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Roz on her Junk Science BI

  • Uses the Wellness blog at Time Magazine
  • Found an article on body image
  • Had students read and summarize
  • She knew the cited study in it was Open Access, so as long as they got to it through Google Scholar, the students could read the full text
  • She then gave them an article from Time and the journal article it cited.
  • Had the students look at how they’d find the article, showed how using the database page gives you more information, talked through reading the article
  • She specifically picked an article with wrong information to get the students’ interest
  • She talked less, but students didn’t talk much either

Database discussion

  • When teaching databases, it can be a good strategy to use Academic Search Premier: many can access at the same time and it has the same look and rules as any Ebsco database
  • If you want to use a database with a limited number of users, can have small groups go in together
  • Another option is to have half the class try one database then the other half try the other. Then they can compare the two and coach each other
  • Could have several groups, each group specializes in one, then rotate around to share with each other
  • When doing group comparisons, it’s good to leave time at the end for reporting
  • For education students, you can have students write down what they like and don’t like about their education. Then they can use Eric to find what research can be done based on this life experience.
  • Giz suggested using a model like he uses when teaching Google: 5-10 minute presentation, time for people to play and experiment, 20 minute presentations at the end

Teaching the One-Shot Class

  • Could have several groups based around resources (catalog, encyclopedia, database, etc), become expert, switch groups and share
  • I talked about my worksheets for LIB100 and how I adapted it for a BI session
  • Discussed how to tie into international studies
  • Could base a whole class around CQ Researcher: pros/cons, who are the people, what are the organization, how to use the bibliography
  • Using pop culture references like fantasy football or zombies
  • Get assignment from professor, leave 20 minutes at the end so they can work on it while the librarian is there
  • Scheduling is critical. A BI at the beginning of the semester looks very different from one just before the paper is due.