Academic librarian collaborations in inquiry based learning: A case study, reflections and strategies

Abstract


 
 
 Five academic librarians at the University of Calgary were invited to collaborate on an inquiry-based learning course. Each librarian represented different liaison responsibilities and expertise and was paired with a course section of primarily first-year students, an instructor, and a teaching assistant. The range of experiences among the librarians provided insights into issues of library partnerships, embedded librarianship, and information literacy instruction. Benefits of the collaboration included opportunities for instruction, positive student perceptions, skill building, and teaching innovations, while areas for further development included sustainability and role definition. Proposed areas of future growth include quantitative exploration of librarian involvement in inquiry- based learning. 
 
 

Innovation in leadership education: inquiry-based pedagogy

“…Instructors provided facilitative support, opportunities for skill building, and directed students to centralized resources; there was little to no traditional lecture time at any point during the course. Other active interest holders in each course included: (a) an embedded librarian, who attended classes regularly and offered information literacy supports to students in real-time (Murphy, Koltutsky, Lenart, McClurg, & Stoeckle, 2020); a peer mentor, who served as an advisor, facilitator, and point of contact with the students and instructor (Colvin & Ashman, 2010); and (c) community partners who volunteered to consult with students during their community-engaged projects.…”

Embedded Librarians and Scaffolding for Remote Learning

“…16 James Murphy, Laura Koltutsky, Bartlomiej Lenart, Caitlin McClurg, and Marc Stoeckle acknowledge that embedded librarians in a freshman seminar delivered library research concepts at strategic times throughout the semester, which "boosted the impression of the library's relevance to students." 17 Karen Bordonaro and Gillian Richardson find that learners demonstrated an "increase in comfort, confidence and knowledge" at the end of courses that implement scaffolded library instruction. 18 Some researchers have gone beyond lectures and in-class activities to successfully incorporate assignment components into scaffolded library modules.…”

Exploring the Impact of the Pandemic on Reference and Research Services: A Literature Review

“…Considered by experts as an extension of the role of the traditional reference model, or of the subject/liaisons service, the role of embedded librarian is one in which librarians participate in the spaces of instructors and students by providing research assistance, instruction, and other services. Murphy et al (2020) discuss benefits of collaborations between librarians with teaching faculties when co-teaching a course for first-year undergraduate students during the Fall of 2018. They reflect on the opportunity of working with the instructor on content creation, participating in teaching, student evaluation, and mentoring students.…”