Beyond the Checklist Approach - A Librarian-Faculty Collaboration to Teach the BEAM Method of Source Evaluation

Oct 15, 2026

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Evaluating information is an essential skill that benefits students across disciplines, yet effective collaboration between librarians and instructors requires a shared teaching framework. Librarians and First Year Seminar faculty at Belmont University designed a unit using the BEAM method for source evaluation. BEAM emphasizes a use-based approach—reading sources closely and planning how they will be used for specific purposes. Structured annotated bibliographies with BEAM were assessed alongside feedback to determine effectiveness for information evaluation within sequenced assignments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Innovative Practices

Purpose and context

BEAM-based instruction design

Assessment and outcomes

Literature Review

Value of IL

Communications in Information Literacy | Volume 15 Issue 1 | Article 7 | | --- | --- | | 6-2021
Beyond the Checklist Approach: A Librarian-Faculty Collaboration to Teach the BEAM Method of Source Evaluation
Jenny Mills
Belmont University, [jenny.mills@belmont.edu](jenny.mills@belmont.edu)
Rachael Flynn
Belmont University, [rachael.flynn@belmont.edu](rachael.flynn@belmont.edu)
Nicole Fox
Belmont University, [nicole.fox@belmont.edu](nicole.fox@belmont.edu)
Dana Shaw
Belmont University, [dana.shaw@belmont.edu](dana.shaw@belmont.edu)
Claire Walker Wiley
Belmont University, [claire.wiley@belmont.edu](claire.wiley@belmont.edu)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit](https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit)
Part of the Information Literacy Commons
Let us know how access to this document benefits you. | | Recommended Citation Mills, J., Flynn, R., Fox, N., Shaw, D., & Wiley, C. W. (2021) . Beyond the Checklist Approach: A LibrarianFaculty Collaboration to Teach the BEAM Method of Source Evaluation. Communications in Information Literacy, 15 (1), 119–139 . [https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2021.15.1.7](https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2021.15.1.7) This open access Innovative Practice is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4 .0) . All documents in PDXScholar should meet accessibility standards. If we can make this document more accessible to you, contact our team. Beyond the Checklist Approach: A Librarian-Faculty Collaboration to Teach the BEAM Method of Source Evaluation Jenny Mills (Belmont University) Rachael Flynn (Belmont University) Nicole Fox (Belmont University) Dana Shaw (Belmont University) Claire Walker Wiley (Belmont University) Abstract Evaluating information is an essential skill, valued across disciplines. While librarians and instructors share the responsibility to teach this skill, they need a common framework in order to collaborate to design assignments that give students multiple opportunities to learn. Librariansand First Year Seminar faculty at Belmont University collaborated to design a unit of instruction on source evaluation using the BEAM method. BEAM requires students to apply a use-based approach to evaluation, to read and engage with sources more closely, and to think about how they might use a source for a specific purpose. Structured annotated bibliographies that included BEAM were assessed, along with student, instructor, and librarian feedback. The BEAM method may be an effective method for teaching information evaluation when paired with other sequenced assignments that guide students through the research and writing process. Keywords: information literacy, source-based writing, BEAM method, information evaluation, information use, assessment Innovative Practices edited by Andrea Baer, Carolyn Gamtso, and Merinda McLure Mills, J., Flynn, R., Fox, N. Shaw, D., & Wiley, C. W. (2021) . Beyond the checklist approach: A librarian-faculty collaboration to teach the BEAM method of source evaluation. Communications in Information Literacy, 15(1), 119–139. Beyond the Checklist Approach: A Librarian-Faculty Collaboration to Teach the BEAM Method of Source Evaluation Evaluating information is an essential information literacy skill, valued by librarians and faculty alike, but often only addressed with a one-shot library instruction session. Librarians at Belmont University have evolved their instruction on information evaluation for First-Year Seminars (FYS) to better align with the big ideas of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Association of College and Research Libraries [ACRL], 2015) . However, as students continued to struggle with selecting and using quality sources, in 2019, they made two big changes: 1) collaborate with faculty to design a sequence o

FAQs

What problem does the article address about teaching information evaluation?

It addresses that information evaluation is often limited to a one-shot library session and that students struggle with selecting and using quality sources without a common instructional framework.

What is the BEAM method used in the unit of instruction?

BEAM requires students to take a use-based approach to evaluation—reading and engaging with sources more closely and thinking about how they will use a source for a specific purpose.

How was student learning assessed in the BEAM-based sequence?

The unit used structured annotated bibliographies that included BEAM, and student, instructor, and librarian feedback were collected to evaluate effectiveness.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore