Effective Information Literacy Programs and Instruction:

Collaborating with Faculty, Developing Scalable Models, and Designing Classroom Activities

The Education InstituteOntario College and University Library

AssociationThursday, March 31 2005

Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson

Today’s Workshop Topics• Background: IL at the University at

Albany• 3 Models for Faculty/Librarian

Collaboration• Scalable/Tiered Models for Teaching IL• Collaboration Case Studies• Developing Strategies for IL Assessment

Background: Information Literacyat the University at Albany

Pre- General Education Mandate at UAlbany– Traditional course-

related instruction– Technology classes– Project Renaissance

(first-year experience program)

General Education Mandate (1998)– SUNY Board of

Trustees– Information

Management Requirement• Course requirement

changed to competency

Information Literacy Requirement (2000)– IL subcommittee

established• Interdisciplinary • Review courses for IL• Provide feedback to

faculty about IL• http://library.albany.edu/u

sered/faculty/newgencomp.doc

Information Literacy Requirement (2000)– Course development– Library as resource

and as key player– Tutorials

http://library.albany.edu/usered/tut.html

Information Literacy Requirement

1. Credit-bearing quarter courses taught by faculty librarians

2. Credit-bearing discipline-specific courses taught by departmental faculty

Learning Objectives for General Education Information Literacy Courses at the University at Albany, SUNY:

1. locate, evaluate, synthesize and use information from a variety of sources

2. understand and use basic research techniques appropriate to the course discipline

3. understand the various ways in which information is organized and structured

4. understand the ethical issues involved in accessing and using information

http://www.albany.edu/gened/learnoutcome.html#il

Flexible collaborative models that involve Faculty, Librarians, Administrators, and Support Staff.

3 Models for Collaboration

1) Teaching Alliances

2) Campus Partnerships

3) Virtual Collaboration

3 Models for Collaboration

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• Understand faculty culture and develop strategies for promoting IL– Need for faculty buy-in– Respond to resistance and enthusiasm– Define needs on campus

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• Reasons for faculty resistance:– Lack of time to tackle yet another initiative– Lack of awareness of students’ information

literacy needs– Belief that students learn these skills and

gain this knowledge elsewhere, most likely in high school

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• Reasons for faculty resistance:– Lack of institutional support for

collaboration, information literacy, and/or information technology development

– Belief that information literacy instruction is the job of the library

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• Reasons for faculty involvement:– Knowledge of their disciplines– Understanding of key resources in field– Awareness of course goals and objectives– Teaching experience– Understanding of student population and

campus culture

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• Advantages of faculty/librarian collaboration:– determining what course material might be

replaced by IL;– deciding how assignments might be revised

to become effective information literacy learning tools;

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• Advantages of faculty/librarian collaboration:– identifying and making effective use of

other information literacy resources on campus; and

– addressing possible student resistance to these new components.

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• How to make it work:– Make the time to discuss the IL course goals and

objectives, and how this process will benefit from a shared teaching responsibility

– Consider team-taught sessions integral to the course and student learning (rather than as a separate or ancillary component)

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• How to make it work:– Develop effective classroom visits by librarians to teach

students research skills– Work together on course syllabus before the start of the

semester– Collaborate on specific course assignments– Co-develop hand-outs and in-class assignments– Define active teaching roles for both faculty and librarian in

classroom and/or computer lab– Faculty must be present and actively involved in IL

instruction

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• If team teaching is not an option yet:– Share a copy of course syllabus and assignments with

the librarian (if he or she was not involved in the planning process) and discuss goals for the session.

– Time the session so that students are familiar with their research assignment and are ready to begin work on it.

– If students do not yet know what their assignment will be, or only hear about it for the first time as the librarian is introduced, most will not be motivated to learn.

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• If team teaching is not an option yet:– Discuss ways team teaching might capitalize upon

the librarian’s involvement. – The librarian might survey students’ concerns about

the research process in order to effectively design the content of his or her instruction.

– Ask the librarian to be involved in the course bulletin board or discussion list.

3 Models for Collaboration1) Teaching Alliances

• Require students to utilize a range of library resources and encourage follow-up in the library– Databases and library catalog

» Government Documents» Books and book chapters» Scholarly Journal Articles

– Archives– Interactive Media Center

3 Models for Collaboration2) Campus Partnerships

• Collaborative efforts go beyond those of individual faculty members and teaching librarians

• Developing a larger network on campus for IL will help to counter faculty resistance and may provide opportunities to make IL initiatives a part of the campus culture

• General Education Requirement is taken seriously and integrates IL throughout curriculum

3 Models for Collaboration2) Campus Partnerships

• Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL)» Workshops» Assessment strategy» Technology efforts (smart

classrooms, instructional technology, WebCT)

3 Models for Collaboration2) Campus Partnerships

• Campus-wide committees» General Education Committee» IL Subcommittee» Departmental Curriculum

Committee

3 Models for Collaboration3) Virtual Collaboration

• Online resources– Integrate web-based resources into course

as follow-up to lectures/lab and in support of course materials and assignments» Research guides» Tutorials (on campus)» Tutorials and Web pages (beyond

campus)» Resources for Writing» Plagiarism Prevention

3 Models for Collaboration3) Virtual Collaboration

» Example of Web Assignment that integrates Library Tutorial

» Web Site Evaluations

3 Models for Collaboration3) Virtual Collaboration

• Course management systems (WebCT, Blackboard, etc.)– Interactivity with faculty, librarians,

teaching assistants, and peers.– IL and IT Skills assessment (at the

start and end of course)– Course materials and tests to

reinforce concepts

3 Models for Collaboration3) Virtual Collaboration

• WebCT Tools» Bulletin board» Chat» Survey instrument » Links to online resources» File Upload (PowerPoint Presentations and

hand-outs)» Quizzes and practice exams» Student project proposals» Student Presentation Tool for web teams for

collaborative projects

Breakout Session #1

Collaboration in your setting

1. What are your goals for collaboration?

2. How can librarians and faculty members most effectively work together?

15-Minute break!

Scalable/Tiered Models for Teaching IL

1) Art of Annotation

2) Research and Composition

3) Writing for the Web

Models for Teaching Information Literacy in Lower and Upper Level

Courses

1) The Art of Annotation• Teaching students to conduct research in the

library and online to synthesize and document information for the development of an annotated bibliography

2) Research and Composition• Teaching students to incorporate discipline

specific resources (i.e., scholarly journal articles and professional web sites) in properly documented research essays.

3) Writing for the Web• Teaching students to develop content for

the web with a specific focus on primary and secondary research methods

The Art of Annotation Skills Set:– evaluate an author’s expertise– determine the scope and main purpose

of the material– recognize any standpoint or bias– identify the intended audience– compare with other sources on the topic– select appropriate information sources.

Research and Composition Skills Set:– access and retrieve discipline-specific sources

in the library and online– differentiate between scholarly, popular, and

trade sources– develop concept map for topic ideas and essay

organization– outline essay structure– participate in peer review and revision– document sources based on discipline-specific

style guides.

Writing for the Web Skills Set:– integrate complementary skills in a

digital medium that is visual, textual, and potentially collaborative

– problem-solving, coding, software applications, and digital imaging

– accessing, evaluating, writing about, and documenting information

First-year student

Upper level UG Graduate student

Thesis statement

Scholarly journal critique or research paper

Self-directed research

10 info sources Popular, trade, and academic sources

Primary and secondary sources:•Interviews•Archives•Community resources

Web site evaluations

Web site evaluations, usability, and web design

Scalability: Learning Goals for Evaluating Content

Based on “Learning Goals across Academic Levels” (Figure 2) in Developing Research and Communication Skills: Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum (Middle States)

First-year student

Upper level UG Graduate student

Annotated bibliography

Information Science research paper

Final research web site

APA style/plagiarism prevention

APA style/plagiarism prevention

APA style/plagiarism prevention

Final presentation

Collaborative web site and presentation

Web team instructional labs and final presentation

Scalability: Learning Goals for Using Information

Based on “Learning Goals across Academic Levels” (Figure 2) in Developing Research and Communication Skills: Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum (Middle States)

Breakout Session #2

Can you scale one of these models, or another model, to your setting?

1) Art of Annotation2) Research and Composition3) Writing for the Web

Lunch Break!12:15pm-

1:15pm

Collaboration in the ClassroomCase Studies

• UNL 205/206: Information Literacy– http://library.albany.edu/usered/unl205/

• ISP301: The Information Environment– http://www.albany.edu/dept/sisp/mackey/isp301/

spring05/

Developing Strategies for IL Assessment

External Assessment (for university and university system)

General Education Outcomes Assessment

1) On-going review of existing General Education courses and approval of new ones

2) Regular three year cycle for the assessment of student learning outcomes specific to the General Education category.

3) Regular three year cycle for the assessment of students’ perceptions of their Gen Ed experience.

General Education Outcomes Assessment

• Part I (Assessment Form 1): – Define Assessment Tools– Describe assessment measures– Identify mechanism for tracking student learning

General Education Outcomes Assessment

• Part II (Assessment Form 2): – Describe Assessment Measures– Indicate how assessment measures enabled

assessment of learning objectives– Identify number of students who achieved

learning objectives

Learning Objectives for General Education Information Literacy Courses at the University at Albany, SUNY:

1. locate, evaluate, synthesize and use information from a variety of sources

2. understand and use basic research techniques appropriate to the course discipline

3. understand the various ways in which information is organized and structured

4. understand the ethical issues involved in accessing and using information

http://www.albany.edu/gened/learnoutcome.html#il

General Education Outcomes Assessment

• Part III: – University at Albany Student Perceptions of

General Education Course Experience Questionnaire

Internal Assessment (for instructor)

– Course Evaluations– Conversations with students– E-mail correspondence– Quizzes and in-class assignments– WebCT Surveys:

• IL and IT Skills• Open-ended questions

– Start of course– mid-term evaluation– end of semester evaluation

Ongoing Assessment Strategies

– If no required assessment:• Faculty/librarian collaboration enables the

development of an IL assessment component.

Ongoing Assessment Strategies

Questions

Thomas P. Mackey, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorSchool of Information Science & Policymackey@albany.eduhttp://www.albany.edu/~mackey

Trudi Jacobson, M.L.S.Coordinator of User Education ProgramsUniversity Librariestjacobson@uamail.albany.eduhttp://library.albany.edu/usered/faculty/infolit.html