This instructional session teaches first-year circus students how to research the history of their chosen discipline for a class paper. The session covers how to search the library catalog for books, journals, and articles, and how to evaluate websites using a credibility checklist. Formative and summative assessments include a think-pair-share activity to gauge students' understanding of research materials and groups evaluating sample circus websites to practice the credibility evaluation skills. The goal is to equip students with the research skills needed to write their final papers on the history of their circus discipline.

1. Rainie Themer
LIS458LEB
M. Wong
14 December2014
Instructional Design Project: Circus History and Aesthetics 112
SectionI: Introduction
Firstyear studentsatthe CircusConservatoryof Americawill be requiredtotake a Historyof
Circusclass to complete theirBachelorsof Fine Artsdegree.Forthisclass,theywillbe requiredtowrite
a final researchpaperonthe historyandpractice of theirchosendisciplinethattheywill be studying
throughouttheirfouryearsat the CircusConservatoryof America.Typesof disciplinesinclude trapeze,
acrobatics,tightwire,cyr wheel, juggling,and manyothers.The Libraryof the CircusConservatoryof
Americawill assiststudentsbyprovidingaone hour instructional sessionteachingthe studentshowto
findmaterialsaboutthe historyandpractice of theirdisciplines. The instructional sessionwill take place
inthe library’scomputerlabsostudentscanfollow the instructionsandbegintosearchontheirown.
SectionII: Learning Outcomes
1. Studentswill be able tosearchthe Library’sOnline Catalogforbooks,journals,andarticles
aboutthe historyof circusin orderto adequatelycollectinformationaboutthe historyand
practice of theirdiscipline.
2. Studentswill be able toidentifyandevaluatecredible webresourcesbyusingthe Universityof
SouthernMaine’sChecklistforEvaluatingWebResourcesinordertosufficientlyresearchtheir
discipline.

2. SectionIII: AssessmentPlan
Formative Assessment:Think-Pair-Share
Outcome: Studentswill be able tosearchthe Library’sOnline Catalogforbooks,journals,andarticles
aboutthe historyof circusin orderto adequatelycollectinformationaboutthe historyandpractice of
theirdiscipline.
AfterI have introducedmyself andtalkedtothe studentsaboutthe libraryandtheirfinal
projectI will askthemtodo a think-pair-share.Iwill firstaskmystudentstothinkabouttypesof
materialsthattheycoulduse as resourcesfortheirfinal papers.Then,Iwill have eachstudentpairup
withthe personnexttothemand discussthe materialstheyhave come upwith.Once theyhave briefly
discussedtheirideas,Iwill askforvolunteerstotell the classwhattypesof materials theycame upwith.
I will compile alistof the materialsthatthe studentshave thoughtof andtype itin a worddocument
that isbeingprojectedtothe students.Iplanto use thisthink-pair-shareinordertogauge what typesof
materialscome tomindwhenmystudentsthinkof scholarlyresources.Bydoingthis,Iwill be able to
see if there are any gaps,and make sure to go overthe type of resourcesthe studentsmayhave leftout.
Summative Assessment: EvaluatingWebsites
Outcome:Studentswill be able toidentifyandevaluate credible webresourcesbyusingthe University
of SouthernMaine’sChecklistforEvaluatingWebResourcesinordertosufficientlyresearchtheir
discipline.
For my summative assessment,Iwill have mystudentsbreakintogroupsof 4to 5 people and
have each groupevaluate one website. Thisformof assessmentwill require studentstouse critical
thinkingskillsaboutthe newinformationtheyhave learnedinclass.Theywill have accesstothe
ChecklistforEvaluatingWebResourceshandoutthatwasgiventothemin class.The websitesthatwill
be evaluatedwill be: www.circushistory.org;www.americanyouthcircus.org;

3. www.thecircusgirlblog.wordpress.com;andhttp://circustents.blogspot.com/.Eachgroupwill evaluate
one of these websitesanddetermineontheir ownif theyconsiderthe website tobe credible.
I will give the studentstimetoworkingroupsand thenwrite downreasonswhyor whynotthey
considertheirwebsite credibleonposters.Afterthe studentshave done this,Iwill have eachgroup
hang theirposterandgo overtheirfindings.Asaclasswe will talkaboutwhattheydeterminedandgive
constructive feedbackforeachgroup.I believethiswillbe awayfor studentstosee whattype of circus
website are outthere,andgetpractice determiningontheirownif the website theyare lookingatisa
reliable source.Bydoingthisactivityafterteaching the studentsaboutwaystodetermine if awebsite is
credible andhavingdiscussionabouttheirfindings,Iwill be able toassessif we have successfullymet
theirlearningoutcome.

4. SectionIV : Outline,1 hour instructionsession
Time LessonSection Materials
5 minutes Welcome/Introduction
 Greetstudents
 Introduce self
 Welcome studentstothe libraryandaskthem
logon to the computers
 Make sure all studentssuccessfullylogon to
computer/helpanyone whoishavingtrouble
Computers
3 minutes Introduction ofwhat the class will be going over
 Talk aboutwhattheirassignmentwill be/how
the librarycan help
 Tell the classthat we will be discussinghow to
searchthe catalogfor resourcesfortheir
project
 Tell the classwe will be alsogoingoverhow to
evaluate webresources
7 minutes Think-Pair-Share (Formative Assessment/Active
Learning)
 Have the studentsthinkaboutwhatkindof
resourcesmightbe goodfor theirassignment
(2 minutes)
 Have studentspartnerwiththe personnextto
themand discusswhattheythoughtabout(2
minutes)
 Have the studentsshare the resourcesthey
discussed(3minutes)
 I will compile alistof the resourcesina word
documentandprojectthemto the classso the
studentscankeeptrack of the differentkinds
of resourcesavailable
Computer
Projector
10 minutes Introduction to searchingthe library catalog*
 Showstudentshow toget to the online catalog
(have themfollow alongontheircomputers)
 Explainthe difference betweenthe difference
searchbars (Searchanything,books&media,
and article search)
 Showstudentshow todo a keywordsearchfor
a book onjuggling
 Showand explainhow tolimitsearchbyyear,
collection,author
 Explaintostudentsthatsometimestheymay
not finda bookon theirspecificdiscipline,but
that theycoulddo a keywordsearch forbooks
on circushistoryand lookinthe index tofindif
the bookcontainsinformationontheir
Computer
Projector

5. discipline.Manybooksaboutcircushistorymay
alsoinclude chaptersonspecificdisciplines.
(Sharingaddedvalue tips/special knowledge)
 Showand explainhow tosearchforan article
on trapeze history
 Showstudentshow tolimittheirsearchto
scholarlyarticlesandpeerreviewedarticles
 Showstudentshow tosearch bydatabase that
may have informationabouttheirdiscipline
(historyorperformance artdatabases)
*Note: The Library of the CircusConservatory of
America doesnot yet exist.For this project,I am using
MilnerLibrary’s online catalog as representationof
the CircusConservatory of America’sonline library
system:http://library.illinoisstate.edu/
12 minutes Studentssearch catalog on theirown: Active Learning
Exercise
 Instructstudentstosearch the catalog using
the techniquestheyjustlearnedtolocate
articlesandbookson the disciplineof their
choosing
 I will walkaroundtoansweranyquestions/help
students
 Have studentsreporttheirfindings
 Have studentsdiscusswhatsearchtechniques
workedbestwhenfindingtheirarticles
 Alsohave studentsdiscussanyroadblocksthey
came uponand give suggestionsastohow to
getaround them
Computers
5 minutes Discussionon evaluatingweb resources
 Passout checklistforevaluatingwebresources
handout
 Discusswaysto identifyif awebresource is
credible ornot
 Showstudentsanexample of how some
websitesthatappeartobe credible maynotbe
 Will use the example of
http://www.martinlutherking.org/ toexplainto
studentsthateventhoughthiswebsiteappears
to be about Martin LutherKing,Jr.and that it
appearsto be educational,thatitisactuallyrun
by white supremacists
Computer
Projector
16 minutes Website CredibilityPoster: Active Learning Exercise
(Summative Assessment)
 Have studentsbreakinto4 groups of 4 or 5
 Assigneachgroupa circuswebsite
Computers
Posters
Markers
EvaluatingWebResources

6. (www.circushistory.org;
www.americanyouthcircus.org;
www.thecircusgirlblog.wordpress.com;and
http://circustents.blogspot.com/)
 Instructstudentstolookat theirassigned
website andtouse the strategiesthey’ve
learnedtodayandtheirhandoutto determine
whetherornot theirwebsite iscredible
 Instructstudentstowrite the title of their
website atthe topof theirposter,towrite if it
iscredible ornot,and to listthe reasonswhy
theyhave decidedthat
 After10 minutes,the studentswillhangup
theirpostersat the frontof the room
 I will guide the studentsinadiscussionabout
theirfindings
Handout
Tape
2 minutes Class Wrap-Up
 Summarize whatwe have gone over
 Encourage the studentstocontact me for
furtherhelpthroughoutthe semester
SectionV: Discussion
A. Information Literacy
Thisinstructionsessionfollowsthe Associationof College&ResearchLibraries(ACRL)
InformationLiteracyCompetencyStandardsforHigherEducation. ACRLstandard1.2 specificallystates
that “The informationliteratestudentidentifiesavarietyof typesandformatsof potential sourcesof
information.”One of the outcomesforstandard1.2 is thatinformationliteratestudents“identifythe
value anddifferenceof potentialresourcesinavarietyof formats(e.g.,multimedia,database,website,
data set,audio/visual,book).”Thissessionfollowsthisstandardverycloselyinthatitteachesstudents
aboutdifferentformatsof resourcesbysearchingthe library’sonline cataloganditalsoteachesthe
studentsaboutwebresources.Thissessionalsospecificallyaddressesstandard3.2,“The information
literate studentarticulatesandappliesinitial criteriaforevaluatingboththe informationandits
sources.”Thissessionfollowsthisstandardbyteachingthe studentshow toevaluatewebresourcesand
givesthemthe toolstodo thisevaluationontheirownlateron.

7. Associationof College &ResearchLibraries. InformationLiteracyCompetencyStandardsforHigher
EducationRetrievedDecember12, 2014, from
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency
B. Critical Thinking
Beingable toevaluate criteriaforwhetherornota webresource iscredible requirescritical
thinking.Throughthissession,studentsare giventhe toolsfordeterminingthe credibilityof awebsite.It
isincrediblyimportantforthe studentsinthisCircusHistoryandAestheticsclasstounderstandhowto
evaluate awebresource because many of themwill be usingwebresourcesfortheirfinalpapers.While
there are plentyof booksaboutthe circus, some of the disciplinesthatthe studentsare studyinghave
not yetbeenwrittenaboutinbookformat.Duringthisinstructionsession,students are taughtabout
strategiestoevaluate webresourcesandatthe endof the sessionare expectedtoevaluateawebsite
withtheirgroupto determine itscredibility.Throughoutthe restof the semesterthe studentswill be
workingontheirpapersandwill needtoemploycritical thinkingwhenevaluatingtheirwebresources.
Thiscritical thinkingskill thattheyare beingtaughtinthissessionwill benefitthemthroughthe restof
theiracademiccareersas theyworkon otherprojectsthatrequire credible resources.
C. Instructional Design
One of the mostengagingwaysforstudentstolearnis throughactive learning.Thisclass
focusesonan active learningapproachtoteach studentshow tosearchthe library’sonlinecatalogand
to teachthemhow to evaluate webresources.ThroughoutthisclassIincorporate active learning
activitiesinbetweenshortlecturestokeepthe studentsengaged.FirstI introduce anew topicand
explainandshowthe studentshowtodothisnew skill.Thenafterintroducingthe new skill,Ihave the
studentsparticipate inactivitiesthatwillhelpthembetterlearnthe skill.Forinstance,whengoingover
evaluatingwebresources,Ifirsttalktothe studentsaboutwaystodetermine if awebresource is
credible,thenIshowthemanexample,andfinallyIhave themevaluateasource on theirown.Bydoing

8. this,the studentsare able toactivelyengage inthe new skill andreceiveimmediate feedbackonhow
theyare doing.

9. Libraryof the CCA Librarian:Rainie Themer
CIRQ 112 Email:rainie.themer@circusconseratory.org
2014 December Phone:815-325-9862
Evaluating Web Resources Checklist
Determiningif awebresource iscrediblecanbe tricky.Use thischecklistwhendeterminingaweb
resource’scredibility.If youansweryestomostof the questions,the resource ismostlikelycredible.If
youare unsure,please contactme at any time.
Authority
 Is the informationreliable?
 Is the author an expertintheirfield?
 Is the resource createdbya reputable organization?
 Are there sourcescited?
 Is the source unbiased?
Scope
 Is the informationavailableinotherformats?
 Is the informationfactual?
 Doesthe resource containoriginal information?
 Has the resource beenupdatedrecently?
Format and Presentation
 Is the targetaudience clearlystated?
 Do the linkswithinthe resource work?
 Is the resource easyto navigate?
Other Tips: Know Your Domain
.eduare educational websites
.govare governmental websites
.org are organizational websites(remembernotall .orgsare credible,thinkaboutmartinlutherking.org)
.com are commercial websites
Checklistbasedonthe “EvaluatingWebResourcesChecklist”createdbyourpartnerlibraryat the
Universityof SouthernMaine.