State-Adopted Teacher Edition Textbooks

Two courses this summer (May 15 through July 11, with almost 120 students) need state-adopted teacher edition textbooks for an assignment.  In the Dick Smith Library, all of these textbooks are in the Textbooks area on the lower level of the library, in the Curriculum Collection, near the end near the window. 

This week, access to the lower level will be limited at times due to air-conditioning work, and you may need to go downstairs to get a textbook for a user.  Here's some information to help you find what you need.

Students in READ 3356 will need a science or social studies teacher edition for grades K-6.  Students in READ 3351 have a broader range of subjects, but will need the teacher editions for grades 6-12 (middle school and high school).  I always ask the student to tell me specifically what grade and what subject they want.

Our online catalog is not particularly helpful in finding these books.  I've posted charts in the textbook area that line up LC categories with subject and grade levels.   Here are the first letters of call numbers for subject areas typically requested for this assignment:

D: World History, high school
E: USA History, grade 8 and high school
F: Texas History, grade 7
G: Geography, grade 6 and high school
H: Social Studies, grades K-5

MT: Music, orchestra only, high school
PC 4129: Spanish, grades 6-12

Q: Science, grades K-8
QA 107: Math, grades K-8
QA 152 - 551: Math, high school (algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, etc.)
QC-QP: Science, high school (physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy & physiology) 

RA: Health, grades K-12
S-SF: Agriculture, high school


Call numbers for state-adopted textbooks for grades K through 12 will always include "GR." and the relevant grade level(s) near the end of the call number.  Teacher editions are indicated with a "T" either at the very end of the grade level line, or after the first set of numerals in the call number.  At this point, the only subject area that still has the latter type of call number are the RAs, because the state has not adopted new textbooks in that area in over 12 years!

See the part circled in red in the example close-ups below.

 All subject areas but Health (RA)

Only Health (RA - the example shown was taken prior to new math adoptions)

Here's a little more detail about the call numbers for these books.

Parts of a Textbook Call Number (for all but RA, health):

EDUC
G
128
.N38
2016
GR. 6T* – grade level(s); T for a teacher edition*
UNIT 12 – this line is not always used; it can indicate a volume or unit number (as in this example), supplemental material, Advanced Placement (AP) texts, or additional copies (C.2, etc.)


Parts of a Textbook Call Number (for only RA, Health):

EDUC
RA
440T – indicates teacher edition*
.M44
2005
GR. 8 – grade level(s) for the adopted text
RELA – this line is not always used; it can indicate  a volume or unit number, supplemental material (as in this example), Advanced Placement (AP) texts, or additional copies (C.2, etc.)



*If there is no T, it’s a student edition.  That's NOT what students need for this assignment!  Other clues to teacher editions are that ones for elementary grades (K-5) are typically spiral bound or in notebooks.  Middle school and high school teacher editions usually have "TE" or "TWE" (teacher wraparound edition) printed near the top of the spine - you can see that in some of the photos above.

Reoccurring Assignment - Coach Biographies

Hi All,

I wanted to give everyone a heads up that we're getting several questions today concerning an assignment. I'm not sure on the exact course name (it may be Principles of Coaching) or professor, but students are needing to check out a biography book focusing on a specific sports coach.

We may need to direct the students to other resources though, as earlier I had a student ask for a book on Gregg Popvich, a basketball coach, and we didn't have any books specifically focusing on that particular coach.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks!

Christy

Nursing Assignment Tips

Hi All,

At Librarians' Meeting yesterday, Cathy indicated that Nursing students are starting to contact her about their assignments. Since Reference students do not have access to the Wiki, I'm posting Nursing assignment information here as well. 

Students, if you find that you are experiencing difficulty with these assignments after-hours (8pm-2am), please direct the Nursing students to contact a librarian for assistance. If it's during the normal work hours of 8am-5pm, please try to contact a librarian to come assist them. 

Let me know if you have any questions! Cathy has worked with Nursing students for several years so she is an excellent resource if you're having trouble or have any questions as well. 

Thanks!

Christy 

Here's some guidelines for the assignments: 

Levels of Evidence:

• Determining Levels of Evidence

• To figure out which level a specific article is, read the abstract and the methods section.
• The strategies the writers used to gather their data/information will determine which level you’d assign to a study.

• Levels of Evidence Chart 1

• The image below offers some explanations and a chart to help students figure out what level of evidence their research articles demonstrate.
• Information was gathered from pages 9-12 in Melnyk, B. M. & Fineout-Overholt, E. (Eds.). (2005). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practices. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
  

• Levels of Evidence Chart 2

• This image offers a bit more description regarding whether research is primary or secondary.
• Information is from page 10 in Melnyk, B. M. & Fineout-Overholt, E. (Eds.). (2005). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practices. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Nursing Leadership/Management

First: Talk with student about the topic (which focus? which aspect? definitions of terms?)
Second: Review assignment. 
Task = Evidence-based research regarding a particular management opportunity observed in a clinical setting.  They will need to present a synopsis of the setting, problem, personnel involved, etc. 

How their project takes shape will depend, in large part, on if their topic is a solution or a problem.  They will need to identify/discuss their topic (solution/problem) using published research, evaluate their proposed management tactic using decision-making tools/strategies (using info from their textbook), pick their preferred solution & discuss change strategies required to implement their solution (using info from their textbook).

• Some example topics: 

• Topics = Decrease Code Blue Occurrences in Med/Surg

• Code Blue = cardiac/respiratory (complications, emergency, critical incident, etc.)
• Med/Surg = medical surgical (after surgery, step-down unit, perioperative, ambulatory surgery, etc.)
• Possible first round of searches.  The following is based on the student's preferences.  Each student will be different.
             surgery                  (maybe choose title field later)
  AND   cardiac arrest         (used to narrow the search)
  NOT   "cardiac surgery"   (added 'cause didn't want to look at this set of patients)
• Possible second round of searches.  Based on what student saw the first go-round.
                   perioperative
       AND    cardiac arrest
       AND    prevent* OR predict*
       NOT    "cardiac surgery" 

• Healthcare Quality's Impact on Costs

• Determine with student which costs are being examined: patients? insurance providers? medical provider?  It's probably the last one, but could go to any group.  Depends on what the student wants to do.
• Be sure the student understands to go to reputable sources & to the original sources like Medicare, Census, etc. & help student locate research articles.
• Ask student which aspect of health costs he/she plans to use as focus.
• Possible search terms when looking for possible management solutions related to decreasing costs associated with readmissions.  Each student will be different.
                   readmission* OR readmit* OR rehospital*
       AND    management
       AND    hospital* OR medical OR nurs*

• Closed Staffing in Medical Surgical Units (benefits/effects)

• Possible search terms
            nursing
  AND  closed staffing OR closed-unit OR "closed unit"
• student will need to define the PICO based on teacher's guidance

• Decrease Readmissions -- cost an aspect (maybe facilities, maybe patient)

• Possible search terms to begin looking for articles
            readmission* OR readmit* OR rehospital*
  AND  management
  AND   hospital* OR medical OR nurs*

• Substance Abuse in the Workplace

• Possible search terms to begin looking for articles (CINAHL, Cochrane & Medline probably work best of this one)
            impairment AND health professional (SU term)
  OR    impairment AND nurs* AND __________ (insert drug type or name.  For example, alcohol)
• Looking for substance abuse AND nursing finds too many articles focused on patients with substance issues, instead of the nurses.   

• Sending article links to faculty members:

• For some exercises, nursing students must send their instructor(s) direct links to articles, which has caused some frustration and confusion for them. The following measures seem to work well:
• Use the "Persistent link to the record" URL that shows up in CINAHL records, which will take the receiver to the item's record where the full text can be accessed. These links should now open either on or off campus.  If they will not open off-campus, ask the Systems Librarian to check if EBSCO has "lost" the IP address, so patrons can use their NTNET logins.
• Use links in Cochrane to the PDF or the search page(the link is in the address bar at the browser window's top). Both links seem to work & will let the receiver access (or log in when off-campus) Cochrane and get to the item.
• Instructor might accept the article as an attached PDF. Tell the student to save the PDF to the desktop & then link to it in an email.
• Instructor might be willing to accept the record's accession number and then log-on to CINAHL (or another EBSCO database that has the item), and use the accession number to locate the article.

Dr. Bond's class assignment

I have learned that students from Dr. Bond's class have the scavenger hunt assignment again.

One of the questions asks the students to find articles in print encyclopedias that discuss reverse discrimination. They may need to search the indexes to find entries on reverse discrimination (also called reverse racism or reverse prejudice).  Some only give a bit of info mixed in the information about affirmative action.  Others give a full section on reverse discrimination.

 

One set – Encyclopedia of Counseling (BF636.54 .E53 2008)– has a long entry about reverse racism.

There are a few indexes on top of the reference shelves in case the students come in today. If the indexes get put away, have the students check out encyclopedias related to counseling, social services, and African-American history. These should have entries that will work.

GOVT 2305 Assignment (Dr. Thompson's Course)

Hi Reference Team,

The following is information about an assignment for Dr. Thompson's Federal Government Course:

Please let Cathy or me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Christy

English 3390 - Readings in Adolescent Literature (Dr. Robitaille's Class) Assignment

Hi Reference Team!

Cathy has shared the following copy of Dr. Robitaille's Assignment for English 3390.

I wanted everyone to have access to the assignment in case you get questions at the desk.

Here is also a copy of the resource list for the assignment as well: 

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,

Christy 

Nursing 4410 Assignment (Nursing Leadership/Management)

Hi Reference Team!

Cathy mentioned in Librarian's Meeting that a nursing assignment is circulating this semester which involves mulitple parts.

Here is her advice for helping students with this assignment (they may ask for her but if she's unavailable try to assist them with the assignment):

First: Talk with student about the topic (which focus? which aspect? definitions of terms?)

Second: Task = Evidence-based research regarding a particular management opportunity observed in a clinical setting.  Will need to present synopsis of the setting, problem, personnel involved, etc. Identify possible solutions from the published research, evaluate the solutions using decision-making tools (in their textbook), pick preferred solution & discuss change strategies required to implement solution (see their textbook).

• Example topics: 

• Topics = Decrease Code Blue Occurrences in Med/Surg

• Code Blue = cardiac/respiratory (complications, emergency, critical incident, etc.)
• Med/Surg = medical surgical (after surgery, step-down unit, perioperative, ambulatory surgery, etc.)
• Possible first round of searches.  The following is based on the student's preferences.  Each student will be different.
             surgery                  (maybe choose title field later)
  AND   cardiac arrest         (used to narrow the search)
  NOT   "cardiac surgery"   (added 'cause didn't want to look at this set of patients)
• Possible second round of searches.  Based on what student saw the first go-round.
                   perioperative
       AND    cardiac arrest
       AND    prevent* OR predict*
       NOT    "cardiac surgery" 

• Healthcare Quality's Impact on Costs

• Determine with student which costs are being examined: patients? insurance providers? medical provider?  It's probably the last one, but could go to any group.  Depends on what the student wants to do.
• Be sure the student understands to go to reputable sources & to the original sources like Medicare, Census, etc. & help student locate research articles.
• Ask student which aspect of health costs he/she plans to use as focus.
• Possible search terms when looking for possible management solutions related to decreasing costs associated with readmissions.  Each student will be different.
                   readmission* OR readmit* OR rehospital*
       AND    management
       AND    hospital* OR medical OR nurs*

• Closed Staffing in Medical Surgical Units (benefits/effects)

• Possible search terms
            nursing
  AND  closed staffing OR closed-unit OR "closed unit"
• student will need to define the PICO based on teacher's guidance

• Decrease Readmissions -- cost an aspect (maybe facilities, maybe patient)

• Possible search terms to begin looking for articles
            readmission* OR readmit* OR rehospital*
  AND  management
  AND   hospital* OR medical OR nurs*

Please let Cathy or me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,

Christy

Cinderella Versions

Students in a Short Story class need to check out a version of Cinderella.  I'm going to have my student worker pull these books and place them on our green cart here on the lower level, but here is a link to a list of the Cinderella versions we have downstairs:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rdg301library&tag=Cinderella%2Bversion

Dr. Hickman's History 4340 Library Scavenger Hunt Assignment

Hi Reference Team!

Dr. Hickman contacted me letting me know that he revised his yearly Library Scavenger Hunt Assignment. 

This assignment will be due October 12th so we will probably get questions about it over the next month. 

I will print the updated version of his assignment and keep a copy at the Reference Desk. 

He specifically wants his students to use microfilm from offsite so we will need to show students the offsite request form and most likely how to use the microfilm readers. 

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks!

Christy 

Biology First Year Seminar Library Assignment

Hi Reference Team!

I wanted to give everyone a heads up about a Biology FYS assignment that Dr. Nelson assigned his students due September 12-17th :

The assignment is asking students to write in a call # for journal titles. Amy provided a list of all current periodicals in the library with the call number for the reference desk but we need to show the students how to use the Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory database to look up the first portion of the Library of Congress call number. It’s right below the title info. Amy also provided a brochure which highlights some of the Biology perodicals that we have access to. Please take some time to review the items so that you are familar with them.

Also, he wants students to find hard copy journals and scan an article from the journal. The students can use the photo copiers or the scanner to do this. The students can perform an Advanced Search in our catalog and limit type to Journals and Location to Periodicals to get a list of our print in-house journals (note: some of the results may actually be located offsite so if you cannot find a journal, it's most likely offsite; Amy is working to update this). Students may also browse the periodicals shelves on their own.

The original assignment will be revised based on Cathy's converation with Dr. Neslon about our resources but I will print the current version of the assignment and keep a copy at the desk for you to review.

Please see me if you have any questions about this assignment.

Thanks!

Christy

Update to the assignment (added today, September 1st):

Modification of Biology 1100 Library Assignment:

1.      Our periodicals in the library are organized in alphabetical order by title and do not use call numbers.  If you needed those numbers to order something from another library, they can be found in World Cat or Ulrich’s databases.  Since you do not need them for the Tarleton library to find materials, do not provide call numbers for your three biology-related journals.

2.       The library has older journal articles stored and it takes them 0.5-1 day to provide you access to those articles.  On number 4 of the assignment, use 2005 for the year, you were born.

Texan Hall EDU Students' Assignment (Lisa will be out Thurs/Friday)

Hi Reference Team!

Lisa will be gone on Thurs. and Fri. of this week.  

Just in case someone uses the DSL phone number to call the Reference Desk if someone is not in Texan Hall, they have an assignment going on with the EDU students where they need to check out a Teacher Edition textbook.

Lisa has a cart of textbooks that can only be checkout by hand usually by her or her student worker, Savannah Terrell.  Savannah will be in during these hours: Thurs.: 2-7 p.m. or Fri.: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,

Christy 

Children's Lit Author Fair assignment

Students in READ 3301 (children's literature) may be coming in looking for "print" resources for their assigned authors for the "Author Fair" assignment.  Please refer them to the Library Resources section (in the sidebar on the left) of the Blackboard component of the course, and tell them to go to the PowerPoint at the top on "Using Artemis Literary Sources for Author Fair."

Here are the instructions for this assignment:

1. You will select, research, and present on an author of your choice. [They have been assigned.]

2. You will read a minimum of 5 novels by your author. You may only use ONE book from each series. [We have at least five novels - or chapter books for nonfiction - for nearly all authors on the list.]

3. You will need a minimum of three sources of information on your author. You may use the author's official website or official publisher's website as one source. The other two must be print sources, the author's autobiography or a biography if possible. [The sources in Artemis count as print sources.  We do have autobiographies for some of the authors; they should come up in a catalog search for the author by the author's name.]

4. Your presentation will include [and the PowerPoint I refer to addresses nearly all of these]:
a. Biographical information
b. Picture
c. A minimum of 5 quotes by the author (These are not quotes taken from the author's books)
d. Major theme or message of the body of work
e. Awards and/or honors received
f. A discussion of 5 novels you read including summary of book, evaluation of the book with recommendation, major theme, and 3-D Reading Response product.
g. Copies of the novels
h. A list of a maximum of 50 of your author's books.
i. A reference page of the resources you used to gather your information.

Please give them my e-mail (pape@tarleton.edu) or tell them to message me in Blackboard if they need more help.

Thanks!  Amanda

Economics Class Assignment

Hi All,

If a student comes in from an economics class with a list of 20 books to read, can you please get a copy of that list to Margie?

The library does not own many of the books on the list so she's interested in suggesting these as purchases since she is the liaison for that area.

Thanks!

Christy

Agriculture Assignment

Hi Reference Team!

Cathy passed on some information concerning an assignment for Dr. Ford's class:

He is asking the students to find three textbooks (not just the textbooks on the Lower Level) concerning agriculture. This can be any topic as long as it ties into agriculture. For example, swine.

Here are some search terms to try in the catalog:

agriculture AND textbook$

swine AND textbook$

Introduction to agriculture (or their topic).

 If they only want K-12 textbooks, you can limit the type to "Pre-K-12 Textbook" or location to the "Curriculum Collection".

You might also suggest the general call number section for agriculture located upstairs (the S1-S972 section). The students may have better luck browsing the shelves to find textbooks.

I hope these tips help with assisting the students.

Please feel free to comment with any other ideas you may have.

Also, please let me know if you need any help!

Thanks,

Christy

History 1301 Assignment: Library Scavenger Hunt

Hi Reference Team!

Students are working on Dr. Hickman's Library Scavenger Hunt assignment again this semester. I believe this assignment is due on February 1st.  

Yvonne received a copy of the assignment and graciously shared it with me to keep at the Reference Desk.

Here is a screenshot of the first page:

This will remain at the Reference Desk until the first week of Feb. 

I have also let Kim Gragg know since one of the tasks the students have to do is fill out an ILL request.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you, Yvonne, for letting me know and obtaining a copy for me! :)

Thanks!

Christy

Pocket-sized U.S. Constitutions

Today, a student stopped by the Periodicals Desk and asked Sandy if she could see a small copy of the U.S. Constitution because she needed to look at it for class and her teacher said the library had copies.  Don't know who the teacher is, what class it's for, or what the student was supposed to find out.

Sandy called me to ask if we still had copies.  I checked the Marketing & Outreach supply cupboard and got two of the promotional copies we received from a company that sells them.  I put copies at the Periodicals and Reference service desks and labeled them so maybe they won't "walk away."

We don't have copies to give to students in the class, but we did have a couple of copies they can look at in the library.  Students can also find it online.

-- Cathy W.

Child Development Class Assignment

There's a child development class with an assignment to find picture books for preschoolers fitting various categories.  They don't have to check the books out, just list the title and author, and then have a librarian (or someone working at the reference desk) sign the list for them.

I'll be glad to help them while I am here, but I'm leaving a little after 4 PM today and will be out tomorrow, and the assignment is due on Sunday.  It is an online course, so many of the students may be using their local public libraries for this assignment.  I have signed three so far over the past three days.

Here are the categories, and some tips to find each:

• Five fiction picture books - I recommend just browsing in the PZ7s.  You can also use the LibraryThing links below and look for books tagged "realistic fiction," "historical fiction," "fantasy," and "traditional literature."


• Five nonfiction picture books - I recommend browsing everything but all the PZs and poetry (PS), or use this list:  http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rdg301library&deepsearch=%252Bpicture+book+%252Bnonfiction.  You can also use the LibraryThing links below and look for books tagged "biography."


• Two wordless picture books - use books on this list:  http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rdg301library&deepsearch=%252Bpicture+book+%252Bwordless, or search the catalog for "stories without words" (in quotes) in a subject search.


• Three Caldecott picture books (I believe either winners or honor books will work) - see http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal.  We pretty much have all of these. I've also tagged a FEW (but by no means all) here: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rdg301library&deepsearch=%252Bpicture+book+%252Bcaldecott.  If browsing the shelves, note that we have also put "Randolph Caldecott Award" stickers near the call numbers of these books, and a red dot near the bottom of the spine (since you cannot see the sticker on picture books when they are on the shelf).


• Five multicultural picture books - a starting point is this list:  http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rdg301library&deepsearch=%252Bpicture+book+%252Bdiversity.  When the list comes up, refer to the specific tags for each book for the type of diversity (Latino, Native American, African American, Asian American, etc.).  This list also addresses other types of diversity, so be careful. It also does NOT include books such as traditional literature (fairy tales, folktales, etc.) from other cultures cultures – you can browse the PZ8s and PZ8.1s for some of those. (example:  Grandma and the Great Gourd: A Bengali Folktale, a PZ8.1 currently on display with the new books behind the lower level reference desk).  

Note too that in LibraryThing in the Comments field, I have put Accelerated Reader information when available.  The first number is a reading level.  That's not as important in this case since these books are for preschoolers and can be read aloud, but a level that's *too* high might have content beyond them.  What you do want to look for is "K-3" after the reading level, as that is the interest level for the book.  There is no "preschool" interest level in Accelerated Reader, but K-3 books should work.

Students looking for 150-page children's books

Students from Dr. Robin Pate's UNIV 0309 class may be in looking for a children's or young adult of at least 150 pages.  They can get any book they want, fiction or nonfiction, poetry or short stories, read it, write a summary, and a personal reflection.  These students are struggling with reading and many cannot tell you what they like to read or are interested in writing about.  I've found all they really care about is getting as close to that 150 mark for page count without going too far over.

You can find a list of some books that meet these criteria here.

Library Assignment

Hi Reference Team!

I wanted to give everyone a heads up that students are coming to the desk looking for handouts, bookmarks, floor plans, etc. for an assignment that they must complete over the library. I had one student ask me for 25 floor plans so I'm currently cutting some out for the upper level desk. There was another student who wanted to learn more about the library catalog and asked to speak with the Catalog Librarian. It sounds like they may have assigned sections about the library to report on for the class.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Thanks,

Christy