EKU's Noel Studio Combines Research, Writing, and Communication Instruction
By Josh Hadro Nov 4, 2010At the beginning of the fall 2010 semester, a wholly renovated space reopened within the Crabbe Library at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), a teaching and research institution serving more than 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Dubbed the Noel Studio for Academic Creativity (in honor of the more than $1 million donation from alumni EKU alumni Ron and Sherrie Lou Noel that helped fund the renovation), the new space replaces the school's former Writing Center in favor of "an integrated space, bringing together writing, communication, and research areas of the university."
As libraries consider various permutations of the Information Commons model, they're also reaching out to other areas of instruction like writing and information technology support traditionally covered by independent departments. At EKU, this integration is built in: the project was jointly sponsored by the Department of English and Theatre, the Department of Communication, and the Library, as well as the Office of Quality Enhancement Programs.
The 10,000 square-foot Studio is broken up into a number of different areas, including an Invention Space with white boards for brainstorming; individual Breakout Spaces with workstations, video cameras, and flat-screen computer monitors; Practice Rooms fit for small groups rehearsing presentations; a central open space called The Greenhouse; and additional classroom and conference room for larger meetings.
To get a sense of how students might make use of the Noel Studio, LJAN recently discussed the new space with its director, Dr. Russell Carpenter (pictured above), and Trenia Napier, assistant university librarian and the Studio's research coordinator.
(Photos courtesy of Cindi Trainor, Coordinator for Library Technology and Data Services at Eastern Kentucky University Libraries.)
How does the Studio fit into the context of the library, both physically and conceptually?
With the construction of the Noel Studio, EKU Libraries reclaimed long neglected space-space that had originally served as the University's first and only library when built in 1924. Once used primarily for storage, in the past year the space was completely re-imagined and rebuilt into an amazing 10,000-square-foot, open and flexible, student-focused space within the main library.
In conjunction with the opening of the Noel Studio, EKU Libraries reopened the Crabbe Library's historic entrance. For the first time in over 15 years, students pass through this historic entrance into a foyer allowing them to enter either the Noel Studio or the library proper.
In addition to providing the physical space, EKU Libraries represents a key component of the Noel Studio's mission—the research component, and thus information literacy: the ability to recognize an information need, determine the type and scope of the need, gather and evaluate information in light of the need, and incorporate appropriate information into one's own product in an effective and persuasive way. EKU is committed to developing informed, critical and creative thinkers who communicate effectively, and information literacy is vital to student success.
How do you integrate all three components-writing, oral communication, and research?
Cross-training with consultants allows us to ensure integration. Consultants help students realize the intersections and complementary relationships in these areas. Moreover, the Noel Studio has three coordinators [of research, communication, and writing] on staff to ensure the integration of these areas. Much of the integration also occurs naturally within the fluidly designed space. Students see the integration through technology and the day-to-day invention and composition they do for class and out of class.
Can you give any specific examples of how a student might come to use the Studio?
EKU students are invited to bring a variety of communication projects, from traditional print-based essays to digital narratives, and from oral presentations pieces and products to multimedia projects. Consultants work with students individually or in small groups on invention, research, creation, revision and every stage in between. Students may visit the Noel Studio to brainstorm keywords before they begin the research process; on more than one occasion we have seen consultants facilitate a brainstorming session on two or more topics in order to help a student determine the feasibility of each topic. Such sessions have a strong foundation in information literacy: the student and consultant collaboratively determine the information need and develop a plan of action for gathering effective information to meet a particular information need.
In our first semester, we have seen a wide variety of projects. One project in particular stands out as an interesting example incorporating all three of the Noel Studio's key components: Students in a childhood development psychology course have been tasked with collaborating in groups of six on a multi-part project about a controversial topic in child development. This semester-long project incorporates a collaborative Pro/Con style paper, as well as a debate-rebuttal style group presentation. The groups first visited the Noel Studio in the invention and pre-research phases of the project to brainstorm pros and cons, determine the information need (what type of information would be most effective and persuasive for both the paper and the debate, as well as where to find that information), and develop a plan and outline for the next steps in the project.
Later, groups returned for assistance on developing a cohesive voice for their collaborative paper, or to work on organization and structure. Now, as the semester is coming to an end, we are seeing the groups return to develop an outline and plan for the debate and rebuttal, a process that sometimes includes seeking more information, either to strengthen an argument or to develop an interesting visual to support the presentations. Soon, those groups will begin using our Breakout Spaces and Practice Rooms to practice and record their presentations and work with a consultant to critique and refine those presentations through collaborative viewing and discussion of the recorded practice run. Groups may request multiple consultants in order to practice the rebuttal portion of the debate, which will assist them in anticipating the audience rebuttal and help them strengthen any weaknesses in their argument and research.
What are some of the technologies and collaborative tools being used?
The Noel Studio is a technology rich environment. We've added touch-screen technologies wherever possible to encourage students to engage the communication process. We use laptops, tablets, iPods, Flipcams, and Live Scribe sets to provide access to communication and information in flexible environments. Monitor clusters allow students to construct and deconstruct communication, information, videos and other visual data.
How is the Studio staffed, and what role do librarians (or library students) play in the mix?
To support the integrated nature of the Noel Studio, our staff includes a director, a writing coordinator, a communication coordinator, a research coordinator, and 29 graduate and undergraduate peer consultants from across the disciplines. Coordinators serve as instructors and liaisons to their individual departments, maintaining connections and staying abreast of the needs and initiatives of those departments. Research Coordinator Trenia Napier serves as the Noel Studio liaison to the libraries. Napier is also a member of the EKU Libraries Reference and Instruction Team; as a member of this team, she provides reference and library instruction services to the campus community and serves on various information literacy and instruction committees. Napier is also tasked with developing and implementing programming, events, and workshops to assist the campus community in understanding research as a process. She ensures that information literacy is integrated into Noel Studio consultations, and seeks out opportunities to collaborate with the Coordinators for Writing and Communication, EKU Libraries faculty and staff, and other campus entities.
Most recently, Napier and Director Dr. Russell Carpenter facilitated a Noel Studio-EKU Libraries-Honors Program collaboration with Honors Program Director Dr. Linda Frost to create a series of programming for the Honors Thesis course that reinforced the integration of research, writing, and oral communication in the Honors Thesis project-a project that requires an in-depth understanding of research as a process, creation of a substantial (typically written) thesis or creative work, and culminates in a presentation of the thesis to the campus community.
The Noel Studio employs two graduate students from the University of Kentucky's School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) as consultants. These SLIS students are, essentially, embedded librarians in the Noel Studio and are committed to incorporating creative research strategies and information literacy awareness into their consultations. Our first two SLIS Consultants will be valuable colleagues as we continue to investigate the role of libraries and librarians in an integrated environment.
Aside from one-on-one consultations, what are some of the programs you're offering?
In addition to collaborations with University programs and classes—as with the Honors Program on the Honors Thesis project and a Noel Studio-EKU Libraries collaboration on an information literacy workshop for fraternity Sigma Nu—the Noel Studio will offer over 200 programs this fall. Some of those include "Conducting Academic Research," "Creativity and Research Methods," "Confronting Speech Anxiety," "Visual Rhetoric for Academics," and "Turning a Paper into a Presentation."
