Beyond the Checklist Approach: A Librarian-Faculty Collaboration to Teach the BEAM Method of Source Evaluation

Abstract

Evaluating information is an essential skill, valued across disciplines. While librarians and instructors share the responsibility to teach this skill, they need a common framework in order to collaborate to design assignments that give students multiple opportunities to learn. Librarians and First Year Seminar faculty at Belmont University collaborated to design a unit of instruction on source evaluation using the BEAM method. BEAM requires students to apply a use-based approach to evaluation, to read and engage with sources more closely, and to think about how they might use a source for a specific purpose. Structured annotated bibliographies that included BEAM were assessed, along with student, instructor, and librarian feedback. The BEAM method may be an effective method for teaching information evaluation when paired with other sequenced assignments that guide students through the research and writing process.