TEACHING THE TEACHERS:
BUILDING INFORMATION LITERACY
INTO THE BIOLOGY CURRICULUM
Meris Mandernach
James Madison University
LOEX 2008
INTRODUCTION

Why IL is important for science
Expectation upon graduation
 Questionable scientific information
 Transferable skill


How to integrate information literacy into science
curriculum…
THE COURSE
BIO 114 – Organisms
 BIO 124 – Ecology and Evolution
 BIO 214 – Cell and Molecular Biology
 BIO 224 – Genetics and Development


BIO 124
Offered every semester
 Typical students

INFORMATION LITERACY WORKSHOP:
SUMMER 2006
One-on-one collaboration between
faculty and librarians
 Led by facilitator
 Stipend (and lots of food)


What they do to get the money
Alter assignment to include IL Objectives
 Design effective active-learning assignment
 Plan instruction
 Summarize success of the implementation of changes

OBJECTIVES OF BIOLOGY INSTRUCTION
Sources
 Research strategy
 Credible sources
 Evaluate quality
 Organization of library
 Use library resources

SEMESTER ONE: TEACHING THE STUDENTS
FALL 2006

Pilot Study
Librarian taught 4 lab sections
 Some lecture, some hands-on

Background of scholarly literature
 Scholarly vs. Popular articles
 Review vs. Research articles
 Searching Biology databases
 Search syntax
 Evaluating information sources

Assessment Test
 Approach for Spring semester


Collaboration (Miller and Bell1 )
1. Miller, W. & Bell, S. (2005) A new strategy for enhancing library use: Faculty-led information
literacy instruction. Library Issues, 25 (5), 1-4.
SEMESTER TWO: TEACHING THE TEACHERS
SPRING 2007

Rationale:
Eight lab sessions
 More student buy-in
 Librarian available for appointments

Self-guided tutorial
 Handouts


Assessment test to determine effectiveness.
WEB GUIDE
TUTORIAL
CREATING AN ASSESSMENT TOOL

30 item test
Fall 2006, test questions
 Spring 2007, full cycle


6 Content areas






Selecting reference sources and databases
Searching databases
Retrieving full-text books and articles
Evaluating information
Understanding and using the internet
Citing sources
ASSESSMENT TOOL (CONT.)

Analysis by Center for Assessment and Research
Study (CARS) at JMU

After first complete cycle:
Increase in overall score
 Few questionable items
 Withdraw question
 Revise question
 Remove entirely


Overall tips:
Shorten the correct answer
 Fewer choices for multiple choice questions

SEMESTER THREE: UNDERSTANDING THE ASSESSMENT
FALL 2007
Same instructors teaching lab sections
 No “teaching the teacher” refresher
 All instructors gave pre-test
 Post-test hiccup


Assessment test examined again by CARS

No significant differences observed
Student cohorts
 Faculty unaware of test content and objectives
 Refresher of “teach the teachers”

SEMESTER FOUR: TEACHING THE TEACHERS II
SPRING 2008
Refresher for instructors
 Faculty took assessment test

Length of test
 No-point value
 Wording

REFINING THE ASSESSMENT TOOL
Tweaking the test
 Point-value assigned
 Given different week than other course
assessment


Anecdotal evidence
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Evaluate assessment tool
 Examine possibilities of expansion
 Develop additional learning objects to support
course

THANK YOU
JMU Libraries and Educational Technologies
 JMU Biology Department

Dr. Reid Harris
 Prof. William Flint
 Instructors of Biology 124


Center for Assessment and Research Study

Donna Sundre and graduate students
QUESTIONS…
MORE INFORMATION…
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/
 http://www.lib.jmu.edu/biology/Bio124class.aspx


Meris Mandernach

manderma@jmu.edu