Detroit Redwings Flex Fit Baseball Cap

Detroit Redwings Flex Fit Baseball Cap

Not only did students learn but it also helped change their perception of the library and research. Prior to taking the class students described what research meant to them as, "headaches," "work I didn't want to do," and "school work." After the taking the class students responded to the same question with phrases like, "making sure one is getting accurate information," "comparing and knowing where I'm getting my information," and "fun work."

Did you know that learning football can teach literacy?

Not into sports, let alone fantasy sports? Don't worry, the librarians who taught the classes had varying experience with fantasy football, including one who had no previous experience. The process was more about research than football, football was just the catalyst for learning. It appears that it was successful endeavor, 80% of the students were able to describe two of three appropriate source evaluation criteria. More than 60% were able to describe all three.

Football Can Teach Literacy?

There is a lot of research that goes into drafting and then starting your players. "Owners" must know if a player is injured, plays well on grass (or doesn't run well on grass), whether the opposing team's defense might thwart specific offensive players, and whether the game will be played indoors or outdoors (bad weather can kill a passing game and cause problems for a kicker). In many leagues there is a "buy in" to play and the winning team at the end of the season usually wins the pot of money.

Fantasy sports, particularly fantasy football, are a booming hobby/obsession. People get together and "draft" real professional players onto their mock team. These people's mock teams then compete against other mock teams within a league. The mock team scores points based on the actual player's performance in the real game. According to Wikipedia, a 2003 survey found 15 million people played fantasy football and spend an average of $150 a year, making it a $1.5 billion industry. There is even a Fantasy Football Librarian.

Now why on earth would a librarian want to use fantasy football as method to teach information literacy? Well, it is something that most of your medical students and residents can relate to. If you doubt me, look at your computers from mid August to December. Most likely you will see somebody checking their fantasy football stats and checking injury reports, waiver wires, and start/sit suggestions sites. Librarians are always looking for good teaching examples which are relevant and easily understood by students. The same skills that people use to evaluate information on players are some of the same type of skills that can be used to identify academic information.