Information Literacy and Research Instruction
Our librarians partner with Western Michigan University faculty and instructors to help students find, use and interpret information.
Introduction
Through our library instruction, we help students use critical thinking to strengthen their information literacy core competencies by:
- Exploring topics and creating research plans
- Using search techniques to locate information for research
- Synthesizing and interpreting information
- Considering ethical and legal issues when using information
Information literacy in your course
We can help you incorporate information literacy into your course curriculum in several ways:
-
Instructor consultations
Our librarians can collaborate with you to create assignments, teaching strategies, rubrics and other approaches that integrate information literacy into your course curriculum and meet your instructional goals.
-
Library instruction
Librarians can provide instruction sessions in your classroom or in one of the University Libraries’ classrooms. Research has shown that library instruction has the biggest impact on student learning when tied to a specific class assignment or project. We’ll work with you to customize learning outcomes for your class.
-
Elearning instruction
Librarians can help you incorporate research instruction materials into your Elearning course, including video or chat-based research instruction, or provide one-on-one research consultations for students using discussion boards, email and chat features.
-
Microcourse
Our self-paced Information Literacy Microcourse teaches students college-level research skills to prepare them for research projects, advanced classes and future careers. All WMU students are auto enrolled in this course through Elearning.
Resources for your students
-
Student consultations
Our librarians can provide one-on-one research instruction for your students. This is often most effective for students in upper-level courses in which research is individualized (e.g., senior thesis research or baccalaureate-level writing papers). For research projects assigned to an entire class, it is much more effective for a librarian to provide course-related research instruction to the whole class at once.
-
Subject and course guides
Created by WMU librarians, our subject and course guides can assist students with course work and research projects. These guides feature recommended resources and tools tailored to a specific academic topic or a specific course.
