Assessing Hands-On Learning in Special Collections: A Pilot Study

This Assessment in Action project addressed the effect of using original primary materials on first-year students’ information literacy (IL) and critical thinking skills. IL and critical thinking are among Augustana College’s college-wide student learning outcomes. More than 25% of Augustana first-years use Special Collections each year, yet we had little data on how this affected student learning. The study evaluated a worksheet given as a pre- and post-test around class visits to work in Special Collections, and papers by students who did and did not visit Special Collections with class