New Tricks (Old Dog?): Information Literacy at Champlain College

1
New Tricks (Old Dog?) Information Literacy at
Champlain College

• NELIG Conference
• Friday, June 5 2009
• Michele Melia, Cataloging Systems Librarian
• Paula Olsen, Reference Instruction Librarian

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Changes at Champlain CollegeThe CORE

• New 4-year general education curriculum
• Provides breadth and depth in the liberal arts
• Interdisciplinary
• History, economics, philosophy, psychology,
  science, literature, arts, political science,
  anthropology, religion
• Classes taught using the inquiry method
• Required for all students regardless of major

3
Learning outcomes for the CORE program

• Demonstrate competence in the following areas
• Critical and creative thinking
• Ethical reasoning
• Global appreciation
• Oral communication
• Technology and information literacy
• Written communication

4
First Year Courses

• Theme Individual and Community
• CORE 110 Concepts of the Self
• Texts The Accidental Mind How Brain Evolution
  Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God by
  David J. Linden
• Forty Studies That Changed Psychology
  Explorations Into the History of Psychological
  Research by Roger R. Hock
• Othello by William Shakespeare
• The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich
• CORE 115 Concepts of Community
• Texts The Republic by Plato
• Albions Seed by David Hackett Fischer
• Teachings of the Worldly Philosophy by Robert L.
  Heilbroner

5
Second Year Courses

• Theme The Western Tradition
• CORE 210 Scientific Revolutions
• Texts The Scientific Background to Modern
  Philosophy edited by Michael R. Matthews
• Europe A History by Norman Davies
• The Scientific Revolution by Steven Shapin
• Darwin selected and edited by Philip Appleman
• CORE 220 Aesthetic Expressions
• Texts The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Beethoven Symphony No. 3 by Leonard Bernstein
• Michelangelos Sistene Chapel
• CORE 230 The Secular and the Sacred
• Texts The Stillborn God by Mark Lilla
• Material Christianity Religion and Popular
  Culture in America by Colleen McDannell
• The Transformation of American Religion How We
  Actually Live Our Faith by Alan Wolfe
• CORE 240 Capitalism and Democracy
• Texts The Words We Live By by Linda R. Monk
• The Western World Philosophy

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Third Year Courses

• Theme Global Themes
• CORE 310 Technology and Development
• CORE 320 Human Rights and Responsibilities
• CORE 330 Studies in the Middle East
• Make Films Not War Political Cinema in Iran and
  Israel/Palestine
• Politics and the Veil Religion and Power in
  Contemporary Turkey
• Dar Al-Islam Unity and Diversity in the Muslim
  World
• Fourth Year The Capstone Experience

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CORE vs. Distribution Requirements

• Distribution (University of VT)

• CORE

• Choose 2 general classes to satisfy the
  University Diversity Requirement plus
• 7 distribution categories
• Choose 1 of 6 Fine Arts classes
• 2 Foreign Language classes
• Choose 2 from 36 Humanities classes
• 2 Natural Science classes from Astronomy,
  Biology, Plant Biology, Chemistry, Geology,
  Physics, Geography
• Choose 1 from dozens of Literature classes
• Choose 1 course from mathematics, statistics, or
  computer science
• Choose 2 from dozens of Social Sciences classes

• Interdisciplinary
• Inquiry method
• Partner with faculty
• Faculty are facilitators
• Encourage curiosity, critical thinking and
  reflection
• Shared responsibility for investigation
• Courses taken in sequence
• Students study in cohorts the cohort becomes a
  learning community
• Group Activities provide an environment in which
  students can test their own ideas and examine
  those of other students

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Inquiry-based Learning vs. Lecture

• Lecture

• Inquiry

• Passive learning
• Teacher-centered Sage on the stage
• Teacher is expert
• Student given information by the teacher

• Active learning
• Students guided to explore content
• Questions must be approached from viewpoint of
  multiple disciplines
• Formulate an educated response to what you
  encounter in the world
• Problem solving

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Information Literacy at Champlain

• Librarians work with faculty to tailor
  instruction to course work
• Students must have a project, an information need
• Information literacy component integrated into
  courses each semester
• Librarians visit all classes once each semester

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IL vs. BI

• Bibliographic Instruction

• Information Literacy

• Usually one shot deal
• Students sit and listen
• Librarian is in control of session
• Librarian tries to cram in as much information as
  possible because she/he may never see student
  again

• Librarians visit classes each semester for six
  semesters
• Context - students have information need
• Students participate in session
• Students involved in presentation and searching
  of library materials
• Time set aside for practice with Librarian as
  consultant

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Information Literacy Session Activities

• What are your goals and expectations for
  information?
• Using Academic Search Complete
• Developing key words
• Library materials vs. Internet materials

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We made it through the first year

• Champlains Information Literacy program is still
  being developed
• Still a process of trial and error
• Feedback from students and faculty helps us to
  see which activities worked and which need to be
  revisited