Designing Authentic Learning Tasks for Online Library Instruction

This empirical study explores whether authentic tasks designed specifically for deliberately grouped students have an effect on student perception of teaching presence and student cognitive gains. In one library research class offered in an express session online, the instructor grouped students randomly. In a second online library research class, students were deliberately grouped according to major. Assignments were designed and targeted to these two groups with IRB approval. The students were surveyed using a modified Community of Inquiry survey. Analysis of survey results using Chi Square tests indicates that this constructivist approach to teaching and learning is effective for teaching library research methods; there was a statistically significant measure of overall grade achievement in the deliberately grouped class.