Engage, Entertain, and Enlighten: the ILIG Contest

The Engage - Entertain - Enlighten contest was launched by the Information Literacy Interest Group in spring 2009 with three goals in mind: to raise awareness and attract new members to the interest group; to engage existing ILIG members; and to share ideas and showcase information literacy innovation in Atlantic Canada.

 

Contestants were invited to participate by submitting a short essay (plus relevant attachments) describing a teaching & learning strategy or tool they have developed to promote information literacy. 

Few restrictions were placed on the type of submission, which could take any form (e.g. an in-class activity or exercise, applied teaching method, or a learning object) and target any group of learners (e.g. post-secondary, K-12, public or special library users). The main requirement was that it must engage students in some way as active or reflective learners. 

 

Submissions were received from APLA members working in a range of settings and teaching a variety of different types of learners. Each entry was evaluated by a panel of six judges, with a range of experience and expertise in academic, public and school libraries and learning environments.

 

Of the submissions received, three winners were selected: one first place winner, plus two runners up. 

Barry Cull, a runner up, was selected for his Pre-Evaluation Exercise, an interactive, discussion-based activity in which students evaluate sources to determine their suitability and reliability. Barry is an Information Services Librarian at the Harriet Irving Library, University of New Brunswick. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erin Alcock, also a runner up, is a Science Liaison Librarian at the Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Erin was selected for her Wikipedia vs. Scholarly Article Exercise, a learner-centered exercise in which students make guided comparisons between Wikipedia entries and scholarly journal articles on similar topics.

 

 

 

As prizes, Erin and Barry each received a much-coveted APLA water bottle bearing the association logo.

 

 

 

Shannon Gordon, a Public Services Librarian at the QEII Library, Memorial University, was selected as the first place winner of the Engage - Entertain - Enlighten contest for her Post-Research Reflective Exercise.   Shannon developed this exercise to help students (specifically second year Political Science students, although the exercise can be adapted for use with other groups) to reflect on a peer-reviewed research assignment. Of the exercise Shannon writes, “My goal with this...class was to get these students thinking and reflecting about their research experience. Ultimately, I wanted to generate a lively discussion…my fingers were crossed!”

Prepare to be inspired! Read on to learn more about Shannon’s submission and to view the handout she developed to guide students through the exercise:

 

 

Last fall I gave a library instruction session to a group of second year Political Science students required to write a 2000-2500 word essay. This assignment was especially unique because it would be anonymously peer-reviewed by their classmates. In addition, the professor would submit comments which the student would keep in mind when working on their final draft. During the semester I met with this class on two occasions. Our first encounter explored resources useful to their research and our second encounter took place one week after students received peer and professor feedback. This meant that they were now in the revising stage which provided the perfect context for a follow-up session. My goal with this second class was to get these students thinking and reflecting about their research experience. Ultimately, I wanted to generate a lively discussion…my fingers were crossed! To accomplish this I created a reflective exercise which students worked on in pairs. Following this we would regroup and share responses to the questions.

 

I was amazed and pleased with the results. This class was so eager to share their thoughts that we actually spent the entire class discussing their experience. When talking about useful resources students eagerly called out Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, Factiva, JStor, the library catalogue and Google Scholar. I would then ask the person to describe the source in their own words and to go bit further I would give a quick overview of the resource and highlight key features. This exercise also allowed students to vent any frustration they happened to encounter. Some individuals found that they chose their topic only to discover that it was too broad and needed narrowing, others admitted that they chose their topic too early into the course. Difficulty navigating the bookstacks came up several times and this gave me the chance to go over how the collection was organized. Students summarized their research experience in one word, with ‘internet’, ‘library’, ‘frustrating’, ‘bookstacks’ and ‘sparse’ being examples. Discussion for the last question focused on peer reviewed literature which they were required to use, and the fact that they went through a mock peer review process heightened their ability to relate to this. Reflecting on their research experience provided an opportunity for in-depth classroom discussion, allowed me to ‘remind’ them of certain resources we discovered during the session earlier in the semester, and also provided active, hands-on learning as students would follow along on their computer to explore resources I was highlighting. The result of this was that the exercise successfully engaged, entertained and enlightened these students in the way I had hoped. It was extremely satisfying to teach these students and since last fall I have tweaked this exercise for different courses and research assignments—in each instance it has been a great tool to generate discussion.

 

Shannon's exercise is attached at the bottom of this page.

 

Shannon received a $100 Chapters gift card for her contribution, awarded at the ILIG dinner during the APLA Conference in June 2009. All prizes were generously donated to the interest group by the association. The ILIG thanks all who contributed to the contest by sharing their excellent and creative ideas!