Information Literacy Commons^™

Investigating Faculty Perceptions Of Information Literacy And Instructional Collaboration, Angie Cox, Amandajean Nolte, Angela L. Pratesi

Communications in Information Literacy

This exploratory mixed-methods study investigates faculty perceptions of information literacy (IL), its instruction, and librarian collaboration teaching IL since the adoption of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education at the authors’ institution. Many previous studies examining these questions were completed when the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education was the guiding document for the profession. Like earlier studies, findings from this study clearly demonstrate that faculty value IL and that collaborations occur in differing and inconsistent forms. However, at the authors’ institution, there is a misalignment between faculty and librarians in what IL is and …

Truth Or Consequences: Academic Instruction Librarians As Information Literacy And Critical Thinking Activists, Laureen P. Cantwell-Jurkovic, Heather F. Ball

Communications in Information Literacy

The graphic edition of Snyder’s On Tyranny (2021) states "truth dies in four modes," which is a contemporary synthesis connected to Klemperer's Language of the Third Reich (1957). The researchers connected these four modes to information literacy (IL) instruction—but would others? The researchers surveyed academic librarians engaged in IL instruction on whether they felt they addressed any of the modes in their work. The researchers also asked whether they believe the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education works to circumvent any of the four modes. Nearly 150 librarians responded and, while most respondents were unfamiliar with the two …

#Goals: Library Partnerships For Instruction Strategic Planning Success, Melissa Dennis

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

The Research and Instruction Department of UM Libraries has worked closely with campus units to create a longstanding partnership of library skills embedded into first year classes called the First Year Instruction Initiative (FYII). Incorporating information literacy and critical thinking skills into these curriculums has allowed us to expand our reach to teaching students, both synchronously and asynchronously. In particular, the Center for Student Success and First Year Experience and the campus Qualitative Enhancement Plan became library partners for inclusion in the classroom. Through academic advising, academic support services, first-year initiatives, military and veteran support and all things student success …

Information Literacy Instruction In Asynchronous Online Courses: Which Approaches Work Best?, Elizabeth F. Pickard, Sarah L. Sterling

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

Which modes of information literacy instruction (ILI) work best in asynchronous online courses? Recent national trends and COVID-19 have made it critical to answer this question, but there is little research comparing different modes of ILI specifically in asynchronous contexts. This multi-year study employed 5 different modes of ILI in different sections of an asynchronous online anthropology course and compared the modes' effects on students' coursework. Ethnographic analysis of students' bibliographies revealed nuanced changes to students' approaches to searching and source-selection. These findings can inform librarians' development of ILI curricula and pedagogy for the unique circumstances asynchronous instruction presents.

Exploring Adolescents’ Critical Thinking Aptitudes When Reading About Science In The News, Marianne Bissonnette, Pierre Chastenay, Chantal Francoeur

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This research studies the critical thinking skills of six teenagers in their final years of high school. It looks at the way those students use a set of cognitive skills in order to analyze scientific and pseudoscientific information available in online news articles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six students chosen according to their results in a questionnaire about interest in science topics. Results show a large gap between participants’ use of critical thinking skills. Most of these skills were mainly used for text comprehension, evoking general knowledge, numeracy, arguments assessment and production, and life skills (open-mindedness and metacognition). The …

Information Literacy In A Post-Truth Era, Catherine Baird, Jonathan Howell

Sprague Library Scholarship and Creative Works

The founders of American democracy believed it could not survive without an “informed citizenry”. What does an informed citizenry look like in today’s world? And what role do we have as educators and students to support it?

First, we look at the significant challenges to institutional and media legitimacy that emerged in the second half of the 20th century, which rightfully called attention to the ways longstanding Western knowledge practices excluded marginalized communities and silenced important histories. We ask about the status of norms and mores in the aftermath of this challenge, in an era often called “post-truth.”

Second, we …

Assessing The Potential For Critical Thinking Instruction In Information Literacy Online Learning Objects Using Best Practices, Mandi Goodsett

Communications in Information Literacy

Critical thinking, while often used as a mere buzzword, is clearly relevant to the mission and expertise of librarians who teach. Even in online information literacy instruction, critical thinking remains an important goal. This study attempts to determine the ways and extent to which online information literacy learning objects follow best practices for teaching and assessing critical thinking. In this study, the researcher evaluated a sample of information literacy online learning objects in the Association of College and Research Libraries repository of peer-reviewed instruction materials, PRIMO, using a literature-based rubric. The resulting analysis provides evidence of the extent to which …

Don't Google It! Appeal To Students' Passions To Inspire Information Literacy, Ellen B. Derwin Ph.D.

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Who doesn’t love Google? Yet in courses all across disciplines at colleges and universities, faculty struggle with assigning work that requires research. Why? Students immediately Google (or use another search engine) to seek information and often ignore requirements to seek information that is relevant, credible, accurate and evidence-based. Despite partnering with librarians, grading with information literacy as a high priority, and guiding students to seek appropriate sources, googling without critical thinking happens on a regular basis. At Brandman University, this frustration for faculty occurs throughout the curriculum, even in courses such as Critical Thinking, Student Success, and Information Literacy, which …

What’S Up Doc? Transforming Information Literacy Instruction With Documentary Films, Carrie Dunham-Lagree

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2013

No abstract provided.

Four Glos Walk Into A Classroom: The Challenge Of Supporting Critical Skill Growth, Megan O'Neill, Grace Kaletski

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

In this presentation, we outline the challenges faced when we adopted a LEAP-inspired general education curriculum with several critical skills as outcomes but created no support structure to deliver and foster them. Our General Learning Outcomes (GLOs) include writing, information literacy, speaking, and critical thinking; however, we had faculty leadership, expertise, and tutoring support only for writing. While writing assessment showed strong results and ultimately created curriculum change, the outsourced assessments of info lit, critical thinking, and speaking gave us widely divergent and unsatisfactory results. As one consequence, assessment efforts stalled in those areas. Looking at the successful development model …

Critical Thinking And The Acrl Framework: Fake News And Fallacies, Mandi Goodsett

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Critical thinking is characterized by the careful, reflective judgement of ideas as a guide for action. The dispositions and skills of critical thinking share a lot with the ACRL Frameworks’ frame, “Authority is Constructed and Contextual,” which many librarians are already attempting to incorporate into their teaching. Informed by the critical thinking education literature, librarians teaching about authority (even in one-shot library sessions) can encourage critical thinking skills and dispositions, which help students overcome their own flawed thinking and make better decisions. This presentation will explore the many decades of research about critical thinking in the classroom, and demonstrate its …

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Predatory Publishing But Were Afraid To Ask, Monica Berger

Publications and Research

Librarians have a key role to play in educating users about predatory publishing. Predatory publishing can be described as low quality, amateurish, and often unethical academic publishing that is usually Open Access (OA). Understanding predatory publishing helps authors to make more informed decisions about where to publish. In the process of educating our users, librarians can set the ground for important conversations that encourage critical thinking about the scholarly communications process. Predatory publishing stems from broader problems including overemphasis on publication quantity, an OA models based on traditional, for-profit publishing, and resource disparities in the Global South. When users take …

Website Evaluation Lesson, Alexandra Hamlett, Meagan Lacy

Open Educational Resources

This activity helps students evaluate their own authority on a particular subject so that they can begin to understand how authority is created and effectively evaluate the authority of other sources they encounter. Additional evaluation criteria is also introduced.

Do You Know What They Don’T Know? : How Students Conduct Research, Peggy L. Nuhn, Min Tong

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

When developing student research assignments, many faculty may make the assumption that the current generation of computer-savvy students will intuitively determine how to effectively use library resources, and incorporate that information into a thoughtful and properly cited research paper -- after all, students frequently express a high level of confidence in their research abilities. But is this realistic? Do students understand the difference between a keyword and a subject search and how that understanding can help them? Do students really understand that research is a process rather than a scavenger hunt?

Any faculty member who has received student research papers …

Motivated Reasoning, Political Information, And Information Literacy Education, Mark N. Lenker

Library Faculty Publications

Research in psychology and political science has identified motivated reasoning as a set of biases that inhibit one’s ability to process political information objectively. This research has important implications for the information literacy movement’s aims of fostering lifelong learning and informed citizenship. This essay argues that information literacy education should broaden its scope to include more than just knowledge of information and its sources; it should also include knowledge of how people interact with information, particularly the ways that motivated reasoning can influence citizens’ interactions with political information.

Creating Effective Instructional Materials With I-Learn, Stacey Greenwell

Library Presentations

Given the proliferation of information and the lifelong importance of information literacy and critical thinking skills, librarians need to know how to best design information literacy instructional materials in order to help students locate, evaluate, and use information effectively. This poster builds upon an experimental research study conducted to determine how instructional materials designed using the I-LEARN model could increase student understanding and application of information literacy concepts. The findings from the research study show that I-LEARN can be particularly valuable in designing online course guides and provides an easy-to-use framework for developing reusable guide content.

Let Wikipedia Through The Gates!: A Trojan Horse Approach To Information Literacy, John Thomas Oliver

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate which learning targets can be achieved by using Wikipedia as a tool for teaching information literacy within the context of brief one-shot library instruction sessions.

Design/methodology/approach – In this case study, a Wikipedia-editing activity was incorporated into 2-hour one-shot instruction sessions. A variety of qualitative data were collected during these sessions: Student reflections during a facilitated discussion, student responses to exit-survey questions and instructor observations about the extent to which students completed Wikipedia-editing tasks.

Findings – Students found Wikipedia-editing activities and Wikipedia-related discussions engaging, and as a result they seemed …

Assessing Hands-On Learning In Special Collections: A Pilot Study, Sarah M. Horowitz, Stefanie R. Bluemle, Ellen Hay, Mark Salisbury

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This Assessment in Action project addressed the effect of using original primary materials on first-year students’ information literacy (IL) and critical thinking skills. IL and critical thinking are among Augustana College’s college-wide student learning outcomes. More than 25% of Augustana first-years use Special Collections each year, yet we had little data on how this affected student learning. The study evaluated a worksheet given as a pre- and post-test around class visits to work in Special Collections, and papers by students who did and did not visit Special Collections with class.

Welcome To The University Libraries Poster Session!, Erin E. Rinto, Melissa Bowles-Terry, Rachelle Weigel, Nancy E. Fawley, Rosan Mitola, Amanda Melilli, Amy Jo Hunsaker, Jennifer L. Fabbi

Lied Library Open House for the 2014 American Library Association Conference

Over the past eight years, the UNLV Libraries have led and contributed to campus initiatives to revise the undergraduate curriculum and student learning outcomes at UNLV. Through formal and informal leadership roles, librarians helped to create the University Undergraduate Learning Outcomes (UULOs) in the areas of Intellectual Breadth and Lifelong Learning, Communication, Inquiry and Critical Thinking, Global/Multicultural Knowledge and Awareness, and Citizenship and Ethics and a revised model for general education.

In Fall 2011, the Faculty Senate approved a vertical pathway of key courses, which serve to integrate and assess the UULOs from a student’s first year of college through …

Cultivating The Librarian Within: Effectively Lntegrating Library Lnstruction Into Freshman Composition, Jesse Ulmer, Nancy E. Fawley

Nancy Fawley

It has become common practice for library instruction to be included in lower-level college composition courses. Students are typically required to visit the library once or twice a semester to receive instruction on how to find books and journal articles for an upcoming writing assignment that incorporates formal research. But does this current model of instruction truly address course outcomes that seek to produce students who are information literate, critical thinkers and life-long learners? Faculty who teach such courses are often reluctant to surrender precious class time to a librarian, but this paper argues that the merging of bibliographic instruction …

Beyond Google: Using Library Technology To Increase Students' Critical Thinking In Research, Aaron Wimer, Amy Coughenour, Morgan Rhetts, Mark Gatesman

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Collaborative Learning In The Library: Redesigning Your Instruction Sessions To Cultivate Critical Thinking, Amanda Bird

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Teaching Matters: An Integrative Lesson On Searching, Tracking Citations, And Evaluating A Scholarly Article, Patrick P. Ragains

Communications in Information Literacy

This column describes a lesson in a credit-bearing information literacy course, focusing on evaluation of a scholarly article and finding citing references.

Critical Information Literacy And The Technology Of Control: The Case Of Armenia, John Carey, D. Aram Donabedian

Publications and Research

As direct providers of information literacy, librarians can help patrons analyze the social and economic forces involved in the creation and use of information. This chapter will discuss why critical information literacy and critical pedagogy are especially important in the Armenian context, with its unique historical, cultural, and geopolitical concerns. The authors will document how the Armenian government has used cutting-edge Internet controls to block online content or misdirect users. We will also examine how Armenians perceive the independence of their available media and explore current efforts by telecom, publishing, and governmental concerns to restrict Internet freedom. The authors suggest …

The Data/Information/Knowledge/Wisdom Hierarchy Goes To Seminary, Terry Dwain Robertson

Faculty Publications

In Information Science studies, the Data/Information/Knowledge/Wisdom (DIKW) hierarchy is a conventional construct for making sense of the terms. However, when examined with any rigor, the distinctions become challenged and the hierarchy appears to fail. I suggest that the reason for this is the tacit classification of this hierarchy as a disciplinary ontological narrative. With context-appropriate definitions and delimitations, the DIKW hierarchy can still be useful as a model for specific applications in information literacy pedagogy. This is illustrated in the context of theological education by using the construct to differentiate the identification of primary sources in the Seminary disciplines.

Five And A Thousand Practical Ways To Use Wikipedia In Instruction, Jean Cook

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Open Access And Liberal Education: A Look At Armenia, Azerbaijan And Georgia, D. Aram Donabedian, John Carey

Publications and Research

In the post-Soviet era, libraries in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have faced increasing budgetary challenges. In response to socioeconomic restructuring and the introduction of private enterprise, libraries have been forced to seek alternatives to commercial publishing and licensing models. This paper will assess the status of the open access movement and of Internet filtering controls in the countries of the South Caucasus. It will also argue that developing open models for scholarly communications is crucial to the strengthening of liberal education and civic participation in these aspiring democracies. Libraries, in their role as providers of and advocates for shared information, …

10 Bucks = 10 Great Ideas: Dollar Daze And Thrifty Finds To Engage Students In Literacy And Learning, Julia Andreacchi

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

The workshop will stimulate thought and will give participants an opportunity to share their ideas in small group discussion format. Ideas/activities developed adhere to the “Standards for the 21st Century Learner”. “Give me a reason to go to the Library”, (Andrea Drusch). Activities developed are in collaboration with the Teacher-Librarian and classroom Teacher. The novel, Teddy Gets Out! serves as an inspiration to the development of the activities. This powerful story of unconditional love and motivation to succeed serves to successfully address literacy through a series of interdisciplinary activities. Activities address reading comprehension, vocabulary, character education, nature and ecology, artistic …

Multiple Partnerships For Student Information Literacy: Library, Writing Center, Faculty, And Administrators, Barbara Alderman, Andrew Todd, Barbara Rau Kyle

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

In May, 2007, a University of Central Florida regional campus team comprised of teaching faculty, librarians, administrators, and writing center coordinators received a three year Quality Enhancement Plan grant to study the impact of a library/writing center partnership on student information literacy. This presentation will share our project’s results and benefits. Using the ACRL Information Literacy Standards, the team developed modifications and interventions designed to improve students’ ability to gather, evaluate, and use information, and to enhance their technology literacy and critical thinking. The project’s development included ongoing discussions of progress, obstacles, program collaboration, and single location of services. Targeted …

Evaluating Information: Introduction To College Research For A Developmental Writing Course, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

The ability to evaluate information successfully in all formats is highly relevant to students both in their coursework and their everyday lives. This lesson plan aims to encourage students to think critically about this important component of information literacy, and provides a foundation for beginning college students to build upon as they progress through college and on to their careers.