3/22/2011
Integrating Information
Literacy
Angela Feekery
(and writing)
Massey University
AKO Aotearoa PHD Scholarship
into the
Recipient, 2009
Supervisors: Associate Professor Lisa
Disciplines
Emerson; Dr Sharon Stevens
Workshop Overview
9.00- 9.20
9.20- 9.45
9.45 – 10.00
10.15 – 10.30
10-30 – 11.15
11-15 – 11.40
11.40 – 12.00
1. Introduction / Warm-up discussion
2. What is IL?
3. Brief Overview of My Research (context)- what
I‘ve learned so far…
4. Four Key Stages of Being Information Literate.
5. Key IL Issues for Students (information seeking
and source evaluation)
6. Academics Role in Developing IL.
7. Discuss – Your Assessments and IL
Requirements
BREAK
8. Idea Sharing – teaching ideas and activities.
9. Create your own …
10. Reflection
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Let’s Discuss…
• What academic skills do students
need to ensure success at
university?
• How are students learning these
skills?
What is information
literacy?
Information vs
Knowledge
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Traditional Definitions and Models
of Information Literacy
• ALA- 1989
―To be information literate, a person must be able to
recognise when information is needed and have the
ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed
information.‖
Early definitions and models of information literacy focused
on a checklist approach extending the bibliographic
instruction of libraries.
More Holistic Models
• By the mid 90s, alternative, more holistic views of information
literacy began to appear. Carol Kuhlthau (1993 in Bruce, 2000,
p.210) concluded ―information literacy is not a set of discrete
skills, but rather a way of learning‖.
• The more holistic models of info lit go beyond the skills-based
perception to a being more a way of learning within a specific
context, with a goal of lifelong learning.
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ANZIL Framework - 2004
• Australia New Zealand Information Literacy Framework - builds on the ACRL
definition, adding that ―information literacy is an intellectual framework for
recognising the need for, understanding, finding, evaluating and using
information‖ (Bundy, 2004, p.4)
• This is necessarily demonstrated in a context and within a domain of
content.
• Lifelong learning is a key goal and the ‗learn-how-to-learn‘ approach is used
to develop independent skills.
• Information literacy contributes to problem-solving, decision-making,
independent learning, and professional development.
discovery tools
information sources
Craig Cherrie - Massey
University Library
2010
popular
popular books
magazines
newspapers
radio/TV casts
official
scholarly/academic
Govt/NGOs :
policies
programmes
research reports
annual reports
academic books
theses
research reports
journals :
scholarly
industry
professional
institutional
repositories
[digital only]
websites
blogs
social media...
WEB SEARCH ENGINES
(Google, newzealand.govt…. )
OPEN WEB ACCESS
LIBRARY CATALOGUES
(Massey Library, National Library… )
… peer
reviewed
ARTICLE DATABASES
(JSTOR, A&AC, Scopus,
Google Scholar …)
CLOSED/PAY ACCESS
the information landscape
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Research Title and Purpose
―Integrating Information Literacy and Academic
Writing Development in the Disciplines in NZ
Tertiary Context‖
Purpose:
• To develop an Information Literacy (IL) Model to
systematically embed the development of IL and
writing skills across the full undergraduate
programme in a particular discipline
• To create discipline-specific resources to support
the model.
Research Gap
• There is a lack of successful cases of embedding
information literacy and writing development in the
disciplines in a systematic way across a full
undergraduate programme.
• Most successful cases are happening at individual paper
levels, with support from individual faculty members.
• Some successes happening at the postgraduate level.
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What I’ve Learned So Far...
• The definition of ‗information literacy‘ is complex and often
misunderstood or confused with IT literacy.
• The development of IL needs a collaboration between
academics, librarians, and student learning – utilise all the
resources available.
• Librarians feel that they can only go so far in developing IL,
and that academics need to make a conscious effort to
develop these skills within the context of their courses.
• The advances in technology have created information
overload, and we need to develop ways to cope with this.
• IL is not just a problem for students – academics too are
struggling to keep up with the overwhelming amount of
information available.
What I’ve Learned So Far...
• Academics are very, very, very busy people.
• Constraints on focusing on teaching due to PBRF,
timetables, administrative duties, marking ...
• Research on teaching is not as highly valued as
disciplinary (content) research.
• Many people still believe that the reason behind poor
assessments is lazy students.
• Students are also very, very, very busy people. They will
most often take the easiest path to completing the
assessment.
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4 Key Stages of being
Information Literate
• Knowing when/ what information is needed
• Finding information – information seeking
• Evaluating information
• Using information / Synthesising information
(communicating information)
Key issues with Information-seeking
• Wikipedia
• http://.... .com or .co or other unsuitable websites
• Lack of books / peer-reviewed sources
• Don‘t know clearly what they are looking for
• Reliance on 1-2 sources
• Find sources merely to fill up the number requirement
• Challenges due to over-abundance of electronic materials
• Distance from library or instructor support
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Key Issues with Evaluating Sources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Non-selective
Off-topic
Don‘t read widely enough
Little synthesis of idea across sources
Lack of critical thinking skills
Not aware of bias
Believing everything they read or are told
Fear of challenging the instructor
Not understanding what is valued in the discipline or where
there sources fit into the overall topic being studied
• Feedback does not show HOW to improve, only indicates
what‘s wrong.
• Not explicitly taught how to evaluate sources of information.
Library / Faculty Collaboration
Claire McGuinness, 2006
Academics:
Librarians:
• Control the learning
environment
•Have a better understanding
of how students actually do
research in the library
• Have strong influence over
students‘ information needs
• Are responsible for
assessment protocols
•Have a high awareness of
need for ILD
• Influence student library use
•Have a long history and
experience of teaching library
skills
• Have more teaching
experience than librarians
•Have a superior knowledge of
information tools & resource
• Exercise powerful influence
on student motivation
•Keep up-to-date with
changing technologies
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Why teach / promote the development of IL
and writing skills in your content courses?
• Focus on the process of learning
• Better preparation  better outcomes (less time spent
marking poor assessments)
• Higher support  Higher challenge
• It does not necessarily require class time – blended
learning allows access to online modules or exercises –
you just need to come up with ways to make the
students do them.
Let’s Discuss Your Assessments…
Assessment type
What IL skills are needed?
Where are your students learning these skills?
Do you have any frustrations about the work produced?
How do you give feedback?
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Let’s Share Ideas on…
TEACHING IDEAS / ACTIVITIES THAT WILL…
• Raise awareness about the importance of IL.
• Support the process of student learning
• Provide opportunities for discussion of readings – not
only on content
• Justify source use – both teachers and students
• Help students enter the conversation taking place in their
discipline.
• Provide opportunities for early feedback – to improve the
quality of work submitted
• Provide opportunities for reflection
• Promote collaboration – staff and students
• Avoid extra work for the sake of it – make each activity
meaningful and useful.
The Reference Tree – in class
Each branch could represent:
Authors
or
Arguments
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I-Map -assessment
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Exercising in the Conference Ballroom –
Mark Gaipa, 2004
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―I emphasize how everyone who has published on Hemingway‘s novel—and thus
everyone talking in the hotel ballroom—has had to go through the same basic steps the
students are now undergoing in approaching their essays: first they have to enter the
room and discern what the critics already inside are saying; then they have to evaluate the
arguments and make some judgments about the position of authors and arguments
in the critical terrain; and finally they need to discover where in the conversation they can
step in.‖ (Gaipa, 2004 p. 423)
EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES – Don’t limit your options!
Explain
yourself!
IDENTIFY:
Purpose –
Audience Currency Evidence Bias -
We agree
on this.
Why was this text written? – new information / adding to existing theory (add new
element into the discussion) / challenging existing theory (debating an issue) /
consolidating existing information on the topic
Who is the text written for? – Scholars / General Public / Planners etc
How current is the information? Are older sources OK for the information you need?
What evidence is supporting the author‘s claims? – Research studies / opinion /
anecdotal / methods (sample size etc) / citation of other authorities on the topic.
Is there any chance for bias in the text? – look for sponsors / location of text /
organisational links.
PUT YOUR SOURCES INTO A CONVERSATION: If these people were standing in a room,
•Who would be supporting each other?
•Who would arguing?
•Would anyone be standing by themselves (new idea)?
•Who are you going to stand with? (shared values / you strongly support their argument / your
idea matches theirs / their argument is the most convincing you‘ve read so far)
Smaller
arguments
challenge a
larger one.
One idea
builds on
another
It‘s OK for you to move about the room and talk to everyone. Listen to what they have to say, then
decide if you want to stick with them, or join someone else.
Use the reference lists and ‗cited by‘ link on Google Scholar and databases to extend your search
and look for related sources. You will get a better idea of the issue you are researching if you can
link sources together, rather than just finding a few totally unrelated sources. It‘s good to have 1 or
2 outsiders though to add to the debate.
THESE PEOPLE ARE DISCUSSING, DEBATING, NEGOTIATING MEANING, GIVING AND GETTING
FEEDBACK.
My idea
What are they
thinking?!
My
thoughts
exactly!
Ridiculous
argument!
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Example from SLD session
Fleur Connor-Douglas, Massey University SLD
Task 3: Choose the skeleton plan(s) that best focus on /answer the question:
Introduction







Background & Context
effects & risks of issue
general assessment of past policies
in NZ
Current / Future Government Policies
overview of policies in general
details of one main specific policy
specifics of a second major policy
The 3 Es
general analysis and evaluation of
govt policies related to each of the
Es
future focused suggestion related to
adaptations of current policy in
relation to the Es
Conclusion
Introduction











Background & Context
full description of issue
definition of 3 Es
Current Government Policies and
Relation to 3 Es
major policy 1
describe
analyse in relation to E, E, E
major policy 2
describe
analyse in relation to E, E, E
major policy 3
describe
analyse in relation to E, E, E
Conclusion
Introduction


Issue in General
past
present


Issue in New Zealand
past
present



Definitions of 3 Es in relation to
sustainability in general
environment
economy
equity
Conclusion
Background to the Issue - Briefly outline the background to the issue – when it
became a problem and why and what the situation is today.
Causes –Outline how each of these groups contributes to the problem.
• Society
• Government
• School
• Family
• Individual
Key Solutions:
Description of the Solution
Successes / Problems with the Solution
Briefly describe the solution – idea, law etc
Outline any successes or problems
with each solution described.
Analysis from a Conflict Perspective - Analyze the issue from a conflict perspective
using key terms from the readings and examples.
Your opinions on the issue - Give your own thoughts and opinions on the issue- how
serious is the issue for Japanese society; whether or not you believe the issue will
be resolved in the future; and how this could be achieved (your suggested
solutions).
Quotes - Choose three quotes from the readings (include reference) that best sum
up this issue for you and say why you think they are good ones.
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PATSYLSFITT TABLE
(‘Put all the stuff you’ve learned so far into this table’ Table)
Economy
Kofun
Society
-no economic system
•-pre-historic / Neolithic/ stone age
•hunter-gatherer society, fishing
•Live in pit houses
•Population - beginning est 10,000, increased to
100,000 by 5000BC, double that at 3000BC, but
dropped back to 100,000 by the end - not sure
why.
Emperor rules -decentralised
Uji System- family group under hereditary chieftain
Initial agriculture. - as Yayoi brought more
agricultural tools.
Land-owners began to emerge with wet rice
agriculture.- rice imported 100BC.
Manufacture of cloth
Yayoi immigrants arrived from the continent. First
signs of external influence.
Tribal society – 100 communities- Yamatai. More
permanent settlements - greater territorial
identification and need to defend and expand
boundaries.
Beginning of social classes – Uji and Be.
Beginnings of social stratification as agriculture led
to the emergence of powerful landowners and
hierarchy / social classes.
Be- occupational groupings in agricultural
communities, fishing, weaving, pottery-making.
Population - 2 million
Emperor rules -decentralised
Yamato rulers began the imperial dynasty. Country
united officially as Yamato Japan.
Signs that the era was aristocratic and the leaders were
warriors.
Chinese-style govt developed in 7th C
Soga court family had power.
604 - Prince Shotoku’s Constitution.
645 - Taika Reforms; Uji less powerful. Ritsuryo Laws
drawn up in connection with Taika refroms
Fujiwara family become dominant
701-2 - Taiho Code
- barter and some trade
Agricultural economy continued to develop
with the help of iron tools.
-Agricultural Tax system developed based
on produce not money.
Redistribution of land under Taika Reform –
private to public lands.
-Basic Agriculture
More powerful Uji took over smaller Uji. Yamato
family the strongest. Power struggles between the
Soga, Nakatomi and Mononobe.
- Emergence of distinct aristocratic and common
classes
Survey and registration of land and population.
Population est. 5 million by the end of the 7th
Century.
Yayoi
Jomon
Politics
- beginnings of an Imperial system
(Emperor Jimmu from 660 BC)
But this system was not instituted until later by the
Yamato.
Create your own …
•assessment or class activity
that could develop your
students‘ information
literacy.
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Collaborate...
•
•
•
•
•
•
Develop your idea
E-mail it to others in this group
Trial it
Reflect on it
E-mail reflections to this group
If someone else adapts an idea and uses it, email to this group
• I will contact you in 6 months to follow-up.
Reflect…
• What is the main thing(s) you will
take away from this session?
• Is there likely to be any change in
your teaching as a result of being
in this session today?
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Key References
ACRL (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. Chicago: American Library Association.
Bruce, C. S. (1997) The seven faces of information literacy. Adelaide: Auslib Press.
Bundy, A. (Ed.) (2004). Australian and New Zealand information literacy framework: principles, standards and practice. 2nd Edition. Adelaide: Australian and
New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy.
Emerson, L., Stevens, S. & Muirhead, J. (2008). Information maps: supporting students through their research and writing processes . Retrieved 18 th
September, 2010 from http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/ako-hub/good-practice-publication-grants-e-book/resources/pages/information-maps-supportingstudents
Gaipa, M. (2004). Breaking into the conversation: how students can acquire authority for their writing. Pedagogy Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature,
Language, Culture and Composition, 4(3), 419-437.
Grafstein, A. (2002). A discipline-based approach to information literacy. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28(4), 197.
Harris, R. (1997) Evaluating internet research sources. Retrieved 16th November, 2009 from http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
McGuinness, C. (2007) Exploring strategies for integrated information literacy. From “academic champions” to institution-wide change. Communications in
Information Technology, 1 (1), 26 -38.
McGuinness, C. (2006) What faculty think- exploring the barriers to information literacy development in undergraduate education. The Journal of Academic
Librarianship, 32 (6), 573 - 582
SCONUL. (Dec, 1999)Information skills in higher education: a SCONUL position paper.
Prepared by the Information Skills Task Force, on behalf of SCONUL.
Smith, R. (n.d) Philosophical shift: Teach the faculty to teach information literacy. Retrieved 16th November, 2009 from
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/nashville/smith.cfm
Walden, K., & Peacock, A. (2008) Economies of plagiarism: The imap and issues of ownership in information gathering. In Vicinus, M., & Eisner, C. Originality,
Imitation, and Plagiarism: An anthology. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press
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