“I was able to work alongside a librarian who seemed invested in the growth of my research skills. I felt supported throughout all stages of my research. It almost felt like cheating!” -SLCC Student, 2024
In AY2024 the SLCC Libraries partnered with ENGL 1010 Online Plus to support students in meeting SLCC’s General Education Information Literacy Learning Outcome by leading workshops and Canvas discussion board posts. The Libraries then assessed this learning intervention to examine student learning, librarian teaching, and library services' efficacy. We did this by employing a mixed-methods review of student artifacts from multiple assignments within the course. This included scoring student work with a rubric focusing on articulating a topic with multiple viewpoints, using credible sources in their work, and describing the value of their chosen sources.
Thoughtfully planned librarian involvement and multiple student/instructor or librarian check-ins during a research project can create positive library experiences for students and increase their confidence in research skills. Students in this sample did well with articulating a topic with multiple viewpoints, okay with using credible sources, and need better ways to share how they were evaluating their sources. Some student comments highlighted a few areas for the library to improve. A majority of students planned to reach out to a librarian and/or use library resources again in the future. Read on for more specific findings and student comments.
Based on these findings, we recommend the following to help students meet information literacy outcomes at SLCC:
Including librarians in curriculum development.
Encouraging low stakes, early-stage research activities.
Capturing students’ thought processes during research.
Encourage students to view librarian support as a routine and empowering part of their research and information literacy journey. Sometimes it makes sense to build this into a course!
These changes aim to support deeper learning and better alignment between topics, sources, and reflection, and strengthen information literacy practices that transfer beyond a single course.
If you'd like to help evaluating information literacy outcomes, reviewing research project instructions and curricular support, or want to strategically include librarian-student interactions in your course, let's connect! Reach out to your liaison librarian to start a conversation.
Librarians engaged with students through online workshops and discussion board conversations to support their research process.
Students reported overwhelmingly positive experiences working with librarians, increased confidence in reaching out to the library, and plans to do so in the future.
Librarians evaluated the intervention by reviewing a sample of student artifacts.
This years-long collaboration included planning conversations before each term to update course content and workshop schedules as needed.
The ongoing support students received during weekly lab sessions was likely a key component of their research experience.
During the Spring 2024 term, we hosted online workshops and responded to student discussion board posts to assist students with their final research project. After the term ended, we reviewed direct student feedback through a pre- and post-test that were part of the course (over 300 respondents) in addition to a selected set of student work for a randomized sample of students (n=69). We evaluated these student artifacts using a custom designed rubric and identified comments about Library Services.
In the pre- and post-tests, students were asked, “How confident do you feel getting help with an assignment from SLCC Libraries?” The responses showed a great increase in students who answered “I can do this easily” from the pre-test (7.82%) to the post-test (32.99%), and a great decrease in students who answered “I’m not sure I can do this," which dropped from 27.55% to 12.15%.
A self-reported 88% of students had not worked with an SLCC Librarian at the beginning of the research unit. We worked with approximately 70% of the students in the course through online workshops and/or discussion boards. Of the students who commented on working with librarians or using library resources, 92% indicated overwhelming positive experiences and plans to reach out again in the future (91% of students who answered that question).
“I was very anxious to work with a librarian, as I was not familiar with their processes and teaching styles. I honestly didn’t really know that they were a good source to find information, I thought they just ran the library (the more you know)! The labs working with a librarian were very fruitful, and they gave me a lot of information, and that gave me the confidence to reach out in the future if I have another paper I need to do.” - Student comment
“The librarians and the suggestions they gave were also a big help. The librarians, I learned are a great tool for schoolwork and I know what to do if I need help and want to reach out to them.” - Student comment
“The librarians I worked with were all super kind and willing to answer any questions the group had.” - Student comment
This was the highest scoring area based on our rubric, with 71% of students meeting or exceeding expectations. Based on anecdotal evidence working with these students for years, we know that they spend a lot of time focusing on their topic and viewpoints during lab sessions, so this is an indication that it’s working well. Pre- and post-test data reiterate this positive trajectory, with an increase in student confidence for the question, "How confident do you feel selecting a research topic that meets the guidelines of an assignment?" There was a 12% increase in the response "I can do this easily" and a 7% decrease in the response "I'm not sure I can do this."
This assessment did not measure the progress individual students made from the beginning to the end of the project, which would be helpful to discover.
“I really struggled narrowing down my topic… Tutors and librarians helped me a ton moving past these challenges.” - Student comment
In the sample artifacts, 58% of students used credible and relevant sources based on their described research topic. However, the existing assignments did not adequately capture their thought processes for selecting these sources, as only 45% of students met or exceeded the rubric expectations. This presents an area to improve and reiterates how closely topic source selection are related- the sources required to investigate a topic will depend on how a researcher is approaching it.
“My experience within research was greatly impacted by working with the librarians… If I were to restart this writing process again, I believe I would start out with the librarian’s help first. Learning how to find credible sources was a key step I wish I knew beforehand.” - Student comment
Many students mentioned the value of working with librarians and/or the value of their weekly lab sessions in developing their research topics and viewpoints, finding sources, and putting it all together in their final projects. We recommend encouraging students to view librarian (and other) support as a routine and empowering part of their research and information literacy journey.
“I will be honest, my only time working with a librarian was when I got extra credit for it earlier this semester. However, I feel like my world has opened up in possibilities now that I know that I can talk to them and get help with my work in the future.” - Student comment
“The support of the library staff was essential because I had never done this before.” - Student comment
The library website was not always easy for students to navigate. SLCC Libraries has since worked to improve the functionality and ease-of-use of our website through the acquisition of a new major search interface and website restructuring with best practices in mind. We will continue providing support to students through our service desks, instruction librarians, and course curriculum support.
“I found some challenges with using the SLCC Librarians search engine. It never seemed to give me the kind of resources that I was looking for.”
- Student comment
Librarians worked with the ENGL 1010 Online Plus program for many years- at least eight! Every term, the course instructors coordinated with Librarian Jamie (the Liaison to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences) to revise and enhance this partnership. Every year or two, the librarians would join the ENGL 1010 Online Plus Team Meeting to ensure we were on the same page in terms of what students were doing in labs, how we were expected to help, and to learn about any adjustments to the assignments or planned librarian involvement. We adapted the workshop model several times (workshop availability, schedule, content, location, etc.) and adjusted the discussion board prompt and related course materials over the years, following a reflective teaching model. In 2018, faculty and librarians presented on this partnership at the TYCA (Two Year College English Association) West Conference. The in person lab sessions took place in one of the SLCC Libraries. Spring 2024 was the last term of the English Online Plus program.
"The work the librarians have done over the past several years in online plus has been a great benefit to students, and I speak for all of us when I say we can’t thank you enough for your involvement in our courses. We have truly enjoyed collaborating with you."
- Brittany Stephenson, Professor, Department of English, Linguistics and Writing Studies
Based in part on these findings, SLCC Libraries has:
