Information Literacy Instruction Options
Berntsen Library offers various forms of instructional contact to develop students' information literacy skills.
Direct instruction in the classroom, in the library, or online is recommended for students in any course requiring students to find, evaluate, and use information.
Video tutorials, research guides, and research appointments are recommended as supplements to in-person or virtual instruction sessions. They are also recommended for asynchronous courses.
If you have questions or would like to request an instruction session for your class, please contact Jessica Moore or your department's Library Liaison.
Session in the Classroom
Librarians deliver in-class information literacy instruction tailored to the needs of a particular course or assignment for all or part of a class period.
These sessions include:
- Teaching research skills
- Demonstrating search strategies
- Active learning activities
- Answering students' questions
- Individual research help
Library instruction in major coursework reinforces and builds upon basic information literacy skills with a focus on discipline-specific research skills, databases, and scholarly literature.
Suggested Use
Library instruction in the classroom is recommended for any course that requires students to find, evaluate and use information for projects and assignments.
Session in the Library
The library’s flexible learning environment supports active learning activities and individual research assistance. Students are invited to bring their laptops for hands-on practice searching the online library. The library's teaching space can accommodate up to 30 students.
Suggested Use
Instruction in the library is recommended for interactive research sessions lasting the full class period.
Synchronous Session on Teams
Synchronous Teams instruction sessions occur online during class time. Librarians can demonstrate search strategies and techniques via screen share and allow student participation using Teams features such as chat.
Suggested Use
Library instruction on Teams is recommended for courses that meet online.
Tutorial Videos
Tutorial videos allow students to view brief demonstrations of search techniques using library resources. You can link any of the current tutorials to your Moodle course or request a custom tutorial to support an assignment in your class.
Suggested Use
Tutorials are used as a supplement to (not a replacement for) in-class instruction.
Research Guides
Librarians can create online guides to support a subject, course, or assignment. Research guides can be linked to Moodle courses for students to refer to at any time by adding the external tool "Library Resources" to your Moodle course. Browse our current list of Research Guides, and if you would like a guide created for your course, please contact your library liaison.
Suggested Use
Research guides are recommended as a supplement to in-class instruction.
Individual Research Appointments
Students can meet one-on-one with a librarian to get individual assistance with research. Appointments can take place in-person in the library or virtually on Teams. Students can schedule a research appointment online.
Suggested Use
Research appointments are recommended as a follow-up for in-class instruction.
Instruction for Asynchronous Courses
Librarians can create research guides, video tutorials, or pre-recorded video instruction customized to the needs of online, asynchronous courses (Dual Enrollment, Adult Undergraduate, or Graduate Courses).
The Online research appointment service is highly recommended to support students in any online course that involves finding and using information for course assignments.