As an academic, online learning librarian, I create asynchronous learning materials to introduce students to concepts and skills related to the research process and information literacy. These video tutorials and learning modules are publicly available on the library’s website and can be linked and embedded into courses within my institution’s learning management system. Direct requests from classroom faculty are my highest priority, and because my work serves undergraduate and graduate students across several colleges within the university, I aim to address topics that pertain to most academic disciplines. Examples of such topics include developing research questions, locating and distinguishing among various types of information, evaluating information sources, and documenting sources. 

...students have learned to associate citations with their fears about plagiarism.

     Experience, both in the classroom and in the library, has taught me that, of the topics about which I teach, source citation practices tend to cause students the most palpable anxiety. Understandably, students have learned to associate citations with their fears about plagiarism. Reviewing existing studies of students’ experiences of developing referencing skills, Gravett and Kinchin (2020) concluded that students expressed significant anxiety about documenting their sources based on their fear of punishment for academic misconduct and their unfamiliarity with academic conventions.

     Each section contains a short instructional video, a self-check question to reinforce learning from the video, and links to additional information or local resources. The tutorial is bookended by questions about students’ thoughts and feelings associated with the practice of citing sources. The final question asks students to reflect on how their answer may have changed after completing the tutorial. Many students mention stress, fear, difficulty, and anxiety at the beginning of the tutorial. At the end, students often express that, while they still feel anxiety, they have a better understanding of the expectations and know where to get help when they need it..

Tutorial’s Revision

     In May 2022 I attended Dr. Andrea Baer’s course, Metacognition in Teaching and Learning and I chose to reflect upon and revise the first iteration of the citation tutorial to enact the principles I encountered in the course readings and discussions. While metacognition refers to awareness of one’s thought processes and learning strategies, self-regulated learning is a broader term that includes “awareness and control over one’s emotions, motivations, behavior, and environment as related to learning” (Nilson, 2013, p. 5).

     In responding to both emotional and informational needs I have perceived among students I have taught, the citations tutorial already had been conceived to promote self-regulated learning. It addressed what Pintrich calls “conditional knowledge”—in this case, not only the “what” and “how” but the “when” and “why” of citation practices (2002, p. 221). However, through my experience in the Metacognition in Teaching and Learning course, I recognized several additional opportunities to promote self-regulated learning within the tutorial.

    Pre- and post-lesson questions. I revised the module to include pre- and post-lesson questions that encourage metacognition. The former asks learners to recall their existing knowledge of and associations with the topic: “What comes to mind when you think about citing sources?” Giving students the opportunity to voice their thoughts and feelings signals that they have entered a safe and inclusive learning space. The final question asks, “At the beginning of this tutorial, you shared what came to mind when you thought about citing sources. How would your answer be different after completing the tutorial?” This question promotes metacognition by encouraging learners to notice how their ideas may have changed as a result of acquiring new information and devising new strategies.   

     Responses to self-check questions. The self-check questions in each section already allowed learners to make mistakes and to change their answers, but now both correct and incorrect answers receive responses that rephrase instruction content and include additional explanation or resources for further learning. The self-checks are not quizzes; they allow learners to test and refine their own understanding. After each set of questions, the module provides a more complete explanation of the concepts and invites learners to compare it with their own understanding.

     Section One revisions. In Section One: Why We Cite Sources, the first iteration of the tutorial acknowledged that many students first learn about documenting sources, as a way to avoid plagiarism. The revised Section One emphasizes two other main reasons for citing sources: to show respect and appreciation for the intellectual labor of others; and to demonstrate our understanding of what others have written on a topic and how our work relates to theirs.  

     This section has been updated to introduce the concept of citational justice (Kwon, 2022), emphasizing students’ agency in contributing to the scholarly conversation on a topic by highlighting the work of minoritized scholars, and the intellectual and cultural labor of underrepresented communities. Resources for further learning, linked at the end of Section One, now include articles on both the problem of link rot and the importance of equitable citation practices.

     Additional revisions. A question that asks learners to strategize (“How will you use the available guides, tools, and help resources the next time you need to document sources?”) was moved from the end of the tutorial to the self-check in Section Four. Correspondingly, the fourth learning outcome was modified from “Learners will be able to find help with citing sources in specific styles” to “Learners will develop strategies for using available guides, tools, and help for documenting sources” to reflect this change.

     Students are assured both on the introductory page and at the end of the tutorial that their responses are anonymous. Anonymity allows me to preserve learners’ privacy while using information from their answers to assess whether the tutorial is fulfilling the stated outcomes and to reflect on possible further revisions, to improve the tutorial. A direct external link is provided for those students who wish to ask a question or schedule a consultation with a librarian.

Reflecting on the Process

     Including opportunities for metacognitive reflection in asynchronous learning can help students to acquire, to retain, and to apply the information they encounter. Metacognitive reflection promotes both self-regulation, an important social-emotional competency, and a growth mindset, contributing to learners’ sense of agency over their learning experiences.

    For a wide range of students in programs across the university, both undergraduates and graduates, I believe the citations tutorial promotes both deeper metacognitive reflection and self-regulated learning, regarding documenting sources. However, the tutorial will undergo more user testing in order to determine how effective it is in producing its stated outcomes. 

     A select group of university students will participate in testing this tutorial (and others), during the coming academic year. These students will complete a brief survey to gauge their experience with and attitudes toward asynchronous online learning materials. Then they will complete the tutorial and provide feedback about their experience, including how long it took to complete the tutorial what they learned, and any problems they encountered. The students’ responses will inform further reflection and any further revisions of the citations tutorial.

References

Gravett, K., & Kinchin, I. M. (2020). Referencing and empowerment: exploring barriers to agency in the
     higher education student experience.Teaching in Higher Education, 25(1), 84–97.
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1541883

Kwon, D. (2022). The rise of citational justice: How scholars are making references fairer. Nature,
      603(7902), 568–571. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00793-1

Nilson, L. B. (2013). Creating self-regulated learners: strategies to strengthen students’ self-awareness
     and learning skills. Stylus.

Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching, and assessing. Theory      Into Practice, 41(4), 219-225. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4104_3