Information Literacy defined + student awareness = steps towards Information Fluency

Information Literacy defined + student awareness = steps towards Information FluencyKaren KaufmannJames Rhoades

AbstractTaking time to define Information Literacy to students who attend library instruction sessions creates an awareness of the skills associated with being information literate.This simple approach establishes the foundation for students to acquire information fluency skills.

Why was this step introduced during library instruction?How was this step introduced in library instruction?How can this simple approach reach across disciplines in higher education?Why focus on a term and its definition?Students who can define, describe, give examples, and relate the concept to other knowledge are demonstrating their learning of the concept.

(Tessmer, 1990, p.48)

Discussing new model of concept teaching and learning, Tessmer, Wilson, and Driscoll say,

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Florida Distance Learning Consortium http://www.fldlc.org/resources-unv.cfmFlorida Public Higher Education 2010 NCES Library Statistics Program-11 universities & 28 colleges-641 librarians-Over 570,000 FTE students-Over 16,000 presentations-Over 356,000 students attended presentations

2010 National Center for Education Statistics Library Statistics Program

Florida Universities & CollegesDefines Information Literacy or Information Literate Student-6 out of 11 FL universities (55%)-23 out of 28 FL colleges (82%)-Combined 74%

2010 National Center for Education Statistics Library Statistics Program

(Saunders, 2007, p. 321)NameRegional AuthorityInformation Literacy in StandardsMiddle States Commission on Higher EducationWashington D.C.; New York; Pennsylvania; Florida; Delaware; Maryland; New Jersey; Puerto Rico; U.S. Virgin IslandsExtensive, includes the phrase information literacyNew England Association of Schools and CollegesConnecticut; Maine; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; Rhode Island; Vermont; CanadaSignificant, includes the phrase information literacySouthern Association of Colleges and SchoolsAlabama; Florida; Georgia; Kentucky; Louisiana; Mississippi; North Carolina; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; VirginiaSignificant, does not use information literacyNorth Central Association of Colleges and SchoolsArizona; Arkansas; Colorado; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Nebraska; New Mexico; North Dakota, Ohio; Oklahoma; South Dakota; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming Minimal, does not use information literacy North West Commission on Colleges and UniversitiesAlaska; Washington; Oregon; Idaho; Montana; Nevada; UtahSignificant, does not use information literacyWestern Association of Schools and CollegesCalifornia; Hawaii; Guam; Pacific BasinSignificant, includes the phrase information literacyFigure 2 Regional Accrediting Organizations and Information Literacy StandardsRegional accreditation organizations' treatment of information literacy: Definitions, collaboration, and assessment. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 33(3), 321

7Scope of the Study

Participants included students, teaching assistants & professorsAll responses were video tappedAll participants were asked at least 12 questionsQuestions focused on participants practice and understanding of information literacyTeaching assistants & professors were asked an additional question on teaching

Foundational QuestionsCritical thinking Research Research process Academic/Personal

Critical Questions-Have you ever attended or had a library instruction session provided to one of your classes? If so, how many?

-Have you ever heard the term information literate or information literacy? If so, where?

-If you had a library instruction session, did the librarian discuss or define the concept of information literate or information literacy? Critical QuestionsClassificationHad a Library SessionHeard of Information LiteracyLibrarian Discussed Information LiteracyFaculty 9 of 105 of 100 of 10Teaching Assistants10 of 115 of 110 of 11Students3 of 105 of 101 of 10Importance of defining Information Literacy to students?Listen to how faculty, teaching assistants, & students define information literacy or information literate?

ChallengeMost universities offer information literacy in an ad hoc manner teaching faculty participate to varying degrees, even within the same institutions or same departments. (Saunders, 2009, p. 100)

Examining the future of information literacy Laura Saunders notes, Saunders, L. (2009). The future of information literacy in academic libraries: A delphi study. Portal (Baltimore, Md.), 9(1), 16.

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Why was this step introduced during library instruction?Information Literacy and the Research ProcessLibrary Instruction & the Need for an Expanded Definition of Literacy

The Atlas of New Librarianship by R. David Lankeshttp://www.newlibrarianship.org/wordpress

14Definition + Awareness = Taking StepsInformation LiteracyInformation FluencyThe ability to access, evaluate, organize and use information in order to learn, problem-solve, make decisions -in formal and informal learning contexts, at work, at home and in educational settings.

A key characteristic of the lifelong learner-strongly connected with critical and reflective thinking

Bruce, Christine. (1997). Seven Faces of Information Literacy: Towards inviting students into new experiences. In The Seven Faces of Information Literacy. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bestlibrary.org/digital/files/bruce.pdf

The ability to apply the skills associated with information literacy, computer literacy and critical thinking to address and solve information problems across disciplines, across academic levels, and across information format structures. DanielCallisonhttp://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/inquiry5.htm15

How was this step introduced in library instruction?Information Literacy Defined

Simple example 2.5min. YouTube video of what this segement of the instruction session might look like.

This class was an English 1 class, but this segment has been introduced in library instruction sessions for English 2, Sociology , Speech, College Success and Life Planning.

I am currently an embedded librarian for face-to-face Macro and Micro Economics classes, and plan to post in the Library Forum this sement in the LMS where there is a library presence.16Information Literacy Introduced19 classes taught with this interventionThe light green segment of the bar graphs show the students who had heard of the term or were familiar with Information Literacy17Reaching Students: Looking at the numbers In this sample:325 students were taught in 19 class sessions320 or 98% were introduced to the term & definition Information Literacy.

325 or 100% of the students were introduced to the associated skills and how these skills are integrated into the research process

**Oct. 25 2012 - started asking specifically Have you ever heard the term information literacy? Are you familiar with the term information literacy?I started introducing the term and its definition, as well as application of the skills used during the library instruction session after hearing James Rhoades presentation at the Georgia IL conference Fall 2011.Comments from faculty on information literacy component during library instruction10/17/12English 2Chris JanusAssignment-Character Analysis ArgumentCovering the components of information literacy was helpful for the students. I like how this was brought up multiple times throughout the session.7/9/12English 1Carissa BakerAssignment-Argumentative paper on social issuesExplained information literacy to connect steps to wider objective. Also discussed research organizational skills4/2/12English 2Carissa BakerAssignment- Literary Research PaperUnder heading titled Uses appropriate methods of instruction stated Also discussed information literacy

18Critical Thinking In High DemandThe demand for skills that are non-routine:Critical thinkingCreativityInnovationSelf Directionincreasing dramatically in the 21stcentury(http://www.imls.gov/pdf/21stCenturySkills.pdf)

Critical thinking empowers Americans to assess the credibility, accuracy, and value of information, analyze and evaluate information, make reasoned decisions, and take purposeful action (http://www.p21.org/documents/21st_century_skills_education_and_competitiveness_guide.pdf

Showing students how integrating Information Literacy Skills into their research process helps guide them to connect the dots as critical thinking skills are developed.

I recently saw a bumper sticker that read Critical thinking: the other national deficit19Learning is much easier if connections can be made between ideas and facts~ * ~ Using a set of set skills that is a repeated process to assimilate information and facts assists students in learning.

The process provides for assimilating new knowledge from a variety of sources while utilizing their current knowledge base to create associations and connections.

Using this repeated process of set skills is like a roadmap for putting the pieces together- or finding their way to draw conclusions, make associations and connections.McNaught, Carmel. Information Literacy, Big6 and University Education. http://big6.com/pages/lessons/articles/information-literacy-big6-and-university-education.phpBig 6 Information Literacy SkillsThe Big 6http://big6.com/pages/lessons/articles/information-literacy-big6-and-university-education.phpInformation Literacy, Big6 and University EducationAuthor: Carmel McNaughtEditors Note: This essay provides compelling evidence of the importance of developing information skills early Carmels work has shown that sound information skills can help students succeed through their college years. This article is based on a chapter in an upcoming book McNaught, C. (in press). The synergy between information literacy and eLearning. In H. S. Ching, P. W. T. Poon & C. McNaught (Eds.). eLearning and Digital Publishing. London: Springer.

CLEAR (Centre for Learning Enhancement and Research)is a small education development unit offering a range of teaching and learning services across the Chinese University of Hong Kong. One factor that distinguishes CLEAR from similar units is that CLEAR was founded with the requirement that its work should be evidence-based and thus enable educational principles to be clearly related to the context of a bilingual, bicultural Chinese university. Evaluation research is thus an integral part of CLEARs role.

Graduate capabilities and information literacyThe outcomes of education, especially if we take a lifelong view of learning, are more likely to be described by broad capabilities, such as the list of clusters of abilities noted by Nightingale, Te Wiata, Toohey, Ryan, Hughes and Magin (1996):

thinking critically and making judgments;solving problems and developing plans;performing procedures and demonstrating techniques;managing and developing oneself;accessing and managing information;demonstrating knowledge and understanding;designing, creating, performing; andcommunicating.In a globally connected world where challenges are inter-disciplinary, these capabilities become more essential.

Information literacy is integral to the development of many of the capabilities above.If we combine several of these capabilities, we come up with something close to a useful working definition of information literacy:Information literacy involves accessing, evaluating, managing and communicating information.

Information and knowledgeThe difference between information and knowledge is often not clearly defined, and indeed there is often a strong overlap in normal conversation. The analogy of the difference between the bricks and mortar, and the house can be useful. Information is the bricks, and learning skills and processes constitute the mortar. Combining bricks of information together using appropriate strategies (mortar) can result in a new house of knowledge. Knowledge is constructed from information. Thus, an information-literate person is someone who can find and select the right information for any given task. In this sense, information literacy is a pre-requisite for learning in any independent and active fashion. It is clear how the steps advocated in the Big6 process fit the needs of all learners.

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Relevance as a MotivatorIntegrated Learning

Recent research presented at the American Educational Research Association shows that student motivation was highly influenced by their perception of the intrinsic value of the material or course a function of how interesting, relevant and useful it was beyond its requirement for obtaining a degree.

Berrett, Dan. (2012). Can colleges manufacture motivation? The Chrronicle of Higher Education, April 15, 2012.21The Why of the importance of Information Fluency Skillsevaluation, interpretation and synthesis are the key competencies of the 21st century. These information-literacy skills allow us to find what we need, filter out what we do not and chart a course in an ever-expanding frontier of information.

Head, Allison J. and Eisenberg, Michael B (2011). College students eager to learn but need help of negotiating information overload. The Seattle Times, Friday, June 3, 2011. Researchers from the University of Washingtons Project Information Literacy study Alison J. Head and Michael B. Eisenberg reporting findings in The Seattle Times, June 2011.

These researchers have been studying information literacy skills of students since 2008. They define those skills as:The ability to recognize when information is neede, then locate, evaluate and put that information to effective use.

They say As information scientists, we believe these skills are essential to critical thinking, lifelong learning and succeeding in life, the work force and in a democratic society.

They have surveyed and interviewed more than 10,000 U>S studenta at 31 U.S. colleges and universities including undergraduates enrolled at UW, harvard, Ohio State U, U of Michigan and community colleges.

They have found that no matter whre students are enrolled, no matter what information resources they have at their disposal, and no matter how much time they have, the aboundance of information technology and the proliferation of digital information resources have made research uniquely paradoxical.

In their last survey, more thatn of the totla sample of students 78%- reported ti was important to learn something new and conduct comprehensive research about a topic along with the tangible rewards of passing a course, finishing an assignment and earning a good grade. This coincides with the findings related in the previous slide regarding motivation the relevancy of the information and its intrinsic value.

22How can this simple approach reach across disciplines in higher education?Information literacy [fluency] is the essential skill set that cuts across all disciplines and professions

Head & Eisenberg (2011). Based on the research done by Head and Eisenberg for Project Information Literacy since 2008 the conclusion theyve reached is stated:23What students say.College is about knowing how to look at a problem in multiple ways and how to think about it analytically now thats something Ill use in my lifeSocial Science College Student

Project Information Literacy - What Students Say

Head & Eisenberg (2011).PIL (2009) InfoLit Dialog, No. 3: Frustrations http://youtu.be/rmEzo51e_SQ24