DOs and DON’Ts of the Graphic Organizer Activity

DO use the Graphic Organizer (GO) assignment exactly as designed.

DON’T make any changes to the design or instructions. We use this to assess information literacy in the first year/transfer seminars and need consistent data.

DO make time to review the instructions with your students as a class. We recommend watching the video and reviewing the written instructions together in class.

DON’T ask your liaison librarian to present this assignment to your class. They won’t have time during the in-class library session to review the Graphic Organizer assignment instructions.

DO make sure that students use two sources of background information to complete the Graphic Organizer assignment.

DON’T ask students to find scholarly sources to complete the Graphic Organizer assignment.

DO make a clear plan to collect and share the completed Graphic Organizer assignments with your liaison librarian (see instructions for submission options).

DON’T have students share completed Graphic Organizer assignments directly with your liaison librarian. It gets too messy!

DO ask your liaison librarian for help if you have any questions!

DON’T feel like you have to go it alone—we’re here for you!

How to Use the Activity

Recommendations:

  • Incorporate the Graphic Organizer activity when students are beginning to research for a course assignment.
  • Assign the Graphic Organizer before your in-person library instruction session to prepare students for information evaluation.
  • Use the Graphic Organizer as an engaged learning activity & pairing it with a class discussion about types of information sources.

Tip: Share the completed assignments with your librarian before the instruction session so they can get an idea of the information your students are finding!

After the Activity

Who Submits the Graphic Organizer?

  • Professors or peer mentors submit the GOs for their entire section(s).
  • Individual students should NOT send their GO directly to the librarian.

Submission Options:

1. Digital Submission

  • Share a Google folder with your LEAD Librarian containing all collected GOs for your section(s). 
  • Individual students should NOT send their GO directly to the librarian. 

2. Physical Submission

  • Scan original GOs and submit copies to your LEAD Librarian. For more information, visit Instructions for Scanning & Submission.
  • Drop off a folder or envelope of collected GOs at the Library Circulation Desk. 

LEAD Seminar Information Exploration Rubric