Graduate Work 101 2.0: An Online Tutorial to
Meet the Informational Needs of Grad Students
at UMass Boston
Mary Moser & Christina Gattone
UMass Boston University Teaching, Learning &
Technology Conference
May 15, 2014
Introduction: What?
▸ An online tutorial of modules to meet the research and
information needs of graduate students at UMass Boston
Introduction: Learning Objectives
▸ Big Pictures vs. Specifics
▸ Upon completion of this tutorial, students will be able to…
▸ Identify and articulate their information-seeking needs and
strategies
▸ Select best resources and practices for answering their research
questions
▸ Develop the necessary knowledge and skill sets, vocabulary and
dispositions to participate in scholarly discourse and manage
original research
Introduction: Why?
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Fill deficits in graduate students’ research skills
Meet the needs of distance and other nontraditional students
Accommodate a variety of learning styles
Provide another option in addition to instruction and reference
services, which are currently both face-to-face and virtual
▸ Best utilize available resources for instruction
Literature Review: Deficits in Graduate Students’
Research Skills
▸ Graduate students self-identifying as unprepared for graduatelevel research (Rogers & Goktas, 2010)
▸ Preparation in undergraduate school, or lack thereof, coupled
with graduate coursework that fails to provide a “sound
foundation for conducting research” (Rogers & Goktas, 2010;
Walker et al, 2008)
▸ Students leaving doctoral programs are not prepared for
research in their fields (Walker et al, 2008)
Other Considerations…
▸ Particularly struggling students include non-native speakers,
master’s level students and students in their first years (Rogers
& Goktas, 2010)
▸ Financial challenge of some colleges acting as “cash cows” to
others colleges (Viadero, 2004)
▸ Availability of research stipends, teaching assistantships and
scholarships vary from discipline to discipline (Viadero, 2004)
Literature Review: Outcomes of Online Instruction
for Students
▸ Learning outcomes equal to those from face-to-face instruction
(Shaffer, 2011)
▸ Instructional styles within the online instruction framework produce
equally good outcomes for students of differing learning styles
(subjects identified as high or low field-dependent) (Akdemir &
Koszalka, 2007)
▸ Student satisfaction is mixed—less satisfaction than face-to-face
instruction (Shaffer, 2011); equal satisfaction (Brill & Park, 2011);
preference for online instruction (Silver & Nickel, 2005; Slebodnik
& Riehle, 2009)
▸ Anecdotally, expectations among students that instruction and
coursework will increasingly be done online
Literature Review: Value of Online Instruction
▸ Accessibility (Blummer & Kritskaya, 2009; Brill & Park, 2011;
Dewald, 1999; Slebodnik & Riehle, 2009)
▸ Multimedia status  meets needs of students of different
learning styles/allows for deeper thinking/less cognitive load
(Brill & Park, 2011; Blummer & Kritskaya, 2009; Dewald, 1999;
Scales et al, 2014)
▸ Making up for shortages in resources: money, time and
personnel (Brill & Park, 2011; Dewald, 1999; Slebodnik &
Riehle, 2009)
▸ Increasingly user-friendly (Brill & Park, 2011; Scales et al, 2014;
Slebodnik & Riehle, 2009)
Literature Review: Best Practices for Online
Instruction
▸ Clear learning objectives/standards (Blummer & Kriskaya,
2009; Dewald, 1999)
▸ Use of visual and audio elements (Dewald, 1999; Scales et al,
2014; Slebodnik & Riehle, 2009)
▸ Active learning (Blummer & Kriskaya, 2009; Brill & Park, 2011;
Dewald, 1999; Scales et al, 2014)
▸ Opportunities for evaluation/assessment of new knowledge and
skills (Blummer & Kriskaya, 2009; Brill & Park, 2011; Slebodnik
& Riehle, 2009)
Literature Review: Best Practices for Online
Instruction
▸ Instantaneous feedback to users (Dewald, 1999; Slebodnik &
Riehle, 2009)
▸ Visual cueing (Blummer & Kriskaya, 2009; Brill & Park, 2011;
Scales et al, 2014)
▸ Navigation/move as your own pace (Blummer & Kriskaya,
2009; Brill & Park, 2011; Scales et al, 2014; Slebodnik &
Riehle, 2009)
▸ Online instruction as a collaborative effort (Blummer &
Kriskaya, 2009
Overview of Project Development
▸ Needs analysis
▸ Storyboarding
▸ Based on the ADDIE model of instructional design
Needs Analysis
▸ Meeting with coordinators from the Graduate Writing Center
▸ Presenting the tutorial to and getting feedback from the library
liaisons
▸ Moderating a focus group with a class of second-year PhD
students
▸ Informal conversations with graduate students and researchers
▸ Our own experiences as graduate students
Storyboarding
ADDIE Model of Instructional Design
▸ Analysis
▸ Design
▸ Development
▸ Implementation
▸ Evaluation
Overview of Content
▸ Framework for the Tutorial: Entering a Scholarly Community
▸ Three Major Areas of Instruction
▸ Joining a scholarly discussion
▸ Research and writing
▸ Intellectual property
▸ Opportunities for assessment throughout the tutorial
Workshop
▸ Participants will get hands-on time with a piece of the tutorial—
Creating an Academic Web Presences, which incorporates the
following modules:
▸ Putting Scholarship on the Web: Pros and Cons
▸ Blogging
▸ Microblogging
▸ Specific Learning Objectives: Upon completion of these
modules of the tutorial, users will be able to …
▸ Debate the benefits and drawbacks of online scholarship and open
access
▸ Describe the role of blogs and microblogs in scholarly
communication.
Guided Discussion/Feedback/Q&A
▸ We ask participants to reflect on such instructional questions
as…
▸ What are the information needs of graduate students?
▸ How do we meet those needs, both in terms of content but also
presentation?
▸ As well as questions pertaining to learning (adapted from
Scales et al, 2014)…
▸ Highlight at least two new pieces of information/skills/resources
featured in the tutorial.
▸ What can you now do that you couldn’t before?
▸ Now that you have some new knowledge under your belt, how do
you think you can use it for your research? For a current or future
class?
Next Steps…
▸ By the end of May, the tutorial will be completely built in Adobe
Captivate, and we will pilot the program with and get feedback
from current graduate students and colleagues across the
university
▸ By the end of August, a finalized tutorial will be made available
online.
Thank you!
▸ Please be in touch.
▸ Mary Moser
▸ 7-3207
[email protected]
▸ Christina Gattone
▸ 7-3187
[email protected]
References
▸ Akdemir, Omir and Tiffany A. Koszalka. 2007. Investigating the
relationship among instructional strategies and learning styles
in online environments. Computers & Education. 50 (2008),
1451-1461.
▸ Blummer, Barbara A. and Olga Kritskaya. 2009. Best Practices
for Creating an Online Tutorial: A Literature Review. Journal of
Web Librarianship. 3 (3), 199-216.
▸ Brill, Jennifer M. and Yeonjeong Park. 2011. Evaluating Online
Tutorials for University Faculty, Staff, and Students: The
Contribution of Just-in-Time Online Resources to Learning and
Performance. International Journal on E-Learning. 10 (1), 5-26.
▸ Dewald, Nancy H. 1999. Transporting Good Library Instruction
Practices in the Web Environment: An Analysis of Online
Tutorials. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 25 (1), 26-32.
References
▸ Mayer, Richard E. Multimedia Learning. 2nd ed. Cambridge,
GBR: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
▸ Rogers, Scott W. and Recep K. Goktas. 2010. Exploring
Engineering Graduate Student Research Proficiency with
Student Surveys. Journal of Engineering Education. 99 (3),
263-278.
▸ Scales, B. Jane, Erica Nichol, and Corey M. Johnson. 2014.
Redesigning Comprehensive Library Tutorials: Theoretical
Considerations for Multimedia Enhancements and Student
Learning. Reference & User Services Quarterly. 53 (3), 242252.
▸ Shaffer, Barbara A. 2011. Graduate Student Library Research
Skills: Is Online Instruction Effective? Journal of Library and
Information Services in Distance Learning. 5 (1/2), 35-55.
References
▸ Slebodnik, Maribeth and Catherine Fraser Riehle. 2009.
Creating Online Tutorials at Your Libraries: Software Choices
and Practical Implications. Reference & User Services
Quarterly. 49 (3), 33-37, 51.
▸ Silver, Susan L. and Lisa R. Nickel. 2005. Are Online Tutorials
Effective? A Comparison of Online and Classroom Library
Instruction Methods. Research Strategies. 20 (4), 389-396.
▸ Viadero, Debra. 2004. The Skills Gap. Education Week. 23
(16), 30-33.
▸ Walker, George E. et al. 2008. The Formation of Scholars:
Rethinking Doctoral Education for the Twenty-first Century. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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