The document describes three object-based projects used to teach information literacy skills: the World War II Poster Project, Biography of an Object project, and Historical Mills Project. The Poster Project had students in a history class research WWII posters from the university archives, analyze them, and create a digital library of the posters. The Biography of an Object project required students to research an object they owned from the Pacific Rim region. The Historical Mills Project involved students researching and collectively writing a report on a local mill through archival research and oral histories. All three projects emphasized hands-on learning and incorporating information to create products.

1. Object-Based Projects to Teach Information Literacy Skills Abby Clobridge Associate Director, Research & Knowledge Services Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government David Del Testa Assistant Professor, Department of History Bucknell University Information Literacy Workshop Trinity University, May 19, 2009

2. Background and context…How we got here… Object-based projects 3 sample projects: - The World War II Poster Project - Biography of an Object - Historical Mills Lessons learned

3. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Primarily an undergraduate institution. Approx. 3600 undergraduate students. 300 FTE faculty. Bucknell University

4. Emphasis on teaching & learning. Small class sizes. Active learning, service learning, problem-based learning.

5. Accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education History Department: Lack of sufficient introductory-level courses. Library: Need further evidence of information literacy integrated into the curriculum.

10. Historical Mills Biography of an Object World War II Poster Project

11. The World War II Poster Project As part of the extensive study into the history of World War II, students were challenged to apply professional library research, image editing, and content management skills in the context of their course. The students explored the history behind authentic World War II Propaganda Posters available from the Bucknell University Archives. Members of the History 100 course used their knowledge of the history of the period to analyze their images and produce a research paper about their findings. -- Cassie Mastrostefano and Joanna Wheeler HIST100 – Fall 2008 Students

16. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning

17. Doing the work of historians Orientation to library services and staff Gauge students’ info literacy Work with digital images; build a digital image collection Historical research Hands-on work with archival materials

19. Students will create digital surrogates of their posters, manipulate digital images, and use specialized information technology applications to create the digital library. The digital library, created over the course of several class sessions, requires students to create a new product. As a class, students will decide how to organize the content for their collection. P.I. 4.1: Applies new and prior information to the planning and creation of a particular product or performance. Organizes the content in a manner that supports the purpose and format of the product or performance. Manipulates digital text, images, and data, as needed, transferring them from their original locations and formats to a new context. Standard Four: The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. Integration into HIST 100 Poster Project Performance Indicators (P.I.) – The information literate student.... ACRL Standard

20. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes

22. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Project Kick-Off

25. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Project Kick-Off

28. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Project Kick-Off First Impressions

30. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions

33. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test

34. Personal Response Systems “ Clickers”

37. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test Library Tour

39. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test Library Tour Advanced Research Methods

41. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test Library Tour Advanced Research Methods Displaying, Preserving, & Archiving Objects

43. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test Library Tour Advanced Research Methods Displaying, Preserving, & Archiving Objects Working with Digital Images

46. Working with Digital Images Image file types: TIFFs and JPGs Pixels per Inch (PPI) Photoshop: rotating images, cropping images

47. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test Library Tour Advanced Research Methods Displaying, Preserving, & Archiving Objects Working with Digital Images Building the Digital Collection

48. Standards Digital preservation Access points Copyright Metadata

49. Inscribe – Cataloging Interface

50. http://luna8.bucknell.edu LUNA Insight

51. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test Library Tour Advanced Research Methods Displaying, Preserving, & Archiving Objects Working with Digital Images Building the Digital Collection Final Papers Project Wrap-Up

52. World War II Poster Project Timeline Project Planning Start of Classes Poster Selection Brainstorming Project Kick-Off First Impressions Pre-Test Library Tour Advanced Research Methods Displaying, Preserving, & Archiving Objects Working with Digital Images Building the Digital Collection Final Papers Assessment Project Wrap-Up

53. Clickers

54. 83%

55. Digital Images & Digital Library 92% 78%

56. 83%

58. Lessons Learned Changes for 2008 What’s next?

60. When do we talk about the war?

62. 82% -- For future classes, I would recommend assigning a project such as this to students rather than giving them a traditional research paper. 83% -- I believe that I learned more from this project than I would have from a traditional research paper. 72% -- Compared to a traditional research paper, I enjoyed this project much more.

64. By the end of the semester… Understand the varieties of information sources available (UNDERSTAND) Access information efficiently and effectively (ACCESS) Evaluate information and its sources (EVALUATE) Understand the concept of intellectual property and the economic, legal, and social contexts of information, and use information ethically (USE ETHICALLY) Incorporate and synthesize information to create individual and group products (CREATE) Information Literacy Skills Emphasized:

65. Biography of an Object Each student selects an object they own that was produced in the Pacific Rim. During the course of the semester, they research and analyze the “life” of the object – where it was produced, what company produced it, how this product fits into the overall industry, etc. The end result: a ten-page written paper.

70. By the end of the semester… Understand the varieties of information sources available (UNDERSTAND) Access information efficiently and effectively (ACCESS) Evaluate information and its sources (EVALUATE) Incorporate and synthesize information to create individual and group products (CREATE) Final papers – contextualizing the products within the broader economic, geographic landscape. Information Literacy Skills Emphasized:

71. Historical Mills Project Students worked together as a group to research, analyze, and collectively write a significant report on a mill in the local area. Del Testa intended this project to introduce history majors to detailed archival research methods in county, state, and private archives; help them prepare for taking oral histories in a professional manner; and encourage good analysis based on careful research on historical context and primary sources in comparison.

75. By the end of the semester… Understand the varieties of information sources available (UNDERSTAND) Access information efficiently and effectively (ACCESS) Incorporate and synthesize information to create individual and group products (CREATE) Evaluate information and its sources (EVALUATE) Group papers – synthetic reports on the mill they researched. Their reports will serve as the basis for a future online database about the local water-powered mills. Information Literacy Skills Emphasized:

76. David Del Testa Assistant Professor, Department of History Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA 17837 [email_address] (570) 577-3779 office (805) 427-6429 cell/mobile Abby Clobridge Associate Director, Research & Knowledge Services Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government [email_address] (617) 496-1772 Twitter: aclobridge