Letting Traditional Boundaries Blur: a Case Study in Co-Developing STEM “Excellence” Courses

Abstract

This illustrative case study describes the evolution of a series of courses (2014-present) aimed at providing advanced students and early career researchers from a Czech science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)campus with the skills they need to adequately participate in global scientific endeavors. The involvement of library staff in the courses described here ranged far beyond embedding in the passive sense of the word, with all aspects of course design, implementation, and revision managed collaboratively and actively by an interdisciplinary, cross-institutional team championed by library personnel. Thus, this study raises the question of whether or not “embedding” is the appropriate term for describing active library leadership in such “catalytic” endeavors. Structurally, the case study will linearly relate how course modules were developed and how the team approached various organizational and structural hurdles which emerged over time. The study will also show how information literacy concepts were woven into the curriculum without being labeled as such - thus identifying a possible necessity for refining the discourse surrounding information literacy concepts so that students and researchers better understand why they are valuable. The study includes original data from course evaluations as well as descriptions of final syllabi (topics covered, readings assigned, types of homework assigned) for two courses, Scientific Writing in English, and Gaining Confidence in Presenting. Because all instruction and materials were delivered in English, the content described will be relevant to anyone working with advanced STEM students and early career researchers who publish in English. Finally, the study relates how such courses provide essential starting points for proactive engagement with patrons and includes examples of dialogues about writing, publishing, and related topics, introducing issues related to blur: the blurring of traditional boundaries between librarianship and scholarship.