Learning by Teaching about RDM: An Active Learning Model for Internal Library Education

This paper reports on the design, delivery and assessment of a model for internal library education around research data management (RDM). Conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS), the exercise and resultant instructional session employed an active learning approach, in which a group of librarians and archivists explored data issues and conventions in a discipline of their own selection and presented their findings to an audience of library colleagues. In this paper, we put forth an adaptable active learning model for internal RDM education and offer guidance for its implementation by peer libraries that are similarly building internal capacity for the design and delivery of RDM services that are responsive to disciplinary needs. Received 20 October 2015 ~ Accepted 24 February 2016 Correspondence should be addressed to Eleanor Mattern, School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, 135 N. Bellefied Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Email: [email protected] An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 11 International Digital Curation Conference. The International Journal of Digital Curation is an international journal committed to scholarly excellence and dedicated to the advancement of digital curation across a wide range of sectors. The IJDC is published by the University of Edinburgh on behalf of the Digital Curation Centre. ISSN: 1746-8256. URL: http://www.ijdc.net/ Copyright rests with the authors. This work is released under a Creative Commons Attribution (UK) Licence, version 2.0. For details please see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/ International Journal of Digital Curation 2016, Vol. 11, Iss. 2, 27–38 27 http://dx.doi.org/10.2218/ijdc.v11i2.414 DOI: 10.2218/ijdc.v11i2.414 28 | Learning by Teaching about RDM doi:10.2218/ijdc.v11i2.414