Week #1 - Fink Worksheet Situational Factors to Consider
For Week 1 of the course we have been asked to complete some worksheets from A Self-Directed Guide to Design Courses for Significant Learning
by L. Dee Fink
by L. Dee Fink
Specific
Context of the Teaching/Learning Situation
How many students are in the class? Is the course lower division, upper division, or graduate level? How long and frequent are the class meetings? How will the course be delivered: live, online, or in a classroom or lab? What physical elements of the learning environment will affect the class?
How many students are in the class? Is the course lower division, upper division, or graduate level? How long and frequent are the class meetings? How will the course be delivered: live, online, or in a classroom or lab? What physical elements of the learning environment will affect the class?
The
library instruction scenario I will be working on for this course is a one-shot
instruction session for a Freshman English course (ENGL 1301). Students in this course are generally
traditional students who are primarily in their first year of college. The class always consists of 25 students and
I will have them for a 75 minute session.
The class will be delivered in person, however I usually try to
incorporate a LibGuide so there may be online components. Our classroom in the library has computers
for everyone and a smart board.
General Context of the Learning Situation
What learning expectations are placed on this course or curriculum by: the university, college and/or department? the profession? society?
What learning expectations are placed on this course or curriculum by: the university, college and/or department? the profession? society?
Students
in this course all have a similar assignment which is to write an argumentative
essay on a current issue topic. Although
the assignments are similar, there are varying expectations from different
professors as to what sources the students are required to use and what they
would like the librarians to teach. Some
professors want students to have 3-5 sources with no specifications as to where
students find these sources, other require 5-10 scholarly sources from library
databases.
Nature of the
Subject
Is this subject primarily theoretical, practical, or a combination? Is the subject primarily convergent or divergent? Are there important changes or controversies occurring within the field?
Is this subject primarily theoretical, practical, or a combination? Is the subject primarily convergent or divergent? Are there important changes or controversies occurring within the field?
As this
is primarily a writing course students are applying practical knowledge but
there is also a critical thinking component to deciding what to write and how
to use sources, therefore the class is a combination of both practical and
theoretical. In the class I teach I try
to give them practical knowledge like how to access a database with theoretical
knowledge. The class is also divergent
as topics vary and the sources students use may vary.
Characteristics
of the Learners
What is the life situation of the learners (e.g., working, family, professional goals)? What prior knowledge, experiences, and initial feelings do students usually have about this subject? What are their learning goals, expectations, and preferred learning styles?
What is the life situation of the learners (e.g., working, family, professional goals)? What prior knowledge, experiences, and initial feelings do students usually have about this subject? What are their learning goals, expectations, and preferred learning styles?
The students in this course are primarily young
students right out of high school.
Although many community colleges have a large “non-traditional” student
population our college is primarily more “traditional” students. Many of them have never used a college
library and are not familiar with databases or various sources. They believe they know how to search because
they have used Google.
Characteristics of the Teacher
What beliefs and values does the teacher have about teaching and learning? What is his/her attitude toward: the subject? students? What level of knowledge or familiarity does s/he have with this subject? What are his/her strengths in teaching?
What beliefs and values does the teacher have about teaching and learning? What is his/her attitude toward: the subject? students? What level of knowledge or familiarity does s/he have with this subject? What are his/her strengths in teaching?
The ENGL
1301 class is one of my favorites to teach and I like being the first
introduction many of these students get to a college library. I am familiar with the subject but not an
expert. I was a biology and philosophy
major. I believe I connect well with
students and I am good at breaking down difficult terminology into easy to
understand terms.
"A
year (or more) after this course is over, I want and hope that students
will___"
…be able to determine what type of sources and information they need to answer their research questions and know where to go to find these sources. I also hope they will know the difference between scholarly and popular journals. Finally, I hope they will know where to go for help with their research and feel comfortable asking for help.
Foundational
Knowledge Goals
What key information (e.g., facts, terms,
formulae, concepts, principles, relationships, etc.) is/are important for
students to understand and remember in the future? What key ideas (or
perspectives) are important for students to understand in this course?
I hope that students will know:
- how to access the library catalog and library databases
- how to formulate a search in each
- how to determine if a source will be useful and reliable
- how to determine if an article if scholarly
- how to get help from a librarian
Application
Goals
What kinds of thinking are important for students
to learn? Critical thinking, in which students analyze and evaluate Creative
thinking, in which students imagine and create Practical thinking, in which students
solve problems and make decisions What important skills do students need to
gain? Do students need to learn how to manage complex projects?
Critical,
creative, and practical thinking are all important to learning to do basic
research. Students must be creative in coming up with keywords for searches.
They must certainly use critical thinking skills in all parts of the research
process including but not limited to evaluating sources and formulating a
query. Students must also be practical in their knowledge of how to
access materials. Students need to gain skills in critical thinking about
evaluation of sources.
Integration
Goals
What connections (similarities and interactions) should students recognize and make…: Among ideas within this course? Among the information, ideas, and perspectives in this course and those in other courses or areas? Among material in this course and the students' own personal, social, and/or work life?
What connections (similarities and interactions) should students recognize and make…: Among ideas within this course? Among the information, ideas, and perspectives in this course and those in other courses or areas? Among material in this course and the students' own personal, social, and/or work life?
I am
hoping students will come to understand the importance of research in scholarly
communication and within their particular discipline. I hope they understand that thinking
critically about the information they find on a daily basis will be very useful
though out their college career, their employment, and life.
Human
Dimension Goals
What could or should students learn about
themselves? What could or should students learn about understanding others
and/or interacting with them?
Hopefully students will become aware of their
strengths and weaknesses as a researcher.
Caring
Goals
What changes/values do you hope students will adopt?
What changes/values do you hope students will adopt?
I hope students learn the library can be a
friendly place and research can be something that is not just an addition
"requirement" of their paper.
Learning
How to Learn Goals
What would you like for students to learn about: how to be good students in a course like this? How to learn about this particular subject? How to become a self-directed learner of this subject, i.e., having a learning agenda of what they need/want to learn, and a plan for learning it?
What would you like for students to learn about: how to be good students in a course like this? How to learn about this particular subject? How to become a self-directed learner of this subject, i.e., having a learning agenda of what they need/want to learn, and a plan for learning it?
I ultimately hope students can find their own
reliable sources for future papers. A good student would understand that
research is a process that requires constant evaluation and critical
thinking.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your classes are similar to most of ours. Unfortunately we only see a smattering of our students because there is no requirement that faculty bring any class to the library for instruction. So we have students who have never received instruction before mixed with others who have had to come three times and received essentially the same instruction each time. Do you find it's difficult to fit everything into one class? Do you usually include any active learning elements? We always try to include an active learning element, but haven't really started flipping the classroom yet. Have you tried that yet? What do you think has been very successful in your class as you currently teach it?
I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to break out of the box of teaching the point and click skills and dig deeper to teach more about understanding and critically evaluating information itself. Of course it's tricky because we do, in fact, want students to be able to do things like design a keyword search. It's a hard balance, especially when we only meet with the students once. Plus I find it difficult to switch gears with faculty who just want the point and click skills taught. I heard a good comment at ACRL in March: When we search in either Google or even many databases, we look at the result list and see article, article, book review, newspaper article, podcast, etc. When students look at a result list, they just see result, result, result. They don't differentiate among the sources they are staring at on the screen. I'll admit to having been dragged kicking and screaming to the new Framework, but I'm starting to understand the value of the concepts more. I've recently started reading the book "Not Just Where to Click" ed. by Troy Swanson and Heather Jagman. I think it's going to be a bridge for me into the brave new world of the the Framework.
Nancy O'Sullivan
Hi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI do find it difficult to try to fit everything into one class. Like you, professors are not required to bring their students in but many do. We certainly have those students who have somehow been lucky enough to be in three sessions and are quite unhappy to be in the third class with very similar content. We try to include very short active learning elements like - brainstorming keywords, or briefly discussing the search they did with their neighbor, etc.
I haven't done a full flip of the classroom but I do try to send the link to the LibGuide to professors beforehand with instructions on how to post it in Blackboard, and I ask them to encourage their students to look at the LibGuide and watch various videos on the guide before coming to class. This semester with another class I had a Padlet on the LibGuide and asked students to post their research topics on the guide before their instruction session. I would say about 7-10 out of 25 did so.
I like your point about how students don't differentiate between sources. I think we often lose touch with what it is like to be a student. I know I have been guilty of using library terms in a session believing everyone knows what that means only to get done with a session and have someone ask something like - "I don't understand. What is a periodical?"
The new Framework is growing on me after going to webinars and various sessions on the concepts. I tend to like things more spelled out and concrete so it will be a hard transition from the standards to the framework. I will have to look into getting the book you mentioned.