Scoring Students’ Information Evaluation Abilities in an Agricultural Readings Seminar Class:

1. AGR 294 Directed Readings in Agriculture, Environment, & Society • Reading and discussion-intensive course (1 book, plus additional related materials) • 8 week elective • Limited to 12 students, any grade level • Unique offering in the curriculum • Co-taught by the AD for Academic Programs and a librarian • Each week (after the first class) instructors lead students through a discussion of the assigned chapters. Instructors encourage active and engaged participation, drawing students out as needed. • Course Goals: • Critical reading of an important, timely and/or popular topic in Agriculture, Environment, and Society • Participation in open discussion and evaluation of contemporary issues facing society in the management of food, renewable & non-renewable natural resources, environment, and communities, locally and globally. • Development of critical thinking skills across disciplines and topics • Appreciation of the interconnectivity and broad factors affecting and influencing agriculture in today’s world • Development of information evaluation abilities • Information Evaluation: • Students are assessed on 3 aspects of the class. The librarian assesses class discussions with the rubric (on the right) using field notes taken after class.Students write weekly reflections at the beginning of each class. Thirdly, students submit one item to share and discuss with class. Reflections and the shared material are graded using a rubric similar to the Class Discussion Rubric. • CLASS DISCUSSION (7x) + WEEKLY REFLECTION (7x) + SHARED MATERIAL (1x) = SCORE Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy Future (2011) by Steve Hallett Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know (2011) by Robert Paarlberg Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives (2009) by Michael Specter Class Discussions Weekly Reflections Scoring Students’ Information Evaluation Abilities in an Agricultural Readings Seminar Class: A Three Pronged Approach Marianne Stowell Bracke 1 and Dr. Marcos Fernandez2 1. Agricultural Sciences Information Specialist, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN 47907-20582. Associate Dean and Director of Academic Programs, College of Agriculture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2053 Shared Material: Students select a week to share an item with the class relevant to the reading or discussion. The instructors encourage students to be creative about the item they share – it can be a peer-reviewed article, an opinion piece, a YouTube video, notes from a lecture, a cartoon, etc. They are asked to describe the item’s relevancy and validity, and the impact that it might have on the discussion in class or more generally by society. Examples of items are brought by the librarian the first few weeks to model the process and discussion. Shared Material Grading Class Participation, 1996 Martha L. Maznevski, Assistant Professor, McIntire School of Commerce