CHECK THESE OUT!

RESEARCH AND THEORY FOR PRACTITIONERS 
  
Bren, Barbara, Beth Hilleman, and Victoria Topp.  "Effectiveness of Hands-On Instruction of Electronic Resources."    Research Strategies   16.1(1998):  41-51. 

Describes a study to test the validity of the assumption that hands-on instruction in research skills and concepts is more effective than lecture/demonstration in the electronic environment.  Freshman composition students were divided into two instructional groups, and given instruction using hands-on or lecture/demonstration methods, followed by a post-test (included in the article).  Students who received hands-on instruction performed better on the post-test. 

Dilevko, Juris.  "Bibliographic Instruction and Mass Media News Literacy: A Theoretical Background."    Library Quarterly   68.4(1998):  431-474. 

Presents a detailed overview of mass media news theory and an example of a practical teaching strategy to help instruction librarians incorporate mass media news literacy into their information use instruction.    

Ivie, Stanley D.  "Ausubel's Learning Theory:  An Approach to Teaching Higher Order Thinking."    The High School Journal   82(Oct.-Nov. 1998): 35-42. 

A clear and succinct overview of the learning theories of David Ausubel. Ausubel views knowledge as an integrated system and believes the role of the teacher is to direct learning.  He theorizes that learners fit new experiences into what they already know, and he is one of the major proponents of advance organizers.  

Langdon, Danny.  "Objectives?  Get Over Them."    Training & Development   53(Feb. 1999):  54-58. 

The author asserts that objectives have outgrown their usefulness as a tool to design instruction to meet performance needs.  He suggests that the proforma can provide needed added detail.  A proforma is a "prescription of the behavior, standards, support, and noise requirements" which define performance.  It includes outputs, inputs, conditions, consequences, process and feedback.  The article focuses on training in the workplace, but may offer a new way for instruction librarians to analyze learning needs. 

Small, Ruth V.  "An Exploration of Motivational Strategies Used by Library Media Specialists during Library and Information Skills Instruction."   School Library Media Research    [online]  January 1999.  63 paragraphs.  <http://www.ala.org/aasl/SLMR/motive.html>. 

Describes a study undertaken to identify presentation methods used by school library media specialists to motivate student learning and the resulting student behavior.  The author hopes eventually to develop guidelines for teaching strategies.  Read this one for the review of 
research about motivation for learning.  (NOTE:  SLMR is the new name for the online journal   School Library Media Quarterly Online  .) 

  
INTERNET INSTRUCTION 

Darrow, Rob.  "Use the Big6 to Harness the Internet!"    Big6 Newsletter: Teaching Technology & Information Skills    2(Jan./Feb. 1999):  8-11, 13. 

Practical article explaining how school librarians can use the Big6 Information Skills to teach the World Wide Web.  The instruction should be organized around task definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation. 

McCarty, Mary.  "Internet in the Workplace:  Managing the Unmanageable."   Online   22(Nov./Dec. 1998):  217-32. 

A nice overview of the information about Internet resources a corporate librarian should include in education programs for managers and junior staff.  The author poses common questions/misconceptions and provides solutions to include in user education.  Public and academic librarians will find this useful as well. 

Vandermade, Claudia.  "The World Wide Web in Three Lessons."    The Book Report   17(Jan./Feb. 1999):  55, 92-94. 

Lesson plans, with goals and homework, used to introduce middle school students to the World Wide Web. 
 

GOOD PROGRAM IDEAS 

Thornton, Ann.  "Teaching the Library at SIBL."    Computers in Libraries   19(Feb. 1999):  50-55. 

The New York Public Library Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) has been known since its 1996 opening for having an extensive library instruction curriculum.  This article describes the 18 SIBL courses, and discusses teaching methods, program evaluation and training for librarians who teach the courses. 

Stein, Linda L. and Jane M. Lamb.  "Not Just Another BI: Faculty-Librarian Collaboration to Guide Students Through the Research Process."    Research Strategies   16.1(1998):  29-39. 

Describes a senior level social psychology class in which the librarian and the instructor collaborated to provide basic library instruction sessions followed by an ongoing program of project-related assignments and individual consultations. 
 

REFERENCE SERVICES REVIEW 

Two recent issues of   RSR: Reference Services Review  are full of good articles related to library instruction.  The Summer 1998 issue (v. 26, number 2) includes several good articles about information literacy and general education in academic libraries, including: 

• Fenske, Rachel.  "Computer Literacy and the Library: A New Connection."  (pp. 67-72, 78)
• Blakeslee, Sarah.  "Librarian in a Strange Land: Teaching a Freshman Orientation Course."  (pp.      73-78)

The Fall/Winter 1998 issue (v. 26, number 3-4) includes Hannelore Rader's annual bibliography, "Library Instruction and Information Literacy--1997," (pp. 143-160). It also includes the papers from the 1998 LOEX-of-the-West Conference on pages 9-142.    Pay particular attention to: 

• Dupuis, Elizabeth.  "The Times They Are A'Changin:  Students, Technology, and Instructional Services."  (pp. 11-16, 32).
• Scholz-Crane, Ann.  "Evaluating the Future:  A Preliminary Study of the Process of How Undergraduate Students Evaluate Web Sources."  (pp. 53-59).
• Vidmar, Dale J.  "Affective Change:  Integrating Pre-Sessions in the Students Classroom Prior to Library Instruction."  (pp. 75-95).
• Colburn, Nancy Wootton and Rosanne M. Cordell.  "Moving from Subjective to Objective Assessments of Your Instruction Program."  (pp. 125-137).

IN BRIEF 

Arnold, Judith M.  "I Know It When I See It: Assessing Good Teaching."   Research Strategies   16.1(1998):  1-28. 

Booher, Dianna.  "Ten Writing Principles to Improve Your Training."   Training & Development   53(Jan. 1999): 17-18. 

Grassian, Esther and Susan E. Clark.  "Internet Resources:  Information Literacy Sites: Background and Ideas for Program Planning and Development."    College & Research Libraries News   60(Feb. 1999): 78-81, 92.    [NOT just for academic librarians!] 

Jiao, Qun G. and Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie.  "Perfectionism and Library Anxiety among Graduate Students."    Journal of Academic Librarianship   24(Sept. 1998): 365-371. 

Lally, Ann.  "Creating the Developmental Teaching Portfolio."    College & Research Libraries News   59(Nov. 1998):  776-778. 

Leckie, Gloria J. and Anne Fullerton.  "Information Literacy in Science and Engineering Undergraduate Education:  Faculty Attitudes and Pedagogical Practices."    College and Research Libraries   60(Jan. 1999): 9-29. 

"Quality Presentation Tools for Schools."    Media & Methods   35(Nov./Dec. 1998): 10-32.  [Overview and a directory of vendors.] 

Stoffle, Carla.  "Literacy 101 for the Digital Age."    American Libraries   29(Dec. 1998):  46-48.  [Focus is on academic libraries.] 
 

Mary Pagliero Popp is Information Technologies Public Services Librarian at the Indiana University Bloomington Libraries.