Using Cases and Clickers in Library Instruction: Designed for Science Undergraduates

Abstract

Case studies and audience response systems (clickers) were used with science undergraduates scheduled to attend library instruction sessions at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Each class session incorporated a relevant case study adapted from the University of Buffalo's National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, and the author paced students through a series of multiple choice questions designed to require higher-order thinking processes (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). Clicker devices were used to answer these questions anonymously and formed the basis of discussion related to scholarly sources of information, empirical research, plagiarism, and citation styles. This article describes some of the methods used to engage and sustain student participation during a typical fifty-minute class session.

Keywords:

• active learning
• audience response systems
• case studies
• clickers
• library instruction
• multiple choice questions
• National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank The Citadel Foundation for its generous support of her research related to case studies and clickers.