Iteratively improve pre-session homework by adding explanations of thesaurus structure and revising assessments based on demonstrated student difficulties¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (2 for, 1 against) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article recommends using assessment results to target improvements of pre-session learning materials. Because procedural homework activities may not produce transferable understanding, the authors suggest developing more robust explanations of thesaurus structure, perhaps including taxonomic diagrams or sample entries with everyday terms, and revising the posttest in light of student difficulties. They present this as a cycle that could also inform flipped information literacy classrooms.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Valid in-session pretest and posttest data collected by the librarian
• A control group to isolate the homework's effect

Constraints¶

• Assessment must fit within a limited time frame in a standalone session

Target Learners¶

• graduate M.Ed. students in one-shot library instruction

Target Learning Goals¶

• thesaurus-based database search strategy

Affordances¶

• Nonequivalent Control Group One Shot Assessment

Claims¶

• Most treatment-group students successfully or partially successfully completed the pre-session homework exercise [+W]
• The pre-session homework group scored higher on posttest multiple-choice searching items, with the difference driven by a single keyword-selection question [+W]
• A pre-session ERIC thesaurus homework exercise did not improve graduate students' performance on an in-class thesaurus searching performance activity compared with control-group peers [-W]

Related Strategies¶

• Use design-based implementation research with educator co-design and iterative pre-post testing cycles to develop a usable, feasible classroom intervention.
• Use start-of-class quizzes on pre-class video content as a regular part of flipped in-class sessions

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Goetz, J. E., & Barber, C. R. (2015). Evaluating a pre-session homework exercise in a standalone information literacy class. Communications in Information Literacy, 9(2). https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit/