TORDA'S SPRING 2023 TEACHING SITE
  • Home
  • ENGL 303 policies
    • ENGL303 SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 303 Discussion Board Space
    • ENGL303 CLASS PROFILES
    • ENGL303 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
    • ENGL303 OVERVIEW FINAL HERITAGE PROJECT
    • ENGL303 NAMING WHAT WE KNOW
    • ENGL303 YOUR LIFE IN PICTURES
  • ENGL 226 policies
    • 226 Discussion Board
    • ENGL 226 syllabus
    • ENGL 226 PORTFOLIO
    • ENGL 226 PARTNER INTERVIEW MINI-PAPER
    • ENGL226 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
    • 226 BLOG INFORMATION
    • ENGL 226 Writing Studies Timeline Project
    • ENGL 226 Professional Writing Project
    • ENGL 226 SUPER FAST CAREER PRESENTATIONS
    • ENGL 226 Writing As Art
  • Previously Taught Classes
    • ENGL 301 >
      • ENGL 301 SYLLABUS >
        • PARTNER INTERVIEW ENGL 301
      • ENGL 301 Discussion Board When We Need it
      • ENGL 301 PORTFOLIOS
      • ENGL 301 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHER (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 BOOK CLUB (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 FLASH MENTOR TEXT MEMOIR (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (assignment) >
        • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (instructions & sample annotations)
      • ENGL 301 ASSIGNMENT DESIGN (assignment)
    • ENGL102 >
      • ENGL 102 Class Discussion Board
      • ENGL102SYLLABUS
      • ENGL102 PORTFOLIOS/Research Notebook
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Class Profile Page
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENTS: Reading Journals
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECT >
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: POSITIONING YOURSELF
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part I
    • ENGL 202 BIZ Com >
      • ENGL 202 Business Writing SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 227 INTRO TO CNF WORKSHOP
    • ENGL 298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
    • ENGL406 RESEARCH IN WRITING STUDIES
    • ENGL 493 THE PERSONAL ESSAY
    • ENGL 493 Seminar in Writing & Writing Studies: The History of First Year Composition >
      • ENGL 493 Assignments: Annotated Bibliography & Presentation
    • ENGL 511 Reading & Writing Memoir
    • DURFEE Engl101
  • BSU Homepage

Libraries are NOT like candy shops

2/20/2014

2 Comments

 
After looking over the WPA listserv for today there did not seem to be much conversation going on.....lots of job postings, upcoming conventions, and an abundance of "thanks you emails" to some man named Duane.  All in all a pretty average day of discussion, until I came across a post having to do with first year writing classes and libraries.

This instantly cause my attention!! Who isn't confused every once in a while when it comes to libraries??
Picture
I know before entering college I looked like a chicken with their head cut off when it came to researching articles through the library data bases or even just trying to check out a book.  I learned all of the "basic" library skills in say elementary school but never had to use them again until I entered college.

The question that this professor first asked that created this discussion was as follows:

Hi friends,
 
I’m interested in learning about interesting/useful/awesome partnerships between FYC classes and libraries, especially when it comes to teaching information literacy skills. Do you know of any inspiring examples?
 
That’s a big bucket of a question, so here are some of the smaller buckets that I poured into it: If your library offers for-credit courses in info-lit, do any research-based assignments in FYC in any way acknowledge or connect to those library classes? Are there connections between the FYC-offering department and the library in any formal, curricular way, perhaps even in the course descriptions or catalog?
 
I’m less interested in small-scale, occasional things (“The librarian comes over once per semester and gives this great presentation!”) and more interested in formalized, curricular partnerships (“All students who take InfoLit 101 work on the same project in RHET 102!”), if that makes sense.
 
Thanks tons!
 
k



After this post came a wide variety of replies and points of view.  Some professors gave their advise on how they choose to approach FYW courses and what type of material they cover.  There was also a post from a man out of Southern University that was interesting.  He had started up a hybrid "intro to library" course that students could take and learn more about research and how to navigate libraries that can be somewhat intimidating if you are not an expert.  The only problem I had with this course was that it is not a requirement....that being said I feel that not many students would willingly take this course.  If it had more of an appeal than being called "intro to libraries" (SNOOZEFEST) maybe it would be more of a hit.

In all, reading this thread of professors offering advice about a topic that is usually glanced over or students are "expected" to know really opened my eyes....I realized I was not the only freshman entering college with little or no knowledge having to do with research and academic journals.  Just last semester in my 300 level English course we spend a class period listening to the librarian explain their whole  research database!! There needs to be a happy medium between sitting through a course on libraries and waiting until senior year of college to "formally" teach students how to do research.

Heres a video of how I felt during my first research paper as a freshman and trying to navigate the library databases (dont let this be your students!!!) 


2 Comments
LT
2/25/2014 12:46:37 am

I was so unprepared for what was going to happen in that video, I spilled my coffee and fell off my chair I laughed so hard.

Also, the "some guy named Duane" line cracked me up.

But seriously, I do know that students really struggle with research. And it's not an intuitive skill for most people. You have to teach it over and over again, I think, with growing degrees of difficulty

Reply
Maris link
4/17/2021 10:36:53 am

Great blog yoou have

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Blog493

    This blog is a reactionary overview of the daily posts to the Writing Program Administrator's listserv. One day; one blogger; lots of reactions. 

    By blogging daily about the list we hope to better understand what a Writing Program is and what Writing Program people care about. 

    It's part of a larger assignment where we will talk to individuals working in the field (latitude and longitude of a discipline).

    Archives

    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • ENGL 303 policies
    • ENGL303 SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 303 Discussion Board Space
    • ENGL303 CLASS PROFILES
    • ENGL303 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
    • ENGL303 OVERVIEW FINAL HERITAGE PROJECT
    • ENGL303 NAMING WHAT WE KNOW
    • ENGL303 YOUR LIFE IN PICTURES
  • ENGL 226 policies
    • 226 Discussion Board
    • ENGL 226 syllabus
    • ENGL 226 PORTFOLIO
    • ENGL 226 PARTNER INTERVIEW MINI-PAPER
    • ENGL226 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
    • 226 BLOG INFORMATION
    • ENGL 226 Writing Studies Timeline Project
    • ENGL 226 Professional Writing Project
    • ENGL 226 SUPER FAST CAREER PRESENTATIONS
    • ENGL 226 Writing As Art
  • Previously Taught Classes
    • ENGL 301 >
      • ENGL 301 SYLLABUS >
        • PARTNER INTERVIEW ENGL 301
      • ENGL 301 Discussion Board When We Need it
      • ENGL 301 PORTFOLIOS
      • ENGL 301 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHER (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 BOOK CLUB (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 FLASH MENTOR TEXT MEMOIR (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (assignment) >
        • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (instructions & sample annotations)
      • ENGL 301 ASSIGNMENT DESIGN (assignment)
    • ENGL102 >
      • ENGL 102 Class Discussion Board
      • ENGL102SYLLABUS
      • ENGL102 PORTFOLIOS/Research Notebook
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Class Profile Page
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENTS: Reading Journals
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECT >
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: POSITIONING YOURSELF
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part I
    • ENGL 202 BIZ Com >
      • ENGL 202 Business Writing SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 227 INTRO TO CNF WORKSHOP
    • ENGL 298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
    • ENGL406 RESEARCH IN WRITING STUDIES
    • ENGL 493 THE PERSONAL ESSAY
    • ENGL 493 Seminar in Writing & Writing Studies: The History of First Year Composition >
      • ENGL 493 Assignments: Annotated Bibliography & Presentation
    • ENGL 511 Reading & Writing Memoir
    • DURFEE Engl101
  • BSU Homepage