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Instructors' guide: Advice on which skills to use

Advice on which skills to use

To see the content of these guides, please consult the Information skills portfolio.

When selecting particular content to include in your curriculum, keep the learning goals of your lessons and overall course in mind. Which information skills does the student need to do the assignments and reach the learning goals? Be thorough when listing these skills and also include the skills you assume students already have (such as 'understanding the assignment'). Even though students are familiar with a skill they might appreciate the opportunity for revision to raise their confidence in applying it. Also consider the possible diversity in proficiency of students. 

Situations you might encounter include:

  • A certain basic information skill is required for an assignment, but the majority of the students should be proficient in this skill. In this case you can include a simple link to the appropriate guide (or module) or embed the guide as optional reading. The few students who are less proficient can study in their own time to reach the required level. Think of transfer students or exchange students who are used to a different information landscape. 
  • An information skill is vital to complete the assignment, students are familiar with the skill but at an intermediate level. Embed the module covering this skill in Canvas, making it mandatory study material for all students. Also keep this option in mind for regular revision of important skills.
  • An information skill is vital to complete the assignment and the majority of students are novices. Further integration of the module into the curriculum is advised. One can assign (part of) a guide as pre-class assignment. In class (for example, in a workshop) the students can apply the skill that was introduced pre-class in subject specific assignments. This gives students a better understanding of the relationship between information skills and subject knowledge.

In case you feel your students need extra support by practicing these skills  in a hands-on training, the library still provides customized training sessions. For more information please consult the Hands-on workshops page.

Support

Need more information about which skills to use? 
Please contact drs. Frea Haandrikman, one of our faculty liaisons at the University Library and member of the Information Skills Team.

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