Bridging the Sophomore Gap: A Developmental Model of Information Literacy Shawn Bethke, Head of Library Public Services George Loveland, Library Director Ferrum College, Stanley Library

The Problem: The Skills are the Content What information is needed? How do I access it efficiently? How do I evaluate it? How do I synthesize it into an artifact? What are the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the information? What information is needed? How do I access it efficiently? How do I evaluate it? How do I synthesize it into an artifact? What are the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the information?

The Solution: Librarian/ Faculty Collaboration What information is needed? How do I access it efficiently? How do I evaluate it? How do I synthesize it into an artifact? What are the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the information? How does a downturn in the economy impact business ethics? In what ways does an individual’s genetic makeup contribute to autism? How do cortisol levels differ between non- athletes and athletes?

Faculty Enrichment in Library Resources Goals: 1.Identify the courses at Ferrum that are heavily populated by sophomores and the faculty who teach them. Focus our efforts to integrate information literacy skills on these courses.

Faculty Enrichment in Library Resources Goals: 2. Understand the faculty’s research needs, in particular at the sophomore level.

Faculty Enrichment in Library Resources Goals: 3. Make faculty aware of library resources and opportunities for bibliographic instruction that address these identified needs.

Faculty Enrichment in Library Resources Goals: 4. Develop and deepen collaborative relationships between teaching faculty and librarian faculty.

Mini Summits by Academic Schools Natural Science and Mathematics Social Sciences Arts & Humanities

Mini-Summits: The Format Two hours each Small group (3-5) discussion Reported back to larger group Facilitated large group discussion Recorder for small groups and for large groups Compiled the data by categories

Determine the extent of information needed Access the needed information effectively and efficiently Evaluate information and its sources critically Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2000: 2-3

The question for discussion: How can the library help integrate these skills into your sophomore- level courses in a way that supports your goals and objectives?

Now it’s YOUR turn!

Ferrum College participant evaluations

INFORMATION LITERACY: LEVEL I Freshman year. Includes the Gateway Seminar course, typically taken in the fall semester Includes English 102,typically taken in the spring.

INFORMATION LITERACY: LEVEL II Sophomore year. Courses that students tend to take during their sophomore year or first semester junior as introduction to majors

INFORMATION LITERACY: LEVEL III Junior and Senior years Students have achieved a C or better in English 102, have declared a major, and have successfully completed at least one course in LEVEL II.

Junior and Senior Seminars with capstone projects “Writing Intensive” courses 300 and 400 level courses requiring a working knowledge of research methodologies and writing conventions within specific disciplines INFORMATION LITERACY: LEVEL III (continued)

Information Literacy Benchmarks Each ACRL information literacy standard lists mastery goals for each level

Determine the extent of information needed LEVEL I: All Gateway Seminar students will: Participate in a series of class discussions through which each student will identify a problem and formulate a research question related to that problem that can be investigated through library research. Articulate a hypothesis of what she expects the outcome of the research to be (what she expects to find in answer to the question). Distinguish between a popular magazine and a scholarly journal by naming the characteristics of each. All English 102 students will: Formulate a research question that is broad enough to require multiple kinds of sources yet specific enough to be thoroughly examined in a ten-page research paper, as determined by the student’s English 102 instructor. Explain the differences in content, purpose, and validity between a popular magazine and a scholarly journal.

Determine the extent of information needed LEVEL II Begin with a general topic, and explore research updates, such as specialized encyclopedias and research review databases (i.e., Annual Reviews) for possible ways to focus the topic. Construct a research question that is related to the research in the field, but that has not yet been fully explored. Construct a reasonable hypothesis that addresses the research question and modify the hypothesis based on results of preliminary searches.

Determine the extent of information needed LEVEL III Conduct an extensive search in multiple specialized databases, print sources, archives that addresses a research question. Design a study or novel thesis on the subject. Write the literature review portion of a paper that places the novel thesis or original study in the context of the literature. Integrate the results of the extensive search into a project that addresses a problem or area where the research is lacking. At this stage, students are contributing to the literature of their field.

Next Steps: Level III Mini-Summits Updated Information Literacy Benchmarks with what we find