Information Literacy FPLC 2007-8
From CTLpedia
What is Information Literacy? Who should Teach it and Why?
Information Literacy FPLC Members
- Janell Pierce - Information Literacy Coordinator Co-Facilitator
- Marlene Forney - Library Electronic Resources Co-Facilitator
- Diane Dietz - Nursing Department
- Nancy Hellner - English, Humanities, and Journalism
- Megan McGuire - Library Department / LBT Program Assistant
- Marcia Melton - Library Reference
- Ora Wagoner - Library Collection Management
- Amy Williams - English, Humanities, and Journalism
- Itibari Zulu - Library Reference
Interdisciplinary Faculty Learning Community
The Information Literacy FPLC will explore how the need for literacy in higher education increasingly requires the ability to access, process and manage information. This learning goal is an MCC Student Outcome, but one not associated with a required General Education course. In addition to this paradox, the rise of globalization and the Internet age have introduced a series of new literacies (e.g. technology literacy, media literacy, visual literacy and global literacy) and web 2.0 tools (e.g., podcasting, tagging, YouTube).
Teaching information literacy today requires a multi-literacy focus and sophisticated awareness of various information formats. Our interdisciplinary team will explore the standards, ideas, misinformation that surround the research bellwether known as Information Literacy.
Problem
- MCC has established Information Literacy (InfoLit) as one of our expected student outcomes.
- MCC students have improved their InfoLit scores in our assessments, but in using a locally developed tool we can't benchmark the results with local or national groups.
- Despite the availability of classes in the coursebank to teach InfoLit the district has not articulated any of these as General Education requirements.
- There is a need to integrate Information Literacy instruction throughout the curriculum at MCC.
Project Goal
The goal of our Information Literacy Faculty Professional Learning Community is to promote the understanding and appreciation of Information Literacy by all those interested in teaching and learning as a fundamental need for effective decision making and lifelong learning in the complex reality of the 21st Century. The text of our original proposal appears below (slightly re-worded) and details starting points for our meetings. We can expand, redirect or curtail the direction of our FPLC to tailor interests as the group forms, norms, storms and eventually performs. (cf. Bruce Tuckman's 1965 article Developmental Sequence in Small Groups) [1]
Information literacy skills are skills that one needs not simply to complete an assignment, pass a course, or earn a degree. They are necessary skills for lifelong learning, for responsible decision-making, and for active and informed participation in society and in the workplace. They are essential survival skills for the electronic era.
The members of this group will review the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, and the Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction. We will investigate what other institutions are doing with information literacy, and explore Best Practices to discover what styles of teaching and types of activities are most effective in helping students to develop these skills.
The group will then collaborate on developing information literacy activities and projects for specific disciplines. We could also look into test instruments for information literacy such as SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) and ICT Literacy Assessment (offered through ETS). I would also like to include some discussion and implementation of closely related topics such as visual literacy, an increasingly important aspect of overall information literacy.
Institution Profile
- MCC is the largest of 10 colleges in the Maricopa Community College District.
- For the Fall 2007 semester we will serve roughly 25,000 students on two campuses and via distance learning.
- Sixty-two percent of MCC students intend to transfer to university (mostly Arizona State University, which is within 6 miles). [2004 data]
- 64% of ASU upper division students transfer credits from one of our colleges. [2004 data]
- Hispanics are currently 16% of our enrollment, but projections indicate that we will soon be a significant Hispanic serving institution. [2004 data]
Strategies
- We will form an interdisciplinary group to consolidate our understanding of Information Literacy
- We will explore ways to meet our college learning outcome regarding information literacy.
- We will explore successful strategies used by other colleges to infuse information literacy into the curriculum.
ALA website "Information Literacy for Faculty and Administrators" [[2]] "Information Literacy as a Liberal Art" by Jeremy J. Shapiro and Shelley K. Hughes [[3]]
What should students know about Information Literacy and Research?
Information Literacy is the ability to:
- determine the nature and extent of the information needed
- access information effectively and efficiently
- evaluate information and sources critically and incorporate selected information into one's knowledge base
- use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
- understand the economic, legal, and social values of information and use information resources ethically and legally
How should we teach Information Literacy?
- as classroom instructors?
- as librarians?
- as individuals dedicated to teaching and learning?
How should we assess student understanding of Information Literacy?
- Pilot instruments in individual courses recognizing that we have program-level goals for learning outcomes.
- Consider using common assessments such as the Education Testing Service iSkills test and the Kent State Project SAILS instrument.
- Comply with IRB guidelines regarding informed consent and confidentiality.
Annotated Resources and References on Information Literacy
Annotated Resources and References on Information Literacy
Select Articles Read and Online Projects Examined
21st Century Learning and Information Literacy [4] by Patricai Senn Breivik Change March/April 2005
Encouraging Critical Thinking in Student Library Research: an Application of National Standards link title by Mardi Mahaffy College Teaching Vol. 54 No.4 2006
enGauge 21st Century Skills: Literacy in the Digital Age [5] North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and Metiri Group 2003
Information Literacy as a Liberal Art: Enlightenment proposals for a new curriculum [6] by Jeremy J. Shapiro and Shelley K. Hughes Educom Review Vol. 31 No.2 1996
Information Literacy for Faculty and Administrators[7] ALA website
iSkills Assessment Overview [8] Educational Testing Service
Project SAILS [9] Kent State University
Teens struggle to find accurate useful health information online [10] Managed Care Weekly Nov 10, 2003 p. 6
Select Library Tutorials Reviewed
CLUE University of Wisconsin – http://clue.library.wisc.edu/
Go for the Gold James Madison University http://www.lib.jmu.edu/gold/
Internet Navigator University of Utah UALC (Utah State Utah Academic Lib Consortium) http://www-navigator.utah.edu/index.htm
Penn State Tutorials –http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/tutorials.htm
Information Literacy and You http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/infolit/andyou/infoyou.htm
Evidence Based Practice http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/ebpt-07/index.htm
P.R.I.M.O. (Peer Reviewed Instructional Materials Online Database) http://www.ala.org/apps/primo/public/search1.cfm
TILT Texas Information Literacy Tutorial University of Texas - http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/
TIP Tutorial for Info Power University of Wyoming http://tip.uwyo.edu/
Evaluation Results
Coming May 2008!
- FPLC Component Evaluations
Coming May 2008!
Project Conclusions and Recommendations
In progress...
