2014 Connecticut Information Literacy

ConferenceManchester Community

CollegeJune 13, 2014

Re-imagining Information Literacy with Threshold

Concepts

Parker O’Mara

Systems Librarian

SUNY Plattsburgh

pomar001@plattsburgh.edu

First, a little about Plattsburgh and the information literacy course…

Why the Threshold Concept?

A brief overview of the Threshold Concept Model

“A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress.”

--Meyer and Land, 2003

A brief overview of the Threshold Concept Model

• Ray Land and Jan Meyer• Enhanced Teaching and Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses• How to think like an economist• Threshold concept vs. core concept

5 key criteria:

5 key criteria:

1. Transformative

5 key criteria:

1. Transformative2. Integrative

5 key criteria:

1. Transformative2. Integrative3. Irreversible

5 key criteria:

5 key criteria:

5 key criteria:

1. Transformative2. Integrative3. Irreversible4. Troublesome

5 key criteria:

1. Transformative2. Integrative3. Irreversible4. Troublesome5. Bounded

Our Threshold Concepts

Our Threshold Concepts

• Topic Analysis• Pursuit of Information• Format as Process• Authority: Constructed &

Contextual• Information as a Commodity

Topic Analysis

Topic Analysis

Outcome: Students will be able to refine and articulate an information need and develop a research strategy to effectively meet it.

Topic Analysis

Course Objectives:  1.Students will be able to examine a topic and define its parameters in order to form a well-defined research question.2.Students will be able to craft a research plan in order to find the information necessary to address a research question or need.

Pursuit of Information

Pursuit of Information

Outcome: Students will recognize the value and diversity of search tools and their distinct purposes.

Pursuit of Information

Course Objectives: 1.Students will be able to distinguish the role and purpose of discovery/search tools in order to understand their function in the research process.2.Students will be able to select appropriate search tools in order to access the type of information sought.3.Students will be able to construct well-formed search strategies in order to locate the most useful information sources.

Format as Process

Format as Process

Outcome: Students will recognize the information landscape and be able to distinguish different types of formats and how they are constructed.

Format as ProcessCourse Objectives:

1.Students will be able to distinguish the variety of information formats in order to make informed resource selection choices.2.Students will analyze the resource creation process in order to understand its place in the information cycle. 3.Students will apply knowledge of formats when selecting search tools in order to maximize research efficiency and effectiveness.

Authority: Constructed & Contextual

Authority: Constructed & Contextual

Outcome: Students will be able to determine the appropriate authority necessary to address an information need and how that authority is constructed.

Authority: Constructed & Contextual

Course Objectives:  1.Students will be able to recognize the significance and relativity of authority in relation to different information resources.2.Students will be able to judge what confers authority to different types of information resources.3.Students will be able to choose the appropriate level of authority along with other evaluative criteria to satisfy a specific information need.

Information as a Commodity

Information as a Commodity

Outcome: Students will be able to explain and apply appropriate ethical and legal use of information.

Information as a Commodity

Course Objectives:

1.Students will utilize citations in order to use information ethically by providing attribution, evidence supporting their research, and pathways to the sources they used.  

2.Students will recognize the importance of copyright to the access, use, and creation of information in order to understand its legal and economic protections.

Course design

In closing

WorksFlanagan, Mick, ed. The Threshold Concept. UCL Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, 4 June 2014. Web. 6 June 2014. <http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~mflanaga/thresholds.html>.

Meyer, Jan, and Ray Land. Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practising Within the Disciplines. UK: University of Edinburgh, 2003.

Townsend, Lori, Korey Brunetti, and Amy R. Hofer. "Threshold Concepts and Information Literacy." portal: Libraries and the Academy 11.3 (2011): n. pag. Project MUSE. Web. 11 June 2014.

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Banks, Ken. "Open Door Policy." Flickr. Yahoo, 21 June 2013. Web. 4 June 2014.

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21 June 2010. Web. 4 June 2014.

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2014.

NASA. Mercury Astronauts in Weightless Flight on C-131 Aircraft. 1959. Great Images in

NASA. NASA. Web. 9 June 2014.

ShellyS. "Open Door Policy." Flickr. Yahoo, 13 June 2007. Web. 5 June 2014.

Steenbergs. "Door in Tamil Nadu." Flickr. Yahoo, 13 Feb. 2012. Web. 5 June 2014.

Stuefer, Josef. "Open Door." Flickr. Yahoo, 7 May 2011. Web. 5 June 2014.