scholarly journals Using Rubrics to Collect Evidence for Decision-Making: What do Librarians Need to Learn?

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Jane Oakleaf
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Information ◽  
State University ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
North Carolina State University ◽  
Expert Status

Objective - Every day, librarians make decisions that impact the provision of library products and services. To formulate good decisions, librarians must be equipped with reliable and valid data. Unfortunately, many library processes generate vast quantities of unwieldy information that is ill-suited for the evidence based decision-making (EBDM) practices librarians strive to employ. As a result, librarians require tools that facilitate the translation of unmanageable facts and figures into data that can be used to support decision-making. One such tool is a rubric. Rubrics provide at least four major benefits to librarians seeking to use EBDM strategies and merit further investigation. To this end, this study examined 1) librarians’ ability to use rubrics as a decision facilitation tool, 2) barriers that might prevent effective rubric usage, and 3) training topics that address potential barriers. Methods - This study investigated librarians’ use of rubrics as an EBDM tool to improve an online information literacy tutorial. The data for the study came from student responses to open-ended questions embedded in an online information literacy tutorial called LOBO used by first-year students in English 101 at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Fifteen academic librarians, five instructors, and five students applied rubrics to transform students’ textual responses into quantitative data; this data was statistically analyzed for reliability and validity using Cohen’s kappa. Participant comment sheets were also examined to reveal potential hurdles to effective rubric use. Results - Statistical analysis revealed that a subset of participants included in this study were able to achieve substantially valid results. On the other hand some librarian participants included in the study were unable to achieve an expert level of validity. Non-expert participants alluded to roadblocks that interfered with their ability to provide quality data using rubrics. Conclusions - Participant feedback can be categorized into six barriers that may explain why some participants could not attain expert status: 1) difficulty understanding an outcomes-based approach, 2) tension between analytic and holistic rubric structures, 3) failure to comprehend rubric terms, 4) disagreement with rubric assumptions, 5) difficulties with data artifacts, and 6) difficulties understanding local library context and culture. Each of these barriers can be addressed through training, and topics to maximize the usefulness of a rubric approach to EBDM are suggested.

scholarly journals Undergraduate Students’ Research and Information Skills Continue to Change in their Second Year

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Kimberly Miller
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Depth Interviews

A Review of: Hulseberg, A., & Twait, M. (2016). Sophomores speaking: An exploratory study of student research practices. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 23(2), 130-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2014.981907 Abstract Objective – To understand sophomore undergraduate students’ research practices. Design – Mixed methods online survey and participant interviews. Setting – A small liberal arts college in the Midwestern United States of America. Subjects – The sample consisted of 660 second-year students; 139 students responded to the survey (21% response rate). In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 of the 139 survey respondents. Methods – A 13-item survey was emailed to sophomore students during October 2012. To analyze the results, the authors and a library student intern developed a coding scheme to apply to open-ended survey questions. Survey respondents could also volunteer for in-depth interviews. A total of 50 survey respondents volunteered, and 14 were invited for in-depth interviews between December 2012 and January 2013. The interview protocol included open-ended questions about students’ research experiences. Students were also asked to identify and discuss one recent research project. Interviews were audio and video recorded; data from one interview was lost due to technology failure, resulting in data analysis of 13 interviews. Interview transcripts were coded by an anthropology doctoral student, the study authors, and a library student assistant. Main Results – The survey found that students completed fewer research projects and used fewer library resources as sophomores than they did as first-year students. For example, only 4.9% (n=7) of students reported completing zero research assignments in their first year, compared with 34.5% (n=48) in their second year. When asked if there were library resources or skills they wanted to know about sooner in their academic career, students’ top reply was “Nothing” (34.5%, n=48), followed by “Navigating the physical space” (15.8%, n=22), “Librarians/staff & reference desk” (11.5%, n=16), and “Effective searching & evaluating sources” (10.8%, n=15). Male and female students’ responses differed, with male students less likely overall to express interest in library resources. While 42.4% (n=59) of students replied that they would consult with a librarian for help with their research projects, this option ranked third after professors (83.5%, n=116) and peers (70.5%, n=98). Again, responses varied by gender, with female students (49.5%, n=49) more likely than male students (26.3%, n=10) to contact a librarian about a research project. Most interview participants replied that searching online, including library resources, was their research starting point. Students most often selected research topics, based on their interest, from a professor-approved list. Students identified “relevant content, familiarity . . . , and credibility” (p. 138) as important source evaluation characteristics. The majority of students also used library information sources in their research, including databases, research guides, and the catalogue. Students most often mentioned struggling with “finding sources/identifying keywords” (n=6) and “finding known items” (n=6). Unlike survey respondents, interview participants unanimously reported consulting with a librarian. Most students (n=11) received library instruction as first-year students, and some suggested that this instruction helped them feel comfortable asking for help. Finally, most students felt that their research habits improved from their first year to their second year, specifically with regards to “their research technique, improved confidence . . . and an expanded source horizon” (p. 143). Conclusion – The authors recommend continuing strong information literacy support to first-year students, as well as working with faculty members and other campus partners to promote reference services to sophomores. When compared to previous research, the current study reports a higher percentage of students seeking librarian assistance; however, because some students also reported confusion about when and how to ask for help, further analysis could explore how reference librarians capitalize on peer and faculty “referral networks” (p. 145). Finding that students face significant challenges early in the research process was consistent with previous research, and future study might reveal more about this specific phenomenon in sophomores. Interviews should also be extended to include students who are non-library users. Finally, the authors suggest that the findings provide no evidence of a “sophomore information literacy slump” (p. 146).

scholarly journals Faculty perceptions of teaching information literacy to first-year students: A phenomenographic study

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 545-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Dawes
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Research University ◽  
Faculty Perceptions ◽  
Information Use ◽  
First Year ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Information Behaviors ◽  
Perceptions Of Teaching ◽  
Teaching Information

This study examines faculty perceptions of teaching information literacy and explores the influence of these perceptions on pedagogy. The study adopted an inductive phenomenographic approach, using 24 semi-structured interviews with faculty teaching first-year courses at an American public research university. The results of the study reveal four qualitative ways in which faculty experience teaching information use to first year students that vary within three themes of expanding awareness. The resulting outcome space revealed that faculty had two distinct conceptions of teaching information literacy: (1) Teaching to produce experienced consumers of information, and (2) Teaching to cultivate intelligent participants in discourse communities. When information experiences are intentional, and involve using and teaching information use while learning the discipline content, this becomes “informed learning”, which is a pedagogical construct developed by Christine Bruce (Bruce and Hughes, 2010) that involves experiencing information in new ways while learning disciplinary information behaviors and content. This study gives new insight into the nature of this “informed learning” in first-year college courses and reveals that faculty create cultures of inquiry in their classes and, in so doing, treat information literacy as central to their disciplines. In addition to providing a more substantial understanding of faculty perceptions of teaching information use, the study indicates that the new ACRL Framework for Information Literacy and the changes to SCONUL Framework reflect an approach to teaching information literacy that will be welcomed in the college classroom.

scholarly journals Algorithm for Assessment of Students’ Individual Choice of Sports Sections

2016 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Ж. О. Цимбалюк ◽  
Л. В. Коник ◽  
В. А. Тихонова
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Hierarchical Model ◽  
University Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sports Facilities ◽  
Individual Choice ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Language And Literature ◽  
Hierarchy Analysis

Research objective. To develop a model of students’ decision-making when individually choosing a sports section. Research methods: The study relies on the analysis of scientific and methodological literature, questionnaires, and factor analysis. The participants in the study were 55 first-year students (2015 enrollment year) of the School of Ukrainian Language and Literature of H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University. Research results. The analysis of the questionnaires showed diverse motivational choices. The factor analysis revealed the prevailing motifs. The study comes up with a hierarchical model of students’ choice of a training section by a particular sport, and determines the system of subjective values of each student in points. Conclusions. The model developed by the hierarchy analysis allows to take into account all the variants of priorities in the students’ motivational choice. The method of hierarchy analysis allows to objectively process the subjective advantages seen by the students (who do not have any sports experience) when choosing a training section in the opted-for sport. This, in its turn, cultivates a steady motivation for physical education, allows to determine the required number of sports sections, and to distribute the educational and sports facilities at the higher educational university.

scholarly journals TESTING STUDENTS' KNOWLEDGE IN LABORATORY CLASSES ON THE COURSE "ZOOLOGY", SECTION "INVERTEBRATE"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.V. Ryzhaya ◽  
◽  
E.I. Glyakovskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Correct Answer ◽  
Current Control ◽  
Educational Material ◽  
First Year ◽  
State University ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Test Form ◽  
Test Control ◽  
Invertebrate Zoology

In laboratory classes on invertebrate zoology for first-year students of the Biology and Ecology Faculty of the Y. Kupala Grodno State University current control of knowledge in a test form is carried out. The number of questions in the task is 11–20, 5– 10 minutes for execution are allotted, one, two or more correct answers are selected from the proposed options. For each correct answer, a point is set; for erroneous answers, penalty points are entered. The regular use of test control increased the level of students' assimilation of educational material and optimized the current control of knowledge.

scholarly journals Creating Significant Learning Experiences for Clinical Reasoning by Physical Therapist Students

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lois Stickley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Clinical Reasoning ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Physical Therapist ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Clinical Decisions ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Significant Difference

Background: Clinical reasoning skills are embedded in all aspects of practice. There is a lack of consensus and standards for curriculum design and teaching methods of clinical reasoning in entry-level education of health professionals. Purpose: The purpose was to describe a process of designing one comprehensive, planned sequence of four courses to create significant learning experiences for clinical reasoning for Doctor of Physical Therapy students. Method: Fink’s design process was used to develop four clinical decision-making courses to ensure a close alignment of learning goals, feedback and assessment, and learning activities to engage students in practicing components of clinical reasoning. Student outcomes were measured by self-efficacy ratings for clinical reasoning in a practical exam for first-year students and by ratings of performance by clinical instructors for third-year students. Results: 41 first-year students ranked their confidence in making clinical decisions both before and after a midterm practical. A paired t-test found a significant difference (.05t40 = -6.66, ρ=0.00) in the mean ratings of students from the pre-practical assessment to the post-practical assessment about confidence in making clinical decisions. Third-year students received ratings that met or exceeded expectations on five audited skills from the Physical Therapist manual for the Assessment of Clinical Skills (PT MACS), both at midterm and at the final assessment. No significant differences between midterm and final ratings on any of the selected skills were found using a Chi-Square Test of Independence (α=.05). Conclusion: The four-course sequence was designed using four themes: patient-centered care, models of practice, and evidence-based practice, and ethics/legal issues. This paper offers specific details about how one method of teaching clinical reasoning meets the current trends in education and health care for accountability and meaningful outcomes. Students gained practical knowledge and skills in the components of clinical reasoning and decision-making by participating in active and engaging significant learning experiences.

scholarly journals Features of Adaptation of Non-Resident Students to the University Learning Environment

2020 ◽  
pp. 53-58
Author(s):  
Olga Viktorovna Bodenova ◽  
Lyudmila Pavlovna Vlasova
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
First Year ◽  
Adaptation Period ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
State University ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Resident Students ◽  
New Type ◽  
The University

The article is devoted to the overview of one of the most current problems that arise in the process of supporting the adaptation of students. The paper reveals the content of the adaptation process, its content and procedural characteristics, describes the types and stages, and directions of diagnostics. The aim of the work is to identify the features of adaptation in first-year students, including the description of the specifics of difficulties of non-resident students’ adaption. The study was conducted at the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology “Petrozavodsk State University” with first-year students studying in the fields of education 44.03.02 Psychological and pedagogical education, 44.03.01. Pedagogical education, 44.03.03 Special (defectologic) education. The following methods were used to test the hypothesis: «I am a student» survey, «Scale of subjective well-being» method, analysis of documents (medical records of students), quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results of the study. Analysis of the results of the study showed that non-resident students have both general and specific difficulties of adaptation due to the breakdown of previous family and friendships, lack of emotional support, difficult living conditions, a new neighborhood, a new type of settlement, etc. The obtained results are used for development and implementation of measures to support students during the adaptation period.

scholarly journals Assessing the Scope and Feasibility of First-Year Students’ Research Paper Topics

2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Rinto ◽  
Melissa Bowles-Terry ◽  
Ariel J. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
New Information

This study applied a content analysis methodology in two ways to evaluate first-year students’ research topics: a rubric to examine proposed topics in terms of scope, development, and the “researchability” of the topic, as well as textual analysis, using ATLAS.ti, to provide an overview of the types of subjects students select for a persuasive research essay. Results indicated that students struggle with defining an appropriate and feasible focus for their topics and that they often select topics related to education, health, and the environment. These findings were used to implement a new information literacy instruction model that better supports student topic development.

Information Literacy Education for First-Year Composition Students

2018 ◽  
pp. 85-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica D. T. Rysavy ◽  
Russell Michalak ◽  
Kevin Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Composition Students ◽  
First Year Composition ◽  
Composition Course ◽  
International Graduate

This chapter describes how the researchers at a small private Master's level college examined how different delivery modes—face-to-face (F2F), hybrid, and online instruction—may impact first-year students' perceptions of their information literacy (IL) skills compared to their test-assessed information literacy skills using the students perception of information literacy-questionnaire (SPIL-Q) and information literacy assessment (ILA) instruments. These instruments were developed and deployed to international graduate business students in two previous studies: Michalak and Rysavy and Michalak, Rysavy, and Wessel. The students (n=161) in this study were enrolled in a first-year English composition course in the Spring 2017 semester. This iteration achieved an overall response rate of 87.04% (n=141). Overall, results demonstrated the greatest achievement were demonstrated by students in hybrid course sections.

A Study on Situated Cognition: Product Dissection’s Effect on Redesign Activities

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Grantham ◽  
Gu¨l Okudan ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Omar Ashour
Keyword(s):  
Science And Technology ◽  
Situated Cognition ◽  
First Year ◽  
State University ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Improve Product ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Electric Toothbrush ◽  
Research Questions

Situation cognition theory describes the context of a learning activity’s effect on learner’s cognition. In this paper, we use situated cognition theory to examine the effect of product dissection on product redesign activities. Two research questions were addressed: 1) Does situated cognition, in the form of product dissection, improve product functionality during redesign exercise?, and 2) Does situation cognition, again in the form of product dissection, affect the creativity of product redesigns? In this study, three sections of first year students in two different locations — The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) and Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T) — performed product redesign using either an electric toothbrush or a coffee maker. The redesigned products have been analyzed with respect to both depth (detail level) and creativity.

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