Research Skills and Writing in a Learning Community: A Symbiotic Relationship

National Learning Communities Conference, November 7-9, 2013

Marcia Rapchak and Ava Cipri, Duquesne University

Duquesne University

Learning Communities @ Duquesne

PERSONAE

Research and Writing

• Piloted in Fall 2012 in PERSONAE learning community

• Linked the required, one-credit course, Research and Information Skills, with the required first-year writing course, Thinking and Writing Across the Curriculum

Collaboration Outcome

Research and Info Skills (UCOR 030) included in all the learning communities

Won Creative Teaching Award

Motivation for Collaboration

Photo by Flikr user John Jackson, May 31, 2012, under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Setting the Collaboration Stage

Washington, DC Jewish Community Center (1926)Photo from Library of Congress on Wikimedia Commons

Collaboration Steps• Shared syllabi • Identified shared learning goals:

• Identified similar assignments • Created scaffolding assignment plan

Assignment: Definitional Paper

Assignments: Annotated Bibliographies

Assessment – UCOR 030 Annotated Bibliography

Results: UCOR 030

Assignment: Final Proposal Paper

This final paper is a proposal paper that combines TWO claims: “Because X is a problem in the Duquesne University community, the greater Pittsburgh area community, or Pennsylvania, the target audience should do Z to solve that problem.” See Everything’s ch.12, page 275 for this frame, which is your working thesis statement. Your PROPOSAL must be LOCAL and TIMELY and related to and intersect w/ any of the following (no matter what community you investigate, say veterans, you still have to make relevant connections within this section): Your AIU service learning experience with immigrants and refugees, Personae’s integrated curriculum consisting of your courses and other events (lecture by the Director of JF&CS; films, readings; multicultural events, outings, etc.) in relationship to “the role of community.”

Think back to Personae’s Guiding Questions listed on the first page of the syllabus:

Team Teaching

Assessment: UCOR 101 Final Paper•The scaffold Research Proposal Paper builds off the students’ Preliminary Research Worksheet (Part I.) & The Topic Proposal w/ the Preliminary Annotated Bibliography (Part II.) from the Group Conferences, which comprises: 5%

•Paper 3: Proposal Paper (7-10 pages, not counting imbedded images, graphs, etc.): 30%

•__/5. Computer Lab Sessions: Attendance at both lab sessions.

•__/15. Structure: a) Identifies a problem that needs to be solved; b) Shows the target audience why this is a problem that they should care about; c) Proposes a plausible solution that actually addresses the problem; and d) Shows, with evidence, why that solution is better than other potential solutions.

•__/20. Appeal and Control of Tone: Appeals to the biases and values of an audience that holds different positions and attempts to reach that audience through the exploration of common ground.

•__/25. Choice and Explanation of Reasons: Chooses reasons that would appeal to your target audience. Accurately cites all outside sources in MLA format, in-text as well as Works Cited.

•__/25. Supporting Evidence: Argue for your solution to the problem (your thesis); utilize a number of different types of evidence from the Preliminary Worksheet; addresses counterarguments.

•__/10. Grammar, Usage, and Style: Writing shows competency and knowledge of stylistic conventions at the sentence level. The grammar does not impede the understanding of the argument.

Results: UCOR 101

Assignment: Final Reflection

Qualitative Results

➢ Students in UCOR 101-C efficiently found relevant sources during classes held in the computer labs; high utilization of databases

➢ Course assistant noted more engagement in UCOR 030-C than in other UCOR 030 courses

➢ All students in post-class survey rated themselves as average or above in finding scholarly sources

➢ All groups listed CARS as an effective model in final reflection

➢ UCOR 101’s consecutive course UCOR 102: Students in 102-C vs. 102

Integrating Research into Learning Communities

• How could you or do you use library resources and research skills in your learning communities?

• What sort of collaborations with librarians are possible in your learning communities?

Strategies for Collaborating with Librarians

• Identify liaison librarian or reference/instruction librarians

• Check library website for instruction form / information

• Ask librarians to review assignments or teach a class session

• Discover how other learning communities are working with librarians