The Many Faces of Information Literacy Teaching Students Critical Research Skills in the 21 st Century

What’s Information Literacy? ACRL’s Definition: The basis for lifelong learning The ability recognize the need for information and find, evaluate, and use it ethically and effectively (2000) IFLA – A fundamental democratic right, socially and culturally situated ICT - the ability to use digital technology, communication tools, and/or networks to define an information need, access, manage, integrate and evaluate information, create new information or knowledge and be able to communicate this information to others.

Why Information Literacy? Information Overload in the digital age Information “Obesity” – a steady diet of empty calories “Satisficing” Common use of “low” quality sources Patch-writing and plagiarism Changing expectations for college education Knowledge “consumers” v. knowledge “producers” Emphasis on lifelong learning Need for practical, authentic skills

…And more studies Inability to correctly interpret citations Little or no understanding of the cataloguing system No organized search strategies Persistent difficulties locating and evaluating sources Website:

Citation Project Found that students do not… Read deeply or comprehend most academic sources Don’t know how to analyze sources Copy or patch write rather than summarize sources Inadvertently plagiarize Website:

Information Literacy as Competencies or Skill Set Based off specific, tightly defined learning outcomes Emphasizes the progressive “mastery” of skills Treats these skills as universal and transferable (i.e. multi- disciplinary, transferable) Robust assessment framework, stresses the importance of continuous, ongoing assessment of skills

Information Literacy as Critical Literacy Based on theories of Ferier, Foucoult, and Giroux Opposed to the “banking” concept inherent, critique of competency-model Aligns information literacy with liberationist ideologies, (i.e. feminism, anti-racist, etc.) Aims to have students explore of the nature of power relations

Example Assignments Students interrogate information sources to understand how a specific discourse might reproduce or challenge systems of power and privilege Students explore the politics surrounding the production and dissemination of information Students examine the social and cultural implications of specific policies surrounding information use and access

Information Literacy as Ethics Emphasizes the notion of an “ethical” discourse, virtue epistemology Treats “information literacy” as a public “virtue” and social responsibility Don’t confuse with “the ethical use of information” standard outlined in ACRL Standards

Example Assignments Students could…. Outline what ethical behaviors an author or source should follow and determine which sources conform to them Analyze a specific set of sources to determine if their contribution to a debate is “ethically” sound or responsible Examine how other writers use sources and determine if their research is “ethical” e.g. the “autism and vaccination” debate Consider if and what the limits of free speech

Information Literacy as Disciplinary Practice Premised on the notion of “Threshold Concepts” Assimilates students into specific disciplinary communities of practices (i.e. making sense of academia, it’s organization and structure) Students move through progressively challenging research contexts

Example Assignments Students could…. Examine the evolution of a particular sub-topic within a field Select and find an article or monograph the discusses specific methodologies within a discipline and analyze it’s strengths and weaknesses Trace the “cycle of information” for a specific topic or research question

Teaching Information Literacy Who teaches information literacy? Not just a librarian thing Typically faculty/librarian collaborations Peer to Peer when appropriate What do I actually teach? Pre-assess (Don’t assume knowledge or lack of) Learning goals = specific and narrow as possible Teach and assess only what they need to know Be crystal clear about the “hows” and “whys”

Other Tips: Assignment Design Process is as important as product – just like writing Small interconnected assignments vs. “Big” assignments Have multiple opportunities for formative assessment/feedback Opportunities to revise/improve State objectives clearly and explain how they connect to the goals of the class Make sure assignments require the use of sources you expect students to use