Helping Students Make the Most of Library Days

Students in PWR 1 and 2 spend a significant amount of time conducting research at the Stanford Library. Instructors can help their students make the most of their library excursions by helping to give students concrete goals and activities to complete at the library. These two activities offer students charts to complete and questions to answer as they start to gather sources for their research projects. The activities are designed to be independent of the library workshop and can work well as a follow-up to build and reinforce search skills.

Activity title: "PWR 1-2 Library Session" and "Library Day #2"

Author: Norah Fahim and Shannon Hervey

Activity brief description: Both of these library activities ask students to fill out structured worksheets that will help students shape their research experiences at the library. these handouts are designed to give students concrete goals while they are at the library and will help them to identify key sources and materials for their research projects.

Course: PWR 1 and 2

Activity Length & Schedule: At least one hour, should occur before a first draft of the RBA is due

Activity goals: Through this assignment, students will

Learn about how to use Stanford's library resources
Collaborate with their peers in understanding the research process

Activity details:

See Norah's handout and Shannon's handout (both handouts accessible to PWR instructors only).