Information Literacy Program: Schedule an Information Literacy Session

The Research and Instructional Services Unit is happy to schedule a library session for your course, online or face to face! Things to keep in mind:

• The most effective sessions are when our library instruction is tied to a specific research assignment. Please let us know what that is, and we will design a library session just for you!
• Since sessions are tailored to the unique research needs of your class, try to time the session for the greatest impact on student work.
• Plan to attend the session with your students! We love to see you, and this helps your students understand the importance of library research and at times they might need clarification of the connection back to their research project.  Plus, you may learn something new too!
• Contact a librarian if you are unsure about a useful research assignment for your course

For additional information, assistance, or suggestions contact the Information Literacy Team: LibraryInfoLit@live.MissouriState.edu

Student engagement and knowledge retention is improved when their library session is paired with a course research assignment.  We are happy to help you find a research project that aligns with your course objectives!  Some suggestions are:

• Annotated bibliographies

  • Students gather the best, most useful resources on their topic and evaluate

  • What is an annotated bibliography?

• Research journal 

  • Great when using Blackboard journal

  • Students keep an ongoing record of research they do for a project.  Includes methodology, sources used, keywords.  Note what worked well, and what didn’t.

• Research presentation

  • Good group project option!  Students follow a research process, and present findings.  Challenge: incorporate multimedia in the presentation

• Anatomy of a term paper

  • Students are given (or locate) an academic paper to ‘dissect’ and discuss each component

  • https://www.blinn.edu/writing-centers/pdfs/Anatomy-of-a-College-Paper.pdf 

• Scholarly vs. popular

  • Students review publications on a similar topic and compare based on audience, focus, purpose, and context, to determine which materials are best for an academic research paper and why. 

• Primary & secondary sources

  • Students compare primary and secondary sources on the same topic, to determine when and why to use each.  

• Career Assignment 

  • Students find information in their chosen career field 

    • Includes at least one reference item, one book/ebook, one scholarly journal article, and one website.  Knowledge gained includes: required qualifications, education, experience/licenses, salary expectations, job force projection, and possible places of employment.  

• Select in-person or virtual depending on which modality you prefer
• Choose a librarian (or select 'no preference)
• Select a date and time
• Fill out booking form
• Wait for confirmation from booking mediation
• Have a couple other days/times in mind in case your first choice isn't available