Why is it important to prove that school libraries add value to the school program? The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 20 percent of U.S. public schools lack a full or part-time certified librarian (NCES 2013). In California the ratio of certified school librarians to students is 1:7,374 (California Department of Education…

The 43rd annual conference of the Adult and Higher Education Alliance (AHEA) was held at the University of Central Florida in March 2019. Papers in these proceedings include the following: (1) How does Experimental Learning Increase Skills and Knowledge Acquisition and Retention in the Non-Traditional Adult Learner? (David Antico); (2) CHAT and…

Higher education information literacy standards have readily addressed cognitive skills, although affective competencies--the emotional abilities that students must acquire in order to successfully navigate the research process--have not yet been incorporated into standards. This paper presents examples of current information literacy standards,…

Working with first-year students at Purdue University, the author, a composition instructor, joined efforts with librarian Alexius Smith-Macklin to explore the efficacy of a collaborative approach to freshman writing instruction at the university level. Combining expertise from the Purdue programs of English education, theory and cultural studies,…

This collection of materials for a 2-day workshop on collaborative teaching, cooperative learning, critical thinking, and critical assessment of resources includes an agenda for each day; workshop goals; guidelines for preparing an annotation; a letter to participants that accompanied four articles for them to read before the workshop; information…

The need for a structure for the discipline of bibliographic instruction is discussed in the context of library instruction as a means of developing critical thinking skills in students, based on experiences with student patterns of thought. (MSE)

At Colorado State University, the library liaison works with the director of the first-year composition program to design Web pages for courses. Discusses the rationale behind the use of Web pages to teach library research skills, and provides illustrated examples. Includes the frequency of use of the pages and teacher feedback. Analysis of…

Describes the approach and materials for an undergraduate workshop in research skills and analyzes its successes and failures. Outlines steps to "Power Researching," questions to ask about topics, how to read and write citations, and evaluation of information sources. Provides a bibliography of sources on the search process, topic analysis and…

Describes a method for teaching junior high school students doing library research a presearch process that helps them to relate research to prior knowledge of a topic and to develop questions about it. Criteria for judging students' presearches are included. (MES)

Provides a detailed description of a pilot project designed to develop critical thinking and writing skills in secondary school students. Activities involved in the process include online searching, writing abstracts and research papers, developing bibliographies, and using word processing equipment. Related article appeared in June 1986 issue of…

Describes a "scavenger hunt" approach to teaching research and critical thinking skills to high school and college students. Students are provided with lists of challenging questions, supporting materials (cartoons, quotations, odd facts and humorous excerpts), and clues for developing a research strategy. Examples of questions, clues…

Describes the software package developed as a result of a project aimed at developing an effective model of computer assisted instruction to encourage the development of research and critical thinking skills among students. The package includes modules for class assignments, encyclopedic background information, a citations database, and access to…

Bibliographic instruction can do more than provide directions on library use for a specific assignment; it can contribute to the objectives of liberal education by teaching skills in asking questions, critically analyzing information, and answering questions. (MSE)

A syllabus intended to prepare high school students for college level library research and to provide students with skills for lifelong learning is being created by a committee of high school and college librarians and classroom teachers. The syllabus is designed to be taught by a team consisting of a library media specialist, English teacher(s),…

Discusses the need to teach undergraduate students the critical thinking processes necessary to formulating and researching a topic, rather than the technicalities of online catalogs. The development and design of an online catalog at Dickinson College, which forces students to make informed choices throughout the search process, is described.…