|
Middles States Requirements
In 2002, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education explicitly listed information literacy as one of its accreditation requirements in its new accreditation standard: Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education: Eligibility Requirements and Standards for Accreditation. Information literacy literacy skills are measured in:
-
Standard 11 (Educational Offerings) as part of student learning goals and objective,
- Standard 12 (General Education) as part of curriculum design, and
- Standard 14 (Assessment of Student Learning) as part of student competencies consistent with institutional goals and appropriate higher education goals.
Further Reading:
Developing Research & Communication Skills: Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum: Executive Summary.
Provides colleges and universities with suggestions for how they might develop and implement a mission-driven approach to integrating information literacy across the curriculum.
Best Practices in Information Literacy
Guideline:
Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline.
Attempts to articulate elements of exemplary information literacy programs for undergraduate students at four-year and two-year institutions.
Examples: (These selected colleges and universities have information literacy programs that illustrate best practices)
- California State University at Fullerton
In addition to mission statement and general skills required for students, their program has detailed departmental information literacy materials, sample learning objectives for different subjects, and suggestions for planning and creating effective library assignments. A bibliography is also present, but it needs updating.
- James Madison University
Includes learning objectives, required web-based program (Go for the Gold) for general education, and initialized instruction for majors. Formal assessment -- Information-Seeking Skills Test (ISST) -- is required for all first-year students.
- St. Olaf College
Includes an information literacy action plan with visions and goals, strategy and priorities, stakeholders, and implementation; guidelines for first-year information literacy competencies, and information literacy program document of Asian Studies department.
- Wartburg College
Has mission statement, curriculum map of standards for higher education, departmental information literacy plans, and assessment information.
- University of Arizona
A detailed information literacy program plan that consists of vision and mission statement, program objectives, education goals and quality standards, modes of instruction, curricular structure, evaluation and assessment plan, human resources, and facility and financial support.
Information Literacy Tutorials
- Go for the Gold
James Madison University, Carrier Library. Web-based program for developing information seeking skills.
- Information Literacy & You
Penn State University Libraries. Interactive guide to research techniques and strategies.
- Information Literacy Tutorial
Minneapolis Community & Technical College library. Self-paced tutorial complete with pretest, lessons and quizzes.
- Library Video Tutorial
Brown University Library. Story-based video tutorial on how to find books and articles.
- TILT
University of Texas System Digital Library. Interactive library tutorial will prepare you to explore and research in the online world.
Information Literacy Assessment
Standard Toolkit
Examples:
- An assessment plan for information literacy
Indiana University Bloomington Libraries. Defines goals and objectives for basic and advanced information literacy, introduces learning strategies and measurement techniques.
- Bay Area Community Colleges Information Competency Assessment Project
Still in development stage, including multiple choice questions and open-ended questions.
- Project SAILS
A standardized test of information literacy skills. Allows libraries to document information literacy skill levels for groups of students and to pinpoint areas for improvement.
- Research Skills Assessment
Lehigh University Library. Tests incoming student's information literacy skills in order to identify skills most important to their information literacy program.
- Session Evaluations
UCLA college library. Evaluations for information literacy sessions and research assignments by students and faculty. Focus on information literacy program rather than student learning.
Information Literacy Rubrics Examples
- Rubrics for Assessing Information Competence in the California State University
Information literacy rubrics based on ACRL standards. It has three levels -- beginning, proficient, and advanced. These rubrics provide guidelines to distinguish between levels of student performance.
- Information literacy rubrics
Originally developed by Grace F. Bulaong, Library Director; Dr. Helen Hoch, Professor of Biology; and Robert J. Matthews, Associate Professor of Business Administration at New Jersey City University (NJCU), these rubrics have been revised based on campus-wide feedback at NJCU.
- Information Literacy & Research Skills
This is an information literacy course offered at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Course documents including various assignments and exams with grading rubrics.
Further Reading:
Though more than ten years old, Information Literacy as a Liberal Art remains relevant in light of creating an information literacy curriculum.
The Library Assessment Blog from ARL.
New roles and responsibilities for the university library: advancing student learning through outcomes assessment.
|
