ELI2007: Introducing the Undergraduate Learner To Independent Learning Through Targeted Transferable Skills Acquisition

Laura Briggs and James M. Skidmore, University of Waterloo

{Ooops, forgot to finish and post this. It was a good session on info lit education. There are students comments on the first semester of the class in the presentation. That was cool!}

Online version of presentation

German 272 course - general course for sophomores, physical and distant, problems with poor term papers - bad cultural analysis skills (ability to read and interpret)/ info lit skills

Use CMS to add rich content to course, spend class time on productive/ deeper discussion - has produced lots of email bet students and faculty

Used teaching improvement grant to study course - questionnaires/ focus groups/ 150 participants

Prof Moments - e-lectures produced w/ camtasia, 5-10 minutes, downloadable guides to video with note space

research feedback reflection - research topic/ get feedback (replaced peer feedback with instructor feedback)/ reflect on feedback before final essay - students liked staggered process

cultural object exercise - open ended questions on place/ painting etc

virtual field trips - study teams investigate topic on web, interaction via discussion boards - students didn't like group work, lack of moderator

InfoLit component - guided tasks, info lit not curriculum bases - dif ability levels, delivered content thru CMS instead of live so students can explore independently, made database suggestions (students liked this)

Washington Post info lit & libraries article (1/21/07)

students recognized transfer of info lit skills to other courses and transfer of cultural lit to their lives outside school

process takes a ton of time for each class!

students liked using discussion boards to ask questions better than email or chat