Connecting with your librarian is critical!

I have been reflecting on takeaways from the 2017 I-MELT conference.  Thank you John for a job well done!

At the conference I was able to reflect back on the journey that brought me to the conference.  I recall that John Willison encouraged faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Stout to engage their librarians early in the process of implementing the RSD.  This was a sound piece of advice.  Our librarian, Jessy Polzer, was critical to the success of implementing the RSD at Stout.  During the I-MELT conference I was able to connect with Lyn Torres of Monash University.  I was struck by how similar her comments were to those of my library colleagues at UW-Stout. The RSD has strong ties and overlaps information literacy skills.  Librarians are able to articulate this overlap and to guide instructors as they work to incorporate undergraduate research into the classroom.   I am posting this comment to encourage you to connect with your librarian as you implement the RSD at your institution.  They are an invaluable resource that will help in your efforts to integrate research and critical thinking skills into your courses.

With this being said, I invite you to review an online module Undergraduate Student Research: Creative and Critical Thinking at UW-Stout  that was developed to help faculty learn about undergraduate research at Stout’s campus.  This was a collaborative project made possible through our Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center and members involved in UW-Stout’s RSD Community of Practice.  Please be sure to watch for our librarian, Jessy Polzer, as she speaks to ties between the RSD and information literacy.  Feel free to take a peek at:

http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/tutorial/undergraduateresearch/index.html