Instructional Support

The Scholars' Lab offers support to faculty and students at the University through orientation sessions, class sessions, short courses, and instructional page creation. If you are interested in any of these services, or would like more information about our instructional support, please contact us, or phone Donna Tolson at 982-2957. If possible, it is very helpful to give us the suggested lead time we request for each type of service.

Orientation Sessions (2 weeks notice)

Orientation sessions are appropriate for any class or group of students that will have occasion to use text, spatial or statistical data. In these sessions, we provide an overview of our collections and services, demonstrate the use of our website, and explain the location of frequently used resources (both physical and digital). Orientations can be general, or tailored to the specific needs of a class (such as a survey methods class) or group of students (such as incoming graduate students in a particular department). Orientations are typically held in the Scholars' Lab, but if necessary we can come to your classroom, or speak as part of a larger presentation of University resources. Instructors are welcome but not required at orientation sessions.

Class Sessions (1 month notice)

When students will be required to use Scholars' Lab resources, or will be relying heavily on a particular data source housed at the Scholars' Lab, we suggest a class session. For these sessions, we will gather the appropriate materials in a convenient place (physical or digital), provide specific instructions on how to use them, and demonstrate a typical use. When appropriate, we will provide handouts and/or a customized web page to help students replicate the use of resources on their own. Class sessions are most successful when they are scheduled during the time the class normally meets. They are usually held in the Scholars' Lab, but if appropriate we can come to your classroom. Instructors are strongly encouraged to attend class sessions as questions specific to class requirements often arise.

Short Courses (no notice - just register)

Periodically throughout the year, Scholars' Lab staff offer short courses on specific topics such as Introduction to GIS or Using Census Data. These courses are generally 2-hour sessions of targeted instruction and hands-on exercises, and they are free of charge to the university community. To view scheduled short courses, or to register for one, look on the Library's User Education page.

Instructional Page Creation (beginning of semester or sooner)

When existing tools are insufficient, the Scholars' Lab can create custom web pages to enhance the instructional use of statistical or spatial data. These can be as simple as a page of links organizing specific text or data resources in one place, or as complicated as an interface that allows data subsetting or manipulation. Depending on their level of complexity, these pages can take some time to create, so we need ample notice from instructors. We work with you to determine what resources your class will need and what functions the page should have. With sufficient notice we can sometimes find additional resources not currently featured in our collection. We create the web page(s), and make them available for your review before the class will use them. Finally, if the resources are particularly numerous or complicated, we can conduct a class session to instruct the class in how to use the materials. To see examples of instructional pages created by the Scholars' Lab, click on Class Pages.