Introduction

Background

• Dominican University embedded an Information Literacy Foundation Requirement (ILFR) into English 102, the second semester Freshmen composition course.

   

• Librarians are paired with an English 102 section and provide at least 2 sessions (often more) covering basic information literacy concepts such as locating, searching, evaluating and using information. 

   

• An Annotated Bibliography assignment was added as an assessment piece for the ILFR several years ago (Fall 2005).  Librarians spend time during the

  IL sessions preparing students for the Annotated Bibliography assignment.

   

• The assessment is done by both the English 102 instructor and the librarian.  During this process, and

   

•  So, we wanted to create an opportunity for practice ... which led to exploring collaborative learning practices.

   

Collaborative Learning

"Most instructors have stood in front of a class only to wonder if their only purpose on that day was to serve as a sedative for the majority of the class" - Payne, et. al. (2006)

 Who hasn't felt that way?

The kind of experience quoted above is what led us to explore active and collaborative learning practices to engage our students. Collaborative learning can make any topic interesting by actively involving student in the learning process. 

Group work is one example of collaborative learning and provides the following:

1. an opportunity to practice

2. a safe environment (remember for students there is safety in numbers!)

3. increased communication and improved social skills

4. and it breaks up the time

Benefits of Collaborative Learning as discussed in the literature:

Encourages collective approaches

Enhances

• information retention and

• the ability to analyze, formulate, and solve problems

Increases

• insight on and interest in a particular topic

• individual accountability (don't want to let down the group)

Improves

• teamworks skills,

• critical thinkings skills,

• social skills,

• and group processing skills 

Promotes

• better comprension,

• individual accountability

Stimulates deeper understanding

How do you implement collaborative learning in the classroom?  Especially in a 50 minute instruction session?!

Using group activities...