Crowdsourcing the curriculum

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie White-Farnham ◽  
Carolyn Caffrey Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Literacy Outcomes ◽  
Writing Program Administrator ◽  
Writing Instructors

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale, process and results of an integrated curricular intervention for information literacy instruction in a first-year writing program. Design/methodology/approach – The information literacy coordinator collaborated with writing instructors and the Writing Program Administrator on the initial design of information literacy outcomes. The librarian and instructors created a modular curriculum with multiple lessons and activities aligned to each outcome. The curriculum was housed in the course management system for easy updating and distribution. Finally, instructors taught the embedded information literacy activities for two semesters and measured student improvement through a pre-/post-survey and a rubric-based assessment of students’ citation and documentation. Findings – Students saw significant gains over the course of the semester in their ability to use Boolean operators, identify the purpose of sources and understand citation styles. As a related and valuable measure, writing program assessment results showed an improvement in students’ performance in citation and documentation in researched writing assignments after a one-year implementation of the intervention. Writing instructors reported an increased awareness of information literacy pedagogy and intentionality in their teaching. Finally, the librarian was able to leverage this collaboration to highlight the teaching roles of librarians beyond the one-shot. Originality/value – Well-known temporal and logistical limits exist in regard to embedded, one-shot and multi-shot approaches to information literacy. The latter two are especially unsustainable when implemented at scale, such as within a first-year writing program that serves hundreds or thousands of students each semester. This study documents a faculty development approach in which writing instructors integrate information literacy (IL) into their own instruction. This offers a model that makes explicit IL processes and skills to writing instructors, results in high student performance and allows especially the small college librarian to manage his/her other strategic information literacy partnerships.

Building a local learner corpus

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica H. Kwon ◽  
R. Scott Partridge ◽  
Shelley Staples
Keyword(s):  
Faculty Members ◽  
First Year ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Teaching Interventions ◽  
Learner Corpus Analysis ◽  
Writing Instructors

Abstract This paper describes the construction process involved in creating a robust local learner corpus of texts produced by international students in a first-year writing course at a large public, mid-western university in the U.S. We show how involving faculty members and graduate students of our local writing program in the process of learner corpus analysis provides them with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge as writing instructors, course designers, and, ultimately, knowledge producers. An additional benefit of such an undertaking is that the corpus can become part of the infrastructure of a research community that allows continued contributions by others individually and collaboratively. We also illustrate the usefulness of our local learner corpus for research, teaching, mentoring, and collaboration within our writing program with examples of the research projects and teaching interventions we have developed.

scholarly journals “She Has a Vocabulary I Just Don’t Have”: Faculty Culture and Information Literacy Collaboration

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-242
Author(s):  
Carolyn Caffrey Gardner ◽  
Jamie White-Farnham
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
First Year ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Faculty Culture ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Information Literacy Instruction

The authors describe difficulties pertaining to discipline-specific discourse and identity among collaborators during the process of revising the information literacy component of a first-year writing program. Hardesty’s term “faculty culture” offers a frame through which to understand resistance and tension among otherwise engaged faculty and situates this experience within the uncomfortable history between faculty and librarians who may be perceived as “inauthentic” faculty. The authors suggest ways to improve communication between librarians and writing program faculty when collaborating on information literacy instruction.

Framing first-year writing course guides: a content analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 500-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenda M. Insua
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Instructional Content ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
American Research ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which first-year writing course guides contain instructional content and whether the ACRL Framework for information literacy has been addressed in these guides.Design/methodology/approachFirst-year writing course guides were identified from American Research Libraries websites and examined for instructional elements. These elements were categorized using a rubric that mapped the Framework to instructional content. Qualtrics was used to organize and analyze the data.FindingsMost first-year writing course guides include instructional content, but less than half incorporate the Framework in some way. Guides that do incorporate the Framework focus on “searching as strategic exploration” and “research as inquiry”.Practical implicationsThis paper provides librarians with practical information on first-year writing guides and includes examples of how the Framework might be addressed.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on research guide content and is the first to invent first-year writing course guides.

scholarly journals The Librarian, the Machine, or a Little of Both: A Comparative Study of Three Information Literacy Pedagogies at Oakland University

2007 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 330-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth W. Kraemer ◽  
Shawn V. Lombardo ◽  
Frank J. Lepkowski
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Instructional Methods ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Hybrid Combination ◽  
Online Tutorials ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Live Instruction

Each year, Oakland library faculty provide information literacy instruction for Rhetoric 160, a first-year writing course, through a combination of WebCT-based online tutorials and in-class teaching. For this study, twelve sections of RHT 160 during the winter 2005 term were selected to compare three instructional methods: online instruction only, live instruction, and the current “hybrid” combination of live instruction and online tutorials. The sections were assigned to one of the instructional methods and, to assess student learning, all students (n=224) completed identical pre- and post-tests. Results of the study, including differences in student performance in relation to pedagogy, are discussed.

scholarly journals Re-Imagining the First Year as Catalyst for First-Year Writing Program Curricular Change

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Crank ◽  
Sara Heaser ◽  
Darci L. Thoune
Keyword(s):  
College Retention ◽  
Habits Of Mind ◽  
Curricular Change ◽  
First Year ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Research Project ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Multiple Measures ◽  
Writing Course

This article describes a revision of a first-year writing program curriculum using the pillars of the Reimagining the First-Year Program. The authors adapted principles related to mindset and habits of mind from both college retention scholarship and composition scholarship. After developing a research project in order to understand what elements of mindset correlate with readiness for credit-bearing writing courses, the authors created a multiple measures placement system for enrolling students in a credit-bearing first-year writing course with co-requisite support.  

Progression to intermediate level courses; is a “pass” enough?

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-287
Author(s):  
Nicola J. Beatson ◽  
David A.G. Berg ◽  
Jeffrey K. Smith ◽  
Christine Smith-Han
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
First Year ◽  
Prior Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of a rule that affects tertiary students progressing from an introductory level finance course to intermediate level. The rule restricted students from progressing until they achieved a higher grade than just a “pass” mark. Design/methodology/approach Archival data were gathered from 11 semesters regarding student performance pre and post the rule being introduced. Findings Results show that the rule was associated with an increase in the chances of success at intermediate level for those students enrolled after the rule was introduced. Practical implications This paper’s main contribution regards the evidence that increasing prior learning at an introductory level has a positive follow-on effect for students learning at intermediate level. This has a practical implication for educators, as the rule has shown to increase the chance of success for knowledge development in the first year of studies. Originality/value The setting for this paper is unique and could potentially be replicated elsewhere. In 1980, Schaffer and Calkins called for an evaluation of the pre-requisites necessary for finance education at the tertiary level, and this paper answer this call stating that pre-requisites can contribute to the academic success of finance students.

scholarly journals Modeling of student academic achievement in engineering education using cognitive and non-cognitive factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothaina A. Al-Sheeb ◽  
A.M. Hamouda ◽  
Galal M. Abdella
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Comprehensive Approach ◽  
First Year ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Second Year

Purpose The retention and success of engineering undergraduates are increasing concern for higher-education institutions. The study of success determinants are initial steps in any remedial initiative targeted to enhance student success and prevent any immature withdrawals. This study provides a comprehensive approach toward the prediction of student academic performance through the lens of the knowledge, attitudes and behavioral skills (KAB) model. The purpose of this paper is to aim to improve the modeling accuracy of students’ performance by introducing two methodologies based on variable selection and dimensionality reduction. Design/methodology/approach The performance of the proposed methodologies was evaluated using a real data set of ten critical-to-success factors on both attitude and skill-related behaviors of 320 first-year students. The study used two models. In the first model, exploratory factor analysis is used. The second model uses regression model selection. Ridge regression is used as a second step in each model. The efficiency of each model is discussed in the Results section of this paper. Findings The two methods were powerful in providing small mean-squared errors and hence, in improving the prediction of student performance. The results show that the quality of both methods is sensitive to the size of the reduced model and to the magnitude of the penalization parameter. Research limitations/implications First, the survey could have been conducted in two parts; students needed more time than expected to complete it. Second, if the study is to be carried out for second-year students, grades of general engineering courses can be included in the model for better estimation of students’ grade point averages. Third, the study only applies to first-year and second-year students because factors covered are those that are essential for students’ survival through the first few years of study. Practical implications The study proposes that vulnerable students could be identified as early as possible in the academic year. These students could be encouraged to engage more in their learning process. Carrying out such measurement at the beginning of the college year can provide professional and college administration with valuable insight on students perception of their own skills and attitudes toward engineering. Originality/value This study employs the KAB model as a comprehensive approach to the study of success predictors. The implementation of two new methodologies to improve the prediction accuracy of student success.

Factors contributing toward student performance in a distance education accounting degree

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Papageorgiou ◽  
Abdel K. Halabi
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
First Year ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Aptitude ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Measures Of Performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of five determinates of performance in students (N = 677) who completed three years of financial accounting to obtain a Bachelor of Accounting Science (BCompt) degree by distance education through the University of South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Regression analysis is used on three yearly measures of performance with five independent variables (age, gender, prior accounting knowledge, mathematics background and academic aptitude). Findings – Results show that mathematics background and academic aptitude are both significantly associated with student performance, throughout the financial accounting subjects. Prior accounting knowledge is also important in the first year of study but not thereafter. Research limitations/implications – Prior research has found that other factors may influence student performance, and future studies which include these variables will add to these findings. Practical implications – The results of this study have important implications for instructors, students and career advisers, particularly as research linking various factors with performance in accounting subjects over the length of a degree is limited. Originality/value – The current study considers the determinants of student performance over three financial accounting years (rather than one year or one subject) and from a distance education perspective. As distance education becomes a more important delivery method of study in the future, these results have important implications.

scholarly journals Embedding Digital (Information) Literacy in the First Year Curriculum: An Intervention

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Jane Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
First Year ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improving Student Performance

This paper describes an intervention aimed at reducing the occurrence of common weaknesses in first level work and thereby improving student performance in assessments. The project involved developing a more systematic approach to embedding information literacy (IL) into the first year curriculum in the Carnegie Faculty at Leeds Beckett University by combining the expertise of subject librarians with that of first year tutors. It was part of a broader programme of institutional curricular change. This collaborative approach was informed by data from individual interviews with previous students and based on a dual rationale: firstly from Sadler’s (2002) call for more high impact, low stakes assessment in the first year and secondly a need to avoid creating a culture of ‘testing’ (Sambell, McDowell, & Montgomery, 2013) in which students position themselves as submitting to others’ judgments rather than developing rational autonomy (Baxter-Magolda, 2003). In other words, we needed to design an assessed activity which encouraged students to engage in learning but created a supportive and collaborative approach. The embedding process together with some of the resources and tools which we developed are described in this paper as well as the respective contributions of the various participants. We explore the impact of two years of implementation based on student interviews and tutor evaluations. Recommendations and examples are provided to demonstrate how a similar approach might work elsewhere either as a local, course-specific intervention or as part of an institution-wide approach to improving students’ digital literacy.

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