Information Literacy in the First Year: Collaborating, Planning and Assessing at Austin Peay

Ms. Lori Buchanan, Instructional Services Librarian and Professor,Ms. Gina Garber, Digital Services Librarian and Assistant Professor,

and Dr. Susan Calovini, Professor of EnglishAustin Peay State University

Integrating Freshman Level Information Literacy

Librarians were involved from the beginning in the planning and implementation of the first-year experience program.

Collaboration between librarians and other members of the University Community was crucial in achieving the integration of information literacy outcomes into the first-year curriculum.

Formative assessment of information literacy learning outcomes occurred in the first-year course, APSU 1000. Instructor/Librarian surveys & focus groups were used to gather information regarding the information literacy instruction.

Teaching Information Literacy in APSU 1000: An English Professor’s Perspective

Bridging the Campus Divide  

APSU 1000 ----------- Information Literacy --------------- APSU Planners:  Component                        Faculty:

“Student “Academic Success”                                                     Success” Goals                                                                    Goals

The APSU 1000 Information Literacy Goal

is to prepare students so that all faculty may expect them to be able to

•use the Library Website http://library.apsu.edu/ and the physical library as a gateway to high quality, academic information sources,

•begin to search library databases effectively (Boolean operators, keyword searching, truncation),

•begin to evaluate and select sources appropriate for college-level work, and

•cite sources in different styles, paraphrase correctly, and avoid plagiarism.

Quiz ResponsesLibrarian Reports

Select a section below to see the quiz report for that section

Quiz ResponsesProfessor Reports

Select a section below to see the quiz report for that section

Sections Summary

View Librarian Section Report

View Librarian's All Sections Report

View Professor Section Report

View All Sections Professor Report

LILT Dynamic Quiz Database Report System built by Aaron Dobbs, APSU

How do we use the LILT quiz results?

• to determine library instruction content specific to each APSU 1000 section

• to make future modification of LILT content

• to further collaborative efforts between librarians and instructors to insure that students become information literate

• to provide evidence that we are systematically assessing student learning outcomes and using the results to improve teaching and learning

What do the LILT Quiz Results Tell Us? – one example

Every information source that presents a single viewpoint on an issue (e.g., the American Cancer Society website’s view on smoking) is biased, that is, it promotes support for a particular viewpoint. [True or False] - Question 8, Module 5

771 correct responses; 77% of the total participants

IL Standard 3 (Critical evaluation of information and its sources), Outcome: The information literate student demonstrates an understanding that information in any format reflects/supports a point of view and may be designed to trigger emotions.

Critically Evaluating WebsitesActive Learning

Select a topic and find several websites to share with students. The selected websites should 1) cover opposing viewpoints on the issue, 2) contain at least one very authoritative site (Congressional Research Service web pages), and 3)contain an obviously unsuitable source of information for an academic paper or speech.

Have students break into groups to discuss which websites are suitable for academic work and discuss why. The point of the exercise is to help students determine the criteria for selecting high quality, academic sources to use in their college work.

Reinforce important evaluation criteria points by using the A-B-C webpage at http://library.apsu.edu/guides/1_1_13.htm and the evaluation examples at http://library.apsu.edu/guides/1_1_13.htm.

Example Websites for Gun Control

If You Don’t Kill It & Grill It, Who Will? Says Ted Nugent

Issue Brief for Congress received through the CRS Web – Gun Control Legislation in the 108th Congress

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, “Mr. President, You Broke Your Promise”

National Rifle Association-ILA, “The Top 10 Reasons The Clinton Gun Ban Should Expire”

                                 

Buy Now

If You Don't Kill It & Grill It, Who Will?

                                 

Buy Now

Source: Gun Control Legislation in the 108th Congress (Congressional Research Service)

Source: The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Website

excerpt from the “About Us” page:

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) emerged from

the civil rights movement in the early 1970s and pushes a

progressive agenda to reduce firearm death and injury. We

were founded on the principle of collaboration, meaning

that we work closely with other organizations to achieve our

common goals.

Source: National Rifle Association Website

Who We Are, And What We Do

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action

(ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association

of America. ILA is committed to preserving the right of all

law-abiding individuals to purchase, possess and use

firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the

Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

What else do the LILT quiz results tell us?

You can avoid plagiarizing by: [select the correct response or responses] - Question 4, Module 6

461 correct responses; 57% of the total participants

IL Standard 5 (Ethical use of information), Outcome: The information literate student demonstrates an understanding of what constitutes plagiarism and does not represent work attributable to others as his/her own.

IL Standard 4 (Effective use of information to accomplish purpose), Outcome: The information literate student integrates the new and prior information, including quotations and paraphrasings, in a manner that supports the purposes of the product or performance.

What else do the LILT quiz results tell us?

The statement “Information is selected through a review process: best describes information found: [select the correct response] -Question 2b, Module 1

1620 correct responses; 78% of the total participants

IL Standard 1 (Identifies types and formats of information), Outcome: The information literate student knows how information is formally and informally produced, organized, and disseminated.

What else do the LILT quiz results tell us?

Using the connector AND broadens your search; you will get more records back. [True or False] - Question 9, Module 2

1307 correct responses; 75% of the total participants

IL Standard 2 (Accesses information effectively and efficiently), Outcome: The information literate demonstrates an understanding of the concept of Boolean logic and constructs a search statement using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).

What else do the LILT quiz results tell us?

Which of the following is a good use of the “Invisible Web” (web sources that libraries buy and deliver)? [select the correct response or responses] - Question 4, Module 5

811 correct responses; 80% of the participants

IL Standard 5 (Economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information), Outcome: The information literate student describes differences between sources available on the “Public Web” and in the Library.

Course Assessment: Instructor & Librarian Surveys

(Instructor Completion Rate = 37 of 44; Librarian Completion Rate = 12 of 12)

Instruction deemed most helpful to students by the instructors (#s):

• Using search strategy techniques (e.g., Boolean operators) 24• Using the Library as a gateway to quality academic sources 22• Citing, paraphrasing, and avoiding plagiarism 20• Evaluating and selecting appropriate sources for college work 16• Taking the Felix 9 Lives Self-Guided Tour/Librarian-led tour 13 __________________________________

Instruction deemed most helpful to students by the librarians (#s):

9 yes, 3 maybe Library as a gateway9 yes, 3 maybe Search strategy techniques8 yes, 4 maybe Felix 9 Lives Self-Guided Tour/Librarian-led tour8 yes, 3 maybe, 1 no Citing, paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism6 yes, 6 maybe Evaluating and selecting sources

Course Assessment: Instructor & Librarian Surveys

• How many library sessions should be included in APSU 1000:

Two or more - 29 instructors One – 8 instructorsTwo or more - 11 librarians One – 1 librarian

• Use of LILT in future APSU classes:

Instructors 26 YES 11 Maybe Librarians 12 YES

• Collaborated with librarian or instructor in front of the students

YES 19 instructors NO 18 instructors

YES 6 librarians NO 6 librarians

Course Assessment: Instructor & Librarian Surveys

Instructor interest in collaboration with librarians in discipline area:YES 25 Maybe 10 No 1

Co-creation of library-related assignments for a classYES 18 MAYBE 14 No 2

Collaboration on a classroom presentationYES 23 Maybe 9 No 4

Development of a web pageYes 7 MAYBE 16 NO 10

Construction of a web tutorialYes 8 MAYBE 15 NO 11

When asked if they thought that library instruction improved quality of career profile paper, APSU 1000 instructors said

59%

41%

0%

Yes

Maybe

No

Created by Nancy Snyder

Did library instruction lay a good foundation in library use for later academic success? APSU 1000 instructors responded that

48%

38%

11%3%

Students learned agreat deal

Time will tell

Not sure

Students alreadypossessed

Created by Nancy Snyder

Can faculty now expect students to find/use high quality information? APSU 1000 instructors responded

27%

65%

8%

Definitely Yes

Yes

No

Created by Nancy Snyder

APSU 1000 Instructor/Librarian Focus Group Results

• LILT (Library Information Literacy Tutorial): helpful introduction to the library; should be required of all students; instructors should become familiar with LILT content and they should hold students accountable for it

• Library Research and Essay Assignment (Career Profile): important to the APSU 1000 course; provides students with an opportunity to practice library skills that they can transfer to other situations; modify the assignment into a journal format or call it a “report” so that students understand that research is required

• LICR (Library Instruction and Computer Room): all library instruction sessions need to occur here, because 1) students need to enter the Library, 2) the needed instructional technology is consistently available, and 3) it provides comfort zone for the librarians

from the APSU First-Year Experience Student Survey:

APSU 1000 helped me to improve my ability to use the APSU library effectively.

Significantly35%

Not at all18%

Somewhat47%

Conclusions

• Librarians and instructors should collaborate to make sure that students gain information literacy knowledge, skills, and values that will prepare them to succeed both academically and in life.

• Assessment should be included in the course planning process and the results used to improve instruction.

• Once an information literacy foundation is laid at the freshman level, librarians and instructors should work together to see that more advanced information literacy outcomes are addressed and become articulated across the curriculum.

Thank you for attending today!

QUESTIONS?