Education

Submitted by Lauren deLaubell on January 17th, 2025
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Short Description: 

The most powerful wizards have gathered to battle one another.  Only one will win.  Wizards must use reliable sources to research incantations for the battle, or their spells will fizzle.  Truly wise wizards must learn to tell the difference. 

Research Wizards is an information literacy card game designed to teach students ages 12+ about source evaluation.  Research Wizards corresponds to the Frame Authority Is Constructed and Contextual, from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.  Players will discuss and challenge the relative value of various sources, each representing a different suit in the game.  The game includes four major actions/phases:  Parley, when players discuss and decide for themselves the relative value of each suit; Battle, which includes competition, player actions, and Challenges; Vengeance, for eliminated players to impact and speed up the remainder of the game; and Victory.

The Research Wizards website contains free game files, player directions, and printing tips for librarians and teachers who wish to use the game in their classrooms.  The website includes an editable, Microsoft Publisher version of the game.  Noncommercial use of the game is free for educational purposes with attribution to the author.  Librarians and teachers are encouraged to adapt the game as needed for their subject areas, student needs, and as the sources in the game evolve over time.  Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

Players:  3-5 per deck

Play Time:  20-30 minutes, plus discussion

Research Wizards by Lauren deLaubell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Player directionsdisplayed 1592 times1.02 MB
Printing tipsdisplayed 1509 times26.71 KB
Card deckdisplayed 1550 times2.51 MB
Relevant links: 
Research Wizards
Learning Outcomes: 
    • Wizards will define a variety of traditional and emerging information formats.
    • Wizards will compare a variety of information formats and discuss their relative reliability.
    • Wizards will explore the variation in quality found within specific categories of information (e.g., the wildcard of using resources located by or generated with artificial intelligence).
Discipline: 
AnthropologyArchaeologyArtBiologyBusinessChemistryClassicsCommunication StudiesEconomicsEducationEnglishEnvironmental StudiesEthnic StudiesFilm and TVHealthHistoryInformation ManagementLiberal StudiesLibrary and Information ScienceMultidisciplinaryPhilosophyPolitical SciencePsychologyRhetoric, Composition, and WritingSocial WorkSociologyUrban StudiesWomen's Studies

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

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Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

It is recommended to review directions out loud with students, with pauses for students to sort their decks and conduct the Parley phase of play.  To contextualize and reinforce learning, it is recommended to conclude the game with discussion questions; sample questions are provided at the bottom of the player directions file but may be adjusted as needed.

Suggested Citation: 
deLaubell, Lauren. "Research Wizards." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2025. https://projectcora.org/assignment/research-wizards.
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Submitted by Olga Koz on October 14th, 2024
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Short Description: 

The literature review design (LRD) tool helps design a traditional review nested in the dissertation or thesis. It was created based on the interactive Hopscotch research design framework (Jorrin-Abellan, 2020). 

  • Students are asked to answer questions in the LRD form and engage with resources in the Guide to LRD. 
  • Students may stop working on the form (after steps 3, 5, and 6) and submit preliminary results (Save & Submit).
  •  Ultimately, they will receive the graphical representation of the literature review (table) and literature review protocol. 
Attachments: 
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LRD Form_Graphic_24.docxdisplayed 457 times366 KB
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TLED9900LR-Syllabus-Summer 2024.docxdisplayed 873 times91.78 KB
Relevant links: 
LRD tool with AI
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Evaluate the role that literature review has in planning research.
  • Differentiate between the types/genres of literature reviews, their methodology, strengths, limitations, and sources of bias, and select the appropriate type of review.
  • Distinguish between the types and levels of evidence/literature/publications and select the appropriate ones for review.
  • Develop and apply the systematic literature-searching strategy and the protocol for evidence collection.
  • Frame the proposed research theoretically and conceptually
  • Reveal research, conceptual, and methodological gaps.
  • Sharpen critical thinking skills while analyzing and appraising evidence.
  • Synthesize the literature analysis results to inform your study's research questions, design, and framework.
  • Submit the draft of the literature review for a dissertation proposal or Chapter 2 of the dissertation.
Discipline: 
Education

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

The LRD tool was a formative and summative assignment for the course "Literature review for Ed.D. students." Each step in designing the literature review protocol included various activities ( watching a video tutorial, answering questions, or attending search and analysis sessions.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

The course syllabus includes activities (video and other self-paced tutorials, working on the interactive form, AI applications).

Assessment or Criteria for Success
(e.g. rubric, guidelines, exemplary sample paper, etc.): 
AttachmentSize
LR_Rubric.docxdisplayed 408 times21.3 KB
Assessment Short Description: 
Literature Review rubrics
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
Koz, Olga. "Dissertation's Literature Review." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2024. https://projectcora.org/assignment/dissertations-literature-review.
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Submitted by Megan Pitz on February 15th, 2024
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Short Description: 

This learning session, led by a librarian, is for first-year community college students in an academic library setting. The intention of this session is to scaffold onto existing research writing skills acquired in previous education, as well as use of popular video sharing platforms to obtain information, like TikTok. Informative videos produced by everyday people are a growing form of intellectual connection between all audiences and scholarly sources based on relatability, as well as visibility of marginalized issues larger news organizations do not address. When the information messenger is familiar yet dynamic in their presentation and provides information that the public is not informed on, viewers are more inclined to listen than if it were just a research paper or a scholarly representative of a research community. There are, however, citation issues and basic research principles missing in several of these videos, based solely on most video sharing platform’s intention to obtain engagement, not to responsibly inform/educate its users. As researchers, it is crucial to discern engagement-intended, incendiary content with informative, well-researched content that our neighbors are making, even if their intentions are good.

Attachments: 
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TikTok Lesson Plan.docxdisplayed 1232 times17.53 KB
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lesson plan project slides.pdfdisplayed 1238 times304.28 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

By the end of this session, students will be able to:

  • Identify research as an ongoing conversation between several scaffolding and outside research and popular community voices.
  • Recognize the importance and necessity of crediting other voices inside and outside of the research and popular communities you are entering.
  • Respect your own contributions to scholarship by following citation guidelines in your own information creation.
Discipline: 
Education

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Assessment or Criteria for Success
(e.g. rubric, guidelines, exemplary sample paper, etc.): 
AttachmentSize
lesson plan worksheet.pdfdisplayed 954 times108.36 KB
Assessment Short Description: 
X number of groups (based on class size, max 5 members per group) will be assigned one TikTok with a relevant, polarizing topic (i.e., Israel-Hamas conflict, self-diagnosing psychological disorders, anti-feminist podcasts, Dating Do's and Don'ts, AI/ChatGPT, school shootings, etc.) per group to watch, will answer questions together, and will ultimately decide if the creator of the TikTok is engaging in scholarly conversation or popular conversation (relevant topics to the zeitgeist at that moment in time). Groups will all come together and review their findings with the class, having designated one representative to speak for the group. Instructor will monitor discussion appropriately, with an overall time frame of 1 hour in mind.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
  • This session includes both passive and active activities. The librarian begins the session by priming students in standard lecture format with what scholarly conversation is, what it looks like, and how to participate in it responsibly and respectfully. The students then engage in verbal and written group analysis of a TikTok and determine if it is a scholarly or popular information source. The students produce their learning onto the worksheet, which the librarian will collect at the end of the session to assess learning. 
  • The librarian builds on prior knowledge of students’ engagement with TikTok (as viewers and creators) or other video sharing platforms of the same format, as well as student learning of proper citation use from previous education, no matter how long ago. 
  • Popular conversation should not be taught as “lesser” than scholarly conversation, but as diversified intellectual support to scholarly conversation when used properly. The crucial factor in discerning the two is that the information provided is factually correct, well-researched, and most importantly, addresses other voices in the ongoing conversation that the creator is entering instead of operating within a vacuum.
Suggested Citation: 
Pitz, Megan. "“According to the CDC…” vs. “Someone just said…”: Identifying Scholarly and Popular Conversations on TikTok." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2024. https://projectcora.org/assignment/%E2%80%9Caccording-cdc%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D-vs-%E2%80%9Csomeone-just-said%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D-identifying-scholarly-and-popular-conversations.
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Submitted by Raymond Pun on February 12th, 2023
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Short Description: 

ChatGPT is an generative artificial intelligence chatbot released in November 2022 by OpenAI. What are the opportunities in using this tool to teach library instruction? This document highlights various ways to engage with learners in critically analyzing ChatGPT (version GPT-3) and its responses through the ACRL Frame: Information Creation as a Process. 

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Activity- Using ChatGPT For Library Instruction- Information Creation as a Process.pdfdisplayed 1953 times29.71 KB
Relevant links: 
ChatGPT
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Learn how to connect library research and instruction with ChatGPT
  • Critically analyze ChatGPT and its responses through dialogue and research
Discipline: 
Education

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Suggested Citation: 
Pun, Raymond. "Using ChatGPT For Library Instruction: Information Creation as a Process." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2023. https://projectcora.org/assignment/using-chatgpt-library-instruction-information-creation-process.
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Submitted by Olga Koz on April 27th, 2022
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Short Description: 

The assignment supports students' ability to explain their research in less than 50 words effectively. Students briefly introduce themselves and their research projects by answering the following questions in the discussion board post:

Relevant links: 
Education DissertationResearch TopicResearch QuestionResearch Design
Learning Outcomes: 

The objective is for students to summarize their doctoral dissertation research compellingly and develop research communication skills.

This assignment is a part of the course on the literature review design. It prepares students to conduct a literature review that aligns with the research question, topic, and design.

Discipline: 
Education

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

The assignment is the part of the first module of the course, in which students introduce themselves, and their research is the first step in planning a literature review for a research proposal.

Students are asked to post the thesis on the discussion board, and other students are required to answer the questions:

1. What elements of the topic and research question are missing?

2. Would you recommend narrowing the topic?

3. Are research questions and design connected?

 

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
1. Students were able to submit research questions and designs aligned with each other. 2. Students include all required elements in the topic and question. 3. Students can notice mistakes in formulating research questions and topics. 2. Would you recommend narrowing the topic? 3. Are research questions and design connected?
Suggested Citation: 
Koz, Olga. "50 words thesis." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2022. https://projectcora.org/assignment/50-words-thesis.
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Teaching Resource

Beile Test of Information Literacy for Education (B-TILED)

The B-TILED is a test of information literacy for Education students in postsecondary institutions. Includes 22 multiple-choice items and 13 demographic and self-perception questions.

Submitted by Justin de la Cruz on December 15th, 2019
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Short Description: 

A primer on how to read academic articles by guiding the class through a series of questions. Give students 5-15 minutes per slide to answer the questions (individually or in groups) before talking about their answers to questions with the whole class.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Reading Academic Articles.pdfdisplayed 1553 times67.6 KB
Relevant links: 
6 Article types that journals publish: A guide for early career researchersStrategies for Reading Academic Articles
Learning Outcomes: 
  1. Students will learn how to quickly categorize academic articles based on content.
  2. Students will learn about three levels of engaging with an academic article — reading, analyzing, and contextualizing — and what to do during each step.
  3. Students will better understand how academic articles are written.
  4. Students will better understand how to read academic articles.
Discipline: 
EducationLiberal StudiesLibrary and Information Science

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
de la Cruz, Justin. "Reading Academic Articles." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/reading-academic-articles.
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Submitted by Pascal Martinolli on November 8th, 2019
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Short Description: 

An open access MOOC in French to bonify the information literacy skills of university students (with Moodle).

Relevant links: 
Open subscriptionAbout the MOOC
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will know how to identify references in a bibliography, how to define their research subjects (synonyms & thesaurus), how to combine their keywords, which service to use (catalog, database, Google,...), how to assess the credibility of their sources, how to cite and respect copyrights, how to produce a bibliography with Zotero, how to adopt good practices for publishing (publishing process, open access, predators), how to set up alerts on topics, and what are bibliometry and literature review.

Discipline: 
AnthropologyArchaeologyArtBusinessClassicsCommunication StudiesEconomicsEducationEnglishEthnic StudiesFilm and TVHistoryInformation ManagementLawLiberal StudiesLibrary and Information ScienceLinguisticsMultidisciplinaryMusicPhilosophyPolitical SciencePsychologyRhetoric, Composition, and WritingSocial WorkSociologyTheater ArtsTheologyWomen's Studies

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

Integrated completely or partially into undergraduate and graduate courses. Also used as support to upgrade a specific information literacy skill of a student after a reference interview.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
Each module is assessed by a 10 questions test.
Suggested Citation: 
Martinolli, Pascal. "MOOC BoniCI ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/mooc-bonici.
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Submitted by Anaya Jones on March 19th, 2019
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Short Description: 

This is a participatory, variable lesson frame ready for you to modify to suit your instruction needs. This lesson and it's variations focuses on encouraging students to see themselves as information creators and part of the scholarly conversation and can also variously include conversations about about the scholarly information cycle and/or authority depending on instruction constraints and configuration.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
StudentScholarLessonPlanTermCourse.pdfdisplayed 1562 times745.53 KB
StudentScholarLessonPlanTermCourse.docxdisplayed 963 times22.84 KB
StudentScholarLessonPlanSingleSessionScholarlyProcessFocus.pdfdisplayed 1257 times440.62 KB
StudentScholarLessonPlanSingleSessionScholarlyProcessFocus.docxdisplayed 977 times20.46 KB
StudentScholarLessonPlanSingleSessionAuthorityFocus.pdfdisplayed 1084 times437.39 KB
StudentScholarLessonPlanSingleSessionAuthorityFocus.docxdisplayed 963 times20.03 KB
Student Scholar Lesson Plan Start Heredisplayed 1228 times572.13 KB
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Sample Artifact.pdfdisplayed 1278 times149.96 KB
StudentScholarAssignmentInstructions.pdfdisplayed 2194 times782.72 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will consider the value and authority of various sources and analyze the strengths of different types of information on their topic.
Students will be able to summarize the scholarly information process and see themselves as actual and potential information creators.
-More possible, see documentation.

Discipline: 
AnthropologyCommunication StudiesEducationEnglishLiberal StudiesMultidisciplinaryRhetoric, Composition, and Writing

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Tags:

Suggested Citation: 
Jones, Anaya. "Cast Your Students as Scholars." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/cast-your-students-scholars.
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Submitted by Beth Hoppe on February 18th, 2019
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Short Description: 

This activity provides an interactive, student-centered, fun opportunity to explore skills of critical thinking and evaluation of resources. By allowing students to connect those things that they already know (even if they don’t know they know it) to larger concepts, we encourage them to trust themselves and to begin to develop their intuition as scholars, moving away from checklists and formulas for resource evaluation and toward a thoughtful critique of sources based on individual need and use.

Attachments: 
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Sphere of Discourse: What, how-to, why, etc.displayed 2027 times16.97 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Describe different sources of information
Articulate benefits/drawbacks of information sources
Consider information as influence
Investigate role of various media in different forms of "conversation" (scholarly, popular, etc)
Define library spaces/terminology/sources

Discipline: 
AnthropologyArchaeologyArtClassicsCommunication StudiesEconomicsEducationEnglishEthnic StudiesFilm and TVHistoryMultidisciplinaryPolitical SciencePsychologyRhetoric, Composition, and WritingSociologyUrban StudiesWomen's Studies

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

Ability Level:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

The Sphere of Discourse works well in courses that may traditionally get an orientation to the library. It can be modified to work for specific disciplines or contexts.

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

This activity requires space!

Suggested Citation: 
Hoppe, Beth. "Sphere of Discourse." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/sphere-discourse.
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