational effects of teacher enthusiasm.     

Holding complexity and searching for meaning: Teaching as reflective practice

This paper explores differences between traditions in relation to teaching and learning. As a relative newcomer from the Anglo/American curriculum tradition, I seek to highlight the ways in which Central and Northern European tradition of Didaktik has offered a new dimension and fresh insights to the notion of reflective practice. In particular, the paper seeks to emphasize the significance of Klafki's notion of Didaktik analysis, with its focus on meaning and its aim to re-enact the rationale for subject matters. Against this background, teaching is seen as a moral and reflecting activity that is primarily concerned with a search for meaning.