www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Information Literacy at Swansea

Carwen Earles (School of Health Science) &

Michele Davies (Library & Information Services)

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

What is Information Literacy?

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

How it began…

Dec 2006 – Director of Library & Information Services (LIS)

asked the LIS Teaching Group to write an Information Literacy

strategy.

April 2007 – draft strategy finished after much consultation and

participation between LIS subject teams, Careers etc..

June 2007 – passed by the University’s Learning and

Teaching committee as part of the L & T strategy.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Why Information Literacy is important to Swansea

• Equips students with the skills needed to search, retrieve and evaluate information for their academic work.

• To support SU’s Learning & Teaching strategy.

• To develop research PG students.

• Aids student retention.

• To meet the requirements of educational bodies in the UK .

• To develop lifelong learning skills.

• To ensure employability in a knowledge economy.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Why now?

Provision of IL has been a focus of LIS for many years (user

education or information skills)

What has changed?

• Increase in numbers of overseas students (different

educational and cultural backgrounds.)

• Increase in usage of internet information – the “google

generation” and ease of “copy’n paste” (plagiarism).

• Complexity of range of electronic sources.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

How do we achieve the goal of making every student information literate?

• by making IL sessions timely and relevant.

• by embedding IL in the curriculum.

• by developing teaching skills of LIS subject librarians.

• by research

• use of online delivery to support face-to-face sessions

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Achieving our goals

• We’re addressing the first two goals by reviewing provision

of IL in schools by meeting with key school contacts.

• Embedding IL in the curriculum

• Timeliness of provision

• Content on Blackboard as back-up – online tutorials, guides,

links to web resources

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Achieving our goals…

Developing the quality of our teaching:

• by peer review

• by attendance at LILAC (WHELF sponsored places) &

feedback.

• by provision through the LIS staff development programme of

external input (visiting speakers). This has boosted discussion

and understanding of issues involved.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Achieving our goals…

By Research:

• LIS-led focus groups for researchers to assess their needs.

• By collaboration with PG Research Training Officer over the

“Research Readiness Self-Assessment” tool (customization of

a tool developed by Central Michigan University)

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Achieving our goals

By innovation

• Use of an Audience Response System during IL sessions.

• Development of online IL support through Blackboard

(generic LIS Bite-size & subject specific provision through

modules for students and researchers).

• Using Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs to engage

students through reflection.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

What next?

• improve methods of evaluation.

• improve methods of informal and formal assessment.

• experiment with “inquiry-based learning”.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Evidence based practice in the School of Health Science

Evidence based practice requires that decisions about

health care are based upon the best available current,

valid and relevant evidence. These decisions should be

made by those receiving care, informed by the tacit and

explicit knowledge of those providing care, within the

context of available resources.

Martin Dawes et al(2005).

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Pre-registration undergraduate degree in Nursing

• Close working between the library and the School of

Health Science.

• Library skills written into the curriculum are mandatory.

• Seven sessions spread over three year period

• Sessions concentrate on what knowledge is needed,

how to get the knowledge and evaluating the knowledge

for use.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Blackboard

• Blackboard is a virtual learning environment.

• Means of support in information literacy.

• Library links, library teaching sessions and

supporting literature can be found here.

• Can be utilised through medium of Welsh or

English.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

Example: eWard

• This is an interactive multimedia learning package.

• Links from Blackboard website.

• Simulation of a virtual ward.

• Includes knowledge acquisition, evaluating

knowledge found, to ensure the development of skills

re planning care, problem solving and clinical decision

making.

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

References

Dawes, M. et al (2005) “Sicily statement on evidence-based practice”, BMC Medical Education, 5 (1). [Online at http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/5/1]

SCONUL Information Skills Task Force (1999) Seven pillars of information literacy model, Society of College, National & University Libraries . [Online at http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/seven_pillars.html ]

Swansea University (2007) Information Literacy strategy, 2007-08. [Online at http://www.swan.ac.uk/media/Media,19199,en.doc ]

University College London (UCL) CIBER Group (2008) Information behaviour of the researcher of the future, UCL. [Online at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/googlegen.aspx]