Does course guide design impact student learning?

Abstract

Course and research guides are a common tool of teaching librarians, expanding the reach of instruction sessions. Traditionally these guides were designed in a pathfinder-style with lists of resources by type (e.g., websites, books, etc.). Guides can also be designed pedagogically, where the guide walks a student through the research process. This paper reports the results of a pilot Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) A/B study that examined whether guide type had an impact on student learning. Results indicate students using the pedagogical guide may learn and retain Information Literacy concepts better than students using the pathfinder guide.

Keywords:

• Course guides
• first-year students
• instruction
• LibGuides
• research guides