April 16, 2015 (Thursday)

Time: 8:30am-11:30am; 2pm-3:30pm  (4.5)
Hours completed (IST): 130.5/135
Hours completed (Kara Robinson): 15/15
Accumulated on-site hours: 145.5/150

Today I observed two BI sessions with Tammy. The first was an outreach session with a local high school and the second was with a group of Ph.D. candidates in the English department. I did not actively participate in either because the former was more specific to Tammy's expertise (British Poetry) and the latter was my first time with a group of Ph.D.-level students. Typically, it has always been our procedure that I only observe the first instance of an instruction session.

The first session was similar to the outreach that we do high schools except that all the example searches and discussion of databases was geared more toward the topic. The session with the graduate students was interesting to observe as Tammy was able to introduce skills and tips that were much more in-depth than the session that I have observed or participated in. On one of her handouts for the graduate students Tammy used a series of Venn diagrams to explain how Boolean Operators work which I thought was a great way to visualize the information. The Ph.D. students were much more interactive and excited to discuss aspects of Tammy's presentation which made it difficult to fit in everything she planned to talk about. No matter what it is so important to properly plan a lesson but, just as important, it is necessary to react to the class and follow their interests. In other words, plan but don't be too rigid.

After the session, as Tammy and I discussed how things went I suggested that the Venn diagram may work well with undergraduates to help them visualize what Boolean Operators are doing. She said that it was something that she used to include and was meaning to add back into the handouts for undergraduates. Tammy also reminded me that my approach of explaining it as "and is less, but or is more" is also effective. I like the idea of presenting information in a way that students can learn through the modes that learn best, so in my own sessions I would likely use the Venn diagram on handouts and also explain how or is more.