Information Literacy defined + student awareness = steps towards Information Fluency

1. Information Literacy defined + student awareness = steps towards Information Fluency Karen Kaufmann James Rhoades

2. Abstract • Taking time to define Information Literacy to students who attend library instruction sessions creates an awareness of the skills associated with being information literate. • This simple approach establishes the foundation for students to acquire information fluency skills. • Why was this step introduced during library instruction? • How was this step introduced in library instruction? • How can this simple approach reach across disciplines in higher education?

3. Why focus on a term and its definition? “Students who can define, describe, give examples, and relate the concept to other knowledge are demonstrating their learning of the concept.” (Tessmer, 1990, p.48)

4. Florida Public Higher Education Florida Distance Learning Consortium http://www.fldlc.org/resources-unv.cfm

5. Florida Universities & Colleges 2010 NCES Library Statistics Program -11 universities & 28 colleges -641 librarians -Over 570,000 FTE students -Over 16,000 presentations -Over 356,000 students attended presentations 2010 National Center for Education Statistics Library Statistics Program

6. Defines Information Literacy or Information Literate Student -6 out of 11 FL universities (55%) -23 out of 28 FL colleges (82%) -Combined 74% 2010 National Center for Education Statistics Library Statistics Program

7. Figure 2 Regional Accrediting Organizations and Information Literacy Standards (Saunders, 2007, p. 321)

8. Scope of the Study Participants included students, teaching assistants & professors All responses were video tapped All participants were asked at least 12 questions Questions focused on participants practice and understanding of information literacy Teaching assistants & professors were asked an additional question on teaching

9. Foundational Questions Critical thinking Research Research process Academic/Personal

10. Critical Questions -Have you ever attended or had a library instruction session provided to one of your classes? If so, how many? -Have you ever heard the term “information literate” or “information literacy”? If so, where? -If you had a library instruction session, did the librarian discuss or define the concept of “information literate” or “information literacy”?

11. Critical Questions

12. Importance of defining Information Literacy to students? Listen to how faculty, teaching assistants, & students define “information literacy” or “information literate”?

13. Challenge “Most universities offer information literacy in an ad hoc manner teaching faculty participate to varying degrees, even within the same institutions or same departments.” (Saunders, 2009, p. 100)

14. Why was this step introduced during library instruction? • Information Literacy and the Research Process Library Instruction & the Need for an Expanded Definition of Literacy The Atlas of New Librarianship by R. David Lankes http://www.newlibrarianship.org/wordpress

15. Definition + Awareness = Taking Steps InformationLiteracy Information Fluency • The ability to access, evaluate, organize and use information in order to learn, problem-solve, make decisions -in formal and informal learning contexts, at work, at home and in educational settings. • •A key characteristic of the lifelong learner-strongly connected with critical and reflective thinking Bruce, Christine. (1997). Seven Faces of Information Literacy: Towards inviting students into new experiences. In The Seven Faces of Information Literacy. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bestlibrary.org/digital/files/bruce.pdf • “The ability to apply the skills associated with information literacy, computer literacy and critical thinking to address and solve information problems across disciplines, across academic levels, and across information format structures.” DanielCallison http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/inquiry5.htm

16. How was this step introduced in library instruction? Information Literacy Defined

17. Information Literacy Introduced

18. Reaching Students: Looking at the numbers In this sample: 325 students were taught in 19 class sessions 320 or 98% were introduced to the term & definition Information Literacy. 325 or 100% of the students were introduced to the associated skills and how these skills are integrated into the research process

19. Critical Thinking – In High Demand • The demand for skills that are non-routine: • Critical thinking • Creativity • Innovation • Self Direction • increasing dramatically in the 21stcentury (http://www.imls.gov/pdf/21stCenturySkills.pdf) • “Critical thinking empowers Americans to assess the credibility, accuracy, and value of information, analyze and evaluate information, make reasoned decisions, and take purposeful action” (http://www.p21.org/documents/21st_century_skills_education_and_competitiveness_guide.pdf

20. Big 6 Information Literacy Skills • “Learning is much easier if connections can be made between ideas and facts” • ~ * ~ • Using a set of set skills that is a repeated process to assimilate information and facts assists students in learning. • The process provides for assimilating new knowledge from a variety of sources while utilizing their current knowledge baseto create associations and connections. • Using this repeated process of set skills is like a roadmap for putting the pieces together- or finding their way to draw conclusions, make associations and connections. McNaught, Carmel. Information Literacy, Big6 and University Education. http://big6.com/pages/lessons/articles/information-literacy-big6-and-university-education.php

21. Relevance as a MotivatorIntegrated Learning Recent research presented at the American Educational Research Association shows that student motivation was highly influenced by their perception of the intrinsic value of the material or course – a function of how interesting, relevant and useful it was beyond its requirement for obtaining a degree. Berrett, Dan. (2012). Can colleges manufacture motivation? The Chrronicle of Higher Education, April 15, 2012.

22. The “Why” of the importance of Information Fluency Skills “…evaluation, interpretation and synthesis are the key competencies of the 21st century. These information-literacy skills allow us to find what we need, filter out what we do not and chart a course in an ever-expanding frontier of information. Head, Allison J. and Eisenberg, Michael B (2011). College students eager to learn but need help of negotiating information overload. The Seattle Times, Friday, June 3, 2011.

23. How can this simple approach reach across disciplines in higher education? Information literacy [fluency] is the essential skill set that cuts across all disciplines and professions” Head & Eisenberg (2011).

24. What students say…. Head& Eisenberg (2011). PIL (2009) InfoLit Dialog, No. 3: Frustrations http://youtu.be/rmEzo51e_SQ “College is about knowing how to look at a problem in multiple ways and how to think about it analytically – now that’s something I’ll use in my life” Social Science College Student Project Information Literacy - What Students Say