1. All staff should keep a record of and report instructional activities they conduct.
2. Generally, you must fill out one form for each instructional activity you conduct. Any exceptions to that will be mentioned elsewhere on this page.
3. Individual staff members within public service departments should report their statistics to their department head in whatever way the department head wants, making sure to include enough information for the department head's monthly report. This information will also need to be reported to the Instructional Services database via the Web-based form. Public service department heads should make sure that reports of their unit's instructional activities are made on the Web-based forms. Librarians and other staff not in public services departments should report their monthly instruction statistics to the Instructional Services database using the Web-based form.
4. When two or more people work together on an instructional activity, only one person should fill out the form.
5. After submitting the Web-based report form, you can print the resulting screen, if you would like, so you can keep a paper record of your instructional activities.
6. After you submit the form, it actually goes to a holding area where it will be checked over by the Coordinator for Instructional Service’s assistant, who will then route it to the database.
1. Staff Information. Select the name of your unit. Remember that when two or more Libraries’ staff work together to do an instruction session, only one person fills in the Web form. That way we do not double or triple count the students. Also, when the staff working together belong to different departments, they should select “Libraries-Wide” as the “Name of Unit.” Mark the check box to indicate who were the presenters. Leaving the check box blank means that the person was the helper.
3. Instruction information. You must select one of the categories described below.
The first two types (course-related and library-sponsored) are closely related. We need the same information about both of them--course number, course name. Rather than duplicate those questions and thus add to the length of the form, we have put those categories next to each other so they can share the same information fields.
If the session you do is either course-related or library-sponsored, please select the appropriate radial button and answer the additional questions about that class.
A. COURSE-RELATED PRESENTATION
This is a presentation made to a specific UI class. It is scheduled in cooperation with a course instructor and is usually offered during one or more class sessions. The instruction centers on the specific needs of the students in a particular class. Sources of interest to the class are presented, and research strategies are often taught. A brief tour may be included to point out where sources are located.Fill in the course name and number just like it is listed in ISIS. If the department number begins with a zero, please include that zero, for example: 035:165. Also, please include the colon that separates the department number from the course number. If you do not include the course number and/or the colon, you will receive an error message when you submit the form. It is important to include this information correctly because the Coordinator for Instructional Services sorts the database by department number in order to see which departments are receiving instruction and which are not. (Hint: You can copy and paste the course number from ISIS to avoid errors.)
Notice on the Web form that there are 3 boxes for course number and name. That makes it possible for you to list all course numbers/names for courses that are cross-listed in several departments.
B. LIBRARY-SPONSORED CREDIT COURSE
These are for-credit University of Iowa courses for which a libraries' staff member is the sole or primary developer and instructor. These classes may be classroom based or offered for independent study. For information on how to fill in the fields, see COURSE-RELATED INSTRUCTION above.C. SEMINAR/WORKSHOP/SPECIAL PROGRAM
These are special instructional sessions for members of the UI community not connected with a particular class. They are set up to inform the target groups of such things as library resources, research strategies specific to the needs of that group, and policies and procedures. A brief tour may be included to point out where sources, service points, materials and equipment are located.Some examples of seminars/workshops/special programs are: research seminars; end-user instruction sessions; EndNote classes; new graduate student orientations that involve some instruction in the use of resources; Internet classes; instruction programs for special summer groups such as Upward Bound, debaters, and Belin & Blank program students.
D. ORIENTATIONS
Orientations are programs and other activities, aimed at members of the UI community, that are designed to tell them about the UI Libraries, its collections and services rather than teach them how to use the Libraries and its resources. These orientations can take the form of a spatial orientation (e.g. tour) to the library for members of the UI community, or it can take the form of going outside the library to talk to a group of UI people about the Libraries.Some examples of orientations are: the monthly Staff Development Orientation sessions; international student fairs; Residence Hall Advisers fairs; general orientation tours for new UI students; tours for UI international students.
E. OUTREACH ACTIVITY
These are activities in which we tell non-UI people about the University Libraries resources and services and/or teach them how to use those resources and services. Use the notes box at the end of the form to give the city and state where the outreach activity took place.Some examples of outreach activities are: talking to a civic or other group about various collections; staffing the Libraries table at Hawkeye Visit Days when high school juniors and seniors visit campus; tours for high school students; tours for potential donors; talking to high school classes; talking to classes from colleges such as Coe, Kirkwood, etc.; Friends-sponsored presentations; booth at State Fair.
4. Course Instructor/Contact Person. Please fill in this field. There are times when the Coordinator for Instructional Services will search the database for a professor's surname.
5. For 3 or Fewer Sessions. This is where you enter the date(s) of the activity. Most of the instruction is done as a “one-shot” presentation. Some librarians, however, are lucky enough to be invited into the same class for two or three sessions or perhaps do a two-part workshop for the same group of people. If you talk to the same class or workshop (i.e. the same group of students or attendees) more than once, we do not want to double-count the students or other attendees. This area of the form enables you to indicate the dates when you talked to the same group two or three times. You must fill out either this field or the one described in #6 below. If you do not, you will get an error message when you try to submit the form.
6. For 4 or More Sessions. There are some occasions when #5 above does not cover the amount of instruction you do for one group of students or other attendees. Perhaps a professor invited you into her class four times in a semester. Perhaps you are teaching a library sponsored credit course that meets for an entire semester. This field is where you can give us information on that. Select the appropriate phrase from the options given in the "Month or Semester" box. Then type in the number of sessions (times) you met with that group of people. You must fill out either this field or the one described in #5 above. If you do not, you will get an error message when you try to submit the form.
7. Number of Participants by Category. Use numbers only. If you are doing a course-related instruction session, remember to count the faculty member or TA if they are present. This is another required field. If you do not fill it out, you will get an error message when submitting the form. Most categories are self-explanatory, but mixed-unknown is not. Use mixed-unknown when you are not sure what the exact breakdown of participants was in the audience or classroom.
Before clicking on submit, look over the form to make sure you have filled it our correctly and completely.
I talked to two classes on Monday. Can I report that information on one form?
No. You need to fill out one form per class.
I was really busy on Tuesday. I talked to four sections of the Human Geography class. Can I report that on one form?
That depends. If you taught at four different times on Tuesday to four different groups of students, you will need to fill out four forms. If the professor had all four sections meet at one time (highly unlikely), you would only need to fill out one form.
Under “Name of Unit,” one of the choices is “Libraries Wide.” What is that and when should I use it?
“Libraries Wide” serves two functions. First of all it is a way for us to indicate when large numbers of staff from different units work together to present instruction. For example, when we teach College Transition classes, I put out a call for help on LIB-ANNOUNCE and people from throughout the Libraries offer to present the sessions and to be helpers in the room.
Second, there are times when two or three librarians from different departments get together to plan and present instruction, usually course-related instruction. For example, when Librarian X from Hardin and Librarian Y from Main Reference team teach a political science class, only one of them will fill out the Web-based form (because we do not want to double-count the students). They would choose “Libraries Wide” as a kind of neutral territory, so to speak, rather than selecting either "Hardin" or "Reference."
What goes into the “Staff” section of the form?
That is where you put the names of every Libraries staff person involved in the instruction session, including your helpers in the room.
Why are there three boxes for “Course No.” under Course-Related Instruction?
That is because some courses are cross-listed in two or three departments. For example, credit for a specific class might be given in both Comparative Literature and Spanish. ISIS should give you that information. If the class you talk to is cross-listed, please list all course numbers.
Remember to use a three-digit department number. For example, Spanish is 35, so I would type in 035 followed by a colon followed by the course number.
The “For 3 or Fewer Sessions” section confuses me.
Most of the instruction is done as a “one-shot” presentation. Some librarians, however, are lucky enough to be invited into the same class for two or three sessions. If you
talk to the same class (i.e. the same group of students) more than once, we do not want to double-count the students. This area of the form enables you to indicate the dates when you talked to the same group of students two or three times.
This area is also where you put the date for any type of instruction: course-related, seminars/workshops, tours, outreach activities, etc.
Do you want me to put an X in the box in front of the category of participants to indicate who is in my audience?
No. I want you to put in the NUMBER of people in the audience. Also, if you are doing course-related instruction, remember to count the faculty member or TA if they are present.
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