Reference Student Training Program

In an effort to respect the multiple ways students learn, a variety of methods are employed to train Reference student workers. Examples include:

• Mentoring and job-shadowing (for Social learners) - Every effort is made to assure that new students are not left alone at the Reference Desk. For the entirety of the first semester in their position, they are paired with a more experienced student worker who serves as a mentor, or with a Reference Librarian whom they can shadow on the job. New student workers are given time to simply observe, absorb, and ask questions about the work being done by the experienced students or librarians.
   
• Self-paced online tutorials (for Visual, Aural, and/or Solitary learners) - Online tutorials have been created which serve to teach needed skillsets, such as how to conduct a reference interview, or to explain useful resources available to the students, such as how to use primary sources. The tutorials combine videos, written text, and quizzes.
   
• Hands-on training (for Verbal, Logical, and Physical learners) - Hands-on exercises are done during Labor meetings and during spontaneous one-on-ones with the Reference Labor Supervisor. Exercises range from practicing database searches to utilizing the microfiche collection to generating appropriate search terms. These exercises begin with a prompt, derived from a previous real-life reference question or from an assignment provided by one of the college's teaching faculty.
   
• Outside-training (for Visual, Aural, Physical, and Social learners) - Students are provided opportunities to learn from departments and groups from outside of the Reference Department when such training may enhance their ability to perform their job. For example, students have traveled to the Special Collections Department for an introduction to the collections housed within it and the services provided there.

• Typically, reference student workers must have completed the courses GSTR 110 and GSTR 210 in order to work at the Reference Desk because those specific first year courses provide students with experience writing a research paper. From creating a research topic to searching for sources to support a thesis to vetting potential sources for quality, GSTR 110 and 210 are invaluable training tools. As such, they are considered prerequisites to work within the department.
   
• All reference student workers are hired in at paygrade level 2 because of that required previous knowledge and experience.
   
• On occasion, first year students will be assigned to the Reference Desk due to Labor Office needs. Those students will be hired in at a paygrade level 1 as they have not completed the prerequisites of GSTR 110 & 210. As first year students, they are not eligible for a promotion upon completion of their training, because promotions of first years within their primary position is forbidden.
   
• Students will automatically be promoted to paygrade level 3 upon completion of the required online training modules and a skills-set  check-list administered by their Labor Supervisor. This promotion and the accompanying pay raise provides incentive to students to take the training seriously and complete it in a timely manner.
   
• Additional promotions accompany the acceptance of additional responsibility, such as editing our online encyclopedia Bereapedia or managing the scheduling of the student workers.

Reference student workers are assessed and provided feedback regarding their performance in a variety of ways, including:

• During hands-on training exercises, student workers demonstrate their knowledge by completing a task. They are given instant feedback from their peers or their labor supervisor when they complete the task in an acceptable manner. When they are off-task, the students are gently re-taught the information.
   
• In the online training modules, students are quizzed to demonstrate content mastery. The quiz results are automatically sent to the labor supervisor, who views the results and then, in the case that the students are passing those quizzes, gives students verbal feedback regarding their performance a few times a semester. In the case of a student doing poorly on a quiz, the labor supervisor meets with the student during a scheduled shift to re-teach the material to the student.
   
• Written labor evaluations are administered twice a year by the labor supervisor using a rubric provided by the college labor department. Students are rated on a Likert scale regarding the degree to which they satisfy requirements of the job and the level to which they demonstrate certain desirable behaviours, such as being punctual and showing initiative. The labor supervisor meets with students one-on-one to verbally discuss the results of the evaluation before submitting it in writing, providing students with the opportunity to challenge their score.
   
• Students are provided with written, emailed reports of their progress in LibAnswers approximately every 3 weeks (or 5 times a semester). LibAnswers is our online homegrown knowledge bank in which students record their interactions with patrons.These reports let the students know how they are performing regarding both the quantity of their entries (there is a benchmark number it is expected that they will meet) and the quality of those entries (entries are checked for accuracy and quality). This provides an opportunity to re-teach students as needed, but also to celebrate the work they have done well.