As part of the ongoing partnership between DePaul University and Gordon Tech High School, the DePaul University Library welcomed more than 40 teachers from Gordon Tech to the Lincoln Park Campus on September 13th as part of their orientation to a range of resources available to them and their students. DePaul librarians Terry Taylor, Heather Jagman, and Jessica Alverson collaborated with Gordon Tech teachers and administrators, as well as staff from DePaul’s Catholic School Initiatives program, to provide an introduction to library resources and services and an overview of the information literacy skills that promote academic success during the critical transition from high school to college. “The large amount of information available online can be overwhelming to students,” Jagman noted, “[and] the more we can help students to slow down, read, and thoughtfully evaluate what they are finding, the more prepared they will be for college.” As part of this introductory workshop, DePaul librarians introduced Gordon Tech teachers to information literacy resources as well as other resources useful for lesson planning and assessment of student learning, and engaged the teachers in a discussion of inquiry-based assignments and other opportunities for information literacy instruction in their classrooms.
The DePaul University Library is looking forward to future opportunities to collaborate with the faculty and administration at Gordon Tech to promote information literacy as a key component of a Gordon Tech education and we are currently planning follow-up workshops focused on the integration of information literacy instruction and assessment across the curriculum. Gordon Tech Principal Dr. James Quaid echoed the sense that library staff had about the potential for this program in noting that “We are very excited about the possibilities as we move forward!”
For more information on the DePaul University Library’s instructional services programs, please contact Heather Jagman,Coordinator of Reference, Instruction, and Academic Engagement.