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CREATING CLASS PAGES
When it comes to student learning, Steven Sowell, a longtime librarian and instructor, believes timing is everything.
“I believe learning happens best when tied to specific assignments at the time students need that information,” says Sowell, head of the Business/SPEA Information Commons.“Students get more if it’s connected to something they have to do. “
He’s able to put this philosophy into practice by working with professors at the Kelley School of Business to ensure students know about library resources that may be helpful in completing their assignments.
“The thing I emphasize to faculty members is that I customize instruction to their needs,” Sowell says, “and what they want for their students.”
Librarians can, for example, instruct students how to use library resources, create a class page—a Web site for a particular class with links to appropriate databases, articles, and research tips—or even lead orientation tours of the library.“We can do any of them, or all of them,” Sowell says.
And whether meeting a class for just five minutes or a for full period, Sowell says it’s important students know how to get to the class page he’s created for them. “ That’s the most important take-away from that presentation,” he says. “It’s got the links for all the stuff they need for their assignments.”
When Sowell works with a faculty member, he always asks for a syllabus and a copy of the assignments so he can better structure a class page and instruction. One of the classes he assisted in the Kelley School of Business, for example, required students give a presentation about a famous business leader. Sowell developed a page that directs students not only to business resources, but also to the Biography Resource Center, a database with full-text biographical information on more than 185,000 people from throughout history.The page also includes a link to Opposing Viewpoints, a database that compiles articles, essays, and images about a wide range of topics, which helped prepare students for another class assignment.
Librarians like Sowell know that what may be essential for a top-level faculty scholarship and research is more than an undergraduate usually needs or wants. Filtering the number and relevance of these resources to a more manageable scale is something librarians can do effectively to assist the learning process. “We provide way too many resources,” Sowell says. “Our role is to be a guide, so we’re providing maps. If you’re doing this assignment for this class, here are the resources that will be helpful.”
“We’re not spoon-feeding students,” Sowell says. “ We’re not saying go in here, type in this, and press enter. We’re guiding them. We make it easier to find the things they need.”
Sowell, who served for nine years as head of the Education Library, says that background has informed how he thinks about student learning, and that, in turn, influences how he instructs students today—whether teaching undergraduates or graduate students. “I’m trying to get away from the idea that there’s this list of things that everybody should know,” Sowell says.“It’s more that there are certain tasks that individuals need to do, and in order to do these tasks, then they need to know these things. It’s real life.”
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