In addition to providing resources for your class, our librarians can help your students learn how to research by having a librarian demonstrate the research process and related information skills. These instructional sessions are a tool to offer course and assignment specific research instruction for students. These demonstrations might take place in the library classroom or in your classroom depending upon scheduling and your preference.
The librarians at Ivy Tech want to integrate library instruction with your course content to provide assistance with specific assignments and develop information literacy skills. Librarians can customize library instruction and demonstrate the most appropriate library resources for your course assignments. Communication between instructor and librarian is essential for ensuring that your information needs and curricular objectives are met. Listed below are guidelines for scheduling library instruction:
Library space and computer availability is limited. To provide the best service possible, we require a minimum of two weeks' notice when scheduling your library instruction. This way, we can reserve the library classroom for you and have time to prepare for your class.
Library instruction is more meaningful when it is relevant to current course assignments. Make sure your students clearly understand their course assignments before attending library sessions. Ideally, library instruction should be scheduled close to the time students begin working on their assignments.
Instructors must accompany their classes to library sessions; students are more involved and their learning experience is enhanced when instructors are in attendance. Instructors are able to stimulate discussion, highlight points, and add additional information pertinent to their classes.
If you want to get students involved in doing research, assignments are the way to go. We've put together some helpful hints in designing library assignments to make full use of library resources and student time.