INFO 287-13
Seminar in Information Science
Topic: STEM in Libraries
Summer 2021 Syllabus

Jennifer Hopwood, MLIS, EdD
E-mail
Phone: (240) 317-7380
Virtual Office Hours: By appointment.
SJSU e-mail is the best way to reach me! I will attempt to return e-mails within 24 hours Monday to Friday. I do check e-mail on the weekends but can’t guarantee the frequency. Virtual meetings via Zoom can be scheduled as well.

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning June 1, 2021, at approximately 6:00 a.m. (Pacific) unless you are taking an intensive or a one-unit or two-unit class that starts on a different day. In that case, the class will open on the first day that the class meets.

You will be enrolled in the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

STEM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEM inclusion in libraries has been trending over the last couple of years because of the increased emphasis on STEM education initiatives. This course will focus on incorporating elements from the STEM fields into collection development and programming for youth services at the library.

Course Requirements

Assignments

• Recorded Lessons: In each unit, you may be responsible for viewing the recording of a lesson presentation. These sessions will contain clarification of assignments as well as information about the topic being addressed that week. Students should complete viewing of sessions each week before submitting assignments. (CLOs: 1-6)
• Readings: In each unit, you may be responsible for textbook readings, a lecture reading, selected article readings, and one or more children's/young adult books (of your choice) representative of unit topics and themes. (CLOs:  1-6)
• Lesson Labs: During the course, you will complete a lesson lab or other exploration and share the results in a discussion forum, written assignment, or by completing a lesson sheet. Students may focus their assignments on the age group of their choice: pre-school, school-age, or young adult. Written assignments are based on assigned activities, 1-2 pages in length. Rubrics and additional details for each specific assignment will be introduced during the course. (CLOs: 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Discussion Boards: As this is an asynchronous class, discussion boards are key to being a successful student. Each week, we will have at least one discussion board assignment. Assignments may be in the form of a question that needs to be answered. Please make your initial post by midweek, and respond to at least two other students' posts by the end of the week. (CLOs: 1, 6)
• Ah-ha Post: During the course, you will be introduced to videos such as TED Talks related to our topic being discussed that week. After viewing the video, you will be asked to share your ah-ha moments or takeaways from watching the video. These posts use a discussion board format, but replies to other students are not required. (CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 )
• Course Project: Throughout the course, we will be creating components of a project proposal that will include sample programming plans, funding sources, marketing plans, and program evaluation plans. The final submission will include these edited components organized as part of a completed project proposal. Rubrics and additional details for each specific assignment will be introduced during the course. (CLOs: 2, 3, 5, 6)

Course Calendar

(subject to change with fair notice)

Full assignment details are posted on the Canvas course page. Each week of the course is organized as a separate module that will go live on the Thursday night prior to that week's start date (unless noted otherwise). For many of these assignments, you will need access to additional resources such as picture books, YA novels, or other books published for the age group you decide to target in your assignments. Please contact the instructor if you have any difficulty obtaining course materials as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact the instructor. 

Grading

Assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm PT on the due date posted on the course calendar. Late submissions will be docked 5% per day late. Assignments will not be accepted 7 days after the established due date. There is no extra credit available.

Your final grade will be determined by the quality of your work and your full participation in the class. The instructor will observe the following assignment weighting:

• Course Participation 10%
• Lesson Labs 30%
• Discussion Boards 20%
• Course Project 40%

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Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

INFO 287 has no prequisite requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify current issues in STEM Librarianship.
2. Select fiction and nonfiction titles for STEM readers advisory.
3. Identify resources that are available to libraries implementing STEM.
4. Review and evaluate new media for appropriateness.
5. Develop and implement STEM learning experiences.
6. Initiate effective STEM outreach, partnership, marketing, and funding plans.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

INFO 287 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Hopwood, J. L. (2015). Best STEM resources for nextgen scientists: The essential selection and user's guide (Best Books). Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1610697219

• Pard, C. (2018). STEM programming for all ages. Rowman & Littlefield. Available through Amazon: B07FRWF4K4

• Smallwood, C., & Gubnitskaia, V. (2013). How to STEM: Science, technology, engineering, and math education in libraries. Scarecrow Press. Available through Amazon: 0810892731

Recommended Textbooks:

• Bintz, W. (2014). Using paired text to meet the Common Core: Effective teaching across the K-8 curriculum. Guilford Press. Available through Amazon: 1462518982

• Moomaw, S. (2013). Teaching STEM in the early years: Activities for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Redleaf Press. Available through Amazon: 1605541214

• Sawah, R., & Clark, A. (2015). The everything STEM handbook: Help your child learn and succeed in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Everything. Available through Amazon: 1440589798

• Suen, A., & Duke, S. (2013). Teaching STEM and Common Core with Mentor Text. Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1610694260

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Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, BS-ISDA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation. You must repeat the class if you wish to stay in the program. If - on the second attempt - you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, university-wide policy information relevant to all courses, such as academic integrity, accommodations, etc. will be available on Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs' Syllabus Information web page at: https://www.sjsu.edu/curriculum/courses/syllabus-info.php. Make sure to visit this page, review and be familiar with these university policies and resources.

In order to request an accommodation in a class please contact the Accessible Education Center and register via the MyAEC portal.

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