How to Improve Your Library Instruction in Five Minutes

Sarah Steiner January 11, 2012 ALA TechSource

Have You Already Done One-Shot Assessments?

a. b. c. Nope, not yet. Yeah, a little bit. Yes, regularly!

Have You Ever Written Learning Outcomes or Objectives?

a. Nope, not yet. b. Yeah, a little bit. c. Yes, regularly!

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During Today s Class, We Will

Analyze the purpose and benefits of quick assessment in one-shot instruction sessions. Draft learning outcomes for a session using Bloom s Taxonomy. Compose assessment questions based on our learning outcomes. Select appropriate assessment tool options based on instruction session goals.
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Our Focus
Classroom assessment (versus programmatic or institutional) Fast and free assessment tools
Polls Quizzes/Questionnaires Minute papers

Formative (immediate) and summative (cumulative) assessment

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What Can Quick Classroom Assessment Do?

Identify misunderstandings Identify instructional gaps or disconnects Determine how you spend class time Build your confidence Be a basis for change Provide evidence of efficacy and impact

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Don t Be Afraid

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What Should I Assess?

To assess:
Comprehension Retention Achievement of learning outcomes

Not to assess:
Your personal shortcomings Your speaking mistakes Your hairstyle Random things
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Learning Outcomes
A Learning Outcome is a statement of what the student should understand and be able to do as a result of what she has learned ... the essential and enduring knowledge, abilities, and attitudes or dispositions that enable a learner to practice and apply her learning in the real world. -Valencia Community College

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A Good Learning Outcome Will

Identify the audience. Foster understanding of real world applications. Be jargon-free. Be easily measurable. Be action-oriented. Be brief and few in number only three to five. Be linked to learner needs.

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Determine the Class Priorities

Choose three to five
What must the students accomplish? What must they know in order to accomplish it? What do they already know/find obvious?

Broad=okay Detail=okay
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Write the Learning Outcomes

Stem + Verb + Product/Outcome

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Stem
By the end of this class, you will be able to

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Verb: Bloom s Taxonomy

Image: London Deanery

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Choose Verbs: Knowledge

Students will
define, describe, identify, know, label, list, match, name, outline, recall, recognize, reproduce, select, state

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

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Choose Verbs: Comprehension

Students will
comprehend, convert, defend, distinguish, estimate, explain, extend, generalize, give an example, infer, interpret, paraphrase, predict, rewrite, summarize, translate

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Choose Verbs: Application

Students will
apply, change, compute, construct, demonstrate, discover, manipulate, modify, operate, predict, prepare, produce, relate, show, solve, use

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Choose Verbs: Analysis

Students will
analyze, break down, compare, contrast, diagram, deconstruct, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, identify, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, select, separate

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Choose Verbs: Synthesis

Students will
categorize, combine, compile, compose, create, devise, design, explain, generate, modify, organize, plan, rearrange, reconstruct, relate, reorganize, revise, rewrite, summarize, tell, write

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Choose Verbs: Evaluation

Students will
appraise, compare, conclude, contrast, criticize, critique, defend, describe, discriminate, evaluate, explain, interpret, justify, relate, summarize, support

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Add Product or Outcome

What must they do?
Book on your topic in the catalog Information into a thesis statement Keyword search with advanced techniques

What is the context?

A class assignment Better yet, a real-world context

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All Together Now!

Stem + Verb + Product/Outcome By the end of this class, you will be able to construct search statements in order to locate useful books and articles. By the end of this session, you will be able to locate books on your paper topic in the library using the online catalog, GILFind.
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What s Wrong Here?

Today I ll talk about
The library website. Database searching for peer-reviewed journals using boolean logic and the thesaurus. How to find everything in the library.

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Consider Assessment Options

How can students prove their understanding of your outcomes? Would you like feedback throughout the session, at the beginning and end, or just at the end? How specific do you want to get?

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Today s Assessment Tools

Polls Quizzes Minute papers

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Polls

Quizzes

Minute Papers

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Best Practices for Question Drafting

Convert your learning outcomes to questions. Include three to five meaty questions, two or three general questions. Avoid overly easy or all of the above answers. Avoid nebulous questions. Work in terminology to ensure it s understood.
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Poll Example Questions

How many of you have had a library instruction class here before? Is this an article or a journal? Is this source peer-reviewed? Is this source scholarly or popular Who is the author of this book? Are you confused about topic x?

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Quiz Example Questions

Quiz Example Questions

Minute Paper Example Questions

UC Davis University Library
Intro questions on basic student information and course information What is the most useful thing you learned during this session? What is still confusing you?
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Review Responses
On the spot? Yes! Look for
Percentage of correct answers. Trends in missed answers. What to change next time.

Keep your chin up.

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The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Verbal Setup

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Survey and Poll Tools

SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com Zoomerang: http://www.zoomerang.com Poll Daddy: http://polldaddy.com/ Poll Everywhere: http://www.polleverywhere.com/ Google Forms: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/forms/
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SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang

PollDaddy

Poll Everywhere

Google Forms

Review
Write learning outcomes Base your questions on the outcomes and on your needs Be sure to review and reflect on the answers you get

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Thank you!
Contact me at ssteiner@gsu.edu

Other Resources
Bloom s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain. http://classweb.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/Resources2/bloomstax.ht m Educational Oasis, Framework of Learning Outcomes. http://www.educationoasis.com/instruction/bt/learning_objectives.htm London Deanery, Setting Learning Objectives. http://www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk/e-learning/setting-learningobjectives Utah State University Library, Assessment. http://library.usu.edu/instruct/assessment/index.php Virginia Tech Instruction Clearinghouse. http://www.lib.vt.edu/RIS/clearinghouse/assessments.html