Information Literacy Instruction

Warm Up Activities

Warm ups are a good idea because not only do they help break the ice with a new group, they also help get students into a research mind-set.  Most of these will be 5-15 minutes.

This warm up can be a lot of fun. It gets people thinking about their process and the discussion lets them see how other people experience the process.  As an instructor, you may see themes that you'll want to have a discussion about. 

Time: 15 minutes 

Materials: 

  • Half sheets of paper & writing utensils

Directions:

  1. Give Instructions: "Draw your research process aka how you do research. This could be literal or symbolic, portray a moment or the whole thing, a feeling or an image. Be creative. If you finish quickly, write 2-3 things you know about research on the back of your paper." (Some people always finish early, so this keeps them busy). 
  2. Walk around and observe til you notice most people are done (5-10 minutes). You can also use this time to ask students if you can call on them to share theirs as a backup if no one volunteers. 
  3. Have people break into pairs if a big class, groups of 3-4 for a small class and explain their drawings to each other. Warn the class that you'll ask for a few volunteers to share. 
  4. Come back as a group. I usually share my drawing (see below on left).  I put mine on a Google slide, but you could also draw one on a white board. The worse you draw the funnier it will be. This step creates rapport with the class, so I would encourage you not to skip it.  Ask 2-3 people to share theirs. If it's a big class, try to choose one from each side of the room & you may have to repeat what people say so everyone can hear. 
stick figure standing on a hill looking over to ice berg infinity symbol computer and keyboard on desk with paper and coffee. Frazzled looking stick figure with fried brain

Left: My drawing. Research feels like an infinity iceberg -- I can see the above see part, but I know there's a lot more I can't see (it feels infinite). 

Right: Student drawing as example. 

This brief warm-up is an easy way to introduce the idea of format and document.  Students are *briefly* shown a receipt and told to examine it. Next, they collectively answer a series of multiple choice questions about it. They are shown the receipt again and the instructor situations this as a format that conveys information. Information formats are many different places in our lives, although we tend to focus on a few distinct formats in university.  The last slide introduces the three Ps: purpose, process, product. 

Time: 5 minutes 

This activity is meant to crowd-source keywords.  

Time: 5-10 minutes

Materials: Keyword Development Worksheet 

Instructions:

  1. Student A writes their topic or research question on top. Then they pass it to a neighbor (Student B)
  2. Student B reads the topic and brainstorms as many keywords as possible. Once time is called, Student B folds the bottom portion up to hid their keywords. They then pass the sheet to Student C.  (The idea is to hide Student B's keywords so that Student C has a fresh perspective). 
  3. Student C also brainstorms keywords.  The paper is returned to the original owner and everyone has a minute to digest the keyword suggestions. 

Please use and modify . . .

These activities and handouts are meant to be used, shared, and edited!  If you modify or have a new activity, please share it with Glenn, so she can add it to the options!