Library Instruction   Tags: library_instruction instruction  

Research Across the Disciplines, IS-001, is a two unit credit course taught by the Instructional Services Librarian every fall term.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the differences between social science, natural science, and humanities research with an emphasis on teaching students how they can contribute to the "conversation" of research. Students engage with various types of publications from across the disciplines in order to grasp the differing methodologies, language, and form that are representative of academic divisions. 

Please contact Savannah Kelly (skelly@westmont.edu) for further information about this course.

Flickr image by Jarod Carruthers

Did you know that you have a liaison librarian who is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with you to teach students better research skills?

Do you have an assignment that requires students to locate and evaluate sources outside of classroom readings? If so, consider scheduling Discipline/Subject Specific instruction sessions.

Liaison librarians are skilled in creating active learning instruction sessions that are discipline specific and tailored to the needs of your research assignment. Talk to your liaison and/or schedule specialized instruction sessions today!

Fill out the Instruction Request Form to schedule a la Carte and Discipline Specific instruction sessions.

For information about video tutorials, LibGuides, the IS-001 course, or assignment design, contact Savannah Kelly (skelly@westmont.edu), Instructional Services Librarian.

Westmont Library Instruction 

Flickr Image by arjecahn 

The mission of the Voskuyl Library Instruction Program is to teach students that research is a process that includes asking good questions, understanding the relationship between publications and access, critically evaluating sources, using the Internet effectively, and ethically acknowledging intellectual property rights.

We accomplish this mission through:

     * The Research Across the Disciplines credit course, IS-001
     * Individualized Discipline Specific classroom sessions taught by your liaison
     * Standardized a la Carte sessions
     * Electronic Subject LibGuides, including video tutorials

We also offer:

     * One-on-one research consultations for students and faculty
     * Research assignment design recommendations

We evaluate student learning through our four program learning outcomes and our content standards which identify what we want students to learn each year at Westmont. A distinctive feature of our content standards is that it places undergraduate research knowledge into a disciplinary context:

Level 1 Novice Researcher = First Years

Level 2 Generalist Researcher = Sophomores

Level 3 Disciplinary Researcher = Juniors

Level 4 Expert Disciplinary Researcher = Seniors

Each level is designed to build on knowledge acquired in lower levels, and the culmination of all levels is a student who is well versed in discipline specific research skills. The program learning outcomes and content standards are viewable under the "Guiding Documents" tab of this LibGuide.

a la Carte Menu Items

What is a la Carte?

A la Carte sessions are very brief, lecture based instruction that range from 10 - 20 minutes. These sessions are designed to convey basic skills and concepts to students during regular class time. The librarian will come to your classroom at the beginning, middle or end of your regular session to present the requested a la Carte content. These sessions are an excellent way to gauge your students' knowledge of research strategies.

* The Library Catalog (15 minutes)

This session teaches students how to locate books and use interlibrary loan.

* Databases: What's the Difference? (15 minutes)

This session introduces students to the conceptual differences between our many databases.

* Database Searching: The Basics (15-20 minutes)

This session teaches students how to develop a basic search and limit their results in a multidisiplinary database.

* Evaluating Sources: The Basics (10-15 minutes)

This session introduces students to basic evaluation criteria including the publication cycle, authorship and audience.

* Website Evaluation (15 minutes)

This session introduces students to P2A2C evaluation criteria: Purpose, Point of View, Authority, Accuracy, and Currency.

* Using Citations (15 -20 minutes)

This session teaches students how to decipher book, article, and book chapter references, and how to locate the full text item from a citation.

* From Topic to Thesis (10-15 minutes)

This session discusses the process of developing a general topic into a working research question and claim with adequate reasons and evidence.

* Google Scholar (10 minutes)

This session teaches students how to use Google Scholar to track citations "forward", complete citations, and limit results to patents and legal cases.

* Avoiding Plagiarism: Paraphrasing (20 minutes) 

This session introduces students to the concept of unintentional plagiarism and provides examples of correct paraphrasing techniques.