Information Literacy @ John Jay College

Kathy Killoran, Information Literacy Librarian

Tim Stevens, Chair, English Department

March 19, 2004

Information Literacy defined:

American Library Association: Information Literacy is the set of skills needed

to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education: Information literacy is an intellectual

framework for identifying, finding, understanding, evaluating and using information.

Faculty may think of as the Research Process.

InformationInformationLiteracyLiteracy

Technology

Critical

ThinkingSynthesis

ProblemSolving

Communication

Information Literacy

Goes far beyond library introduction and basic search skills

ACRL Standards

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (on web)

Association of College & Research Libraries 6 broad standards 3-7 performance indicators for each standard 2-7 identified outcomes for each performance

indicator Middle States embraces these standards

ACRL IL Standards & Responsibility

Determine the nature & extent of info needed (Faculty, reinforced by Librarians)

Effectively accesses info sources (Librarians)

Critically evaluates info sources (Librarian & Faculty)

Critically evaluates info content (Faculty) Use info to accomplish a purpose (Faculty) Use info legally, ethically (Faculty primarily,

Librarians reinforce)

ACRL IL competencies, Middle States responsibilities

Information Literacy Movement in CUNY

Middle States Developing Research & Communication Skills

(2003) University Faculty Senate Committee

Computer & information technology literacy Competencies for students & faculty, 2001

Council of Chief Librarians White Paper, 2001 Prof. Lucinda Zoe, Hostos,

Chancellor’s Office - VP Mirrer Mandate to each campus’ Provost, 2002 Gen ED Project

What Middles States Wants

Institutional IL plan detailing …..

Strategy for how information literacy will be integrated into the curriculum Especially into the general education requirements

Demonstrable competencies – building in complexity (learning goals & objectives)

Outcomes assessment throughout At the program-level Especially important in the senior year

Information Literacy Standards

Association of College & Research Libraries

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (available on Web)

Middle states embraces these competencies!!

Middle States identifies 2 models of IL plans

Separate or Compartmentalized Model Stand-alone course

Unlikely that a single course can satisfy all of an institution’s IL goals

Skills should be addressed & reinforced at various levels of sophistication throughout 4 yrs

Integrated or Distributed Model Various courses address a core set of IL skills May be blended into lower & upper-level

courses. Places IL into the context of the disciplines

Different IL models used in CUNY

Credit bearing course – so far not required course – Queens (1 credit), LaGuardia (3 credits), Baruch (8 – 3 credit courses)

Workshop approach – series of 5 workshops - 2 information literacy workshops required before a course-integrated library instruction course taught – Hostos

IL integrated into curriculum – new Lehman model – IL is targeted at certain courses: ENG 110-120 sequence LEH 300-level core courses Faculty in other disciplines encouraged to re-engineer

their courses to emphasize information literacy.

IL Plan - Institution specific

Multiple strategies can and probably should be employed!

Many campuses are using pilot programs to try out their IL strategies

Challenges in Designing IL Program

Large # of students at CUNY institutions Creating strategies that will be scalable to

reach all students Administrative support – philosophically and

monetarily, faculty development, ongoing!

Library cannot do it alone – College-wide issue

Fostering change Faculty buy in – willingness to change what they

do to incorporate some of these concepts, etc.

John Jay’s Evolution - small inroads

Taskforce on Information Literacy formed (2002) – response to VP Mirrer, Associate Provost, Faculty & Librarians

IL Librarian position – funded by student technology fee

IL Librarian – member of College Curriculum Committee

Additional support by Provost (team teaching) for courses incorporating critical thinking, intensive writing, & information literacy

New course proposal form – question on what information literacy skills will be learned/practiced in the course.

John Jay IL Draft Plan

Add instructional material to library’s Web page – have section for curricula aids, tutorials, handouts,etc.

Survey ENG 101 students – self assessment

Develop module on evaluating information for SPE 113 classes Pilot project – 2 sections, using online tutorials, Blackboard

Revise ENG sequence to be information literacy-rich Students will practice research skills throughout these

courses. Employ active learning techniques

English 101 Student Survey

Surveyed about 1,700 students Received over 1,000 responses

Interim results – 625 responses

First place students look for infoInternet Search Engine 64%Ask instructor 11%Textbook 7%Library catalog 6%Ask a librarian 5%

How to narrow a Web search Add another appropriate search term 36%Enclose search phrase in quotes 5%Inappropriate response 53%

Writing Ability

Rate writing abilityNot confident 6%Somewhat confident 68%Very confident 26%

Writing – EssaysNot confident 5%Somewhat confident 54%Very confident 42%

Writing – Research PaperNot confident 7%Somewhat confident 59%Very confident 35%

Citing Sources

When and How to Cite (same results)Not confident 18%Somewhat confident 64%Very confident 18%

How many papers that included a bibliography in last year?None 10%1 13%2-3 40%4 or more 37%

Amount of pages in longest paper 1-2 pages 5%3-5 pages 46%6-10 pages 32%over 10 pages 16%

Role librarians can play in an integrated model

IL plan development Curriculum development Faculty development Workshop teacher/facilitator Partner/Team teachers Develop support materials for faculty Design/Develop online tutorials Design/Develop exercises & assignments

Assessment

Standardized instruments being developed

Project SAILS – Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills – beta-test

Developed @ Kent State – Lehman will use Allow for comparisons with “like” institutions Also looking to develop discipline specific

assessments,

Information Competency Assessment Project -Bay Area (Ca) CCs

Tied into the ACRL standards Assessment at varying times of the undergraduate

experience! – Freshman level & upper level

Other assessment strategies

Research journals Annotated bibliographies Quality of sources in bibliographies of papers,

etc. IL questions and tasks incorporated into

course exams Exercises reinforcing learned experiences Student receives a grade on the expected IL

outcomes, incorporated into course grade Rubrics

Many more I’m sure ……

Questions?

Traditional model – Library Instruction

Course Integrated – some courses targeted One class session Wide variation in student abilities Too much material No common skill set No time for active learning exercises Usually geared for a specific assignment Librarian taught – varying quality Conflict in goals between instructor and librarian Not all students reached, some reached multiple

times

Information literacy

Not really a new concept Stronger need for this in today’s society Information overload / information anxiety /

information smog Students today

tech savvy read less (print/pleasure) write less (pen and paper) communicate more/differently

We do a lot of IL already – not measured as such