The value and impact of cross-professional collaboration in developing student information and academic literacy skills

1. The value and impact of cross-professional collaboration in developing student information and academic literacy skills Diane Rushton & Alison Lahlafi

2. Today’s session 2 cross-professional collaborations addressing information and academic literacy skills development of 640 students, involving: a librarian an academic an academic skills tutor a virtual learning advisor (e-learning expert) analysis on the value and impact of cross-professional collaborations lessons learned and best practice

3. Collaboration 1. Developing information literacy skills: 100+ 2nd year students of international business (Turnitin, 2012)

4. Research seems to be far more difficult to conduct in the digital age (...) students reported being challenged, confused, and frustrated by the research process, despite the convenience, relative ease or ubiquity of the internet. (Head & Eisenberg, 2009)

5. In library research sessions rich in active learning, delivery of explanatory content and demonstrations of research tools are minimized to allow maximum opportunity for students to learn from their own experiences. (Gunn & Miree, 2012) "Highly active and it kept me interested" "Informative, interactive, light and witty"

6. The ability to reflect on and analyze material in order to form reasoned judgments is central to critical thinking and deeper learning. (Quinton and Smallbone, 2010) "The main thing I have learnt about my research technique is that it was wrong from the offset, trying to use conventional searches in Google is almost impossible. I have changed my entire outlook on searching the internet for sources of academia, my techniques and order of preferences have changed completely."

7. Impact of collaboration 1. Surveys and analysis of student progression A move away from Google as the starting point for research Improvement in understanding of the range & number of resources needed to complete assignments Increased understanding of and usage of peer-reviewed journals (by end of module 90% of students could define peer-review)

8. “When I first began this assignment I knew relatively little about web-based research however with the task set before me and my first few forays into picking suitable sources from which to draw my report from, I soon discovered that I knew even less about web-based research than I had first thought. My research skills have improved exponentially.” Student impact Quotes “I have learnt that my research technique before was really quite lazy. Before doing this research task I would have probably just conducted an internet search, picked five websites and made the information that I found fit what I was trying to say. I will now be more vigilant and try much harder when it comes to my coursework.” “These skills should help me not only in other modules at university, but they can also be used collectively in the working world as well.”

9. Collaboration 2. Developing information & academic literacy skills : 91 Malaysian students

10. (MacMillan and MacKenzie, 2012) (students) grappled with locating relevant articles, as well as reading.The information students collect is often questionable and they admit having a difficult time in selecting the best material for inclusion in projects. This is further aggravated by their lack of critical evaluation of the credibility of the material they have secured. (Dubicki, 2009)

11. [students] much prefer skills set in a module context and related to study or work. (Hall, Nix and Baker, 2012) [Mobile phones promote] an active learning environment (Scornavacca, Huff and Marshall, 2009) "Interesting workshop! Which I never come across by used of mobile phones to answer questions in class“

12. Impact of collaboration 2. Analysis of student need and confidence, and use of mobile phones • 54% of students did not know what a peer-reviewed journal is • 85% of students do not read academic journals in English (outside of class) • Confidence levels in finding and reading peer-reviewed journal articles were much higher at the end of the class. • There was a positive response by students to using mobile phones

13. “It gave me a kickstart on what to do to begin my assignment and motivated me to start early.” Student impact Quotes " The session fine-tuned my research skills and help me to save more time in getting a genuine report that I wanted instead of going 3 hours without getting anything" on using mobile phones “very interesting and lets everyone to freely answer the question anonymously” “it helps the "shy" to participate more” " I have learnt about scanning and skimming through the academic journal within a short time to find out if the article is useful for my assignment topic. It is a very efficient way of searching for academic journals which I wish that I have know this earlier" “yes ( will use Padlet in mini seminar) students can write their opinions and questions that they do not understand on the wall.”

14. Does the literature support cross-professional collaboration? Yes… "If we are to develop business leaders who are critical and independent thinkers, it is crucial that academic faculty and librarians work together to introduce today’s business students to the structure and content of their information environment throughout their academic program so that they will be well prepared to gather the data they need to make effective business decisions upon graduation." (Lombard & Miree, 2003) "when generic skills are presented as an integral and assessed part of their course of study, learning is more likely to be uniform and more effective. The workloads of teaching and learning support staff are also more manageable with up-front investment rather than demand being addressed on an ad hoc basis at the point of need," (Gunn & Miree, 2012).

15. information literacy should be seen as "a component of broader academic literacies. To encompass these, librarians need to step outside of their traditional areas and work with colleagues from other disciplines,“ (Beard & Dale, 2010) The value of cross-professional collaboration The librarian's perspective validated my role as a librarian (and academic skills tutor) in the classroom led to true embedding within the modules helping students see the importance of information and academic literacy skills in terms of their academic studies and lifelong learning 3. linked in to module assessments to make students take skills development more seriously 4. used reflection to give students time to think about their research skills development 5. increased use of information resource subscriptions at Sheffield Hallam University

16. The value of cross-professional collaboration "It is imperative that faculty of all disciplines introduce students to effective strategies to filter and analyze information and then provide them with increasingly complex tasks that are discipline-relevant to cultivate critical thinkers and the skill set necessary for lifelong learning." (Freeman and Lynd-Balta, 2010). The academic's perspective 1. validated my perception of the need to take an holistic approach to student development 2. brought in professional expertise from elsewhere in the university to embed information and academic literacy 3. introduced new perspectives and ideas to the modules 4. engaged students and improved the use of academic sources and their critical writing 5. enabled students to reflect on their academic practice

17. Lessons learned Go and do it, but... • Start the process early and be prepared to be flexible • More time consuming than • the usual “one chance” or • “on-demand” library sessions • You may meet some peer resistance (other academics) • But can stop the 500 student emails asking "is this a peer reviewed journal, can I use this?“

18. Best practice identify "champions" be open to new ideas and new technologies enhanced by senior management support disseminate your initiatives within your own university disseminate more widely in both academic and library arenas (journal articles, case study, conferences)

19. Beard, J. and Dale, P. (2010) Library design, learning spaces and academic literacy. New Library World, 111 (11/12) 480 – 492 • Dubicki, E. (2009). Research behavior patterns of business students. Reference Services Review, 38 (3), 360-384 • Freeman, E. and Lynd-Balta, E. (2010) Developing information literacy skills early in an undergraduate curriculum. College Teaching, 58, 109–115 • Gunn, M. & Miree, C. (2012) Business information literacy teaching at different academic levels: an exploration of skills and implications for instructional design. Journal of Information Literacy, 6 (1), 18-34 • Hall, M., Nix, I. and Baker, K. (2012) "Why should I? Engaging learners in digital literacy skills development. Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on e-Learning, University of Groningen, The Netherlands26-27 October 2012, 220-229. • Hawes • Head, A.J. & Eisenberg, M.B. (2009) What today’s college students say about conducting research in the Digital Age. University of Washington. Retrieved from http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_ProgressReport_2_2009.pdf • Quinton S. and Smallbone T. (2010) Feeding forward: using feedback to promote student reflection and learning - a teaching model. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 47(1), 125-135 • Lombard, S.V. and Miree, C.E. (2003). Caught in the web: The impact of library instruction on business students’ perceptions and use of print and online resources. College & Research Libraries, 64(1), 6–22. • MacMillan, M. and MacKenzie, A. (2012) Strategies for integrating information literacy and academic literacy: helping undergraduate students make the most of scholarly articles, Library Management, 33 (8/9), 525 – 535 • Scornavacca, E., Huff, S. and Marshall, S. (2009) Mobile phones in the classroom: if you can't beat them, join them. Communications of the ACM, 52 (4), 142-146 • Turnitin (2012) The White Paper, The sources in student writing - higher education: sources of matched content and plagiarism in student writing. Retrieved from http://turnitin.com/assets/en_us/media/sources_in_writing_he_2012.php • Padlet - http://padlet.com/ • Poll Everywhere - http://www.polleverywhere.com/ References

20. Contact us Diane Rushton d.rushton@shu.ac.uk Alison Lahlafi a.e.lahlafi@shu.ac.uk