Presented at The Innovative Library Conference 2016 held at Radford University on May 12, 2016.

1. Co-owners in Engaged
Learning: Reimagining the
Library-FYW Partnership as a
Community of Practice
Patrick Rudd
Coordinator of Instruction and Outreach, Elon University
prudd@elon.edu
Paula Patch
Senior Lecturer in English and Coordinator of College Writing,
Elon University
ppatch@elon.edu

2. Road Map
• Facts: Elon University, Belk Library, First-Year Writing
• Patrick’s story
• Paula’s story
• Our collaborative model
• What we’ve learned
• Looking ahead
• Community of practice

3. Elon University and Belk Library

4. High-Impact Educational Practices –
Engaged Learning
• In 2016, Elon University was the only institution recognized as
exemplary in all eight teaching and learning practices in the
annual "Best Colleges" guide from U.S News and World Report.
Ten high-impact practices at inform everything we do at Elon.
• First-Year Experiences
• Internships/Co-ops
• Senior Capstone
• Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects
• Learning Communities
• Study Abroad
• Service Learning
• Writing in the Disciplines
• Common intellectual experiences
• Collaborative assignments and projects

5. Patrick’s story…
• Fall 2012 new Dean & University Librarian Joan Ruelle
• New Position - Coordinator of Library Instruction and Outreach
• October 2012 – “Spreadsheets and Real Time Assessment” –
Shannon Simpson in CRLN
• Spring 2013 – 1.0
• Fall 2013 – ENG 110 Workshops – Library literature
• Summer 2015 – LJA with Andrea Baer -Threshold Concepts in
the Information Literacy Classroom: Translating the ACRL
Framework for Information Literacy into Our Teaching
Practices!
• Fall 2015 – 2.0 Flipped instruction and incorporating the Frames

6. Paula’s story…
• Fall 2012: New coordinator of first-year writing—and
scholarly interests in information and digital literacy
pedagogy
• Lower assessment results for information literacy,
despite faculty development and other program
interventions
• Low faculty interest in current iteration of library
instruction
• Fall 2013: New library liaison and opportunity to create
new instruction—and faculty development
opportunities that incorporated library research and
library faculty
• Increased emphasis on inquiry in FYW

7. The library research session for
ENG 110: The Elon model . . .

8. Research writing in ENG 110
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
Never Very Little Some Quite a bit Very often
How often did you write papers, assignments, or activities that
required research?
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
Fall 2014

9. What we’ve learned
3.59
3.49
3.49
3.59
3.67
3.4 3.45 3.5 3.55 3.6 3.65 3.7
2010-2011
2011-2012
2012-2013
2013-2014
2014-2015
Information Literacy

10. Faculty feedback
“The hands-on aspect of the workshop is what is of most benefit. The selection of databases
is often overwhelming to [first-year students], and the exercise helps them navigate the
maze.”
“The activities forced them to practice what they had learned. Collaborative teaching—all
three of us were circulating and answering questions.”
“The working time with coaching! That one-on-one ability to get support and to be pushed
on their thinking as they were researching. I was surprised by how many said this was their
first time seeing the VALUE of library databases (vs. Google or Google Scholar), even though
maybe half of them had used JSTOR in high school.”
“What I liked best was the customized, scaffolded instruction and the Google Spreadsheet
that allowed them to log their progress.”
“Students commented on their project evaluation how much this session helped them in the
short- and long-term.”
“Maybe they should do some prep work before they get there? Not sure this is necessary,
but might make the basics go quicker.”

11. Communities of Practice
Communities of practice are groups of people
who share a concern or a passion for something
they do and learn how to do it better as they
interact regularly.
--Etienne Wenger

12. Characteristics of Communities of
Practice
• The domain
– Information literacy and student learning
• The community
– The classroom
– The conversation between faculty
– The professional development
• The practice
– Teaching for information literacy

13. Looking ahead…