Creating Research Assignments for Your Class

1. Creating Research Assignments for Your Class By Carol Womack Professional Development Day, Spring 2005

2. Effective Assignments Mean: • Less frustration for students • Better research • Critical thinking skills • Lifelong learning skills

3. Effective Assignment--Definition • Has a specific, understood purpose • Relates to course • Increased understanding of subject • Variety of sources • Timeline

4. Better assignments • Learning outcomes • Assessment tools • Share your assignment with us • Use available sources

5. Use the Library • Put books on RESERVE • Check Library’s holdings • http://xe9hz9pm5b.search.serialssolutions.com/ • Find articles in databases and link to them • http://library.smc.edu/faculty/elink.html

6. Use the Library • Share assignment • Share syllabus Carol Womack x4635

7. Direction Limits Objectives Selecting a topic is difficult http://library.smc.edu/research/topics/ Narrow/expand topic The Topic

8. Find a book Find an article Find a GOOD website Evaluate sources Identify sources to be used Assume minimal library knowledge Library has materials Schedule library orientation/share assignment w/librarian Talk to a librarian http://library.smc.edu/about/staff.html Design the research

9. Help for students • Encourage them to visit Reference Desk • Put materials on Reserve • Sample research papers • Sample bibliographies http://library.smc.edu/research/citation.html

10. Pitfalls • Same assignment • Inaccurate source names • Trivial pursuit • Inefficient Use of Internet • Plagiarism

11. Alternatives to the term paper • Annotated bibliography of ranked items • Compare two articles • Review articles/key issues • Article review • Evaluate website

12. Better assignments • Learning outcomes • Assessment tools • http://www.csulb.edu/~ttravis/GESI/revised.htm • Share your assignment with us

13. Creating Assignments • Creating Effective Library Assignmentshttp://sac.edu/students/library/nealley/pathfinders/effective_assignments.htm • Promoting Information Literacy through Class Assignmentshttp://www.csuchico.edu/lins/assignments/promoting_infolit.html • Guidelines for Creating Effective Library Assignments.http://library.csusm.edu/departments/ilp/effective_assignments.asp • Guidelines for Designing and Implementing Effective Library Research Assignmentshttp://library.csun.edu/assign.html#eff • Common Pitfalls to Library Research http://dometest.sdsu.edu/about/depts/instruction/pitfalls.shtml • Tips for Effective Library Assignmentshttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Tips.html • Effective Library Assignmentshttp://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/lue/effectiveassignments.html • Library Assignments: Some Tips and Remindershttp://www2.canisius.edu/canhp/canpub/ciq/CIQ_May96/library.html • Term Paper Alternatives:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/PaperAlternatives.html

14. Learning Outcomes • Writing Learning Outcomeshttp://www.aallnet.org/prodev/outcomes.asp • How to Write Learning Outcomeshttp://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/education/curricula/giscc/units/format/outcomes.html

15. Assessment Tools • http://www.santarosa.edu/library/assignments.shtml • http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/InfoComp/instrument.htm • http://www.topsy.org/InfoLitAssess.html • http://www2.library.unr.edu/ragains/assess.html • Improving Assignments: • http://www.csulb.edu/~ttravis/GESI/revised.htm

16. Questions? Suggestions? Thank you for coming!