1. It Takes a Community to Cultivate the Assessment Crop
Kelly LaVoice, Kelee Pacion, and Mark Williams
Cornell University
May 2017

2. Cornell University Library
17 unit libraries
Teach over 200 classes a semester (not including library credit-courses, roughly 18 of those + law)

3. PULSE Survey: Spring 2015
PULSE: perceptions of undergraduate life and student experiences
Taken by 4, 892 students (36% response rate)
Distributed online via a survey

4. PULSE Survey Results
During the current academic year, how helpful have library classes and presentations been to you?
Not very helpful
Somewhat helpful
Very helpful
Not used
Cornell
20.8%
22.0%
11.3%
45.9%
45.8% of responses said they did not use library classes or presentations
So roughly 2475 students answered this question and said very helpful, somewhat helpful, or not very helpful
Other peers, categorized as ivies or non ivies, averaged 16% for not helpful, so ours was higher.
Others agreed 8% for very helpful, so we were higher.
Not much deviation from freshman, sophomore, junior and senior.

5. Next Steps
Heated discussions on the role of library instruction and the usage of surveys
Data provided was not detailed or contextualized; usability challenges
Potential for a mandate to assess
Discussion
Unsure of who was surveyed
Unsure of what students interpret as helpful
Unsure of the type of library class experiences students had
Limited data provides challenges for seeking directions towards improvement

6. CATs Assessment Subteam of Instruction Committee
3 Librarians and an Assessment specialist
Originated as a group to create Classroom Assessment Tools
CATs struggled to gain traction
Student survey catalyst to standardized, required assessment

7. Why Assessment For learning For teaching For accreditation
For reflection
For you!

8. Survey 1. What’s one new thing you learned today?
2. What’s still confusing about doing research for this course?
3. What’s one thing you’ll do differently in your research based on what you learned today?
4. This library instruction session will allow me to better complete assignments for this course
Survey: only given in classes where instructors had a full class and there was a research assignment
Only undergraduates
Naming convention: course (school and level)

9. Survey 5. Was this library instruction session helpful?
6. Why or why not?
7. Have you attended a library instruction session or workshop with a Cornell librarian previously?

10. Fall 2015: Pilot Semester 25 instruction sessions 15 instructors
21 unique courses
15 instructors
359 student responses
Colleges: A&S, CALS, and ILR
Online distribution (Qualtrics)

11. Open ended questions Gaby coded

12. All show students thinking

13. What's one thing you'll do differently in your research based on what you learned today?
“Narrow my results better.”
“I have more options to find articles outside of Google / Google Scholar search!”
“I can finally find scholarly articles our journals that can help.”
“I'm really interested in downloading Zotero or some other program. It seems like it would be really helpful!”
“I think in the future I will rely more heavily on analysis of primary sources; in the past, I used predominantly secondary sources but I learned it can be more valuable to offer original information.”

14. Results

15. Leading question- mirrors pulse survey

16. Why not helpful? “I felt like I knew almost everything covered”
“I've done a lot of research papers in my time-- this is my 11th. Frankly, I'm sure this was extremely helpful for others, but this is old hat for me.”
“I already know how to use databases and search on the library. It's not rocket science.”
“I think that in future you should do this session when the students already have their assignment prompt or do a practice prompt from prior years.”
“I'm also not sure if I'll remember the specific sites and how to access them.”
Good implications: “not sure I’ll remember” implies something worth remembering
4. Lack of scaffolding here is also problematic

17. Feedback, Challenges, & Updates
Admin mandates instructors try to do at least half of their courses
Paper surveys?
Work aggregating data together
Results from 3 semesters of this survey differ substantially from original pulse survey

18. Spring 2016 Second iteration 25 of 200 courses surveyed 15 instructors
359 Student responses across 3 colleges

19. Fall 2016
28 unique courses
415 total students
Data forthcoming

20. Challenges Motivating colleagues to participate
Time involved in aggregating the data
Changes in Library Administration
Paper vs. online survey collection

21. Future and Opportunities to Adjust
New University President
New University Librarian
Future Associate Librarian for Research and Learning
Accreditation
CTI

22. Benefits of Survey to Instructors
Feedback on instruction
Reevaluate and improve lesson plans
Opportunity to engage with faculty
Provide formative assessment to faculty, perhaps opening opportunities for additional class sessions or library support

23. Benefits to the Library
Provide quantitative and qualitative data to show the value of library instruction
Support accreditation efforts
Image of the library as an active partner in teaching and learning
Positive reception encourages additional courses
Demonstrate alignment with University goals and standards

24. Questions?