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Assessment in Action

North Carolina Central University: Project Description

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Primary Outcome Examined (select one or more)

Student Learning: Assignment

(No) Student Learning: Course

(No) Student Learning: Major

(No) Student Learning: Degree

(No) Student Engagement

Student Success

(No) Academic Intimacy/Rapport

(No) Enrollment

(No) Retention

(No) Completion

(No) Graduation

(No) Articulation

(No) Graduates' Career Success

(No) Testing (e.g., GRE, MCAT, LSAT, CAAP, CLA, MAPP)

(No) Other (please describe)

Primary Library Factor Examined (select one or more)

Instruction

(No) Instruction: Games

Instruction: One Shot

Instruction: Course Embedded

(No) Instruction: Self-Paced Tutorials

(No) Reference

(No) Educational Role (other than reference or instruction)

(No) Space, Physical

(No) Discovery (library resources integrated in institutional web and other information portals)

(No) Discovery (library resource guides)

(No) Discovery (from preferred user starting points)

(No) Collections (quality, depth, diversity, format or currency)

(No) Personnel (number and quality)

(No) Other (please describe)

Student Population (select one or more)

Undergraduate

(No) Graduate

(No) Incoming

(No) Graduating

(No) Pre-College/Developmental/Basic Skills

(No) Other (please describe)

Discipline (select one or more)

(No) Arts

(No) Humanities

(No) Social Sciences

(No) Natural Sciences (i.e., space, earth, life, chemistry or physics)

(No) Formal Sciences (i.e., computer science, logic, mathematics, statistics or systems science)

(No) Professions/Applied Sciences

(No) English Composition

General Education

(No) Information Literacy Credit Course

(No) Other (please describe)

AiA Team Members (select one or more)

(No) Assessment Office

(No) Institutional Research

Teaching Faculty

(No) Writing Center

(No) Information/Academic Technology

(No) Student Affairs

(No) Campus Administrator

(No) Library Administrator

(No) Other Librarian

(No) Other (please describe)

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Methods and Tools (select one or more)

(No) Survey

(No) Interviews

(No) Focus Group(s)

(No) Observation

Pre/Post Test

(No) Rubric

(No) Other (please describe)

Direct Data Type (select one or more)

(No) Student Portfolio

(No) Research Paper/Project

Class Assignment (other than research paper/project)

(No) Other (please describe)

Indirect Data Type (select one or more)

Test Scores

(No) GPA

(No) Degree Completion Rate

(No) Retention Rate

(No) Other (please describe)

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Executive Summary (150 words open)

  • How does the project align with your institution’s priorities and needs?
  • Why did you choose the outcome and library factor as areas to examine?
  • Why was the team composition appropriate?

  1. NCCU’s inquiry question was: Do library instruction classes improve students’ information literacy skills in Dimensions of Learning classes?
    NCCU implemented a policy that students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.000 or greater. This policy not only has to do with elevating the expectations of student GPA, but also takes student success into account. Student success and retention has become a driving force at NCCU.

    I met the people on my team when I was teaching library instruction classes: either Dimensions of Learning (Freshman Experience class), or English Composition I. All members of the team want students to succeed, to know how to access the resources available. The team members are library advocates who bring their classes to the library for instruction each semester, making an appropriate match for piloting this study.

  • What are the significant contributions of your project?
  • What was learned about assessing the library’s impact on student learning and success?
  • What was learned about creating or contributing to a culture of assessment on campus?
  • What, if any, are the significant findings of your project?

  1. Through this project, we learned that there may be a slight increase in information literacy skills in the short-term after a one-time library instruction class targeted to each specific class. Collaborating with different departments was a wonderful way to foster new relationships and ideas, including how to assess literacy skills and understanding which skills instructors wish to emphasize. Although there were no significant findings, we did come away with ideas to change the project in the future. We will be modifying the assessment tool, administering the assessment in a different manner, and adding other forms of assessment, such as focus groups and possibly a survey.

  • What will you change as a result of what you learned (– e.g., institutional activities, library functions or practices, personal/professional practice, other)?
  • How does this project contribute to current, past, or future assessment activities on your campus?

  1. Since a number of librarians provided instruction to the classes that were involved in the assessment, it would be worth looking at the ways in which delivery and content differed. A closer look at the population of students involved in the pilot might provide some data about which method of instruction would be valued and most beneficial. For example, more interaction, hands-on practice, or even game-playing could lead to long-term improvement of literacy skills, rather than a traditional lecture format.

    This assessment will help guide us in our investigation of the library’s role in each students’ academic experience, and perhaps provide data to help us collaborate with more instructors in the future.

Please list any articles published, presentations given, URL of project website, and team leader contact details.

  1. Presented "Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success at NCCU" at the 6th Annual Technology Institute for Educators, North Carolina Central University, April 25-26, 2014.

    Karen Grimwood, Curriculum Materials Center Librarian
    kgrimwood@nccu.edu

Assessing Freshman Information Literacy Skills Pre and Post Library Instruction: A Pilot Study

North Carolina Central University conducted a pilot study to find if library instruction improves students’ information literacy skills. During the Spring 2014 semester, students in Dimensions of Learning, a freshman experience class, were given pre-tests before library instruction classes, and post-tests three months later. The data showed a trend that students’ information skills did improve after attending a library instruction class.

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