Background Communication Studies 110, Public Oral Communication, is part of the General Education program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. According to the UW-L Undergraduate Catalog, "General Education is the common educational experience for all undergraduates at UW-L. The primary purpose of General Education is to cultivate knowledge, skills, and dispositions essential for independent learning and thinking." CST 110 is required of all UW-L students and students usually take this course during their first academic year. UW-L offers 48 sections of CST 110 during the fall semester and 36 sections during the spring semester. Each section usually has 25 students, usually in their first or second semester of college. The CST 110 Common Syllabus states that "as a student in CST 110 you will develop oral communication skills," including "being able to locate sources of information in the library and use these sources to develop your presentation." The syllabus also specifies that "each section (of CST 110) will visit Murphy Library for a library orientation exercise." During an academic year, librarians provide information literacy instruction to approximately 2,100 CST 110 students. Instructors utilize a variety of teaching/learning situations in CST 110 classes, i.e., working in groups, or in-class writing exercises. Working in groups is a form of cooperative or collaborative learning. Cooperative learning "provides opportunities for students to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course content through problem-solving exercises, informal small groups, simulations, case studies, role playing, and other activities --- all of which require students to apply what they are learning" (Myers & Jones, 1993, p. xi). Prior to our lesson study, librarians used a template or sample presentation when teaching CST 110. These lecture-based presentations, however, varied both in content and in instruction methods. While some librarians incorporated active learning techniques, others did not. Both the director of the CST 110 program and the coordinator of the library's information literacy instruction program felt that more consistent use of collaborative learning techniques would improve the effectiveness of the lesson. At a Lesson Study Project informational meeting in 2004, the coordinator of the library's information literacy program talked to the director of the CST 110 program about developing a lesson study team to evaluate and redesign the CST 110 library exercise. One goal of the lesson redesign would be to incorporate more collaborative learning experiences. Five librarians and four CST 110 instructors met for the first time in January 2005 to create a lesson that librarians could use to teach all sections of CST 110.

Executive Summary Our interdisciplinary lesson study group developed a collaborative learning experience designed to introduce CST110 students to library resources and research skills. The lesson was both interactive and hands-on. It was intended to serve as the model or template for all librarians to use when providing information literacy instruction for CST 110 classes. It included general library information, instruction about, and hands-on experience with, several library databases, exercises in evaluating resource credibility, and exercises in generating American Psychological Association (APA) style citations from several library databases. We utilized the new lesson for the first time on February 8, 2006. Learning Goals Our primary goal for the lesson was to ensure that CST110 students gained proficiency in basic research skills, including the use of library services and resources. Specifically, we wanted students to be able to: choose appropriate library databases for a research question (navigate the library website) efficiently search library databases (use basic search principles) understand how to use library databases to identify and retrieve books, print periodicals, and electronic periodicals discern the credibility of sources format APA-style citations Lesson Design Librarians and communications studies faculty designed the lesson to mimic the research process, taking students though the steps necessary to conduct quality research. In order to engage the students in learning we incorporated collaborative learning techniques, including a series of interactive questions that each group answered. The questions sometimes required a verbal response, and sometimes required a written response from each group. We also utilized a worksheet to help focus student attention. Groups of three to four students shared a computer and completed tasks together. Collaborative learning serves a pragmatic purpose, as it keeps the class together, rather than having some individuals jump ahead or work on non-related web browsing. As Smith reported in his 2004 study on collaborative learning, the quality of the work increases with collaborative learning: "In a meta-analysis of 122 studies involving 11,317 learners, Yiping, Abrami, and d'Apollonia concluded that 'when working with computer technology in small groups, students in general produced substantially better group products than individual products and they also gained more individual knowledge than those learning with computer technology individually'" (2001, 476 in Smith, 2004). Each group member had his or her own worksheet referred to as a "research log." Librarians designed the worksheet to provide a: Lesson outline that would aid students' processing of new information Guide for group activities Model framework for completing the research process Personal, customized job aid that students could use outside of class Class outlines and worksheets with keywords from the lesson help students focus their attention rather than dividing their limited short-term memory between the instructor and note taking. Research by Kiewra and others (as cited by deWinstanley and Bjork, 2002) suggests that when instructors provide students with an outline or worksheet for note taking, students' note quality, performance, and lecture recall improve. In addition to keeping in-class performance on track and helping students' process new information, the CST 110 worksheet is also a job aid. Job aids are "repository[ies] for information, processes, or perspectives that are external to the individual and that supports work...by directing, guiding, and enlightening performance" when a need arises (Rossett & Gautier-Downes, 1991). Many students who come to the library with their CST 110 class have not yet selected a topic for their assignments. Therefore, when students are working on their research outside of class or in future classes, their worksheet -- a customized job aid -- directs and guides their search for information. Major Findings About Student Learning Analysis of student behavior observed during the lesson indicated that: The worksheet questions, coupled with librarian interaction with individual groups, resulted in successful learning of searching techniques. Student searches observed during the class indicated that material introduced only through lecture was not learned as successfully. Students were particularly excited to learn how to use database features to automatically format APA style citations. Students perceived the lesson to be effective in improving their ability to use information resources. However, we did not ask for their perceptions about specific research skills. After the library lesson, the CST 110 instructor recognized that the students located and cited more credible information to support their speeches. Students were also able to use proper citations in their bibliographies. The instructor reported that students expressed that they felt more comfortable using available library resources. After the lesson the librarians recognized shortcomings in their standard assessment instrument, and planned to implement improvements. In addition, they recognized the continuing need to collaborate with CST instructors to evaluate the efficacy of the CST 110 library lesson.

Printer Friendly Version of Complete Report Complete Report The Full Communications Studies/Library Lesson Study Report Appendix

The Lesson Below are links to the lesson plan and the materials used to teach it. Lesson This is the lesson plan used on February 8, 2006. Library Introduction This is the library introduction video (Windows Media Video format) used on February 8, 2006, the date of the lesson study. It was playing in a continuous loop as the students arrived for the lesson. PowerPoint This is the PowerPoint used on February 8, 2006, the date of the lesson study. Handout This is the handout used on February 8, 2006, the date of the lesson study.

The Study Below are links to the study of the lesson. Study Includes approach, findings, and discussion. Observation protocol, observer note form, and observer reaction form Observation protocol and forms used by observers to record student observation data. Completed observer notes and reactions Completed observer notes from 4 observers of the Feb 8, 2006 session. One observer also completed the Reactions form. Blank student evaluation form This is the evaluation form used for all information literacy instruction sessions. Students are asked to complete this web-based form at the conclusion of the instruction session. Compiled student evaluation data Student evaluation of the Feb. 8, 2006 lesson.

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