From tourist to treasure hunter: a self‐guided orientation programme for first‐year students

Abstract

Learning and teaching in actionLibrary and information service staff who work in health care institutions are usually involved in library induction and the teaching of information literacy skills throughout the course of the year.In higher education and college libraries, however, library staff are expected to provide induction training to large cohorts of students at the beginning of each academic year and to instil in new students an appreciation of the importance of the library and information service in supporting their studies.The challenge is: how can a potentially mundane and passive library-centred activity be turned into an engaging and student-centred learning experience?In this column, continuing with the theme of action research in learning and teaching, Kate Thompson and her colleagues at the University of Otago in New Zealand, describe their work in developing an innovative method of teaching new students about the University Library.By encouraging these students to go out and explore the Library in order to find answers to a series of questions in a 'treasure hunt', the authors enabled the students to develop their own understanding and appreciation of the University Library as an essential source of information to support their studies.Careful planning and design of this project has brought positive outcomes, which have been demonstrated through the students' wider use of the learning resources.

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