The Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support unit provides instruction sessions to help Rhetoric students learn important research skills in preparation for any research assignment.
New Approach to Library Instruction
A new library instruction session will be offered in 2026-2027 that teaches students how to responsibly engage with AI during the research process while continuing to teach fundamental research and information literacy skills. This change is due to the significant integration of AI throughout the research process, including in library resources and databases. The new library instruction session replaces the previous Orange/Blue offerings and will be adjusted for length depending on whether the class is 50 minutes or 75 minutes.
Information about the new library instruction session as well as the request form can be found below. Additional information on the library’s approach to teaching AI in the research process can be found on the Generative AI for Research Guide. Please reach out to Alex Deeke at deeke3@illinois.edu if you have any questions or would like to learn more about this change.
Library Instruction Goals
The new library instruction session expands on the library’s strong tradition of teaching Rhetoric students foundational research and information literacy skills by incorporating AI literacy throughout the session. Students will develop the following skills by attending the library instruction session:
- Understand how to access library resources and the Rhetoric library guide
- Learn how to dissect a research question into suitable keywords for searching in a library database
- Evaluate differences in the type, quality, and access of sources found when using AI compared to the database Academic Search Ultimate
- Use database searching techniques and AI tools to find and access high quality sources
The library instruction session takes a human-centered approach when teaching students how to responsibly engage with AI during the research process. Students are taught to value, use, and apply their own ideas and approaches at each stage of the research process before engaging with AI. Students are encouraged to take a critical approach to AI by learning both the beneficial and problematic aspects of AI in order to develop a research process enhanced but not replaced by AI.
Requesting a Library Instruction Session
Requesting a library session consists of sharing the section numbers and meeting times for the Rhetoric classes you are teaching as well as four preferred dates for the library instruction session. Requests must be made at least two weeks prior to the desired library instruction date and course instructors are required to attend with their students. Please keep these tips in mind before filling out the request form:
- Library instruction will be the most helpful for your students when they have an assignment that requires them to do research.
- Students will learn better if the library instruction session is scheduled for when students are just starting to work on their research assignment.
Requests can be made by filling out the Library Instruction Request Form. Please reach out to Alex Deeke at deeke3@illinois.edu and Kirsten Feist at kmfeist@illinois.edu if you have any concerns, questions, or problems scheduling a library instruction session.