Publications and Research
Document Type
Book Chapter or Section
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
Instruction module:
Circumstances of the Instruction: This module is based on a collaborative effort between a college librarian working with two 11 111 grade Advanced Placement (AP) History and English teachers. Students are enrolled in both the English and History classes, making collaboration and curriculum coordination easier. An instructional librarian working in concert with classroom faculty is beneficial to students because many teachers are not fully aware of recent trends such as information storage and retrieval systems and Web-based search tools. Students taking this module are intelligent, score well on standardized aptitude tests, and receive better than average grades. Still, they face many of the same challenges their peers did, including coming from lower-income and/or single-parent households, having parents with language or other educational barriers of their own, and the obstacles inherent to an inner-city environment.
The purpose of the module is to prepare these talented students for college-level work (thus the collaboration with a university librarian) and to teach them basic Information Literacy and research skills. In such a teaching environment, the best way to achieve these goals is to keep expectations high and demand much from the students. At the same time, the librarian and teachers must realize that, though intelligent and intellectually-curious, too many of the students have not been introduced to even the most basic skills necessary for academic success. For these reasons, the lessons must be · scaffolded, deadlines set and adhered to, and expectations made clear. The final product is a 5- 6 page research paper about the Progressive Era, (or another subject of the librarian's and teachers ' choosing), double-spaced, complete with a works cited page of at least five sources in the MLA format.
Comments
This work was originally published in "Teaching non-traditional learners: Tools for creative instruction," edited by H.E. Gold and published by Library Instruction Publications.