Course A and B and the Information Literacy Component
All incoming freshmen at the UW-Madison are required to take a class identified as a Communications Requirement Course A within their first year. These classes include literacy components in written and oral communication, as well as an information literacy component. The information literacy component is where the library comes in. Each "Course A" class is required to include two library sessions to orient the students to the UW library system and introduce them to life-long information seeking skills and concepts. If you have transfer students in your class, they must either test out of the information literacy component or complete the library sessions.
The Communications Requirement also includes a second course called Course B, which is to follow Course A and build on the skills and concepts taught in these beginning classes. Course B's typically are subject specific classes and the information literacy library component focuses on resources necessary for these disciplines. If you are teaching a course A or course B class , you can directly request a library instruction session or contact Barbara Lazewski for more information.
The two library sessions for course A are covered by a multi-media instructional package called CLUE, followed by a library classroom session. Course B sessions are fairly flexible and are developed by the instructor and the librarian in consultation. For a description of these sessions click on the headings below.
Library Classroom Component of Course A
The library classroom session, which will be held in Steenbock Library in one of our teaching classrooms, will cover the conceptual process of doing a basic search. Since students will have been required by their instructors to complete CLUE before coming to the library session, we will assume that they already have learned some basic search skills for MadCat and journal databases (i.e., they have gone thru the multi-media CLUE program). We will use the library classroom session to link these skills to the process students will use to do their own assignments
The library classroom session will focus on:
- A very brief review of the basic research process,
including:
- Selection of an appropriate database
- Construction of a computer search query using boolean operators, truncation, and alternative terms
- Formulating a search strategy for their own topic
- The opportunity to work through the search process on their own, in a hands-on computer component. Librarians will be available to assist students as they search databases to find resources relevant to their topics and help them locate these items in campus libraries.
Making the library component of Course A as successful as possible
In order to be a meaningful and successful learning experience for the students, the library component of Course A needs to be thoroughly integrated into the objectives and syllabus of the course. It requires close collaboration between the teaching librarians and the Course A instructors and TA's. In order to help instructors and TA's become acquainted with our program, with the objectives of this module as mandated by the campus, and with ways to integrate them effectively into their syllabi, we would request the opportunity to meet before the start of classes to discuss the above issues and how we can work together to implement this program.
Course B Information Literacy Requirement
All Course A courses have had a preliminary orientation to information seeking skills taught by the campus libraries, which introduces them to locating books and journal articles on campus.
In Course B library sessions, which are developed in close collaboration with the faculty member, we teach students the strategies and skills they will need to find information in a particular discipline and/or for a particular assignment. Generally these focus on more research oriented resources and critical evaluation skills. Usually these sessions involve a number of in-class activities, including in-class opportunities for students to conduct searches at computer workstations in the library with the teaching librarian available to provide assistance and answer questions.
Other types of assistance we can provide are instructional materials such as subject guides to resources or Library Course Pages which provide access to customized resources and reference support after the library session. We can also work with faculty to design library-based assignments that introduce students to core resources in a field but avoid the frustration that can occur when an entire class is sent to the library to use the same resource at the same time.
To schedule a library session for your Course B class, you can directly request a library instruction session or contact Barbara Lazewski for more information.) We look forward to working with you on this component of your class!