INFORMATION LITERACY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A REVOLUTION IN LEARNING

1. INFORMATION LITERACY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A REVOLUTION IN LEARNING *Dr.P.V.Konnur University Librarian & Head IT Bangalore University Bangalore ** K.Kavita Rao Librarian Hindustan College of Arts & Science Chennai

2. Paper presented at International Conference on e-Resources in Higher education: Issues, Developments, Opportunities and Challenges, Dept. of Library & Information Science, Bharathidasan University Tiruchirapalli, 19-20 Feb 2010.

3. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”. - Charles Darwin

4. HE environment & Information literacy • HE is facing many great challenges and opportunities. • HE in the new century has to deal with competition. • Need for Information literate Colleges and Universities. • IL is a major need, topic of concern and research in the HE sector.

5. Information Literacy • Information literate persons are described as"…(t)hose who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information and how to use information so that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand." (ALA) • Information literacy makes students independent learners who in turn become lifelong learners.

6. Significance of Information Literacy • IL is a shot in the dark in the semantic information environment. • Information literacyconnects all constituencies across campus, • weaves information resources and practiced skills into the curriculum, • highlights the global nature of information • equips individuals for lifelong learning, • promotes curricular revitalization and challenges • students to become engaged and thoughtful • students become lifelong independent learners. • ILE is the need of the hour in all stages of education.

7. Information Literacy Education • Need for integration into courses at all levels • The quality of teaching • The pedagogies : active learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning, internships, inquiry learning, and service learning. • acceptance and attention. • ILE - a shared responsibility • collaboration among academicians.

8. Six Frames for Information Literacy Education developed by Christine Bruce • The Content Frame (users adopt discipline orientation) (2) The Competency Frame (users adopt behavioral or performance orientation) (3) The Learning to Learn Frame (users adopt constructivist orientation) (4) The Personal Relevance Frame (users adopt experiential orientation) (5) The Social Impact Frame (users adopt a social reform orientation) and (6) The Relational Frame

9. Relational principles of learning related to ILE • Learning is about changes in conception • Learning always has content as well as a process • Learning is about relations between the learner and the subject matter • Improving learning is about understanding the learner’s perspective

10. Information Literacy Education For Teachers The seven guiding principles are: • Encourages contact between fellows and leaders • Develops reciprocity and co-operation among fellows • Encourages active learning • Encourages effective use of technology • Gives prompt feedback and sustained mentoring • Emphasizes time-on-task • Communicates high expectations for all fellows • Respects diverse talents and ways of learning among the many disciplines represented.

11. Information Literacy Education For Students • Emphasizes the inquiry approach to learning • analysis, synthesis, evaluation and reflection • inculcating both lower order thinking skills and higher order thinking skills • Professor/Academic librarian acts as facilitator • Motivates students to participate • Students produce results • Learning emphasizes teamwork • academic success through different learning styles.

12. Information literacy and the Curriculum • as a stand-alone course, discipline based course or as instructional programme. • figure as a central component of the educational curriculum. • Information literacy is a field of study Reasons for not including IL no room in the curriculum • lack of understanding • belief that IL and study skills are taught in other modules • confusion of IL with IT competency • student misconceptions

13. Information literacy and the Curriculum (cont..) • The learning outcomes approach is more appropriate • It differs from more traditional academic approaches that emphasize coverage by its emphasis on: • basing curriculum on what students need to know and be able to do as determined by student and societal needs 2. focusing on what students should be able to do rather than merely what knowledge they should possess as a result of a course or program, 3. making explicit the development and assessment of generic abilities.

14. Information literacy Curriculum (contd..) 1. The content of Information Literacy instruction is most effective when purposefully tailored to its classroom contexts. 2. IL instruction should be: i. critical (stating its rationale and social context) ii. learner-centered (relational and problem-based) iii. adaptable (relevant for lifelong-learning)

15. Questions to be addressed by curriculum leaders • What kind of learning opportunities should be provided for students at various stages of their study? (graduates, post-graduates and research scholars) • What can be done to deal with objectives that emerge out of academic activities? From the point of view of educators, learning activities emerge from pre-planned objectives. • What kind of learning support best facilitates students to acquire a set of given skills (example: information literacy) and new knowledge? • How can we prepare the faculty/instructional collaborators/academic librarians for developing and implementing the curricula for the new age? • What kind of assessment and accreditation activities must be undertaken to measure the learning outcomes of students and the effectiveness of the curriculum implemented?

16. Information Literacy Assessment In the HE sector, LIS professional bodies in the USA (the Association of College and Research Libraries, ACRL) and Australia (Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy) have produced standards for information literacy, and a UK body (Society of College, National and University Libraries, SCONUL)-each of these has produced a model for information literacy. There have been translations of the ACRL standards, and the IFLA Information Literacy Section has also worked on a framework for information literacy.

17. Information Literacy Accreditation • Is the development of information skills identified in learning objectives? • Does the curriculum ensure progressive development of increasingly sophisticated information skills? • Is IL widely encouraged in the early years of undergraduate study as well as later? • Do teaching and learning strategies encourage regular use of information skills? • To what extent are students required to identify their own learning resources? • Using rubrics for information literacy assessment is necessary..

18. Suggestions For promoting Information Literacy • Progress reports on information literacy. • Standards and Frameworks • Information sharing and dissemination • Raise awareness • Scope should be given for Research. • More discussions, seminars, workshops and guest-lectures. • Internationalization and cooperation • improve the infrastructure • incorporate innovations and follow new directions • Enhancement of teaching, learning and assessment • groups should be formed at regional, state and National levels

19. Conclusion • address changing expectations • providing quality education. • attaining the goal of IL • an IL vision is necessary for every nation. • who ensures IL in HE • how IL is ensured. • new initiatives and analysis

20. REFERENCES: 1.Quotes online http://www.quotesdaddy.com/quote/1252801/charles-darwin/it-is-not-the-strongest-of-the-species-that-survive 2. American Library Association, "American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy," 10 January 1989, (7 February 2000). http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/ilit1st.html 3. Six frames for information literacy education a conceptual framework for interpreting the relationships of information literacy education.. http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/italics/vol5-1/pdf/sixframes_final%20_1_.pdf. 4. Brown, David. 2003.The development of e-teachers for e learning. In Developing Faculty to use Technology, Brown. David, Ed. Anker Publishing. Massachusetts, 672 5. Battersby, Mark. 1999. So, What’s A Learning Outcome Anyway? ERIC Document ED430611 6. Grafstein, Ann. A discipline based approach to information literacy. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28, 4, 127-204. 7. Thompson, Gary B. 2002 Information Literacy Accreditation Mandates: What They Mean for Faculty and Librarians. Library Trends, 51, 2, 218-241 8. Information Literacy: Standards and statement http://dis.shef.ac.uk/literacy/standards.htm#links 9. Knight, Lorrie A. Using rubrics to assess information literacy, Reference Services Review, 34, 1, 43-55

21. Thank you all