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This poster by Sheila Webber was presented at the LILAC (Information Literacy) conference 18-20 April 2011 in London, UK. "This poster presents ways in which the author aims to develop learners’ concepts of what information literacy means to them, in a core Masters class (“Information Resources and Information Literacy”) taken by 90 students in 2010-11 (60% of whom were international students). One intervention makes use both of a Virtual Learning Environment, WebCT, and face to face discussion. The author sets up WebCT discussion threads for 10 conceptions of information literacy discovered through phenomenographic research (Webber et al., 2005). Students select the conception that best matches their own, and post comments on why they chose it. The most “popular” conception, in both years the exercise has run, has been IL as critical thinking and autonomous learning. The “results” are discussed with the class, in terms of implications for organisational and library development of these conceptions. The second intervention consists of a seminar and a poster display. Students are divided into small groups and set the task of producing posters that show “What information literacy means to my future career”. The career aspirations of this class are varied (from management and Government posts in China, to library posts in the UK) and the posters are similarly varied in approach and style. This culminates in an hour long exhibition attended by students and staff, which also includes a display of database reference guides produced by students in a further exercise, and selections from their online discussion posts. This provokes discussion around the nature of information literacy and its relationship to employability. The poster outlines key facts about the class, illustrates the aims and steps in the interventions, and include photos of some of the students’ work. Reference: Webber, S. Boon, S. and Johnston, B. (2005) “A comparison of UK academics’ conceptions of information literacy in two disciplines: English and Marketing.” Library and Information Research, 30 (93), 4-15."
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© Sheila Webber / The University of Sheffield, Information School: the iSchool; April 2011.
Developing concepts of information literacy Sheila Webber
Sheffield University Information School
Inf6350: Information resources and
information literacy (IL)M
OLE
Virtual Learning Environment
Inf6350: Intervention 1
Conceptions of IL
• In 2009/10 83 students; in 2010/11 92 students
• Mainly taking MSc Information Management (majority) or
MA Librarianship programmes
• 2010/11: total of 12 countries, inc. 34 from UK & 30 from China
Core module: Semester 1
By the end of the module students will:
• understand key aspects of information literacy and information
behaviour including: the nature of information needs, information
seeking strategies, and the complexities entailed in satisfying
information needs;
• be able to demonstrate and evaluate their information literacy, for
example expertise in accessing, using, comparing and evaluating
information resources such as Web of Science, the Internet and
DIALOG.
Assessment: an individual annotated bibliography, a literature
review and a reflective report on the student’s Information Literacy
Reference
Webber, S. Boon, S. and Johnston, B. (2005) “A comparison of UK academics' conceptions of information literacy in two
disciplines: English and Marketing.” Library and Information Research, 30 (93), 4-15.
http://www.lirg.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/view/197/242
Aims for this exercise:
“ Develop your knowledge of research into IL
“Identify your own views/experience of IL
“Improve your ability to use MOLE (WebCT)”
Find the “thread” for your category
on MOLE and make a posting to
show your choice
“Read through the article, in
particular the description of each
Category of IL conception”
“Choose a conception that you feel is
nearest to how you view
information literacy”
Emphasised there is no “right, answer”
only the right answer for you”
If had not yet chosen a conception: “What will you chose
and why?” “Why do you find it difficult to chose?”
Relevant to “7 Pillars of Information Literacy”
assignment: evidence of IL perspective
Basis: conceptions of IL derived from
phenomenographic research (Webber
et al, 2005)
Each
conception
posted to a
discussion
thread on
MOLE
“This viewpoint is near to mine. I think
being thinker and questioner helps us to
understand information better
also its helpful for our personal
development”
Discussion
The international information literacy logo: http://infolitglobal.info/
Week 1
Week 2-3
Week 4
Class reflection on their choice: Do
educators & library/information
professionals need to do anything
differently help people develop this form
of information literacy?
Post-it
63 responses
(75%)
Assessm
ent
Top IL concepts:
Solving real-world problems;
Becoming confident,
autonomous learners and
critical thinkers
Lecture
Reading
Aims:
•“To develop your understanding of Information Literacy
•“To identify the aspects of Information Literacy relevant to your future
careers
Output
•“You will create depictions, in words and graphics, of the way in which
information literacy will be relevant to your career. You will work in small
groups to produce these depictions on flip chart paper. In week 7 you will
make these into a poster display that people outside this class may view.”
Inf6350: Intervention 2: IL in my future career
Post-it
exercises
“Helping users understand the broader information
context – not just task focussed – also personal
and professional needs and contribution to society”
Week 6:
Preparation
Week 7: Presentation
With thanks and acknowledgements to Nigel Ford
& the Inf6350 classes 2009/10 and 2010/11
Increasing insight into IL for both
students and educators
1 hour exhibition with all students + staff & librarians
Career focus varied e.g. academic or public library, IT
consultant, Government work
In 2010/11 asked visitors to vote for their favourite poster
Exhibit from 2010/11 in
Second Life, ongoing
Poster: Affra Al Shamsi, Stephen Burton, Jiexiong Cai
Poster: Adrian Lewis
and Shujie Wang
Pos
ter:
Cha
ndra
ni M
aitr
a, D
an G
uo, P
hilip
Gre
aves
, Wei
long
Guo
, You
Lu,
Li X
iang
Tools & modes used in examples
Presentation
Increasing insight into IL for both
students and educators
2009/10 2010/11 Visitors’/students’
favourite poster
IL for accountants: Chengtao
Qiu, Qiu Sun, Ning Zhu
