Bridging the Gap Conference Resources: Conference Archive

View conference descriptions and materials from the 2022 Bridging the Gap Conference. 

USU Student Panel facilitated by Student Orientation & Transition Services 

Gain a better understanding of the university resources that are going to be available to help your students financially, academically, and socially during their first year of college. Hear directly from students about their first-year college experiences: where they struggled and where they thrived and how we can all better support them as they transition from high school to college. 

Finding, evaluating, and using information doesn’t begin at the college level. K-12 educators help students build a foundation for these information literacy skills long before they step onto a college campus. Let’s begin a discussion of information literacy instruction to better understand where and how our work can connect.

• How can we collaborate to support each other’s information literacy instruction rather than hinder or repeat it?
• What are the strategies you’ve used to teach information literacy skills in the classroom?
• What information literacy skills do you see first-year students struggling with or quickly mastering?
• What information literacy resources are available for local educators to use in their own instruction?

For contact information for presenters, search Find a Librarian via the Library website. 

Presentation 1

Places Students Get Stuck: Identifying Troublesome Concepts and Sharing Strategies

Kacy Lundstrom, Rachel Wishkoski, & Steph Crowell

Where do students get stuck in the research process and how can we help them navigate these struggles successfully? In the tradition of “unconferences” our session will provide an opportunity for participants to give input on what they’d like to discuss and to share their own information literacy experiences and strategies and learn from others. We will begin the session by sharing a few of our own ideas for potential “sticking points” in student learning and then solicit input on other areas participants have seen students struggle. Potential discussion topics include…

• Emotional attachment to a topic and confirmation bias
• Source use and contextualizing a source for readers
• Evaluation techniques
• Starting points and initial research behaviors
• Synthesis and organizational strategies
• Using news sources and recognizing bias or misinformation  

Participants will get to vote for three topics to discuss in small groups. USU librarians will facilitate each and lead a brief large-group share-out. This format and structure provides an opportunity for participants to hear other experiences of teaching students research skills, as well as sharing ways to improve student learning together. Presenters plan to document their discussions and share relevant research with participants after the conference.

Discussion Questions

• Where do students get stuck in their research behaviors?
• What do these sticking points look like in your student’s work?
• What strategies do you use to address these struggles?

Session Documents

Collaborative Notes Document

Presentation 2

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Collaboratively Navigating Information Literacy Instruction in the Classroom

Katie Strand & Niki Fullmer

Teaching students to critically think and effectively research and write is a tall task, but an important one in ensuring students become informed citizens. The good news is we don’t have to face these challenging concepts alone. In Spring 2022, USU Librarians conducted a research study to better understand information literacy instruction that is occurring in our local high schools as well as understand teacher/librarian collaborations. Presenters will share key findings from this study and facilitate a discussion about how our expertise as teachers and librarians might intersect in ways that will better support our students. Participants will also discover resources to better support information literacy instruction.

Discussion Questions

• What information literacy skills are you prioritizing in your classrooms?
• What information literacy skills do you see your students struggling with the most?
• What resources are you using to support your information literacy instruction?
• How can we as teachers and librarians collaborate and make the best use of each other’s expertise in order to further develop students’ information literacy skills?

Session Documents

Presentation Slides w/ Discussion Notes

Presentation 3

Building Students’ Confidence as Scholars

Lara Petersen & Rachel Lawyer

One of the goals outlined by the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education is to help students understand scholarship as a conversation with many participants of varying experience, authority, and background. When students see themselves as contributors to this conversation rather than consumers, they build confidence in their abilities as a researcher. Educators can help students build confidence in their research abilities by meeting the students where they are and helping them understand that they have their own unique perspectives and authorities as scholars.   In this presentation, we want to bridge the gap between high school and university educators whose common goal is to foster collaborative, confident scholars who are able to understand and synthesize multiple perspectives. We will discuss ways to encourage students to view themselves as active participants in scholarly conversation and share perspectives on navigating instruction on synthesizing texts and perspectives. 

Discussion Questions

• How do you help students understand their own perspectives as individuals and as scholars? 
• How can we support students in seeing themselves as contributors to scholarship rather than only consumers of it? 
• How are you encouraging your students to incorporate multiple perspectives in their work?
• What are some of the difficulties you face in having conversations about diverse perspectives?
   

No matter the course level, primary sources are exceptional educational tools and invaluable historic records. These resources can be tricky to access and even trickier to critically analyze. Let’s help connect users to our materials and discuss their use in the classroom.

• What primary sources are accessible through USU Libraries?
• How can USU resources/materials support our high school curriculums?
• How can we engage students in discussions about primary sources? 
• What are some highlights from your collections you’d like to share with the community?

For contact information for presenters, search Find a Librarian via the Library website. 

Presentation 1

Exploring Government Information as Primary Sources

Jen Kirk

Despite their bland appearance, there are many ways to use government documents in instruction. Just like our favorite archival primary sources, government documents can be special too! This discussion will highlight historic government documents as primary sources and uncover areas that could benefit from primary source instruction. There is a government document relevant to all topics. The presenter will share example lesson plans, activities, and/or handouts utilized in instruction. A wealth of government documents are freely available online or to borrow from the Government Information Collection at USU Libraries.

Discussion Questions

• What types of primary sources do you already use in your teaching?
• How do you provide access to those sources? 
• What topics do you highlight that would benefit from primary sources from the U.S. government?
• How do students engage with primary sources you already share?
• What success and difficulties do they experience? 

View or Download Presentation Slides

Presentation 2

Think Like an Archivist: An Exploration of Finding Aids Through Aggie History

Kelly Rovegno, Drew Roberson, & Heather Housley

An orientation on how to conduct and find material within SCA with a particular emphasis on University Archives/ Aggie history. It will include an introduction to finding aids and an exploration of SCA resources (Archives West, Digital Commons, & Digital Collections). The goal is to facilitate active participation with SCA resources, particularly finding aids. Ideally, participants will be asked to split into small groups (~3-4) people and given a finding aid and a corresponding university archives collection (one box at most) and given a sample question.

Discussion Questions

• How are finding aids different from a library catalog? What are some challenges you found in navigating them?  
• What was your approach to tackling the question?  
• In what ways did you engage with the finding aid to answer your question?

View or Download Presentation Slides

Presentation 3

Bringing Archives to the Classroom: Teaching with Facsimiles of Primary Sources

Clint Pumphrey & Jennifer Duncan

The 2018 report by the SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force on the Development of Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy notes, "Users who encounter primary sources gain a unique perspective on the subject they are studying, and an opportunity to learn firsthand how primary sources are used for original research." However, due to time constraints and logistical issues, it is often difficult to bring high school students to the archives to view materials in person. Digitization can allow better access to archival content, but viewing documents on a computer screen cannot replicate the tangible qualities of using historical records in the archive. A compromise is to create high quality reproductions of documents and photographs, housed in archival boxes, that students can handle without concern for preservation or security. These facsimile collections can be curated around a specific topic, providing a relevant and manageable selection of primary source materials for use in classroom settings. This session will connect archivists with educators to discuss how they use primary sources in the classroom and what topics USU's Special Collections could potentially support with facsimile collections.

Discussion Questions

• How do educators currently use primary sources in the classroom?
• What topics might be appropriate to teach with facsimile collections?
• What can USU Special Collections do to facilitate such a project?
   

The world of digital media has introduced immense possibilities for resources to incorporate into our instruction and the mediums which students can use to demonstrate their understanding. Join us for discussions about the values, challenges, and ethics of using freely available digital resources in our classrooms.

• How can we find the best/freely available digital resources for our courses?
• How can we engage students in discussions about digital primary sources?
• How do digital projects compare to more traditional research papers and what tools are available for these unique projects?
• How can we model appropriate accreditation of our digital resources for our students?

For contact information for presenters, search Find a Librarian via the Library website. 

Presentation 1

Open Educational Resources: Wherever, Whenever, Forever

Stephanie Western & Savannah Brown

USU's Open Educational Resources Team invites educators, librarians, and media specialist to spend 30 minutes with us learning about new developments in the exciting world of OER. We will demonstrate how to locate high-quality, relevant OER for learners at all levels. Session participants will be encouraged to share how they and their students have interacted with OER, so that we better understand what incoming students' experiences have been. Ideally, we hope to see K-12 educators from the local community engaging with OER and sharing them with their students. In this way, incoming students will already know about the diversity of OER and the benefit they have for saving students money and improving their educational outcomes. With this knowledge, they can be intentional about registering for classes that utilize OER and can advocate effectively for wider OER adoption at USU.

Discussion Questions 

• Do you and/or your students know what makes something an OER vs another free resource?
• What has your experience been with using and/or teaching with OER?
• What kind of feedback have you received from students about OER?
   

Presentation 2

Using Omeka to Create Student Historical Digital Exhibits

Brittany Bertazon & Daniel Davis

The Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State University regularly partners with USU faculty to create course-based digital exhibits using primary sources from the Special Collections and Archives department. For many of these classes, the digital exhibit was constructed in lieu of a traditional research paper. Open-source web-publishing platforms like Omeka enable students and instructors alike to create dynamic online exhibits that highlight unique archival content, showcasing collections of digital images, text, and other multi-media formats. 

Pedagogic feedback from the participants in these courses indicates that students increased their primary source literacy through the discovery and interpretation of archival sources. As well they improved digital literacy skills essential to future employers through engagement with freely available digital tools, performing digital curation, writing to a public audience, and generating creative outputs for historical projects. 

Designing digital exhibits also yields online products for students to include in a digital portfolio or resume when applying for jobs. That said, the workflow process can seem daunting and convoluted at first. In this presentation, staff from Special Collections, as well as Digital Initiatives, will discuss the challenges and successes of working with archival collections, collaborating with relevant partners, and optimizing Omeka to create historical digital exhibits.

Discussion Questions 

• How do you define student success with a digital exhibit versus with a research paper? 
• Where would you find primary sources for your students with a digital exhibit? 
• In terms of analyzing and interpreting primary sources, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a research paper versus a digital student exhibit?

Presentation 3

Media Moguls: Finding and Using Creative Commons Media in the Classroom

Erica Finch

Pictures, videos, music, and other types of media can help engage your class, but how do we find and use media in a way that sets a good example for students? As students navigate the confusing landscapes of copyright, citation, and media use in their course work, can we help them chart a path to success by engaging in practices they can emulate?

Creative Commons licenses make it easy to use media with confidence and avoid copyright pitfalls. This session will explore what Creative Commons licenses are, how they work, and how to find Creative Commons media. Come ready to talk about how you’re using media, how your students are using it, and explore the ways Creative Commons media can be integrated into your classroom.

Discussion Questions

• What types of media do you use in your classroom?
• Where and how do you search for media to use in your classroom?
• How do you credit the media you use?