Information Literacy & Lifelong Learners

Information Literacy&Lifelong Learners = Faculty + Student + Librarian + Assignment

Philosophy At the University of Connecticut we are not seeking to establish a single stand-alone information literacy class, but rather to build information literacy into the very fiber of the four-year University education.

Campaign • Establish expectations for students • Establish a teaching infrastructure • Establish modules for 24 by 7 learning

General Education • Applies to all students, regardless of their major or their school or college… • Assures that students graduating from the University of Connecticut will be competent in…

General Education Information Literacy Goals • Knowledge generation: • an understanding of how knowledge is created, disseminated and organized; • Knowledge access: • an understanding of knowledge communication processes and a facility with the tools required to tap into these knowledge communication processes • Knowledge evaluation and integration: • an ability to evaluate, synthesize and incorporate information into written, oral and media presentations.

ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education • Foundation document • http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilintro.html • Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives • Cognitive Domain • Lower and Higher Order thinking skills • Affective Domain • Motivation: Attitudes and Values

Evaluation & Synthesis • 3. The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system. Lower Order: Restates textual concepts in his/her own words and selects data accurately Higher Order: Synthesizes main ideas to construct new concepts. Extends initial synthesis, when possible, at a higher level of abstraction to construct new hypotheses that may require additional information.

Adjusting the BI Model • Attend several (?) one to two hour Library Instruction sessions during UConn career.

Teamwork • Campus-wide partnerships needed: • Librarians • Faculty • Students • Technology training as needed • http://www.lib.uconn.edu • Library Instruction --- Objectives

Partnerships 1 • Summer Orientation • Week of Welcome • Bookworms Café • Writing Center

Partnerships 2 • First Year Experience (INTD 180) • 75% of freshmen class choose to enroll • 66% of those classes come to the library • Library session is experiential in nature • 50 minute session • Take them there physically (Psychomotor Domain) • Hands on in the classroom • First Year Experience Goals

Partnerships 3 • Freshmen English • Required, few exceptions • 80 classes per semester / 20 students per section • Class length 1 ¾ hours • Usually linked to assignment • Freshmen English Goals

Partnerships 4 • Identify research intensive courses within each major field of study • Develop the student’s understanding of knowledge generation, access, and integration within the area of chosen specialization

Conclusion Information Literacy is not just a Librarian’s issue. To succeed, we need the active cooperation of teaching faculty and support staff and of the students themselves.

Conclusion • Allies • Propaganda • Weaponry • Training Camps

The End

Information Literacy & Lifelong Learners