ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 276 / C&RL News ■ A p ril 2002 LEARNING CO M M U NITIES FOR EXCELLENCE The citizen in the information age Georgia State University’s creation of a librarian-led freshmen learning community by Lau ra G. B u rtle a n d T am m y S. S u g a rm a n I n the second article of this series, the au­ thors stated that although a significant nu m b er of academ ic libraries have som e role in the learning com m unity w ithin their insti­ tutions, “the results of these initiatives have n o t b e e n generally reported in the literature. . . [and these] n e e d to be reco rd ed .”1 This article describes tw o librarians’ developm ent and im plem entation of a Freshm an Learning Community (FLC) at Georgia State University (GSU), centered on the them e of “life in the inform ation age.” B a c k g ro u n d GSU is a large, urban research institution in the heart of dow ntow n Atlanta, offering about 50 undergraduate- and graduate-degree p ro­ grams in 217 fields of study. Each year, a p ­ proxim ately 24,000 students are enrolled, in­ cluding m ore than 2,300 freshmen. GSU students com e from all over Georgia and m ore than 130 countries; approxim ately 35 p e rc e n t of the students are m inorities. While this rich diversity and urban location provide m any benefits for student learning, freshm en often find the environm ent intimi­ dating and experience difficulty becom ing a part of the GSU community. FLCs w ere initiated at GSU in 1999 with th e goal of im proving the assimilation, reten­ tion, and learning of traditional freshm en.2 Each FLC is centered o n a broad them e con­ sisting of a com plem ent o f five or six courses that reflect the them e, as well as English 1101 (freshman composition) and GSU 1010 (fresh­ m an orientation). Learning com m unities are generally lim­ ited to 25 students, w hich encourages the form ation of a tight peer-group. The FLC ad­ visor for each com m unity is a full-time fac­ ulty member, and all of the colleges within the university that offer undergraduate p ro ­ grams participate. Consequently, beginning w ith their first sem ester at GSU, students e n ­ rolled in FLCs have direct contact w ith fac­ ulty w h o are experts in their discipline, u n ­ like m any other freshm en-level courses that V is it th e P re s id e n t's P a g e a t http:// w w w .a la .o rg / a c rl/p re sp a g e .h tm l A b o u t the authors Laura G. Burtle is assistant professor, assistant departm ent head fo r library instruction in the inform ation services department, an d Tammy S. Sugarman is instructor an d hum anities liaison librarian Pullen Library a t Georgia State University, e-mail: lburtle@gsu. edu and tsugarman@gsu. edu http://www.ala.org/acrl/prespage.html C&RL News ■ A p r il 2002 / 277 are taught by graduate students, part-tim e in­ structors, a n d adjunct faculty. The freshm an orientation class, GSU 1010, features m any guest speakers on topics rang­ ing from advisem ent to sexual health to di­ versity. Since its inception, an introduction to the library and basic research skills has b e e n a required com ponent. In the spirit of intro­ ducing freshm en to scholars and specialists in their learning com m unities, the subject specialist librarian for the topic area that m ost closely m atches th e FLC th em e generally teaches the library session. In the fall of 2000, the Freshm en Studies Office, w hich m anages FLCs and GSU 1010, asked if any library faculty w ould be inter­ ested in teaching an entire section o f GSU 1010. In addition to the GSU 1010 courses included in the FLCs, several “gen eric” or “stand-alone” sections of GSU 1010 are of­ fered for freshm en w h o are n o t enrolled in a learning community. With the su p p o rt of the library adm inis­ tration, four librarians agreed to teach these sections. Colleagues in the departm ent al­ low ed each librarian to be relieved of a p ­ proxim ately five hours of general reference desk duties per w eek to com pensate for teach­ ing responsibilities. These librarians h ad an u n p re c e d e n te d o p portunity to learn about m anaging a n d teaching a semester-long class. Needless to say, th e students in these classes learned m ore about using the library than stu­ dents in the other sections! C r e a t in g a n e w F L C After extensive discussions about their e x p e ­ riences in teaching th e generic GSU 1010 courses, librarians w ere eager to find addi­ tional ways to build u p o n this initial inroad into m aking librarians equal teaching part­ ners w ith faculty and reach students in ways oth er than through traditional 50-minute li­ brary instruction sessions. Tw o of the librarians w h o cotaught a sec­ tion of GSU 1010 attem pted to incorporate in fo rm a tio n literacy objectives in to th eir course. H ow ever, they w ere n o t convinced that the generic GSU 1010 was th e ap p ro p ri­ ate place to do this because of the large nu m ­ b e r of p redeterm ined m odules, and because the students in the generic GSU 1010 w ere not part o f a learning comm unity, they w ere all enrolled in different classes. This m ade O u r in te n tio n w a s to te a c h s tu d e n ts to be a w a re o f th e s tru c tu re a n d im p a c t o f in fo rm a tio n a n d in fo rm a tio n t e c h n o lo g y o n t h e ir liv e s a n d o f th e im p o rta n c e o f c r it ic a lly t h in k in g a b o u t th e in fo rm a tio n th e y u se to m a k e e v e ry d a y d e c isio n s. it difficult to focus assignm ents on a par­ ticular them e that was o f interest to all stu­ dents. After discussion w ith the director of the FLC program , w e d eveloped a proposal to be co-advisors for o u r ow n learning com m u­ nity focused o n “life in th e inform ation age.” This involved putting together a group of core courses for the FLC, teaching the GSU 1010 course, and developing and teaching a two- credit sem inar as o n e of the FLC courses. The tw o-credit sem inar course, w hich w e nam ed “The Citizen in the Inform ation Age,” w as offered as a “Perspectives” course. These courses, part of the GSU core curriculum, are special topics classes that fall into o n e o f tw o areas: “Perspectives on Com parative Culture” or “Scientific Perspectives o n Global Prob­ lem s.” We felt our p ro p o se d course w o u ld fit well in the first category, since the intended focus of the classes is to im part students with a better understanding of the contem porary world. A lthough w e w ere excited to have the opportunity to create a n d teach a content- oriented course in our ow n area of expertise, as well as advise the freshm en in the learn­ ing com m unity throughout the semester, w e w ere nervous abo u t taking on the challenge of providing services that w en t well beyond the b o unds of w hat w e w ere familiar with as academ ic librarians. Choosing a textbook, writing a syllabus, creating Pow erPoint slides for o u r lectures, putting con ten t into WebCT, and devising meaningful assignments and exams w ere tasks with w hich w e h ad little or no practical ex­ perien ce. H ow ever, w e b e liev ed that this w ould b e a great chance for us to incorpo- 2 7 8 / C&RL News ■ A p ril 2002 W e a ss u m e d t h a t th e s e fre sh m e n w o u ld be " n e t s a v v y ," t h a t is, v e ry f a m ilia r w it h s u r f in g th e W eb, p a r t ic ip a t in g in c h a tro o m s, a n d e n g a g in g in e -co m m e rce ; h o w e v e r, w e w e re s u rp ris e d to d is c o v e r th a t m a n y o f th e m d id n o t u se th e In te rn e t r e g u la r ly f o r a n y o f th e s e p u rp o s e s n o r d id th e y k n o w h o w to u se se a rch e n g in e s to lo ca te W eb s ite s . rate at least som e of the ACRL “Objectives for Inform ation Literacy Instruction”3 into a sem ester-long course. K eeping th e se objectives in m ind, w e loo k ed at exam ples o f course syllabi from oth er universities, as well as books a n d ar­ ticles from various disciplines (inform ation science, business, and history), determ ined the goals a n d learning outcom es b ased on com petencies w e w a n ted students to b e able to dem onstrate by the e n d o f the course, and d ecided on a lecture a n d discussion topic for each o f the 15 class sessions. We p lan n e d the course to introduce stu­ dents to the econom ic, cultural, ethical, and sociopolitical issues surrounding inform ation a n d inform ation technology in to d ay ’s global environm ent. O ur intention w as to teach stu­ dents to be aw are of the structure and impact of inform ation a n d inform ation technology o n their lives and o f the im portance of criti­ cally thinking abo u t the inform ation they use to m ake everyday decisions. The course learning outcom es included the ability to identify key issues in the infor­ m ation age and their implications in a global society, dem onstrate an ability to analyze Web sites a nd published material for credibility and accuracy, access n e e d e d inform ation effec­ tively a n d efficiently, a n d evaluate inform a­ tion critically. Topics covered included com m unication m ethods, digital divide, privacy, intellectual property, copyright, plagiarism a n d e-com - m erce, as well as research m ethods a n d Web site evaluation. "T h e C it iz e n in th e In fo rm a t io n A g e " O ur sem inar course had a total o f 37 stu­ dents (the students from our FLC a n d another FLC), all freshm en in their first year o f col­ lege. We w ere pleased that students willingly participated a n d shared their relevant experi­ ences during class lectures a n d discussions. They seem ed particularly enthusiastic about several of th e topics, including h o w com m u­ nication m ethods have c hanged since the ad­ vent of the Internet a n d the implications of these changes, and issues surrounding intel­ lectual property, such as copyright infringe­ m ents by N apster a n d the su b seq u e n t shut­ d o w n of that service. At the beginning o f the semester, the stu­ dents did an in-class writing assignm ent d e ­ scribing h o w they u se d th e Internet. We as­ sum ed that these freshm en w ould b e “net savvy,” that is, very familiar with surfing the Web, participating in chatroom s, a n d engag­ ing in e-com m erce; how ever, w e w ere sur­ prised to discover that m any o f them did not use the Internet regularly for any o f these p u rp o se s n o r did th ey k n o w h o w to use search engines to locate W eb sites. T h e in te g r a te d le a r n in g c o m m u n it y In addition to the GSU 1010 and the Perspec­ tives course w e taught, w e included three additional classes in o u r FLC: Am erican Gov­ ernm ent, English Com position, and Media, Culture, and Society. Unfortunately, o u r FLC description w as not appealing to incom ing students, and only 15 enrolled. That m eant that with the exception o f GSU 1010, all of the classes included students outside o f the FLC. In m ost learning communities, the English com position class can be linked via writing assignments. Most of these focus on form, not topic, so using FLC them es is an easy w ay to tie the community together. Given the mix of students in the English class, w e w ere unable to create this link. However, w e did create a couple of related assignments betw een the Per­ spectives and GSU 1010 courses. The capstone assignm ent for GSU 1010 was a bibliography, and w e w ere pleased to see that the students w ere adept at integrating the information they learned in the Perspectives course about search­ ing for and evaluating sources into their w ork on the bibliography. C&RL News ■ A p ril 2002 / 279 The library was also a significant component of our FLC throughout the semester. Our students knew that w e were librarians and that w e ex­ pected them to use the library. The GSU library, as with many academic libraries, is a scary, intimi­ dating place for many freshmen. Coming to the library with us and visiting us in our library of­ fices hopefully helped our students feel more at ease and more likely to seek librarian assistance. W hen w e submitted our proposal for an­ other FLC next year (yes, w e are going to do it again!), w e rew orked it to appeal to m ore stu­ dents. We replaced the governm ent class with a m ath class to attract students interested in com puter science and business. We also re­ nam ed the FLC from “Information Odyssey” to the “Internet and the Information Age.” Most FLCs this year had m uch m ore d e ­ scriptive titles than ours, so w e h o p e the more straightforward nam e will appeal to students. O ur new FLC brochure narrative emphasizes how this FLC will help students succeed in college and keep their scholarships, and it now speaks m uch more directly to the students than our initial description. We hope these changes will result in a full community next year and provide us with the ability to further integrate the courses, particularly the English composi­ tion class, w here using the library and infor­ mation resources are natural emphases. C o n clu sio n Reflecting o n our experiences teaching the stand-alone GSU 1010 course in fall 2000 and GSU 1010 and the Perspectives seminar in our FLC in fall 2001, w e believe that several impor­ tant outcom es are noteworthy. • Librarians gained new perspective about freshm en likes, dislikes, and approaches to learning and the w orld around them . This insight is helpful as w e revise o u r approach to teaching students at the reference desk and in library instruction classes, and focus m ore on w hat students learn than on w hat w e teach. • Teaching faculty recognized that GSU librarians are, in fact, faculty m em bers w ho c a n m ak e v a lu a b le c o n trib u tio n s to th e university’s educational mission. Since w e attended faculty m eetings w ith teaching fac­ ulty and participated in discussions about stu­ d e n t learning, teaching techniques, successes a n d problem s, teaching faculty have com e to recognize librarians as equal partners in the teaching mission of the university. • A positive start was m ade in the ongoing task of raising academic librarians’ status and position to that of other teaching faculty in our university. • We discovered the benefits of taking risks by venturing into an area unfamiliar to us as academic librarians. Discovering w hat doesn’t work, as m uch as w hat succeeds, is an impor­ tant part of lifelong learning. The creation and implementation of our FLC was a rewarding but time-consuming process. We w ere fortunate that our library administra­ tion a n d th e d irector o f freshm en studies strongly believe in the importance and benefit of having librarians advise and teach critical thinking to freshmen. We w ould not have been able to do w hat w e did, or feel free to take the risks w e did, without their support. Their faith in our abilities to succeed m ade us m ore com­ fortable and eager to expand our roles and continue to seek new ways to contribute to the educational mission of the university. N otes 1. D onald G. Frank, Sarah Beasley, and Susan Kroll, “Opportunities for collaborative excellence,” C&RL News (2, no. 10(2001): 1101. 2. Initial retention figures from the first FLC in fall 1999 show increased retention rates in fall 2000 o v er non-FLC students. Visit h ttp :// www.gsu.edu/~wwwugs/flcretention00and01. pdf. 3. “Objectives for inform ation literacy in­ struction,” C&RL News 62, no. 4 (April 2001): 416-28. ■ ( “Demystifying. . continuedfro m page 2 7 0 ) Obviously th e selection processes and cri­ terion are com plex. O ur colleagues involved in the selection process will w ork very hard w ithin a relatively short p eriod of time to ensure fairness, balance, timeliness, and ex­ cellence. W orking together, I kn o w that ACRL will offer a terrific and varied collection of p ro ­ grams. G ood luck, a n d I look forw ard to se e ­ ing you in Charlotte. N ote 1. The “Call for Participation” w as p u b ­ lished as a n insert in C&RL News 62, No. 11 (N ovem ber 2001) a n d is also available at http ://w w w . ala. o rg /a c rl/c h a rlo tte /p ro g ra m / cfp.htm l. ■ http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwugs/flcretention00and01