Creating and implementing an information literacy curriculum map: integrating information literacy into the curriculum - Leslin Charles

Creating & Implementing an IL Curriculum Map: Integrating IL into the Curriculum

Leslin Charles

Rutgers University Libraries

IL Curriculum Mapping

WORKSHOP SEGMENTS

• A Rationale for Information Literacy Curriculum Mapping

• The Map Structure

• Creating the Map

• Implementing the Map



CURRICULUM MAPPING• Curriculum mapping is about visually representing the

different components of the curriculum so that the whole picture and the relationships and connections between the parts of the map are easily seen

• Makes the curriculum more transparent to stakeholders

• Shows the links between different elements of the curriculum– Learning outcomes, learning opportunities, assessment points

• Information Literacy Curriculum Map (ILCM) can bring more structure to a library instruction program because activities will be more intentional and can serve to bring stakeholders together



HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE IN U.S.

• Accreditation requirements

• Proficiencies and standards related to information literacy

• Employers are seeking college graduates who possess a range of research skills including the ability to use tools beyond search engines as well as the ability to use critical thinking in applying the best information to address the task at hand

• Employers reported that many college graduate hires did not go beyond the scope of what they could find online



SURVEY OF U.S. EMPLOYERS

Information Literacy

Sci/Tech Developments

Creativity/Innovation

Diverse Setting Teamwork

Ethics

Complex Problem Solving

Knowledge/Skill Application

Critical Thinking

Written/Oral Communication

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

% saying colleges should put more emphasis on each learning outcome



SURVEY OF U.S. EMPLOYERS

Civic Engagement

Cultural Diversity

U.S. Role in the World

Quantitative Literacy

Global Issues

Information Literacy

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

% saying colleges should put more emphasis on each learning outcome



HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE IN U.S.

• Students are consumers and creators of information– Most of them stick to tried and true methods of research– 80% of those surveyed do not ask a librarian for assistance

• Recent college graduates state that they are unprepared to meet the information needs toward problem solving in the workplace

• Librarians have increased, intensified, and diversified approaches in response to the needs of students and institutions in the face of the information age



An Internal Environmental Scan Revealed…

• Need for more Faculty buy-in– Faculty did not understand the concept of IL

• Marked duplication of ACRL IL performance indicators

• Assessment was not organized: no formal plan in place

• Unable to work with students at the higher levels

• Apathy among students

Students did not understand the value of IL

Students saw repetition/practice as a nuisance



Brief Success Story

• IL integrated into curriculum via ILCM• IL adopted as an institutional goal• IL statement in all course syllabi • IL learning assessment plan integrated into dep’t assessment

plans• Culture of IL through branding and collaboration• Librarians formed a team providing a pool of expertise

– Training workshops in person and asynchronous online workshops



ILCM: A TOOL OF COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION

• The process of ILCM fosters collaboration

• Provides an environment where professional knowledge and expertise of the participants are acknowledged and embraced

• Instructors can define what IL means in their discipline

• Librarians and instructors identify opportunities in the curriculum where IL can be integrated

• Assessment strategies are identified



Use Data to Reveal Patterns and Illuminate Opportunities

• Identify redundancies, gaps, absences in opportunities presented to students

• Has the data revealed an absence of focus on research that is specific to a discipline? Are the students exposed to IL competencies only via the Liberal Arts curriculum? Has the IL instruction mainly focused on specific IL competencies?

• Focus on assessment strategies



POTENTIAL OBSTACLES

• Finding a program to partner with

• Gaining buy in from colleagues

• Communicating value of IL to students

• Creating & Implementing a viable Assessment Plan to compliment the ILCM



Focusing on Your Opportunities

• Aligning the library instruction program to institutional goals– Map activities to the strategic

plan– Identify student learning

outcomes in institutional goals

• Defining Assessment Strategies/Programs and means of collection of data: Office of Institutional Research

• Finding opportunities to participate in institution committees

• With whom can you partner?



Writing Course

Course in the Major

Capstone Course

DECIDE ON THE # OF OPPORTUNITIES



Introductory Course

Writing Course

Research Methods Course

Other Course in Major Capstone

DECIDE ON THE # OF OPPORTUNITIES



IL CURRICULUM MAP TEMPLATE

STANDARDS

TARGET COURSES

X Y ZASSESSMENT CYCLES

COMMON COURSE BIENNIALLY

RESEARCH INTENSIVE COURSE

CAPSTONE COURSE



CU

RR

ICU

LU

M • Identify common course/s

• Identify gaps that exist

• Identify areas where there is repetition in IL instruction

ST

UD

EN

T G

RO

UP

S • Identify groups of students who present opportunity

• Identify a School/Discipline that presents an opportunity

PR

OG

RA

MS • What

programs exist at your institution that present opportunities

• What library programs exist or can be created to support the Curriculum Map?



IMPLEMENTING THE ILCM



GAINING FACULTY BUY-IN



ILCM

• Allows for repetition/practice of skills

• Needs to be supported by a team

• Should be linked to an assessment plan

• Should be assessed periodically



ASSESSMENT



Information Literacy Assessment Plan



SOME METHODS OF ASSESSMENT



IL CURRICULUM MAP IN ACTION

IL Map

Course

IL Learning Outcome

Unique Presentation/

Learning Object

Assessment of Student Learning

Faculty/Librarian

Course Evaluation



ILCM

• Allows for repetition/practice of skills

• Needs to be supported by a team

• Should be linked to an assessment plan

• Should be assessed periodically

• Does not function in a vacuum– Workshops, other partnerships work to create a community the

embraces IL



BENEFITS OF AN ILCM

Student frustration over unintentional repetitious presentations will be reduced

Faculty will be encouraged to act as stronger collaborators

We will ensure thoroughness because all students of a particular class will be given instruction

Librarians will gain visibility as faculty and be viewed as a fundamental part of the curriculum planning process

Standards will be met



Works Cited

Association of College and Research Libraries. ACRL Information Literacy Competency

Standards for Higher Education. 2000.

Association of College and Research Libraries. Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction

Librarians and Coordinators. 2007.

Hart Research Associates; Raising the Bar. Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake

of the Economic Downturn. American Association of Colleges and Universities,

20 Jan, 2010; Web; 15 April 2013.

Harden, R. M. (2001). AMEE guide no. 21: Curriculum mapping: A tool for transparent and authentic teaching and learning. Medical Teacher, 23(2), 123-137.

Hart Research Associates. (2013, April 10). It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success: An Online Survey Among Employers Conducted on Behalf of The Association of American Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2013_EmployerSurvey.pdf



Head, Alison, J. (2012, October 16). Project Information Literacy Research Report: The Passage Studies. Retrieved from

http://www.projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_fall2012_workplaceStudy_FullReport_Revised.pdf

Middle States Commission on Higher Education. ‘Developing Research and Communication Skills:

Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum.’

Oakleaf, Megan. ‘Writing Information Literacy Assessment

Plans: A Guide to Best Practice.’ Communications in Information Literacy, 2009.

Sweeney, Richard. Millennial Behaviors and Higher Education Focus Group Results. How are Millennials Different From Previous Generations at the Same Age? <http://library1.njit.edu/

staff-folder/sweeney>.



THANK YOU