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Primary Sourcesin Core Undergraduate Writing Classes

Steve MacLeod Public Services Librarian, Special Collections and Archives University of California, Irvine Libraries

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Exposure to primary sources

• Understand the role of historical materials in shaping human knowledge and understanding

• Develop core skills in examining these materials

• Gain first-hand experience in their role in original, academic research

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Krause, Magia G., “Learning in the Archives: A Report on Instructional Practices.” Journal of Archival Organization. Vol. 6(4), 2008.

History/Social Sciences – 90% English – 49%American Studies – 41%Art/Art History – 40%Women’s Studies – 40%Education – 33%African—American Studies – 26%Political Science – 22%Sociology – 19%

62% of those responding said they do the majority of their instruction for undergraduates.

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Outreach strategies

• Meeting with bibliographers and curators• Participate in core information literacy

programs• Participate in orientation sessions• Participate in K-12 outreach programs• Promote collections and services -- via blogs,

exhibits, events, email list distribution, direct one-on-one communication

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Humanities Core Course

• Founded at UC Irvine 35 years ago• First year writing course with introductory

study of literature, history and philosophy• Three-quarter course, concluding with major

research paper

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Three phases of development

1. Articulation• Of learning objectives and outcomes

2. Alignment• With faculty objectives and outcomes

3. Assessment• Of effectiveness in meeting objectives

and outcomes

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Key components of planning

• Special Collections librarians/archivists, Education and Outreach staff, Humanities Core faculty collaborated in planning

• Primary sources identified as seed from which research grows

• Primary sources selected to reflect broad scope of the theme each cycle

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Design instruction session•Decide on content•Set the learning objective

and outcomes, and align with faculty• Identify and understand the

audience•Choose active learning

techniques•Assess the effectiveness

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Learning Objectives and Learning Outcomes

If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know if you’ve gotten there?

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Learning Objective: The Big Idea

• Will differ depending on level of studentsTraining vs. Higher Level Learning

• ExplicitStudents will accurately describe the basic characteristics of primary and secondary sources.

• Implicit Students will leave the session feeling that the Special Collections librarian is available to help them.

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Learning Outcomes• “By the end of this session, students will…”• Action oriented• Skills and concepts necessary to achieve the

objective• No more than two or three per 50 minute

session• The “take-aways”

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Learning outcomes

By the end of the class session on primary sources, students will be able to:

• Articulate what makes a primary source• Articulate what makes a secondary source• Differentiate between a primary source and a

secondary source

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What is a Primary Source?• Original data, images, or artifacts created at the

time an event occurred or at a later date by a participant in the events being studied

• Provide direct evidence about events, phenomena, or a person’s thoughts or actions

• Original creative works• Raw materials that help interpret the past• Definition can vary by discipline

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Questions for students to consider

• What did you discover about your primary source -- both from your examination of the primary source and from the secondary source?

• What questions do you still have about your primary source?

• What research topics might this source support?

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Student also have access to

• Online tutorial on primary-secondary sources• A follow-up class session on locating primary

and secondary sources• Peer Tutors available weeks 2-10 in libraries

and dorms• Course Guide for Humanities Core• Subject Guides for variety of subjects, each

with a “primary sources” tab on how to locate

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Average annual statistics

• Offer classes in Winter and Spring quarters• Each quarter one session for 20-25 sections• Each section has 22 students• Annually, teach 45 sections of Humanities

Core Course, reaching 1,000 students.

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Assessment

In Krause’s article, reporting on her survey of SAA RAO members, she found:

• 40% never evaluated instruction• Another 28% rarely evaluated instruction• Less than 5% always do an evaluation

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Assessment Methods• How do you know if they got it?• Tie back to learning objective, learning

outcomes• Satisfaction surveys• Testing• Experience in the reading room• Archival Metrics Project

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Thank you!Steve MacLeod

smacleod@uci.eduhttp://special.lib.uci.edu/

Images are from Calispherehttp://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu