Professionals: Ruth Small

Ruth V. Small is a professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and co-principal investigator of the S.O.S. for Information Literacy project. She is the Director of the Center for Digital Literacy. In 2004, "Dr. Ruth" received the prestigious "Teacher of the Year" award from the Syracuse University Alumni Association.

Research Interest: Motivational aspects of information presentation and use.

Personal Webpage: http://istweb.syr.edu/facstaff/facultymember.asp?id=29

Article & Documents Online:
Small, Ruth. Collaboration: Where Does It Begin? Teacher Librarian; 29(5), June 2002.
http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tlmag/v_29/v_29_5_feature.html

Small, Ruth. Having an IM-PACT on Information Literacy: A Model for Improving Instructional Presentations. Teacher Librarian; 28(1), Oct. 2000.
http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tlmag/v_28/v_28_1_feature.html

Small, Ruth V. Designing Motivation into Library and Information Skills Instruction. School Library Media Research; 1, 1998.
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume11998slmqo/small.htm
This article describes some well-known theories and concepts of motivation and how they relate to library and information skills instruction.

Small, Ruth. Motivation in Instructional Design. ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology; ERIC Digest – EDO-IR-97-06, July 1997.http://www.ils.unc.edu/daniel/214/MotivationSmall.html
This digest describes the ARCS Model, and will outlines some of the ways in which ARCS components may be applied to instructional design.

Selected Books:
Small, Ruth & Arnone, Marilyn. Turning Kids on to Research: The Power of Motivation. Libraries Unlimited, 2000.
Motivate and inspire your students as you teach them valuable information skills with dozens of quick, easy-to-apply techniques for planning, improving, and enhancing information skills lessons.
Online Reviews: http://www.marilynarnone.com/ALA%20Book%20Review%20Power%20of%20Motivation.pdf and http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/kqarchives/volume29/293Gray.htm

Small, Ruth. Designing Digital Literacy Programs with IM-PACT: Information Motivation, Purpose, Audience, Content, Technique. Neal Schuman, 2005.
Design information literacy lessons that will motivate you and your students.
Online Review: http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tltoolkit/pro_reading/32_4_proreading.html