Call for Proposals

Hellu, Leebrery Instroocgturs. Bork! Bork! Bork!

Doug and Ryan are at it again, only this time it’s Chef Ryan and Chef Doug. We have the approval from ACRL to do a Library Instruction Cookbook. If you are a Gourmet Instructor, we want your recipes for instruction.

Working Book Title: The Library Instruction Cookbook: 50+ Active Recipes for 1-Shot Sessions. By Chef Ryan Sittler and Chef Doug Cook (Chicago: ACRL, summer 2009).

Read on for details……

Ground Rules
1. Your submission must describe an activity (We are working on the assumption that students learn best when they are involved in the process.)

2. The lesson plan for the activity cannot involve more than 10 minutes of librarian talk. (Our second assumption is that you like to hear yourself talk more than students do. We’ll give you 10 minutes to introduce the activity.)

3. Your proposal must address as much of the following as possible:

• Title
• Your Name, University, and E-mail
• Potential Cookbook Category
• Occasion
• Activity Goal/Purpose
• Main Ingredients (Equipment, supplies, etc)
• Preparation (before the class starts)
• The Instruction Session
• Main Instructional Technique
• Subject/Discipline addressed
• Length of session – one to two hours
• Audience/Class size – freshmen, no more than thirty
• ALA Information Dietary Standards Addressed
• Cautions
• Reaction/Reflection –
• Instructional Resources/Handouts

4. If your submission gets chosen you need to include a picture of your students in action.

5. Creative is good! Light, nutritious, and filling are good. This is a cookbook! "Ve-a vunt yuoor receepes fur oooor Leebrery Instroocshun Cuukbuuk." The Swedish Chef.

6. We need 3-5 page chapters for teaching activities in the following Cookbook Categories:

• General Library Orientation
• Database Demonstration
• Evaluation of Resources (Web site, journal article, primary vs. secondary sources, magazine vs. journal, etc.)
• Specialized Subject Research (archives, local information, subject oriented, etc.
• Advanced Research (seniors, graduate students, etc.)

7. E-mail Chef Doug if you want to see sample chapters…..Or see the folloiwng blog entries

8. We also plan to publicize this blog with the book as a way to allow readers to provide the Library Instruction Community with feedback. (feedback....cookbook...it's made in heaven...)

9. E-mail your proposals to Doug Cook and to Ryan Sittler, by May 15, 2008. If your proposal is accepted, the final recipe will need to be submitted to us (tentatively) by December 31, 2008. We are planning for the cookbook to debut at ALA Annual 2009.

Bun Epeteete-a! Bork! Bork! Bork!

Sample Recipe - from Ryan

Sample Recipe - Ryan Sittler

Title - Close Encounters of the IL Kind

Ryan Sittler, Instructional Technology/Information Literacy Librarian and Assistant Professor, California University of Pennsylvania, California, PA

Occasion - This is intended for students who are being asked to give a persuasive speech on “a controversial topic of their choosing.” They have already had a decent overview of library resources in a previous session.

Purpose - Provides students with an opportunity to get re-acquainted with the research process, provides students with an opportunity for peer assistance, allows students opportunity for a “practice” persuasive speech experience.

Main Ingredients
· Computer access (preferably laptops) for all students.
· PowerPoint software.
· An instructor’s station with projector.
· A 2 gb flash drive.

Preparation – This sessions requires little advanced preparation, other than making yourself aware of the types of resources available to your students on the topics under discussion.

The Instruction Session –
1. Review actual speech class assignment with students.
2. Remind them that they have had library research experience in the past.
3. Mention a few key resources for research purposes (Catalog, Databases, web, etc). Keep presentation to 10 minutes.
4. Break class into four groups.
5. Group 1 will research “alien abduction” to prove that it is “real.”
6. Group 2 will research “alien abduction” to prove that it is “fake.”
7. Group 3 will research “UFO sightings” to prove that they are “real.”
8. Group 4 will research “UFO sightings” to prove that they are “fake.”
9. Research must be supported by scholarly resources… “good” websites are allowed.
10. Each group will produce a PowerPoint presentation, not less than 6 slides (including a title slide with group members listed), supporting their “standpoint.”
11. Present this exercise as a “contest” to see which group can be the most convincing.
12. Groups have (on average) 25 minutes to conduct research and create PowerPoint presentation.
13. Collect presentations on Flash drive so that you may project them from the instructor’s station.
14. Groups present their findings.



Main Instructional Technique - Mini-demonstration, small-group work, peer assistance, presentations

Subject – Speech, Human Communications

Length of session – one hour, minimum

Audience/Class size – freshmen, up to forty students max

ALA Information Dietary Standards Addressed
Standard One: “The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed”; 1.1.
Standard Two: “The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently”; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3.

Standard Three: “The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system”; 3.1, 3.3.

Standard Four: “The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose”; 4.1, 4.2, 4.3.

Cautions
· Students may balk at their “assigned” viewpoint. Tell them that they may include a slide refuting their standpoint if they feel very strongly about the topic.
· Make sure that you have items in your collection that facilitate research on this topic. Scholarly books and articles DO exist.
· There is usually one PowerPoint “guru” in each group… seek that person out, and make them mandatory presentation creator. All students must assist in research.

Reaction/Reflection - Most students groan at the topic. Most students also groan over the fact that they have to physically do something. However, past experience indicates that many students are willing to stay AFTER class if it means that they can “out do” the other groups. Ultimately, this becomes a very fun project… I have had it result in applause on more than one occasion. (Provides a good opportunity for student ingenuity, and the speech professor will enjoy the practical experience, as well.)

Sample Recipe - from Doug

Sample Recipe - Doug Cook

Title - Local Research: Can I do the “Ghosts of Gettysburg” for My Paper?

Doug Cook, Distance Librarian and Professor, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA

Occasion –
Freshmen Composition students are asked to do a group PowerPoint presentation and individual short papers. In preparation they are asked to do group research on a Local Landmark – for example, town history, a local park, etc. In the past, students have researched Hersheypark, Gettysburg Battlefield, Carlisle Indian School, burning of Chambersburg during the Civil War, Appalachian Trail, Pine Grove Furnace State Park, etc. Each student eventually focuses on a piece of the larger topic.

Purpose - Introduce students to the vagaries of local and historical research. Get each group started by using readily available resources. Searching the typical databases does not always work for those of us in small-town universities.

Main Ingredients
· Computer access for all students.
· An instructor’s station with projector.
· Blackboard/Whiteboard

Preparation – Students should have chosen topics before the session. Compile resources on each of their general topics. Topics of this type can often be found in newspapers, travel magazines, archival documents, historical books, etc. Local historical societies, public libraries, or a visitor’s center at the landmark itself may be helpful.

The Instruction Session –
1. Ask students to sit in their assigned groups.
2. To get students talking to each other, ask each group to describe the specifics of their topic to the whole class. This is a good time for you to begin highlighting specific resources which would be applicable. Keep track of topics on the board.
3. Do a mini-lecture and discussion (no more than ten minutes) highlighting the following resource types and how to find them, particularly in regard to their research topics.
· Books, media
· Newspapers
· Travel magazines
· Web resources
· Site visits
4. Give students time to begin research and discussion in their groups. Circulate to answer questions and identify profitable resources and topics.
5. Reserve the last ten minutes for debriefing as a group

Main Instructional Technique – mini-demonstration, small-group work in computer lab

Subject – English Composition, Local History

Length of session – one to two hours

Audience/Class size – freshmen, no more than thirty

ALA Information Dietary Standards Addressed –

Standard One: “The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed”; 1.2.
Standard Two: “The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently”; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4.

Standard Three: “The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system”; 3.1.

Cautions – Students have a hard time understanding that they need to use actual resources – books, Web sites, interviews, etc. – for this project. They occasionally have difficulty finding the resources themselves.

Reaction/Reflection -
I enjoy facilitating this session because it uses a different approach to the obligatory freshmen writing assignment – Abortion, Handguns, etc. I am continually challenged by the unusual topics students latch on to. One young man, on a Gettysburg Battlefield group, became fixated with the Ghosts of Gettysburg. He had heard that ghosts still haunt the battlefield and the town. This is not particularly a scholarly subject but I didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm. We started with Google and found a Web site advertising Ghost Tours. It turns out that there is a tremendous amount of Web traffic regarding this topic, including numerous photos and accounts from ghost hunters and paranormal sites. One of the tour guides has written a number of books about the ghosts. Unfortunately we didn’t have them in the University library, so we checked the local public library, where they are available. Gettysburg ghosts have also been the subject of numerous local newspaper articles. I also encouraged him to take the Ghost Tour and interview the tour guide. What seemed to one skeptical librarian to be a bizarre topic, turned out to be pretty exciting. (I still need to take the Ghost Tour myself.)

Thanks to Dr. Cathy Dibello, English Dept., Shippensburg U. for the original recipe.