Currents in Information Literacy: Standards, Lessons, and Learners Standards, Lessons, and Learners

Currents in Information Literacy: Standards, Lessons, and Learners

Sean CordesAssistant ProfessorWestern Illinois University

The Big Challenge

“While there is much discussion today aboutinformation literacy, proper implementation ofit within university campuses is still a struggle,often due to the fact that librarians andteaching faculty have different “cultures” thatcreate different priorities.” Librarians focus more on process and Faculty focus more on content The two are not mutually exclusive.

"Can't Get No Respect: Helping Faculty to Understand the Educational Power of Information Literacy." The Reference Librarian 43, no. 89/90 (2005): 63-80. Also published in Relationships Between Teaching Faculty and Teaching Librarians: Do You Really Get More Flies with Honey? Binghampton, NY: Haworth Press, 2005, 63-80.

Information Literacy and Library Skills

Information Literacy skills and Library skills are similar…but they are not the same!

Standards-AASL/AECT

AASL/AECT-American Association of School Libraries, Association of Educational Technologies and Communications

Information Literacy Standards for student learning

9 points, 21 indicators

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandars/informationpower/InformationLiteracyStandards_final.pdf

AASL/AECT-Independent Learning

The student who is an independent learner is information literate”

1. Pursues information related to personal interests.

2. Appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.

3. Strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation.

4. The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively.

5. The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently.

6. The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively.

AASL/AECT-Information Literacy

AASL/AECT- Social Responsibility

7. Recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society

8. Practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology

9. Participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information

Standards - ACRL

Association of College and Research Libraries

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

5 Points, 21 indicators

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm

ACRL Standards

The information Literate Student1. Determines the extent of information

needed 2. Accesses the needed information

effectively and efficiently 3. Evaluates information and its sources

critically 4. Individually or as a member of a group,

uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

5. Understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.

The Big Picture

Students need to understand the nature and scope of information problems

Students should be able to use available means to get the information need to solve the problem.

Students should be able to tell whether information is of a suitable quality and type to solve the problem.

Students should be able to work alone or in groups to solve the problems.

Students can do this ethically and responsibly.

The Scope

Students understand the nature and scope of information problems

The question The information needed Where to look How to look

The Means

Students can use available means to get the information need to solve the problem.

Catalog Internet Community

Evaluating information

Type Quality Availability Suitability

Alone and in Collaboration

Information Literacy Skills Time Management Skills Digital Literacy Skills Inter-Personal Skills

Ethical Use

Piracy Plagiarism Cyber Bullying

IL Teaching Strategies

Inquiry-based learning- Learning should be based around student's questions. Requires students to work together to solve problems rather than receiving direct instructions

The teacher's job in an inquiry learning environment is to help students along the process of discovering knowledge themselves.

Inquiry Based Learning Example 1

Books, Web Sites, Music, Images

Boolean Venn Diagram

DigitalPrint

Fill in the Venn diagram to show which media types are print or digital, and show also which are both

AndOr Or

Text Grid representation of the relationship between forms of text and literacy elements based design elements for the multimodal text “UEFA Soccer”

ModesModes

Design ElementsDesign Elements

Inquiry Based Learning Example 2

What We Learn

Turn information into useful knowledge.

Stresses skill development and nurtures the development of good habits of mind.

Provides useful context, and application for information

Develops connections between activities within a particular subject.


Problem-based learning-is a student-centered instructional strategy in which students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experiences. Characteristics of PBL are:

Learning is driven by challenging, open-ended problems.

Students work in small collaborative groups.

Teachers take on the role as "facilitators" of learning.

Problem Based Learning Example

Use the tools to transfer content and combine it into a single object

Flickr Photo Site

Animoto Video Site

WordPress Class Blog Site

To create meaningful information objects by combining media types

To understand the process of trial, error, and consequence relating to technology use

To understand the relationship of rules, tools, labor, and community relating to information systems

What we learn


Project-based learning - is a comprehensive instructional approach to engage students in sustained, cooperative investigation (Bransford & Stein, 1993).

Within its framework students collaborate, working together to make sense of what is going on.

Project-based has emphasis on cooperative learning. Additionally, project-based instruction has emphasis on students' own artifact construction to represent what is being learned.

Example-Google Sitehttp://sites.google.com/site/lib201site/

Project Based Learning Example

Web Site

Develop a research question and develop a supporting web site using multiple content types and tools.

What we learn

To see information parts as a whole To analyze media for messages To relate the experience of others to

ourselves To understand how information

transforms us, and how we transform information

21 Century Literacy

Standards & Assessments

Curriculum & Instruction

Professional Development

Learning Environments

Life & Career Skills

Learning & Innovation Skills

Core Subjects & 21C Themes

Information, Media, &Technology Skills

Some (other) Modern Literacies

Visual literacy is the ability to analyze, create, and use, images and video using technology and media to enable critical thinking

Multicultural literacy is the ability to acknowledge, compare, contrast, and appreciate commonalities and differences in culture

Media literacy is the process of accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of media modes

Media Literacy-The Normal

Media Literacy-To the Novel

Visual Literacy-The Frightening

Visual Literacy-To the Familiar

Cultural Literacy-The Whole is Greater than the Sum

Establishing personal relationships paves the way for more cooperative negotiation dynamics. Parties develop a sense that the other group's beliefs and values are similar to their own, and more likely to frame issues as mutual problems, refrain from personal attacks and build on the other side's ideas.

Outcome Based Assessment

Skills Based Real Life Context Access and Use Cognitive Skills Digital Skills Management Communication

Standardized Assessment Tests

Project Sails Project SAILS ® began in 2001 with

the goal of developing a standardized test of information literacy skills that would allow libraries to document skill levels for groups of students and to pinpoint areas for improvement. https://www.projectsails.org/sails/aboutSAILS.php?page=aboutSAILS


ETS iSkills The iSkills assessment helps you ensure

your students are ready for success in academia and the workforce. Measures your students’ ability to navigate, critically evaluate and make sense of the wealth of information available through digital technology — so you can make the necessary changes to narrow skill gaps. It also assesses critical thinking in the digital environment

http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=159f0e3c27a85110VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=e5b2a79898a85110VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD


Trails There are two general assessments (30 items each),

as well as two 10-item assessments in each of the five categories (Develop Topic; Identify Potential Sources; Develop, Use, and Revise Search Strategies; Evaluate Sources and Information; Recognize How to Use Information Responsibly, Ethically, and Legally). The assessment pairs are parallel in terms of concepts addressed and may be used as pre- and post-tests." -- Free for use by library media specialists and teachers

http://trails-9.org/index.php?page=home


Additional Resources A comprehensive list of assessment

testing for information literacy including test sites, descriptions and rubrics for classroom evaluation by instructors can be found here.

Assessments of Information Literacy Available Online

http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/infolitassessments.htm

Challenges Ahead

1. Creating learning environments that promote active learning, critical thinking, collaborative learning, and knowledge creation.2. Developing 21st-century literacy among students and faculty (information, digital, and visual).3. Reaching and engaging today’s learner.4. Encouraging faculty adoption and innovation in teaching and learning with IT.5. Advancing innovation in teaching and learning (with technology) in an era of budget cuts.

Thank [email protected]