Fall 1997
Vol 6 Issue 1

IN THIS ISSUE...

Welcome!

A First Year Editor's Perspective

Wu Yi - MCCD Business Initiative

More Than Cosmetic Surgery

Alternative Assessment in Mathematics

The Library Tour is Gone, Long Live Live Instruction

Egypt Calling

Bag of URLs

Upcoming Events

What's New in MCLI Resources?

SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth

Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction

The Library Tour is Gone, Long Live Live Instruction
Lisa K. Miller, PVCC

Do you remember when you were in college and your professor decided it would be a good academic experience to go galumphing over to the library en masse to get "The Tour?" Do you remember anything you ever learned on those tours? Well, neither do your students. Simply parading around a building and having things pointed out for you does nothing to help you when, two months later, you decide to get started on that research project. It didn't work for us, and it doesn't work for our students either. But, what to do instead?

Enter Cooperative Learning, the latest buzzword in education. But it is more than just a buzzword; it is a set of tools that actually work. With this method, students work together to achieve a common goal instead of being pitted against each other in competition. We saw potential applications for our library instruction program and have used cooperative learning activities with great success to replace straight lecture in almost all of our classes.

According to Dr. Spencer Kagan (1994), one of the leaders in this field, "Cooperative, interdependent educational experiences in our classrooms are necessary if we hope to make possible the democratic ideal of informed and equal participation." A lofty goal indeed; all we wanted to do was teach them some research skills. Of course, working cooperatively in the classroom does prepare students to do so in the work world. So how did this all begin?

I first got jolted into thinking about this when a colleague handed me a brochure for a cooperative learning workshop co-sponsored by the District and Arizona State University. I had never heard of the workshop topic, and almost tossed it, but something made me read it and sign up. After all, I was very new in the District and didn't want to pass up a chance to learn something new and have an opportunity to network with my colleagues.

I knew I was to be responsible for the continuing development of our library instruction program, but I had not thought about how I would accomplish this. The aim of our program is to teach research skills and concepts to students who would be using the library for a specific project. Up to this point the instruction had consisted largely of "show and tell" and the dreaded tours. I knew there was a need for a different, more effective approach. Open to any alternative at this point, I attended the workshop. It turned out that event was pivotal in changing how students at Paradise Valley Community College learn to do library research.

The basic tenets of cooperative learning include interactivity and interdependence among the students, less emphasis on lecture, and a shifting of focus from the instructor to the students. We can deliver a bit of information -- 10 minutes or so at a time -- and with a group activity allow the students to immediately process that information. In this activity, they must work together and apply the knowledge they have just learned. The hope is that they then "own" that knowledge and will be able to apply it in future situations, namely their own research projects.

We have tailored our library instruction program to match the content of courses. Students receive different instruction and exercises in English 101, English 102, Psychology 290, Biology 183, Sociology 101, etc. We work closely with the instructors to make sure our sessions are directly relevant to the students' projects. We started doing Web workshops two years ago, but these too are specialized for the class.

The Web workshop is one example that we feel works particularly well. First, the brief lecture and demonstration part of the session is tailored to the content of the course. In English 102, we show them Web sites that deal with some of the controversial topics they will likely write about -- white supremacy, abortion, Internet censorship, etc. Included in the demonstration are basic navigational essentials and Netscape procedures (how to type in an address, connect to a web site, go back to a previous page, perform a precise search, and to deal with error messages). We also give them background on the Internet. From there, we launch into our "critical evaluation" spiel, warning them of the vast amounts of misinformation that is easily attainable in cyberspace.

After no more than fifteen minutes of lecture, we then divide the class into groups of four. Each student has a specific task that helps to accomplish the group's larger purpose of task-finding and evaluating the research value of a web site. The individual tasks are: Navigator (leader); Helmsman (typist); Recorder (writes on the worksheet); and Reporter (gives one-minute oral report). The exercise is in three parts; they are given five to eight minutes to complete each. In Part 1, students perform a search with one of the search engines, find a specific site, and write a brief summary. Part 2 gives them the opportunity to evaluate the site critically, using a list of provided criteria. In Part 3, we distribute index cards with specific addresses. They type in the address, go to the site, and evaluate it just as they did in Part 2.

The newer version of this workshop also teaches students to write the results in MLA format for a bibliography. Just before the class is over, each Reporter is asked to share with the entire class what site they found and how they would rate it as a source for a research paper. Questions are asked and answered, and they are encouraged to practice searching on their own or with a partner on their own time. The handouts they are given are: "InternetlLAN Glossary;" "Critical Evaluation of Sources;" "Web Workshop;" and "Internet Road Map." This class is a good mixture of lecture, demonstration, and students teaching each other how to use the Internet. We have adapted this workshop for Psychology, Biology, Geography, Physics, and Marketing courses. This same basic structure could be used for any subject area.

The impact of infusing our library instruction program with cooperative learning activities has been substantial. With straight lecture, the librarian was never sure if students were "getting it." The glazed-over looks assured us when they were "not getting it." Now, because the students are actively participating in their own learning, and are indeed responsible for it, we can see that they are engaged and involved. The responsibility of reporting to the rest of the class after only 45 minutes' experience with the Internet ensures their participation. The support of team members makes this responsibility less scary since it is shared. And after all, there really are no wrong answers; they are simply relating their experiences and opinions. This creates a safe environment for exploration and questioning.

Instructors and students alike have commented on how effective it is. Simply by observing the students' behavior and interaction, we know they are more involved in the class, because they are accountable for performing a task and reporting the result. It is also comfortable because there is no grade involved, although some instructors do elect to give them lab or extra credit points for completing the workshop. Many instructors have reported an increase in the quality of research papers. We feel more confident that we are making the best use of time -- ours and the students'.

My colleagues, John Chavez, Muriel Coil, and Shelle Witten, have all collaborated with me to create the best possible library instruction program, and we continue to improve it every semester. We proactively seek out new and part-time faculty and introduce them to our philosophy of teaching. Most have been very supportive of these new methods and have even adapted some of the exercises and activities for their own classroom instruction. They also have made helpful suggestions which assist us in continuously improving the program. We have increased our visibility as members of the faculty, and this has afforded us more opportunities to collaborate with our "classroom brethren." I have created library exercises that the teachers use as graded assignments.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding our program, or would like copies of handouts and exercises, please contact me at 602.493.2906 or miller@pvc.maricopa.edu. Judging from the positive comments from instructors and students, this program has been wildly successful.

I'll never forget the first time a student, after completing the Scavenger Hunt we designed for English 101, said, "Thanks, that was fun!" I nearly fell over. In the history of academia, had these words ever been uttered after a library tour?

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