the springboard project

The SpringboardProject

Bolton sixth form college

IntroductionPurpose of the sessionThe Springboard Project (SBP) Q & A

Welcome

Bolton Sixth Form College’s Information Literacy Skills programme

An initiative put together by the LRC team to re-introduce information literacy skills into the curriculum

It’s all about getting back to basics It offers a solid foundation to help students in HE

or employment

What is the SBP?

(In it’s entirety) It consists of 4, 1 hour interactive workshops; Sprint, Leap, Soar and Present

It starts at the very beginning of the learner journey with an assignment/project/coursework

It works through it applying information literacy principles until the end result is a succinct academic report of high quality

What does it involve?

There are 4 main

reasons why the SBP was devised

Why we have the SBP?

To bridge the educational

gap between school and sixth form

To ensure information literacy becomes an

accepted subject of study

rather than an additional

‘add-on’

To put the LRC ‘back on the map’

To equip students with higher level skills that

are fully transferable to university and

employment

SBP

The SBP is fully inclusive – it’s been designed for learners at Entry level to Level 3

It caters for all types of learning styles;

Its also for anyone who wants to improve their learning strategies

Why we have the SBP

Better working relationships with subject staff and SMT

Independent learning An information literate student population The LRC staff skills set The LRC and its resources Higher level skills for life

What does it promote?

Aims and Objectives

AIMS (Staff) Provide a range effective

resources in different formats

Teach information handling skills

Equip students with the skills to become independent learners

OBJECTIVES (Students) Know when and why information is

needed

Know where to find it and evaluate it

Know how to use the information and communicate it in an ethical, academic manner

To use and understand that different resources impact on the quality of the end product

Lost identity Rebrand Updates Networking & sharing best practice Joining & attending focus groups Ofsted Impact

Incentives

Research;

Eureka! The #Springboard Project…#Surviving the jump from school to sixth form then on to university or employment – the actions of a springboard leap; run (sprint), jump/bounce (leap), mid-air (soar) and land (present), hence the 4 workshops.

Development

Content

Thinking

Skills

Learning

Styles

Before we deliver the workshops advice and guidance is offered on study skills

Students are given the opportunity to prepare to receive the new skills

Content

Define the information problem

Prompt students to think about what they already know

Think about what information is required

Break down the assignment brief

Definitions game Create shopping list Offer Research Skills

KEY: Give information Teach new skills Give instructions Activity

Activities

Content

Plan where to gather information

Think about what formats are available

Triangulate findings Introduce paper-based and OLR Offer Searching the Internet

Effectively skills Offer Citing, Referencing and

Bibliography skills The use of ILT Think Before You Click activity

KEY: Give information Teach new skills Give instructions Activity

Activities

Content

Bringing the information back to the assignment brief – does it meet the criteria?

Assess and evaluate it – is it; Credible, Objective, Current and Accurate? Remember SQ3R!

Highlight, make notes, form opinions and conclusions

Consider interpretations and deduce facts

Organise it in a way that relates back to the assignment criteria

KEY: Give information Teach new skills Give instructions Activity

Content

What to do with the newly acquired information and knowledge

Teach Plagiarism Awareness Skills

Teach Academic Writing Skills

Teach the use of ILT/AV/Images/Data in presenting academic reports

KEY: Give information Teach new skills Give instructions Activity

Post-It!

Evaluation & Improvements

Evaluation Feedback – Post-It notes Overall feedback was that

the sessions were excellent the appropriate content

The impact speaks for itself…

Improvements Additional Survey Monkey Ask students what they

thought could be improved

Additional marketing of the workshops

More staff training

50% increase in resources circulation JISC Collections – E-books for FE league table

increase; from 36th to 1st! Deliver further sessions to L3 students Deliver LRC induction Deliver non-LRC related workshops Invited into the classroom to offer bite-sized

workshops Referrals from teaching staff

Impact

Q & A

Thank you!