‘Teaching the teachers’A collaborative approach to teaching information

literacy skills to new international students

Amanda Southam & Julie Moody

LILAC 2013

Lilac 2013

International students at Plymouth Library IL skills

provisionGrowing student

numbersSustainabilityIL effectiveness versus

cultural/language differences

Relationships and on-going communication Image courtesy of

Nuchylee/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lilac 2013

Liaison with academic staffApproaching IL in a

different way‘Teach the teacher’

proposalPositive response from

tutorsSpecialists – TEFL See their students

regularlyCan build up a good

relationshipConfidence and support

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lilac 2013

Design and preparation of Library support materials

Library orientation tour/quiz

Online ‘jargon buster’ Interactive library tour Short online tutorials Short online support

guides Library film(s) /

Photostory How to … Where do I? … How can I? …

YouTube clips

Invitation to tutors to attend a Library Welcome and training session

Lilac 2013

Advantages to tutorsTwo key Library contacts in case of queries or

problemsMaterials always available – in and out of classroom Can use materials as and when appropriateCan incorporate into session plans Dual purpose of library materials – IL and English skillsCan encourage students to work in groups or

independentlyGives tutors better information literacy skills!?Could collaborate with views and ideas for

improvement

Lilac 2013

Advantages for Information SpecialistsUtilising the skills of our international tutors –

they are the teaching and language specialists Frees up our time to design/implement IL

support materialsCannot sustain quantity (student numbers) but

can improve quality (tutors)Build up good collaborative alliances with our

academic partnersProactive approach to supporting international

students and tutors

Lilac 2013

Feedback from tutors and students“Materials helped myself and my students familiarise themselves with

the library and they developed confidence to use the library independently”

“Library tour quiz – a great motivating activity!”

“I used several videos …”

“Keep up the good work … many thanks for your support!”

Lilac 2013

Feedback from tutors and students

“My Chinese students struggled to understand the video narrator – what about subtitles?

“they found the tour difficult to complete”

“There were a lot of materials to look at – some appearing to cover similar

areas”

Lilac 2013

What have we learnt?• Working with our academic partners and sharing

ideas has been very beneficial – hopefully for both sides!

• International students DO need more targeted support

• Sharing knowledge and relinquishing control takes trust and faith in your colleagues

• Keeping a range of materials relevant and up-to-date is time consuming

• Is not a perfect solution – need to monitor• The importance of getting constructive, regular

feedback from tutors and students • Planning ahead to organise tutor training, and

gathering survey feedback• Empowering others ultimately helps us!

Image courtesy of Naypong/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lilac 2013

The future for collaborative working and international student support

Sustainability – need this approach to workAcademic managers and tutors supportive of

collaborative workingBetter and on-going ‘road testing’ requiredPossible use of focus groups / online surveys to gather

feedback from tutors and studentsBetter visibility of IL materials (LibGuides, dedicated

webpage?)Moving beyond pre-sessional international students?

Lilac 2013

Any views or ideas from the audience?

Thank you!