Kenn Pierson, Bothell, in seminar with students. (Photo by Michael L. Geiger.)

Collaboration is the Key

Esther Daniels and Kenn Pierson, UW Bothell

The University of Washington Bothell (UWB) is the scene of a unique collaboration between librarians and writing instructors who teach library research and writing as "parallel processes" in the hope of nurturing a more unified approach to critical inquiry.

UWB opened its doors in 1990 to serve the needs of place-bound students in the North Central Puget Sound region. UWB's mission emphasizes the importance of problem solving, critical thinking, writing, and information literacy skills, providing opportunities for collaboration among the library and academic programs.

Collaborative efforts are common among staff members of UWB's Academic Services department--Computing Facilities, the Library, Media Services, the Slide Library, and the Writing Center--because all units report to the campus librarian. In particular, collaborative work between Esther Daniels, public services librarian, and Kenn Pierson, Writing Center director, has led to a more integrated approach to teaching library research and academic writing.

Initially, this collaboration was inspired by the faculty of Liberal Studies. Because critical inquiry skills, especially research and writing, are a vital part of a liberal arts education, the faculty saw the need to initiate a course focusing on the refinement of these skills. This course, Interdisciplinary Research and Writing, was piloted in autumn, 1995.

During the first year, the course emphasized problem solving as a vehicle for applying research and writing skills. The instructors began to recognize, however, that these skills are part of the larger process of critical inquiry, which includes critical reading as an essential bridge skill. During the second year, Daniels and Pierson more thoroughly explored with the students the ways in which research, reading and writing are integrated. Since that time, the course has evolved from a three-credit link with a required core course to a permanent five-credit Liberal Studies course offering.

Compared to traditional models of teaching university-level library research and writing, the integrated approach at UWB offers distinct advantages. "Typically, when library skills courses are offered as part of the academic curriculum," says Daniels, "information literacy is taught outside of a content course and broken down into discrete modules, often with no written end product. Even when library research is taught in conjunction with a course, information literacy is commonly not taught within the context of writing." Similarly, the traditional approach to teaching academic writing (within a formal composition course) reduces library research to a discrete, if minor, component. In either case, traditional approaches fail to treat research and writing as integrated processes.

The collaboration between Daniels and Pierson also offers tangible evidence of UWB's commitment to interdisciplinary education. This sometimes abstract concept becomes concrete whenever a member of the research/writing team pays a routine classroom visit. The cross-pollination of one discipline with another at UWB will be further accelerated now that all library and writing center staff meet in weekly visits, often with program faculty, to share teaching strategies. As the collaborative teams continue to grow, the goal of teaching research and writing in an integrated manner throughout all campus programs is sure to follow.