How at Risk
Students
Learn to be 21st
Century Scholars
Presentation at NELIG 2008
Isabel Espinal
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Scholars of the 21st Century is a year long
freshman experience at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst. The program is open to
traditionally underrepresented student
populations on campus. This includes students
of color, first generation, and low-income college
students.
In this 2 semester course, students learn about
"The Minority Experience in American Life and
Culture", are mentored by distinguished
graduate students, participate in various
academic and social events outside of class,
and learn how to carry out and present their own
independent research!
Part of Afro American Studies
tradition
What I tell the Mentors
Library visits are most successful when:
1. Have groups of engaged students that are not too
large nor too small. 8-12 is ideal
2. Can schedule two visits:
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One in Fall to introduce students to the library, set up
RefWorks accounts and put books on syllabus in
RefWorks, as a group, learn how to find a book and
actually go the stacks to find a book (E180s are the best),
how to check out a book, the library databases page and
Academic Search Premier.
One in Spring to reinforce what was learned in the Fall,
using the actual topics that students have chosen. This
time each student will work on locating at least one book
on their topic, putting the citation info in their RefWorks,
and finding articles in Academic Search Premier and
putting those in RefWorks.
Library visits are most successful when:
3. For the second visit, students have already
worked on refining a topic. Even if they still are
not sure or need to narrow it down more, it
helps if they have some idea of what they will
be researching. It often is OK and actually
beneficial for learning, if the student still need
to do more work refining. Sometimes once
they see how much or how little there is on a
topic, they can work to change the topic based
on the information resources.
4. The instructor is present!
Educate the Mentors
Everyone sets up a RefWorks
account on the first day
• Don’t teach how to do everything in RefWorks, but
motivate by showing what RefWorks does – citation
management and creation of quick bibliographies
• Talk about other citation styles students might encounter,
based on their eventual majors. Most only know MLA
and even the mentors might only know MLA.
• Start knowledge management in first year. In instruction
assessments juniors often say “I wish I knew about this
before”
• Start putting the books from the course syllabus into
RefWorks
• In 2nd session, put books and articles from individual
sessions into RefWorks
• Explain to Mentors what information
literacy is. That many of them were
already doing it.
Mentor Denia Fraser
Other mentors
Scholars
The classroom – cozy & techy
Excitement in the stacks
http://flickr.com/photos/candiedwomanire/1651870/sizes/m/
by Dawn Endico
Topics
From 3 mentor emails. Student names omitted.
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Women in the media/Politics
Positive influence of hip-hop on its youth listeners
The "N" word
Global warming and industrialization in china - Changing Attitudes of Chinese people?
History Education Methods / Slavery
Human health effects of Global warming - Does it impact impact minority groups differently?
Black music - changes from the Harlem renaissance to today - impacts on personal image of black people...
War in Uganda - the invisible children...does not have a focus question yet.
Still working on focusing her topic... UN interests her...
To be determined
Blood/ Conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone
The media’s influence on the African-American community’s perception of itself
An analysis of upbringing and environment in serial killer profiles
The African-American obesity epidemic
Connections between Jena 6 and Jim Crow segregation laws
Gangs and teen violence
Family income and location as an indicator of Minority student retention in universities
Prison conditions at the state level in America, especially court cases and legal precedents related to prison conditions
Whether hip-hop music and culture negatively impacts white and black youth.
A rather broad topic on the American economy, war, and the current elections. I have told her to focus her topic on the issue of the Iraq
War in determining the democratic presidential nominee.
How community centers in Dorcester and Roxbury are profiled in the local media. I think she wants to argue that these community centers
provide summer jobs for inner city Boston teens, which brings a positive image to inner city youth.
The educational disadvantages present in the Boston public school system. Perhaps we can help her specify her topic.
Has two ideas for her topic. Her first idea is to investigate college date rape and its underreporting. Her second idea is to investigate the
civil unrest and violence that is going on in Kenya, her homeland. I think the topic on Kenya from her perspective as a Kenyan living in
America would be especially interesting, so I'm pushing her in that direction. But ultimately it is up to her to pick the topic she wants.
Wants to compare Jesse Jackson's candidacy for president to Barack Obama's candidacy. And he wants to look at the particular
historical, social, and political backdrops in America during these two moments. Again, we can help him narrow down his topic.
Believes that the lack of education by politicians has turned them against the idea of stem cell research. He believes that with further
education about its benefits, politicians will be more open to it. He may compare America to South Korea, a country that does allow stem
cell research and is really breaking ground in that area.
Would like to look at the achievement gap in urban public and suburban public schools. She would like to focus on Boston and Baltimore.
I think we need to help her with key terms.
One of my students did not come to class today so I'm not sure what her topic is.
Assessment
http://www.library.umass.edu/instruction/evaluation.html
What students said
Class date: 9/25/07
1. session highlight: how to take an idea and find an article on it
How will this change the way you do library research?: it will make me know where to find things quicker
Other comments?: it was helpful
2. session highlight: i will remember how to look for books in the library. For instance, i know now how to search for a
book and know exactly on which floor to find it.
How will this change the way you do library research?: From now on, I will not be scared when i am doing a
project and i do not know where to start. I know now that they have people in the learning commons to help
students out with an assignment on any subject. The library has tons of databases that are available. If the W.E.B.
Dubois library does not have a certain book, they will request it for me from the other schools ( smith college,
Amherst college, mount Holyoke, etc..
The best thing is that they have databases that are available to students at no charge while at some other schools,
the students would have to pay to have access to certain databases.
3. session highlight: How to find and save information so that you could do the bibliography.
How will this change the way you do library research?: It will help me find more information and at the same time
help me maintain a clear head.
4. session highlight: i will remember how easy it is to locate a book and convenience.
How will this change the way you do library research?: this library is very big, and i was confused on where to start
but you broke it and hopefully during my research i will have an easier time location information.
Other comments?: Thank you
5. session highlight: how to access the electronic databases that we have available to us in the school
How will this change the way you do library research?: i will be able to do more extensive research and completely
reach my potential
6. session highlight: I will remember the Ref Work tutorial. It was really helpful and I really like how I can find the
databases and export them. Also I loved how I can make folders for a certain class and then when I'm done with
the paper, I am able make a bibliography from that folder. It's so easy and convenient!
How will this change the way you do library research?: I will now be able to do it without questioning myself. Also, I
maybe able to help others with it.
Other comments?: Isabel was really helpful! She helped me understand everything. I really want to Thank her!
What students said 2nd session
Class date: February 5, 2008
1. session highlight: How to add books and electronic resources to refworks.
How will this change the way you do library research?: I can now search for my research topic on an array of
resources rather than just one.
2. session highlight: How to add quality articles from EBSCO with keywords.
How will this change the way you do library research?: I will check out more books from the library from now on
instead of relying on all internet articles.
Other comments?: Isabel is very good at explaining the way Refworks operates.
3. session highlight: Learning how to use the Ref. Work.
How will this change the way you do library research?: It changed it a great deal, because now I feel that I can
research on my own without the help of others.
Other comments?: The information sessions were very helpful.
4. session highlight: The fact that I can directly import articles into a folder so I can keep my sources organized.
How will this change the way you do library research?: I will help me to organize my research better and to look for
official sources.
Other comments?: This class was great!!!
5. session highlight: Academic Search Premier
How will this change the way you do library research?: I can do easier bibliographies
Other comments?: Very informative and helpful
6. session highlight: How to find books from the number
How will this change the way you do library research?: It will help me be a better researcher
Other comments?: It was very helpful and beneficial to my academic career
Success story:
Scholar Natasha Labbé
• Came to Reference
Desk a year later to
ask for RefWorks
handouts so she
could teach her
sophomore honors
class about it
• Tapped by Library
Development office to
promote value of
library
Context: Information Literacy at
UMass Amherst
• Begun a campus-wide conversation in 20072008
• Freshman Year Writing – library instruction done
by the graduate student writing instructors
• Junior Year Writing (a Writing Across the
Curriculum program) many but not all receive
library instruction by librarian
• Information literacy now a criteria for EVERY
General Education class. Implementation of this
new criteria is just beginning.
Where to go from here?