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Like most institutions of higher education, Lewis-Clark State College is having problems with plagiarism. However, they are doing something about. An article titled Faculty Affairs puts together avoiding plagiarism module has details.
The article notes:
The Lewis-Clark State College Faculty Affairs Committee continues to make a difference in striving for academic integrity in education.
Last year, the committee worked closely with Library Services, particularly Barbara Barnes and Lynne Bidwell, with the goal of providing academic integrity resources and a heightened level of plagiarism education to the LCSC learning community in partnership with Dean Andy Hanson and Kristy Roberts from Distance Learning.
Brian L. Christenson, an assistant professor in Social Work and Faculty Senate Chair, says the hard work of the group has paid off. The committe has put together an information literacy module, “Avoiding Plagiarism,” that has been incorporated into the Student Development Orientation Courses as a standard of practice. Each student is required to complete the module and pass a blackboard quiz designed by Barbara Barnes. Furthermore, the literacy module has been published as a “best practice” example in the book, "The Plagiarism Plaque."
The information literacy module can be previewed at: http://www.lcsc.edu/library/ILI/Module_2A/Welcome.htm
A bibliography of resources on the topic can be viewed at:
http://www.lcsc.edu/faculty/plagiarism_bibliography.htm
Showing posts with label Higher Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Higher Education. Show all posts
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Digital Information Literacy Competition tests Internet literacy and cognitive agility
Want to encourage your students to develop good information literacy skills? This novel idea is being tried by Indiana University. The article Digital Information Literacy Competition tests Internet literacy and cognitive agility has some details.
It notes:
"Undergraduate students will show off their reference and Internet literacy skills during the Digital Literacy Contest on Sept. 30 at Indiana University Bloomington's Herman B Wells Library. The Indiana University Libraries, which is hosting the competition, is offering $100 as a first-place prize. Registration for the contest is free. Afterward, the library will provide food and lead a discussion about digital information literacy. The Digital Literacy Contest was created in 2007 by former Purdue University student Daniel Poynter. Current participants include Purdue, IU Bloomington, Brown University and the University of Florida."
It notes:
"Undergraduate students will show off their reference and Internet literacy skills during the Digital Literacy Contest on Sept. 30 at Indiana University Bloomington's Herman B Wells Library. The Indiana University Libraries, which is hosting the competition, is offering $100 as a first-place prize. Registration for the contest is free. Afterward, the library will provide food and lead a discussion about digital information literacy. The Digital Literacy Contest was created in 2007 by former Purdue University student Daniel Poynter. Current participants include Purdue, IU Bloomington, Brown University and the University of Florida."
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Information Literacy for German Language and Literature at the Graduate Level: New Approaches and Models
Library Philosophy and Practice has a new information literacy article written by Peter Kraus of the University of Utah. It is titled Information Literacy for German Language and Literature at the Graduate Level: New Approaches and Models.
From the site:
The hiring of several new faculty members in the German Language and Literature Section of the Modern Languages department at the University of Utah resulted in an increased demand for library instruction and technical support. A library subject specialist and a faculty member in German collaborated to teach graduate students about important electronic and print resources in German language and literature.
From the site:
The hiring of several new faculty members in the German Language and Literature Section of the Modern Languages department at the University of Utah resulted in an increased demand for library instruction and technical support. A library subject specialist and a faculty member in German collaborated to teach graduate students about important electronic and print resources in German language and literature.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Partnering With Librarians to Meet NCATE Standards in Teacher Education
There is a long technical article at Red Orbit on information literacy titled Partnering With Librarians to Meet NCATE Standards in Teacher Education. It is by Tobeylynn Birch, Louise Greenfield, Karen Janke, Deborah Schaeffer, and Ada Woods. If you are a fan of the ACRL Information Literacy Standards, this article is for you.
From the site:
As colleges of education prepare to meet NCATE standards they will find technically savvy allies and willing collaborators at their campus libraries. The ACRL standards that guide librarians in the delivery of information literacy instruction parallel four of the six NCATE standards. In meeting the standards of their own professional association, academic librarians have prepared themselves to be knowledgeable partners in me achievement of NCATE information literacy and technology standards. As the numerous studies and projects discussed here indicate, librarians and school of education faculty are already collaborating in a variety of ways to meet the challenge of producing information literate teachers. The variety of responses also illustrate there is no panacea or single approach, and that there are many options and opportunities available for education professionals to meet NCATE standards.
From the site:
As colleges of education prepare to meet NCATE standards they will find technically savvy allies and willing collaborators at their campus libraries. The ACRL standards that guide librarians in the delivery of information literacy instruction parallel four of the six NCATE standards. In meeting the standards of their own professional association, academic librarians have prepared themselves to be knowledgeable partners in me achievement of NCATE information literacy and technology standards. As the numerous studies and projects discussed here indicate, librarians and school of education faculty are already collaborating in a variety of ways to meet the challenge of producing information literate teachers. The variety of responses also illustrate there is no panacea or single approach, and that there are many options and opportunities available for education professionals to meet NCATE standards.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Nordic Journal of Information Literacy in Higher Education
I just found that a new information literacy journal is launching this year. It is the Nordic Journal of Information Literacy in Higher Education. The goal is an issue by November 2008. This journal will be open access and peer-reviewed. Contributions will be accepted in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or English.
From the site:
Information literacy is a multidisciplinary field as it is the subject of both academic research, as well as of library pedagogical practice. The development of knowledge in the field is nourished by perspectives from different academic disciplines, such as pedagogy, sociology, media studies, library and information science and psychology.
We would like to invite article authors and book reviewers who can contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between research-based knowledge and learning processes in Higher Education, and teaching practices within the field of information literacy.
From the site:
Information literacy is a multidisciplinary field as it is the subject of both academic research, as well as of library pedagogical practice. The development of knowledge in the field is nourished by perspectives from different academic disciplines, such as pedagogy, sociology, media studies, library and information science and psychology.
We would like to invite article authors and book reviewers who can contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between research-based knowledge and learning processes in Higher Education, and teaching practices within the field of information literacy.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Librarians see their roles change from card-cataloging information gatekeepers to information superhighway guides
There is a nice newspaper article that is about information literacy up at the Casa Grande Dispatch. It is written by Susan Randall and is titled Beyond books & shelves: Librarians see their roles change from card-cataloging information gatekeepers to information superhighway guides. Librarians Jeff Middleton and Nancy Deegan (an author here at this blog) are featured.
From the article:
Libraries used to be places where people borrowed books. Today they are physical and virtual spaces filled with different kinds of information - much of it electronic and accessible from outside the library.
"It's a new world, an information world," said Jeff Middleton, director of library services for Central Arizona College. "But people at their core are the same. The best thing the librarian can do is help them explore, find things, understand them and use them.
"When children grew up with books, librarians helped them learn how to use books, he said. Today's students grew up with computers, and librarians help them find information in the online environment.
"Today's students need information literacy competencies the way students a generation ago needed to understand index cards and card catalogs," Middleton said.
From the article:
Libraries used to be places where people borrowed books. Today they are physical and virtual spaces filled with different kinds of information - much of it electronic and accessible from outside the library.
"It's a new world, an information world," said Jeff Middleton, director of library services for Central Arizona College. "But people at their core are the same. The best thing the librarian can do is help them explore, find things, understand them and use them.
"When children grew up with books, librarians helped them learn how to use books, he said. Today's students grew up with computers, and librarians help them find information in the online environment.
"Today's students need information literacy competencies the way students a generation ago needed to understand index cards and card catalogs," Middleton said.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Library Instruction in American Colleges: Way Up!
A press release from Primary Research Group of interest to those interested in library instruction and information literacy.
April 4, 2008 -- Primary Research Group's new report -- College Information Literacy Efforts Benchmarks (ISBN# 1-57440-099-1) is a North American survey presenting data on the information literacy efforts of colleges from the United States and Canada.
Some of the key findings of the 175-page report were that:
The mean percentage change in the number of classes or presentations given between the fall semester of 2007 and 2006 was +20.26%, with a median of +5%. The minimum offered in the sample was -50% while the maximum was 576%.
A mean of 9.64 instructors gave formal classroom instruction or presentations in information literacy in the last year for which statistics are available, with a median of 4 and maximum of 325. U.S. respondents had almost 3 times as many instructors giving sessions than did Canadian colleges.
Business, psychology, sociology, nursing, education, and English were commonly listed as one of the top three academic departments that had requested the most library instructional presentations or classes in the past year.
Librarians in the survey estimated that 23.5% of their students that had not taken any formal information literacy training knew a few essentials of Boolean searching. In our prompt, we indicated that Boolean searching basics included the use of quotation marks, "or" and "and." Private colleges reported that 32.5% of their students fell into this category; public colleges, 18.3%.
Data was more hopeful in assessing the student body's skills in using the online library catalog. Nearly 45% said their student body was competent, while 42% said they had basic knowledge at best. Just 9% considered them very unskilled, and nearly 4% reported they were highly proficient. Canadian libraries were 3 times more likely than U.S. ones to consider their students highly proficient in the use of the online catalog.
Just over 13% of survey participants administered a test to assess student skills in Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet software.
Almost 17% administered a test to incoming freshmen or transfer students on their understanding of plagiarism. Almost 27% of research universities gave such a test. Nearly 21% of colleges with over 10,000 FTE students also gave this test, nearly twice the rate of mid-sized schools.
Almost 70% of the sample used student evaluation forms to assess the performance of information literacy or other library science instructors. Student evaluation forms were more popular with public colleges than private, and most popular with research universities, 80% of whom reported using such forms.
63% of survey participants offer presentations or brief classes to new students during new student orientation. Such classes were more commonly offered by Canadian libraries, research universities, and colleges with fewer than 1,000 FTE students. 71% of libraries at which librarians held faculty status conducted such orientation sessions, while less than 60% of participants whose librarians did not hold faculty status offered the sessions.
Barely 5.4% of the sample required a 1 or 2 credit information literacy course for graduation, and just 3.6% required a 3 or more credit course. However, over 23% of the sample required information literacy training integrated into basic writing or composition courses.
Just over a third of the sample believed that the English department, or equivalent department with similar responsibilities, seemed to try but could do better in terms of carrying out its information literacy responsibilities. Just 23% believed that the department was doing well enough, while 22% believed information literacy was a high priority for them and that the department made time for them. Just 8% believed the English department to be laggard, and 12% believed their collaboration to be an excellent one.
Nearly 48% of the colleges sampled offered interactive tutorials in information literacy topics to students. Just a third of bachelors-granting colleges offered such tutorials, while 6 out of 10 research universities did so.
The vast majority of the sample, nearly 84%, reported that the library was not really involved with computer technology training on campus.
Nearly 73% of the libraries in the sample had one or more instructional labs or learning centers designed for information literacy instruction in which much of their formal literacy instruction took place.
Half of the libraries in the sample reported making tutorial links and other resources available through course management systems such as Blackboard and WebCT.The report is based on detailed benchmarking data from more than 110 North American colleges; data is broken out by type and size of college for easier benchmarking.
For a table of contents, sample pages, and other information, visit our website at http://www.primaryresearch.com/.
April 4, 2008 -- Primary Research Group's new report -- College Information Literacy Efforts Benchmarks (ISBN# 1-57440-099-1) is a North American survey presenting data on the information literacy efforts of colleges from the United States and Canada.
Some of the key findings of the 175-page report were that:
The mean percentage change in the number of classes or presentations given between the fall semester of 2007 and 2006 was +20.26%, with a median of +5%. The minimum offered in the sample was -50% while the maximum was 576%.
A mean of 9.64 instructors gave formal classroom instruction or presentations in information literacy in the last year for which statistics are available, with a median of 4 and maximum of 325. U.S. respondents had almost 3 times as many instructors giving sessions than did Canadian colleges.
Business, psychology, sociology, nursing, education, and English were commonly listed as one of the top three academic departments that had requested the most library instructional presentations or classes in the past year.
Librarians in the survey estimated that 23.5% of their students that had not taken any formal information literacy training knew a few essentials of Boolean searching. In our prompt, we indicated that Boolean searching basics included the use of quotation marks, "or" and "and." Private colleges reported that 32.5% of their students fell into this category; public colleges, 18.3%.
Data was more hopeful in assessing the student body's skills in using the online library catalog. Nearly 45% said their student body was competent, while 42% said they had basic knowledge at best. Just 9% considered them very unskilled, and nearly 4% reported they were highly proficient. Canadian libraries were 3 times more likely than U.S. ones to consider their students highly proficient in the use of the online catalog.
Just over 13% of survey participants administered a test to assess student skills in Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet software.
Almost 17% administered a test to incoming freshmen or transfer students on their understanding of plagiarism. Almost 27% of research universities gave such a test. Nearly 21% of colleges with over 10,000 FTE students also gave this test, nearly twice the rate of mid-sized schools.
Almost 70% of the sample used student evaluation forms to assess the performance of information literacy or other library science instructors. Student evaluation forms were more popular with public colleges than private, and most popular with research universities, 80% of whom reported using such forms.
63% of survey participants offer presentations or brief classes to new students during new student orientation. Such classes were more commonly offered by Canadian libraries, research universities, and colleges with fewer than 1,000 FTE students. 71% of libraries at which librarians held faculty status conducted such orientation sessions, while less than 60% of participants whose librarians did not hold faculty status offered the sessions.
Barely 5.4% of the sample required a 1 or 2 credit information literacy course for graduation, and just 3.6% required a 3 or more credit course. However, over 23% of the sample required information literacy training integrated into basic writing or composition courses.
Just over a third of the sample believed that the English department, or equivalent department with similar responsibilities, seemed to try but could do better in terms of carrying out its information literacy responsibilities. Just 23% believed that the department was doing well enough, while 22% believed information literacy was a high priority for them and that the department made time for them. Just 8% believed the English department to be laggard, and 12% believed their collaboration to be an excellent one.
Nearly 48% of the colleges sampled offered interactive tutorials in information literacy topics to students. Just a third of bachelors-granting colleges offered such tutorials, while 6 out of 10 research universities did so.
The vast majority of the sample, nearly 84%, reported that the library was not really involved with computer technology training on campus.
Nearly 73% of the libraries in the sample had one or more instructional labs or learning centers designed for information literacy instruction in which much of their formal literacy instruction took place.
Half of the libraries in the sample reported making tutorial links and other resources available through course management systems such as Blackboard and WebCT.The report is based on detailed benchmarking data from more than 110 North American colleges; data is broken out by type and size of college for easier benchmarking.
For a table of contents, sample pages, and other information, visit our website at http://www.primaryresearch.com/.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Information-Literacy Classes Surge at Community Colleges
I just noticed this March 27th headline from the Chronicle of Higher Education. The short article is by Andrea L. Foster reports:
Community college libraries in the United States and Canada are seeing a huge demand for information-literacy courses, according to a recent survey by Primary Research Group Inc. Such courses are designed to help students find, communicate, and critically evaluate online information. The average percentage increase in the number of these classes offered from the fall semester of 2006 to the fall semester of 2007 was 38.1 percent, according to the survey. The survey also found that about 5 percent of colleges of all types required students to take a one- or two-credit information-literacy course in order to graduate. About 115 colleges were questioned for the survey, which was conducted at the end of 2007.
This is promising news. It would be nice if the percentage of two-year schools offering an information literacy credit course increased more as I think 5% is still too low.
Community college libraries in the United States and Canada are seeing a huge demand for information-literacy courses, according to a recent survey by Primary Research Group Inc. Such courses are designed to help students find, communicate, and critically evaluate online information. The average percentage increase in the number of these classes offered from the fall semester of 2006 to the fall semester of 2007 was 38.1 percent, according to the survey. The survey also found that about 5 percent of colleges of all types required students to take a one- or two-credit information-literacy course in order to graduate. About 115 colleges were questioned for the survey, which was conducted at the end of 2007.
This is promising news. It would be nice if the percentage of two-year schools offering an information literacy credit course increased more as I think 5% is still too low.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wikipedia & University Teaching
This is a guest post by Stephanie Mathson, Central Michigan University.
I’m not on the Wikipedia bandwagon, but I admit I do use it personally as a quick reference source on miscellaneous topics I want a bit of information about. There are other librarians though who are big supporters of the site; this interesting article was listed in the latest LOEX Currents: What to Do With Wikipedia.
I am intrigued by the suggestions for what instructors can do with Wikipedia, particularly this one: “A professor or information literacy instructor assigns groups of students to evaluate and edit Wikipedia articles, using research from other sources as an evaluative tool.” That might be a great way to introduce Reference (and other library) sources to students in class.
For more info on what’s being done by faculty at a number of institutions to demonstrate how open content sites (like Wikipedia) work, take a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:School_and_university_projects
Oh, and also from the latest LOEX Currents, here is a fun fact:
9.0% - percentage of colleges that require a for-credit information literacy course for graduation (Primary Research Group survey of 110 U.S. and CAN colleges). – ResourceShelf, Retrieved from http://www.resourceshelf.com/ on March 19, 2008.
Food for thought…
I’m not on the Wikipedia bandwagon, but I admit I do use it personally as a quick reference source on miscellaneous topics I want a bit of information about. There are other librarians though who are big supporters of the site; this interesting article was listed in the latest LOEX Currents: What to Do With Wikipedia.
I am intrigued by the suggestions for what instructors can do with Wikipedia, particularly this one: “A professor or information literacy instructor assigns groups of students to evaluate and edit Wikipedia articles, using research from other sources as an evaluative tool.” That might be a great way to introduce Reference (and other library) sources to students in class.
For more info on what’s being done by faculty at a number of institutions to demonstrate how open content sites (like Wikipedia) work, take a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:School_and_university_projects
Oh, and also from the latest LOEX Currents, here is a fun fact:
9.0% - percentage of colleges that require a for-credit information literacy course for graduation (Primary Research Group survey of 110 U.S. and CAN colleges). – ResourceShelf, Retrieved from http://www.resourceshelf.com/ on March 19, 2008.
Food for thought…
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Computer Literacy Doesn't Mean Information Literacy, Report Says
There is an article up at the Chronicle of Higher Education titled Computer Literacy Doesn't Mean Information Literacy, Report Says. My thanks to Keith Tipton for the tip.
From the article:
The next generation of college students, more wired than any other, might not be as good at Internet research as you may think.
A new report from the Joint Information Systems Committee, a British higher-education research institute, says the “Google Generation” (those born after 1993, who can’t remember a time when the Internet wasn’t widely available) may be computer literate. But that doesn’t make them information literate. Some of the key problems the study found include:
- Young people don’t develop good search strategies to find quality information.
- They might find information on the Internet quickly, but they don’t know how to evaluate the quality of what they find.
- They don’t understand what the Internet really is: a vast network with many different content providers.
From the article:
The next generation of college students, more wired than any other, might not be as good at Internet research as you may think.
A new report from the Joint Information Systems Committee, a British higher-education research institute, says the “Google Generation” (those born after 1993, who can’t remember a time when the Internet wasn’t widely available) may be computer literate. But that doesn’t make them information literate. Some of the key problems the study found include:
- Young people don’t develop good search strategies to find quality information.
- They might find information on the Internet quickly, but they don’t know how to evaluate the quality of what they find.
- They don’t understand what the Internet really is: a vast network with many different content providers.
Monday, December 17, 2007
The Defense of Hidgeon: The Plague Years
According to The Shifted Librarian, "Karen Markey is a faculty member in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Earlier this year, she received a small grant from the Delmas Foundation to build a prototype online board game that teaches students information-literacy skills. Her game prototype is now fully operational and is being tested and evaluated by a class of 75 undergraduates at the University of Michigan. They’ve just finished conducting interviews with student game players, but they haven’t had sufficient time to mull over interview data and analyze game play logs. They already recognize that the incentive for playing the game is a critical issue and future games must be intimately connected to a class assignment or project."
Although the game is not online for everyone, what information out there on it looks good. Good library instruction games/tutorials are few and far between.
Here are a few information links:
Information on their Storygame Project
And here is a video of the game:
Friday, November 30, 2007
Milner receives $58,000 information literacy grant
The Milner Library of Illinois State University has received a $58,000 grant from the Illinois Secretary of State's office to study the effectiveness of a center for information literacy. Details on this are at Milner receives $58,000 information literacy grant from the Daily Vidette.
Associate Dean Dane Ward noted, ""Information literacy is something that people use everyday. Most students should be familiar with library sessions, these are activities in increasing information literacy. Even for decisions like which movie to see, we have to evaluate the information we are given to make the best decision."
I remember Dane Ward from ACRL Immersion several years ago. Nice job Dane!
Associate Dean Dane Ward noted, ""Information literacy is something that people use everyday. Most students should be familiar with library sessions, these are activities in increasing information literacy. Even for decisions like which movie to see, we have to evaluate the information we are given to make the best decision."
I remember Dane Ward from ACRL Immersion several years ago. Nice job Dane!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Information Literacy for Branch Campuses and Branch Libraries
Library Philosophy and Practice has an article up titled Information Literacy for Branch Campuses and Branch Libraries. It is by James Hooks, Carl Rahkonen, Chris Clouser, Kelly Heider, and Rena Fowler.
From the introduction:
Teaching students how to use the college library has been a challenge for academic librarians for most of the twentieth century and has emerged as a high priority for academic librarians in the twenty-first century as well. A cursory comparison of objectives of library instruction from Shores (1939) shows that they are not significantly different from those in current information literacy texts; however, instructional methods have changed significantly. Technology has been both a blessing and a curse for information literacy. Technology provides distant library users with more options, but there are fewer universal standards of access. In the pre-digital age, all academic libraries used the same access tools and most card catalogs used Library of Congress subject headings, ALA filing rules, etc. Students were better able to transfer research skills learned in one library to other academic libraries. Transferring literacy skills in a digital age is more difficult because of the differences in computer systems.
Although information literacy objectives are a constant, teaching methods and pedagogy must be structured differently in different teaching-learning environments. Information literacy programs may be informed by examining experiences outside the norm, outside the usual or the assumed settings, in the borderlands of a library's operations. This requires expanding the proverbial box, adapting administration, revising programs, and establishing new policies for success and for student learning. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public university with 14,000 students and three campuses. The main campus is in Indiana, Pennsylvania, with branch campuses in Northpointe and Punxsutawney. Although information literacy objectives for branch campuses are identical to those of the main campus, teaching methods and pedagogy must be different.
From the introduction:
Teaching students how to use the college library has been a challenge for academic librarians for most of the twentieth century and has emerged as a high priority for academic librarians in the twenty-first century as well. A cursory comparison of objectives of library instruction from Shores (1939) shows that they are not significantly different from those in current information literacy texts; however, instructional methods have changed significantly. Technology has been both a blessing and a curse for information literacy. Technology provides distant library users with more options, but there are fewer universal standards of access. In the pre-digital age, all academic libraries used the same access tools and most card catalogs used Library of Congress subject headings, ALA filing rules, etc. Students were better able to transfer research skills learned in one library to other academic libraries. Transferring literacy skills in a digital age is more difficult because of the differences in computer systems.
Although information literacy objectives are a constant, teaching methods and pedagogy must be structured differently in different teaching-learning environments. Information literacy programs may be informed by examining experiences outside the norm, outside the usual or the assumed settings, in the borderlands of a library's operations. This requires expanding the proverbial box, adapting administration, revising programs, and establishing new policies for success and for student learning. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public university with 14,000 students and three campuses. The main campus is in Indiana, Pennsylvania, with branch campuses in Northpointe and Punxsutawney. Although information literacy objectives for branch campuses are identical to those of the main campus, teaching methods and pedagogy must be different.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Using Institutional Letterhead When Applying for Another Job?
Tenured Radical (Claire B. Potter) has a nice post up titled These Things I Know: Applying for Tenure-Track Jobs. Although targeted at historians, it has good advice which can be fitted to other disciplines including librarians. However, I question the last point made.
Potter wrote, "Oh yes -- and for god's sake, use letterhead. Your department letterhead, the letterhead from the school where you are teaching a course for $2300 -- whatever letterhead you can get your mitts on. A job application on blank paper, in a blank envelope, can't help but remind its recipient of a chain letter or some other degraded piece of mail."
I have served on numerous library search committees at three universities. Many of these were for tenure-track jobs. It is very rare that an applicant applies using the letterhead of the institution they work for presently. When it happens, comments made by search committee members have not been kind. Is applying for a job at another institution part of the official business of your current job? If not, it would appear that the applicant was misusing the resources of their current employer. Search committee members do normally read your c.v. and they can figure out where you work without the letterhead.
It might just be a history thing. I have never been on a history search committee before. If that field operates in that way, OK. I am sure however that applicants from other fields that do not operate in that manner will find this post and may make a mistake if the follow that piece of advice.
Not that it matters as much anymore. The electronic application systems many HR departments are using now do not allow for mailing in applications anyway. It all has to be done online.
Potter wrote, "Oh yes -- and for god's sake, use letterhead. Your department letterhead, the letterhead from the school where you are teaching a course for $2300 -- whatever letterhead you can get your mitts on. A job application on blank paper, in a blank envelope, can't help but remind its recipient of a chain letter or some other degraded piece of mail."
I have served on numerous library search committees at three universities. Many of these were for tenure-track jobs. It is very rare that an applicant applies using the letterhead of the institution they work for presently. When it happens, comments made by search committee members have not been kind. Is applying for a job at another institution part of the official business of your current job? If not, it would appear that the applicant was misusing the resources of their current employer. Search committee members do normally read your c.v. and they can figure out where you work without the letterhead.
It might just be a history thing. I have never been on a history search committee before. If that field operates in that way, OK. I am sure however that applicants from other fields that do not operate in that manner will find this post and may make a mistake if the follow that piece of advice.
Not that it matters as much anymore. The electronic application systems many HR departments are using now do not allow for mailing in applications anyway. It all has to be done online.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Literature Review on Adjunct Faculty
There is a great deal of information on adjunct faculty in the education literature. A search conducted on ERIC in April 2005 returned over 600 matching articles. Limiting this search to higher education still netted 379 hits. The articles examine adjunct faculty from many different viewpoints and topics. These include articles on the statistical number of adjunct faculty in the United States of America, the positives and negatives of using adjunct faculty, and what the needs of adjunct faculty might be. Gordon (2003) wrote, “There is a wealth of scholarly writing on the subject that paints a more complex and colored picture of part-time faculty, both from the perspective of the faculty and the institutions that employ them.” (p. 3).
Baldwin and Chronister (2001) defined this group as, “Both full-time and part-time faculty in non-tenure track positions are often referred to as contract or contingent faculty. Other terms that may apply to full-time non-tenure track faculty include term faculty, adjunct professors, visiting professors, and lecturers.” (p. 15). As these definitions illustrates, there are many names for the use of faculty in non-tenure track position. This paper is examining adjunct faculty who are using any of the above titles.
Beem (2002) reported that in 1970 that 22% of college professors in all disciplines were adjunct faculty. This grew to 42.5% in 2000. The growing use of adjunct faculty is indeed a real trend. Holub (2003) theorized that part of the increase in adjunct faculty usage was directly tied to decreases in federal and state aid to higher education in the 1990s. As institutions of higher education lost funding, they compensated by reducing labor costs.
There are many advantages to using adjunct faculty. Lankard (1993) wrote, “The two greatest benefits an educational program realizes by employing part-time instructors are cost savings and staff flexibility. Part-time instructors typically are paid at a lower rate than full-time instructors, have no fringe benefits, receive no office space, and have no financial commitments for continued employment.” (p. 1). Avakian (1995) noted that shrinking resources forced many institutions to hire adjunct faculty as a cost saving measure. Lankard (1993) pointed out that adjuncts also allowed an institution flexibility in matching demand with varying enrollments.
Further, Cline (1993) wrote that adjunct faculty were attractive to an institution because they bring “real world vocational experience” to the campus setting. (p. 26). Adjunct faculty themselves often benefit from the arrangement. Reed (1985) wrote, “Professionals in fields other than teaching are grateful for being able to teach part-time because of the prestige and fulfillment it adds to their work lives.” (p. 40).
There also have been disadvantages to using adjunct faculty noted in the literature. Twigg (1989) argued that using adjuncts harms tenure track earning positions by reducing full-time positions and reducing overload pay options for regular faculty. Twigg further pointed out that adjunct faculty are ripe for exploitation and over work with no real avenue for recourse.
The quality of teaching by adjunct faculty is also questionable. Spangler (1990) claimed that part-time faculty were less effective teachers than full-time teachers. McGuire (1993) noted that teaching suffered in part due to unclear adjunct role expectations because “too often, colleges fail to integrate part-time faculty into their institutions.” (p. 3). The training of K-12 school leaders was criticized by Shakeshaft (2002). He wrote, “Staffing campus-based preparation programs with adjunct faculty members can be worth millions of dollars to universities, but the practice neither prepares future administrators well nor grows a capability for better administrators in the future.” (p. 28).
There are also questions about if regular faculty even know if adjunct faculty are effective. Schneider (2003) wrote, “Pushed, most of the regular faculty members admit they have little to nothing to do with their adjunct faculty. They interact infrequently, and then only informally. They make the assumption that the adjuncts are doing an okay job; if not, they say, the students would be complaining.” (p. 3).
There also has been research on the needs of adjunct faculty. Many writers have explored this from various perspectives. Munn et al (1989) noted that adjunct faculty needed considerable training to be effective. These were classified into four broad categories. This included a general introduction to the educational institution, the development of basic skills needed as a part-time educator, continuing refresher courses for long term adjuncts, and specialized training in areas such as counseling, assertiveness, and computers.
Adjuncts themselves have strong views on what they need. Gappa and Leslie (1993) wrote, “Part-timers have strong feelings about whether they are or are not connected to or integrated into campus life. For the most part, they feel powerless, alienated, invisible, and second class.” (p. 180). This can damage the morale of the adjunct faculty and significantly reduce their effectiveness as teachers and their desire to continue teaching as an adjunct.
Lankhard (1993) noted, that, “Many part-time instructors are also frustrated from lack of involvement in personnel and budget matters, curriculum development, and the formulation and implementation of policy as well as from the lack of services available to them – office space, clerical assistance, copying machines.” (p. 2). This clearly shows that many adjunct faculty want to do more than just teach. They have a desire to be included in many of the activities that regular faculty engage in on a regular basis.
There are a variety of methods which can be used to allow adjuncts a great sense of belonging to the larger institution. Edmonson and Fisher (2003) had six recommendations for doing this. The first was to be sure to match adjunct faculty with their areas of expertise. Another idea was to provide services like photocopying to adjuncts throughout the entire semester. It was also recommended that normal “little things” like assigning grades and writing a syllabus be explained to adjuncts. Edmonson and Fisher recommended that adjunct be treated as colleagues rather than as hired help. They also recommended that adjuncts be encouraged and that learning outcomes of students be made clear to them.
Lankhard (1993) also had a list of recommendations for enhancing the quality of part-time instructor’s performance. These included improving pay, getting them more involved in curriculum matters, promote collegiality between full and part-time faculty, and alter schedules so that regular faculty have more occasions to interact with the part-timers. Lankard also recommended that institutions review policies as they relate to part-time faculty and professional development activities.
There is still a need for more research on adjunct faculty in higher education. Gordon (2002) noted this as he wrote, “However, the jury is still out on the important question of how the extensive use of part-time faculty affects the state of higher education. At this time, the existing data seems to be inconclusive, but is undoubtedly a critical area for future study.” (p. 11).
Regardless, the issue of adjunct faculty will not be going away any time in the near future. Wrote Holub (2003), “The continued rise in the employment of contract faculty is a significant trend that is likely to have a lasting impact on higher education. As states continue to experience tight budget constraints, it is not likely that the trend will end in the near future.” (p. 4).
References
Avakian, A. N. (1995). Conflicting demands for adjunct faculty. Community college journal, 65(6), 34-36.
Banachowski, G. (1997). Advantages and disadvantages of employing part-time faculty in community colleges. Los Angeles, CA: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED405037.)
Baldwin, R. G. & Chronister, J. L. (2001). Teaching without tenure: Policies and practices for a new era. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Beem, K. (2002). The adjunct experience. School administrator, 59(12), 6-10.
Cline, L. (1993). Work to school transition: Part-time faculty bring expertise, challenges to colleges. Vocational education journal, 68(2), 26-27, 49.
Edmonson, S. & Fisher, A. (2003). Effective use of adjunct professors in educational leadership. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED475420.)
Gappa, J. M. & Leslie, D. W. (1993). The invisible faculty: Improving the status of part-time faculty in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Gordon, M. (2002). Part-time faculty in community colleges: The jury is still out. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 472020.)
Holub, T. (2003). Contract faculty in higher education. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED482556.)
Lankhard, B. A. (1993). Part-time instructors in adult and vocational education. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED363797.)
McGuire, J. (1993). Part-time faculty: Partners in excellence. Leadership abstracts, 6(6), 1-3.
Munn, P. et al. (1989). Part-time adult educators and training. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Council for Research in Education.
Reed, S. (1985). The troubled faculty. New York times educational summer survey, 41-42.
Schneider, J. (2003). The unholy alliance between departments of educational administration and their “invisible faculty.” Occasional paper. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
Shakeshaft, C. (2002). The shadowy downside of adjuncts. School administrator, 10(259), 28-30.
Smith, M. L. (1990). The adjunct/full-time faculty ratio. New directions for community colleges, 18(1), 71-82.
Baldwin and Chronister (2001) defined this group as, “Both full-time and part-time faculty in non-tenure track positions are often referred to as contract or contingent faculty. Other terms that may apply to full-time non-tenure track faculty include term faculty, adjunct professors, visiting professors, and lecturers.” (p. 15). As these definitions illustrates, there are many names for the use of faculty in non-tenure track position. This paper is examining adjunct faculty who are using any of the above titles.
Beem (2002) reported that in 1970 that 22% of college professors in all disciplines were adjunct faculty. This grew to 42.5% in 2000. The growing use of adjunct faculty is indeed a real trend. Holub (2003) theorized that part of the increase in adjunct faculty usage was directly tied to decreases in federal and state aid to higher education in the 1990s. As institutions of higher education lost funding, they compensated by reducing labor costs.
There are many advantages to using adjunct faculty. Lankard (1993) wrote, “The two greatest benefits an educational program realizes by employing part-time instructors are cost savings and staff flexibility. Part-time instructors typically are paid at a lower rate than full-time instructors, have no fringe benefits, receive no office space, and have no financial commitments for continued employment.” (p. 1). Avakian (1995) noted that shrinking resources forced many institutions to hire adjunct faculty as a cost saving measure. Lankard (1993) pointed out that adjuncts also allowed an institution flexibility in matching demand with varying enrollments.
Further, Cline (1993) wrote that adjunct faculty were attractive to an institution because they bring “real world vocational experience” to the campus setting. (p. 26). Adjunct faculty themselves often benefit from the arrangement. Reed (1985) wrote, “Professionals in fields other than teaching are grateful for being able to teach part-time because of the prestige and fulfillment it adds to their work lives.” (p. 40).
There also have been disadvantages to using adjunct faculty noted in the literature. Twigg (1989) argued that using adjuncts harms tenure track earning positions by reducing full-time positions and reducing overload pay options for regular faculty. Twigg further pointed out that adjunct faculty are ripe for exploitation and over work with no real avenue for recourse.
The quality of teaching by adjunct faculty is also questionable. Spangler (1990) claimed that part-time faculty were less effective teachers than full-time teachers. McGuire (1993) noted that teaching suffered in part due to unclear adjunct role expectations because “too often, colleges fail to integrate part-time faculty into their institutions.” (p. 3). The training of K-12 school leaders was criticized by Shakeshaft (2002). He wrote, “Staffing campus-based preparation programs with adjunct faculty members can be worth millions of dollars to universities, but the practice neither prepares future administrators well nor grows a capability for better administrators in the future.” (p. 28).
There are also questions about if regular faculty even know if adjunct faculty are effective. Schneider (2003) wrote, “Pushed, most of the regular faculty members admit they have little to nothing to do with their adjunct faculty. They interact infrequently, and then only informally. They make the assumption that the adjuncts are doing an okay job; if not, they say, the students would be complaining.” (p. 3).
There also has been research on the needs of adjunct faculty. Many writers have explored this from various perspectives. Munn et al (1989) noted that adjunct faculty needed considerable training to be effective. These were classified into four broad categories. This included a general introduction to the educational institution, the development of basic skills needed as a part-time educator, continuing refresher courses for long term adjuncts, and specialized training in areas such as counseling, assertiveness, and computers.
Adjuncts themselves have strong views on what they need. Gappa and Leslie (1993) wrote, “Part-timers have strong feelings about whether they are or are not connected to or integrated into campus life. For the most part, they feel powerless, alienated, invisible, and second class.” (p. 180). This can damage the morale of the adjunct faculty and significantly reduce their effectiveness as teachers and their desire to continue teaching as an adjunct.
Lankhard (1993) noted, that, “Many part-time instructors are also frustrated from lack of involvement in personnel and budget matters, curriculum development, and the formulation and implementation of policy as well as from the lack of services available to them – office space, clerical assistance, copying machines.” (p. 2). This clearly shows that many adjunct faculty want to do more than just teach. They have a desire to be included in many of the activities that regular faculty engage in on a regular basis.
There are a variety of methods which can be used to allow adjuncts a great sense of belonging to the larger institution. Edmonson and Fisher (2003) had six recommendations for doing this. The first was to be sure to match adjunct faculty with their areas of expertise. Another idea was to provide services like photocopying to adjuncts throughout the entire semester. It was also recommended that normal “little things” like assigning grades and writing a syllabus be explained to adjuncts. Edmonson and Fisher recommended that adjunct be treated as colleagues rather than as hired help. They also recommended that adjuncts be encouraged and that learning outcomes of students be made clear to them.
Lankhard (1993) also had a list of recommendations for enhancing the quality of part-time instructor’s performance. These included improving pay, getting them more involved in curriculum matters, promote collegiality between full and part-time faculty, and alter schedules so that regular faculty have more occasions to interact with the part-timers. Lankard also recommended that institutions review policies as they relate to part-time faculty and professional development activities.
There is still a need for more research on adjunct faculty in higher education. Gordon (2002) noted this as he wrote, “However, the jury is still out on the important question of how the extensive use of part-time faculty affects the state of higher education. At this time, the existing data seems to be inconclusive, but is undoubtedly a critical area for future study.” (p. 11).
Regardless, the issue of adjunct faculty will not be going away any time in the near future. Wrote Holub (2003), “The continued rise in the employment of contract faculty is a significant trend that is likely to have a lasting impact on higher education. As states continue to experience tight budget constraints, it is not likely that the trend will end in the near future.” (p. 4).
References
Avakian, A. N. (1995). Conflicting demands for adjunct faculty. Community college journal, 65(6), 34-36.
Banachowski, G. (1997). Advantages and disadvantages of employing part-time faculty in community colleges. Los Angeles, CA: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED405037.)
Baldwin, R. G. & Chronister, J. L. (2001). Teaching without tenure: Policies and practices for a new era. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Beem, K. (2002). The adjunct experience. School administrator, 59(12), 6-10.
Cline, L. (1993). Work to school transition: Part-time faculty bring expertise, challenges to colleges. Vocational education journal, 68(2), 26-27, 49.
Edmonson, S. & Fisher, A. (2003). Effective use of adjunct professors in educational leadership. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED475420.)
Gappa, J. M. & Leslie, D. W. (1993). The invisible faculty: Improving the status of part-time faculty in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Gordon, M. (2002). Part-time faculty in community colleges: The jury is still out. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 472020.)
Holub, T. (2003). Contract faculty in higher education. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED482556.)
Lankhard, B. A. (1993). Part-time instructors in adult and vocational education. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED363797.)
McGuire, J. (1993). Part-time faculty: Partners in excellence. Leadership abstracts, 6(6), 1-3.
Munn, P. et al. (1989). Part-time adult educators and training. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Council for Research in Education.
Reed, S. (1985). The troubled faculty. New York times educational summer survey, 41-42.
Schneider, J. (2003). The unholy alliance between departments of educational administration and their “invisible faculty.” Occasional paper. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
Shakeshaft, C. (2002). The shadowy downside of adjuncts. School administrator, 10(259), 28-30.
Smith, M. L. (1990). The adjunct/full-time faculty ratio. New directions for community colleges, 18(1), 71-82.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Standardized testing of college students won't work, says new book by UW researchers
A University of Washington news site has the article Standardized testing of college students won't work, says new book by UW researchers. It is about the book Inside the Undergraduate Experience by Catharine Hoffman Beyer, Gerald M. Gillmore and Andrew T. Fisher. I have not read the book but I think I will be looking at it soon. This will be on my acquisition list for my higher education book ordering for Central Michigan University this summer.
Here is what makes this interesting to me. The article notes, "Results of the study show that writing, critical thinking and quantitative reasoning are not generic skills and that even among freshmen, such skills are mediated by the disciplines. Thus Nolan's report on monkeys in Indonesia will be different in many ways from a chemistry lab report or an English essay. What counts as good thinking, writing, quantitative reasoning, and information literacy practice in college is closely aligned with the professional practices in those fields. "
I note how closely this parallels Stanley Wilder's call to tie information literacy instruction directly to the disciplines. He wrote in a 2005 article in the Chronicle, “Librarians should use their expertise to deepen students' understanding of the disciplines they study. More specifically, librarians should use their intimate knowledge of the collections they manage and the writing process as practiced in the disciplines to teach apprentice readers and writers.”
This books should be interesting and may be highly relevant to information literacy instruction in higher education. I think it is worth a read. I probably will not get to this book for a few months but I probably will post a review on it in the future here.
Monday, April 23, 2007
University Librarians Can Aid Vigorously the Academic Process
Here is an information literacy article from Bangladesh. It is titled University Librarians Can Aid Vigorously the Academic Process and was written by AIM Jakaria Rahman and Md Ahasan Habib. It is in the Financial Express. The article defines IL, "Information literacy refers to the ability to access, evaluate, and use information effectively. It calls for a wide range of skills including the ability to -- Use information to solve problems and make decisions. Share knowledge using appropriate formats for intended audiences. Use a variety of information resources, including professional associations or organisation, books, newspapers and computer-based resources including CD-ROMs, e-mail and the Internet. Adapt to new technology."
This is a decent definition and the first time in a long while that I have seen CD-ROMs mentioned when describing information literacy. Very few students ever have to access a database in this method anymore but maybe it is different in Bangladesh?
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Assessing Library Skills: A First Step to Information Literacy
I found the interesting article (Assessing Library Skills: A First Step to Information Literacy) at Portal: Libraries and the Academy. It is by Joanna M. Burkhardt. In it, she is describing an information literacy course at the University of Rhode Island. It sounds a lot like LIB 197 at Central Michigan University.
From the abstract:
As part of the University of Rhode Island Libraries' "Comprehensive Plan for Information Literacy," a three-credit class in the skills and concepts of information literacy was first offered in the fall of 1999. More than 1,000 undergraduate students have taken the class since that time. A pre-test was given at the beginning of each semester, followed up by a post-test at the end. The pre- and post-test results were analyzed to determine: (1) whether students improved their test scores over the course of the semester, (2) which concepts and skills students mastered, and (3) where the course might need revision and/or improvement. Analysis showed that skills were acquired and/or improved overall.
From the abstract:
As part of the University of Rhode Island Libraries' "Comprehensive Plan for Information Literacy," a three-credit class in the skills and concepts of information literacy was first offered in the fall of 1999. More than 1,000 undergraduate students have taken the class since that time. A pre-test was given at the beginning of each semester, followed up by a post-test at the end. The pre- and post-test results were analyzed to determine: (1) whether students improved their test scores over the course of the semester, (2) which concepts and skills students mastered, and (3) where the course might need revision and/or improvement. Analysis showed that skills were acquired and/or improved overall.