Leeds University Library Plugging the gap: making mathematics students information literate Sarah Taylor Faculty Team Librarian: Mathematics and Physical

Leeds University Library

Plugging the gap: making mathematics students

information literate

Sarah Taylor Faculty Team Librarian: Mathematics and Physical Sciences Leeds University Library

[email protected]


I’m going to talk about… The introduction of a new information skills

module in the School of Mathematics in October 2005: – Why the module was introduced– How the module content, structure and teaching

materials were developed– How the module was assessed– What went right – What went wrong – How it will be better next time– A few tips I picked up along the way


The challenge

To provide Information Literacy training to all level 3 Mathematics students as part of a new compulsory, assessed skills module

The School had previously been very resistant to the introduction of IL

No prior IL training in the School


The impetus School of Mathematics Periodic Review

suggested that:– more explicit integration of transferable skills into the

curriculum would benefit students– the School should make efforts to encourage independent

learning – all students should undertake a project or an equivalent

substantial piece of independent work Information Literacy has a high profile at

Leeds – Information Literacy Strategy was introduced in 03/04– transferable skills are integrated into the curriculum of many

degree programmes Nagging!


Where to begin?!


With questions, questions and more questions…

Who are these students? What other subjects are they taught? How are they taught by the School? Where are they taught by the School? How are modules normally assessed? Do they use the Library? When, how and why? What sort of IL skills do they already have? What sort of IL skills should they have? Do they use the VLE? What’s the best/most appropriate way to assess an IL

module? Are there any other similar modules being run at Leeds or

elsewhere? Is there any useful literature about this? Guidelines from

professional bodies?


Undergraduate Mathematics at Leeds

Large School - around 500 undergraduates Majority enrolled on BSc Mathematics or Mathematical

Studies – emphasis on pure mathematics Traditional teaching methods Modules are largely exam based with a minimum course work

requirement Little or no project work (and independent learning?) Very low users of the Library (print and electronic) Lack of studies skills/learning skills modules which are now

common in many Schools MMATH 4th year option with project requirement


The solution?

MATH3000 Information skills in Mathematics Compulsory for Level 3 – 135 students 10 credit module To be taken over 2 semesters:

– Semester 1: IL skills training and mathematical word processing

– Semester 2: Project work to further put into practice IL skills and mathematical report writing


Module objectives Develop a systematic search strategy to

find high quality material on a given topic Use the Library Catalogue to find books Use a bibliographical database to find

journal articles Use the web to search for quality academic

information Evaluate the material found in terms of

quality and reliability Use a systematic referencing convention

IL workshops and assignment 25% of module mark

Word processed mathematical text: an optional demo class – 15% of module mark

Project (mini literature review): tutor lead – 60% of module mark


Teaching sessions

Introductory lecture – Introduction to research skills, module outline and

assessment requirements – Delivered in conjunction with the Director of

Undergraduate Studies

Computer cluster hands-on workshops– Workshop 1 : Literature searching – Workshop 2: Finding quality information on the

web and plagiarism/referencing


Workshops and teaching material

Students were split into 3 workshop groups Each session began with a short PowerPoint

introduction and demos/class exercises Followed by hands-on training using:

– Task-based workbooks with strong subject specific focus – Combination of paper-based exercises and online tutorials – Answer sheets provided at the end of each session

Material was made available on the Library website A colleague attended to assist with class support


The assignment A research log documenting the search, evaluation

and referencing of material on a particular topic Students were asked to demonstrate they could:

– construct an effective search strategy– understand how to use Boolean logic to combine

search terms– evaluate the material found – cite the resources they found in a consistent way

using the Numeric Style of referencing A list of 30 possible topics were provided by the

School and students were free to select a subject of interest to them from this list


Assignment outline

Find 2 books, 3 journals articles and 4 web resources:

1. Define your information need2. Use the Library Catalogue to find books3. Use Web of Science to find journal articles 4. Find and evaluate web resources5. Write your bibliography

1,200 word limit excluding references 2 weeks to submit


Marking and feedback

Marking scheme– Each component of the research log was weighted with an

appropriate mark – Marks also awarded for overall level of understanding,

clarity and presentation

Marking split 50/50 with the Director of Undergraduate studies

– Model answer provided– Moderated marking on a small sample of assignments

Summative and formative feedback given to students


How did they do? Results were fairly encouraging the majority of marks

were in the 70% to 80% range Most had been able to apply the techniques taught in

class to their own work (to varying degrees) Boolean logic is easy for Mathematicians A more thorough evaluation of the books and journal

articles selected was needed in most cases They did better evaluating web resources Students were clearly unpractised in academic

writing International students really struggled


Getting feedback from students

Feedback forms were sent via email to all students after assignments were submitted

They were asked to comment on: – Teaching materials– Class exercises– Delivery of teaching– Clarity of the assignment outline – Whether the skills they had developed were

adequate for preparation of the assignment Still waiting for the results…………………….


What went right?

Excellent attendance despite problems

with timetable clashes Teaching material worked very well They took the sessions (and me) seriously! Most students were engaged, asked lots of

questions, paid attention and worked hard during workshops

Workshops were observed by a teaching mentor – her feedback was invaluable

Having colleagues willing to help out during sessions


A few more successes... Having autonomy over the module syllabus, session

content and assignment requirements Building a relationship with the students over a number

of weeks All assignments were submitted and most were on time Despite having low level IL skills prior to the module

most students seemed to pick-up techniques easily and apply them to their research topics reasonably well

I now regularly see Maths students in the Library!


What went wrong?

Preparation of teaching materials

and delivery of the workshops was

hugely time consuming Repeat workshop fatigue Timetabling and room booking nightmare! Attempts to make the lecture/workshop talks

interactive went down like a lead balloon! Little practical involvement from the School


Other improvement opportunities…

Under estimated how much one-to-one support some students needed while completing the assignment – teaching wasn’t over once the workshops had finished

The assignment word limit was set too low – small mistakes can create a lot of extra work!

Inefficient marking methods and time consuming feedback – delayed the return of assignments to students

Low level academic writing skills need to be addressed by the School

Getting module feedback from the students was difficult


How it will (hopefully) be better next time Get the School to timetable the sessions and book

teaching space Introduce group work activities into workshops Provide a better brief for colleagues assisting with

sessions Re-weight the marking scheme – being unable to give

half marks to individual components is frustrating Give the marking scheme to students Develop a statement bank for feedback and use

assignment feedback forms to speed up the marking process

Develop a better method for obtaining more timely feedback from students – online questionnaire?


Embedding information literacy in the curriculum - a few tips I picked-up along

the way…


Know the curriculum

Information Literacy can’t be embedded in the curriculum unless you know what else that curriculum covers:– Academic subjects? – Transferable skills? – Independent learning? – Methods of teaching? – Assessment methods and requirements?

Projects? Essays? Presentations? Posters? Exams?


Be subject specific

Vital if you want IL training to be relevant, interesting and stimulating to students

Difficult if you don’t have the subject background, but worth the investment in time and brain power! – Look at the content of other modules for that level

or the key textbooks used– Ask for help from the School – do they have a list

of project titles, dissertation topics etc. that might be useful?


Give justification

Tell students why Information Literacy skills are important– Set IL within the context of good academic

practice– Show how IL skills can be used to improve study

(and marks) at University– Explain how IL skills will be useful in their future

professional careers - and may even help them get a job in the first place!


Location, location, location… and time

Don’t expect students to come to you - use their normal teaching space

Get your sessions timetabled as part of the overall programme – Ensures a better turnout– Physically and psychologically embeds IL in the

curriculum


Get academics involved

Ask for input on session content and structure

Invite them to attend your sessions (and get them to help out)

Feedback – Show them student feedback – Give your own – Ask for theirs


Get involved with assessment

It might be difficult to get directly involved with setting and marking assignments

Instead ask to see examples of good/bad assignments once they have been marked or ask for feedback from academics involved in the marking process: – Did students seem to struggle with a particular

area? – Can your teaching be improved the following year

to tackle this?


Get support and feedback from colleagues

Peer or mentor teaching observation can be invaluable– Peer observation scheme in operation at Leeds– Has been useful for picking up tips, getting

constructive feedback, building confidence and improving teaching sessions

If you are teaching large groups or repeat sessions ask for help


And in the future…

Information Skills in Mathematics is a big step forward, but not a fix all solution

Further issues need to be addressed:

– IL at Levels 1 and 2 – IL for postgraduate

students– The generally low levels

of other transferable skills esp. academic writing

Documents

Leeds University Library Plugging the gap: making mathematics students information literate Sarah Taylor Faculty Team Librarian: Mathematics and Physical