Engineering an Information Literacy Program for First-year Engineering Students

Robin A.M. Hensel; Ordel Brown; Mary L. Strife

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: FPD IV: Innovative Curriculum Elements of Successful First-year Courses
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs
Page Count: 12
Page Numbers: 25.534.1 - 25.534.12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--21292
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/21292
Download Count: 429

Paper Authors

biography

Robin A.M. Hensel Ed.D. West Virginia University

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Robin Hensel is the Assistant Dean for Freshman Experience in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. She holds a B.S. in mathematics from Wheaton College IL, an M.A. in mathematics from SUNY at Buffalo, and an Ed.D. from West Virginia University. Before WVU, Hensel worked for the U.S. Department of Energy as a Mathematician and Computer Systems Analyst, and as an Associate Professor and Department Chair at Salem International University. Her research interests include STEM education at all levels, first-year experience and issues related to the transition from high school to college, and the retention and recruitment of women and minorities to STEM fields.

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Ordel Brown Ph.D. West Virginia University

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Ordel Brown, Ph.D., is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University. She currently teaches first-year courses in the Freshman Engineering program, and her research interests include the identification of variables that impact the recruitment, the first-year experience and retention of underrepresented populations in STEM fields, and the development of strategies to increase their persistence.

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Mary L. Strife West Virginia University

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Mary Strife has been at West Virginia University since 1995, serving as the Director of the Evansdale Library and an Engineering Librarian since 2001. She has almost 30 years experience in the library and information profession in science/engineering and public/access services positions at Cornell, University of Rochester, and SUNY, Utica/Rome. She has been in ALA/ACRL for 30 years, SLA for 25 years, and ASEE/ELD for almost seven years.

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Abstract

Engineering an Information Literacy Program for First Year Engineering StudentsTechnical writing is an essential skill for all developing and practicing engineers. The 21stcentury information environment requires engineering graduates to be able to find neededinformation in appropriate, credible places; to credit the work properly; and to communicate theresults effectively. In particular, learning to complete a literature search is a significant part offinding and understanding journal articles and technical papers.ENGR 101, the first engineering problem solving course that freshmen take at a large land-grantuniversity in the mid-Atlantic region, requires students to write at least two technical reports.Students, typically, have difficulty with the following: (1) understanding the parts of a technicalreport; (2) defining and avoiding plagiarism; (3) evaluating their online sources; and (4) findingappropriate sources from which to perform a literature search for background information ontheir assigned topic.To address these issues, engineering faculty collaborated with campus librarians to: (1) writenew information literacy learning objectives for ENGR 101 that address the issues listed above,(2) create specific instructional modules, including in-class activities combined with shortlectures, online assessments, and homework/reinforcement activities, and (3) construct a gradingrubric for technical reports that include information literacy issues as part of the grading criteriafor technical reports. This work was funded by a campus Information Literacy CourseEnhancement grant sponsored by the university libraries and the Office of the Provost.Three content modules, which used the computer-lab classroom and course support technology,were taught by the Information Literacy experts (the Librarians) to more than 700 students in 18sections of the ENGR 101 class. The nine (9) primary engineering course instructorsimplemented the grading rubric in all technical reports required in ENGR 101.This paper presents the learning objectives and grading rubrics and describes the contentmodules developed through this project. The results of the assessment of student learning and ofthe development process are presented as well. Recommendations are made for additionalmodifications to more effectively prepare students to search and use information correctly andappropriately, giving them skills needed to succeed as a student and as an engineeringprofessional.

Citation
Format

Hensel, R. A., & Brown, O., & Strife, M. L. (2012, June), Engineering an Information Literacy Program for First-year Engineering Students Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21292

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                   Engineering an Information Literacy Program                      for First Year Engineering StudentsTechnical writing is an essential skill for all developing and practicing engineers. The 21stcentury information environment requires engineering graduates to be able to find neededinformation in appropriate, credible places; to credit the work properly; and to communicate theresults effectively. In particular, learning to complete a literature search is a significant part offinding and understanding journal articles and technical papers.ENGR 101, the first engineering problem solving course that freshmen take at a large land-grantuniversity in the mid-Atlantic region, requires students to write at least two technical reports.Students, typically, have difficulty with the following: (1) understanding the parts of a technicalreport; (2) defining and avoiding plagiarism; (3) evaluating their online sources; and (4) findingappropriate sources from which to perform a literature search for background information ontheir assigned topic.To address these issues, engineering faculty collaborated with campus librarians to: (1) writenew information literacy learning objectives for ENGR 101 that address the issues listed above,(2) create specific instructional modules, including in-class activities combined with shortlectures, online assessments, and homework/reinforcement activities, and (3) construct a gradingrubric for technical reports that include information literacy issues as part of the grading criteriafor technical reports. This work was funded by a campus Information Literacy CourseEnhancement grant sponsored by the university libraries and the Office of the Provost.Three content modules, which used the computer-lab classroom and course support technology,were taught by the Information Literacy experts (the Librarians) to more than 700 students in 18sections of the ENGR 101 class. The nine (9) primary engineering course instructorsimplemented the grading rubric in all technical reports required in ENGR 101.This paper presents the learning objectives and grading rubrics and describes the contentmodules developed through this project. The results of the assessment of student learning and ofthe development process are presented as well. Recommendations are made for additionalmodifications to more effectively prepare students to search and use information correctly andappropriately, giving them skills needed to succeed as a student and as an engineeringprofessional.
AU  - Robin A.M. Hensel Ed.D.
AU  - Ordel Brown Ph.D.
AU  - Mary L. Strife
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Engineering an Information Literacy Program for First-year Engineering Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/21292
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--21292
ER  -