Instruct for Information Literacy

What is Instruct?

Instruct is a set of online videos, tutorials, and quizzes covering information literacy. Gleeson Library has subscribed to Instruct, and it is free for you and students to use, on campus or off.

Instruct aims to:

• Help students learn how to find relevant and reliable library and other research materials.
• Formulate appropriate, workable research questions.
• Synthesize what they learn into a final product such as a research paper, including citations that are apt for their field.

How Does Instruct work in real-life classrooms?

This brief case study illustrates how Teri Catanio, an instructor and Director of the Career Center at Cairn University, PA, used Instruct to increase her students' research and writing abilities. The gains were immediate and persisted long-term, making the professor's work easier and the students more successful.

Three Ways to Use Instruct In Your Class

Instruct gives you a “low lift” option to start incorporating information literacy instruction in your class and assignments. If your class already focuses on information literacy, Instruct can complement what you’re doing through 60+ videos, tutorials, and assessments. You can increase instructional time for information literacy by shifting lecture-based instruction to homework (flipped classroom), allowing for hands-on, high-impact learning when students come to class. 

Here are 3 ways you can utilize Instruct in your course: 

1. Before Library instruction
Do your librarians have limited time with students to teach them research and information literacy skills?

• It can be hard to balance teaching students the conceptual knowledge they need and the basic mechanics of research for their assignments in one sitting. Use multimedia to flip your library instruction. Students can go through multimedia on their own time (before or after class) to get basic concepts of information literacy.
• Benefit: Librarians can focus their in-person time with students on hands-on searching and practice for their assignment, and reinforcing information literacy concepts.

2. Scaffold throughout your Course 
Are you concerned about having enough time to cover your course’s content and incorporate research instruction into your syllabus?

• Use multimedia to flip information literacy instruction throughout several weeks of your course. Students can go through multimedia on their own time to learn basic concepts and practice research skills. Reinforce information literacy concepts through the research assignments you planned to give as part of your syllabus, such as annotated bibliographies, research papers, etc. Relevant multimedia can be shared with students at each step of a major research project. 
• Benefit: Students can benefit from information literacy instruction without a significant impact on your syllabus.

3. As a Remedial Tool 
Do some of your students need a refresher or additional help with how to do research (transfer students, non-traditional students, at risk students)?

• Use multimedia as a remedial tool to for students who need to review basic information literacy skills. By making materials available online, students can get the help they need without significantly impacting your course syllabus. 
• Benefit: Students who need additional help can benefit from information literacy instruction without a significant impact on your syllabus. 

For more ideas on how to implement these suggestions, please visit the Credo Help Site for Instructional Aids.

Instruct Starter Kit

To hit the ground running, try the following material with students. It will give them a solid start on information literacy basics without being overwhelming.