ACTIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES TO TEACH INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS

Traditional methods of software and database instruction normally rely on extensive demonstrations of these tools. Students are traditionally passive, or instructed to follow along with the instructor through a series of pre-determined examples.

Librarians used active learning techniques to teach chemistry students to locate substance information using “SciFinder Scholar,” a user-friendly platform for Chemical Abstracts. We found that students responded enthusiastically to the lesson and were less likely to engage in other online activities during class. Working with classroom faculty, librarians prepared an lesson geared specifically to an assignment presented at the beginning of the class session.

Demonstrations by the librarians were very short, and only offered an introduction to the basic features of the tool. Students were then asked to work in groups, answering broad, open ended questions that encouraged and led them to explore the SciFinder Scholar interface. Each group was asked to explore a slightly different aspect of the SciFinder Scholar search interface and to select a member of their group to present their findings to the class. Group presentations were highly variable, allowing instructors and librarians to emphasize the features that would have traditionally been presented in a lengthy demonstration.

After completing the assignment, students were asked to complete a brief survey assessing learning outcomes and students attitudes. While most of the students had not used SciFinder Scholar before, a majority responded that they would use it in the future. Usage statistics for the database indicate a large increase in usage following the instruction sessions.

The active learning techniques and group-work methods used in this class can be applied to instruction with other software or research databases. Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and other geology classes will also find SciFinder Scholar useful for locating chemical data.