Week 1: Wait, There's Homework? Developing Situational Awareness

Any teacher knows that the best homework allows the student to interact with and apply the course materials to a specific context, whether the goal is mastering physics equations, prescribing medication to a patient, or assessing relevant sources for a research project. After sitting in dozens of workshops and conferences about information literacy, it is a relief to have the time and accountability to work through my goals for a library session and create something with purpose so I don't end up like Calvin:

Assignment #1 requires me to look at the situational factors of my course before I start designing it. Defining the situational factors of a course essentially means looking at the course in context- the challenges, expectations, and curriculur match-ups the course needs. Once you have established the situational factors, it is easier to identify what the real goals of the course or session should be. For this course, I am going to tackle the lack of basic library "orientation" for our Adult and Graduate Studies Division students. I hope that by the end of this design process, I will have a learning module set up, with multiple sessions embedded in it, that students at any level of our program can work through and understand the essential "how-to" of using the library and it's services. But before I get ahead of myself, I need to look at the situational factors surrounding the course, the students, and the curriculum. 

SITUATIONAL FACTORS TO CONSIDER

1. Specific Context of the Teaching/Learning Situation

The Library 101 course is designed for all students entering any Adult Studies or Graduate Program offered at the institution. This includes students at the associate's, bachelor's and graduate level. Even though that is a wide range of educational base knowledge, students matriculate in and out of these programs from other institutions, meaning their experience with our specific library and website is limited upon first arrival. The course will be delivered online, which could be barrier for some students in our programs, and that means the students will interact with library resources for the first time individually.  Each student should only have to take the course one time; therefore if a student is moving from the BA program into an MA program, having already completed the online library course, they will not have to do it again. 

2. General Context of the Learning Situation

The expectations of the course are placed upon it primarily by the library and information services staff. We would like students to have mastered some of the basic skills in navigating the library website, setting up various accounts needed for using different services, and becoming comfortable in the online environment. This should translate to the expectations of the program: that students are capable of finding reliable sources, citing them properly, and can also find the help they need when they need it. 

3. Nature of the Subject

The subject for this library course is practical because the goals all involve mastering the navigation necessary to move through library resources in an online environment. The primary challenge I see is that systems are always changing- how students log into library resources remotely, for example, can vary depending on our vendor, and of course databases are always updating their look and feel. So the challenge for the creator of the course is to make the foundation of it solid, while giving enough flexibility to change certain particulars when certain aspects need to be updated. 

4. Characteristics of the Learners

This is where the course may be overreaching. As mentioned above, the learners are at a wide variety of educational levels, from associate's to graduate. The majority of them are "back in school" to advance their career or in their chosen field of employment. There are certainly a number of these students for whom English is not their first language, so that will have to be considered when creating instructions and tutorials. 

From my experience, they also have a wide range of technical skill. There are associates students who are very comfortable navigating multiple systems, and some graduate students who are apprehensive about all things technology related. So in that sense, the course will assume that every student is a beginner in our specific online situation. Since the course is self-paced, the more comfortable students can move through more quickly while the less confident ones can take their time as they progress through the steps. 

5. Characteristics of the Teacher

The two primary teachers (librarians) both love to teach and have a lot of compassion for the students in the AGS programs. They are willing to take their time with students to ensure that skills or subjects have been thoroughly understood. They are both masters of the library systems and have an intimate knowledge of how those systems interact with one another. Both teachers also have a solid grasp of the various AGS programs,. which helps them assess where students are in the overall curriculum and what those expectations are.  Even with the barriers and fears the AGS students may have toward library and technology, both librarians feel that even a basic understanding of the library systems will increase the effectiveness of the face-to-face instruction sessions. 

One note to make so far: it is clear how fun homework is when one is an invested student. I just spent a very pleasureable thirty or so minutes going through the worksheet, thinking about the various situations described and answering the questions. I have a specific "consumable" I want to produce at the end of the course, so that means my homework must be thoroughly done in order to create something useful, relevant, and needed. 

Baby Steps.