BIO150 Library Guide

Jill Wheeler, Course Coordinator, BIO150
Heather Cunningham, Librarian, Gerstein Science Information Centre
Alison Parker, Head Teaching Assistant, BIO150

WHAT IS THE INNOVATION THAT YOU HAVE INTRODUCED TO YOUR TEACHING PRACTICE?
In September of 2010 we introduced an online Library Research Guide that contained in one place all the information the 1,800 students in BIO120H needed for their Writing a Scientific Proposal assignment. The guide covers the spectrum of the writing process from starting the research process to integrating information into students’ writing. It provides an online environment for first-year students using strategies they would be familiar with such as Wikipedia and Google to search for information, and then it transitions them to an academic environment using scholarly resources such as Web of Science. Custom-made video clips explaining the peer review process and database search tips were embedded within the guide.  Our motivation for creating the guide was to offer a comprehensive resource for students to learn how to find and use information from sources, since there is usually not enough class time for teaching assistants to thoroughly explain this process. This multimedia guide was created using LibGuides, a software that the University of Toronto Libraries purchased in the summer of 2010.  We chose it because it was easy to create a visual guide with embedded Web 2.0 technologies within the LibGuide.

WHAT RESEARCH INFORMS YOUR WORK IN THIS AREA?
We wanted to “meet” the students (first-year life science students) on the web since it is a familiar medium for seeking information, whether it be personal or academic. We wanted the guide to be visually attractive with images and embedded videos to address the needs of visual and auditory learners since a large class size will encompass several different learning styles.  An online guide will have the information available around the clock, 24/7, and the instructions and search strategies can be viewed as often as needed.

PLEASE DESCRIBE THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. WHAT WAS INVOLVED?
Several other online authoring tools were discussed before LibGuides was selected. Jill Wheeler (BIO120 Lab Coordinator), Heather Cunningham (Science Librarian), and Alison Parker (BIO120 Lead Writing TA) were co-editors of the guide. There was an iterative editing process to create content, select supplemental information, and then organize for purposes of logical flow.

WERE THERE ANY OBSTACLES THAT NEEDED TO BE OVERCOME?
There were technical obstacles such as a slight learning curve to use the LibGuides software as we were all novices with this software. The videos about peer review and the purpose and importance of proper citation were created by graduate students Dylanne Dearborn and Stephanie Orfano from the iSchool as part of their course The Literature of Science and Technology.  They had to teach themselves to use the video creation software Captivate as well as troubleshoot storyboarding and editing issues.

Getting the BIO120 students to the site was another obstacle we encountered in spite of the fact the guide was linked to from the Blackboard course page and was discussed during lab time.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR THE LEARNERS IN THIS PROGRAM?

A major benefit to students is to enhance their search skills from the elementary information and search skills that they are familiar with (i.e., Wikipedia, Google) to more advanced scholarly research skills. Another benefit is for students to see the research process in a broader context from finding and efficiently reading scholarly sources, to understanding the research process (e.g., peer review), and then integrating sources into their writing, including using citations properly. Also, as mentioned above, a further benefit is the fact that this is explained and detailed in a step-by-step process all in one online space complete with interactive features to address different ways of learning.

WERE THERE ANY SURPRISES OR UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES?
The BIO120 Library Research Guide had an extraordinarily high number of hits. The guide went live at the beginning of September and by December 2010 it had received over 39,000 views, far exceeding the statistics of other course-based LibGuides. The results from the BIO120 Student Opinion Survey show that over 90% of BIO120 students visited the Library Research Guide. The majority of students found it helpful in finding and citing sources for their writing assignment.

Another unexpected outcome is that students did not seem to interpret the guide the way we had anticipated. Some students commented they did not know how to navigate by clicking on the heading tabs. There was also some confusion as to this resource being a guide to help students find articles and other scholarly information.  Some students thought the guide was where they would find articles, as opposed to where they would find information on how to retrieve articles.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR THIS PROJECT IN THE FUTURE?
We will continue to use the Library Research Guide for BIO120 next year.  It will be linked to from other biology courses this academic year.  The concept of citations and how to consistently cite information sources remains a problematic issue as evidenced by the submitted assignments. Many students did not follow the specified format for citations in their assignment nor support their statements with a citation.  We plan to spend more in-class time in labs discussing proper citation.

Also, it remains challenging for us to determine directly from students what other aspects of the information presented in the guide needs to be clarified in order to modify and increase its effectiveness. There is the possibility of usability testing or a focus group to further assess this tool.