Moving From Traditional BI to an Integrated
Information Literacy Program
Ilene F. Rockman, Ph.D.
Manager, Information Competence Initiative
The California State University
Office of the Chancellor
Presentation to SCIL Spring Program
May 16, 2003
Why Important?
 Electronic information increasingly comes to
us in unfiltered formats, raising questions
about authenticity, validity, and reliability
 The uncertain quality and expanding quantity
of information (text, graphic, aural, spatial)
poses new and special challenges for users
Why Important?
 Students are entering colleges and universities
lacking basic research and information competence
skills (including critical thinking, decision making,
self-directed learning)
 Technology is transforming teaching and learning
concomitant with a proliferation of information
formats and choices
 Assessment efforts are indicating student over
reliance on the web as an information source
Why Important?
 Faculty want to see an improvement in the quality
of student work, an increase in the effectiveness of
student research, and students taking more
responsibility for their own learning
 Students want to complete assignments with less
difficulty and more satisfaction
 Employers want to hire graduates who are
“competent”, take responsibility, can solve
problems, and produce new ideas/directions
Why Important?
 Accreditation bodies (regional, state, professional)
want to see a change in past practices
 Society wants an educated, informed and
productive citizenry
 Not limited to USA; also in Denmark and Australia
(Apr 22, 2003 workshop, “Emerging Visions for
Access in the 21st Century Library”, presented by
the Council on Library and Information Resources
and the California Digital Library
The Reality
“For many teens, the Internet has replaced
the library as the primary tool for doing
research”
(“The Internet and Education”. Findings of the Pew Internet
& American Life Project, September 1, 2001.
http://www.pewinternet.org)
The Reality
“Less than half (48%) feel confident in their
ability to find information—essentially, in
the skills needed to research a topic.”
“A Report to Stakeholders on the Conditions and Effectiveness
of Postsecondary Education.” Change 33:3 (May/June
2001), p. 29.
The Reality
“More than 31% of all respondents use Internet
search engines to find answers to their questions.
However, people who use Internet search engines
express frustration because they estimate that half
of their searches are unsuccessful.”
“OCLC White Paper on the Information Habits of College Students.”
June 2002, p. 2.
(http://www2.oclc.org/oclc/pdf/printondemand/informationhabits.pdf)
Business Community
“We are no longer teaching about technology, but
about information literacy—which is a process of
turning information into meaning, understanding,
and new ideas. Students need the thinking,
reasoning, and civic abilities that enable them to
succeed in—and ultimately lead—a contemporary,
democratic economy, workforce, and society.”
--Terry Crane, VP, AOL, Converge, Sept. 2000
Governmental Community
“Information literacy is needed to guarantee
the survival of democratic institutions”
US Representative, Major Owens (D-NY),
1976, quoted in Student Learning in the
Information Age, p. 34.
Educational Community
“Within today’s information society, the most
important learning outcome for all students is their
being able to function as independent lifelong
learners. The essential enabler to reaching that goal
is information literacy.”
--Patricia Breivik, “Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning: The
Magical Partnership.” International Lifelong Learning Conference,
Central Queensland University, 2000,
http://elvis.cqu.edu.au/conference/2000/home.htm
Making the Case
 Content mastered by graduation is soon outdated
and/or forgotten
 Ongoing personal and professional competence
depends on knowing how to find, evaluate, and use
information
 Ability to find data, absorb and synthesize key
concepts, organize and present information are
desired “knowledge economy” skills
Making the Case
 “The first year is the period when you are going to
succeed in the greatest proportion of students, and
conversely, you’re going to not succeed or lose the
greatest proportion of students. Most institutions in the
country have decided if they want to make students
more successful, they have to pay more attention to
the beginning college experience and make things
happen by design.”
 --John Gardner, Senior Fellow of the National Resource Center
for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the
University of South Carolina, Director of the Policy Center on the
First Year of College at Brevard College, and Professor Emeritus
of Library and Information Science, University of South Carolina
Let’s Get Clear on Terms
 BI
 coined 30+ years ago in print world
 traditionally, skill-based approach
 focus on tools and search interfaces (how to use
an index, abstract, OPAC)
 tied to course assignment from professor; not all
courses --in or outside the department
 isolated with limited transference of student
learning within the curriculum
Information Literacy
 Integral part of the curriculum (foundational
underpinning)
 Supports learning outcomes of academic programs
(e.g. GE, degree, and non degree; upper and lower
division electives, pre-professional programs,
courses in the major)
 Contributes to an increase in retention, student
achievement, and graduation rates (GCC, CSUH)
Information Literacy
 Speaks in higher education terms (critical thinking,
first year experience, learning communities, distant
education, educational engagement, information
fluency, etc.)
 Focuses on campus collaboration (Faculty, General
Education, Assessment, Centers for Excellence,
Student Affairs Professionals, Academic Programs,
University Governance groups, Instructional Media
Services—Blackboard, WebCT)
Information Literacy
 Recognizes relationship to institution’s
mission and goals, program review,
accreditation criteria, outcomes-based
assessment strategies
 Reflects a collaborative responsibility and
partnership between dept faculty (content)
and librarians (process)
From Library Skills to
Information Literacy
Past Emphasis
Passive: tours, lectures, etc
Prof-identified topics
Locate information
Print only
Established authority
Term paper product
Course level
Current Emphasis
Active: coordinated
Student identified topics
Evaluate, use, comm info
Multiple formats and choices
Determine authority
Multiple options
Discipline/program level
Adapted from:
Library Skills to Information Literacy: A Handbook for the 21st
Century. CSLA, 1997.
What Does an IL Curriculum
Look Like?
 College or university-wide
 Inquiry, problem, performance, and resource
based
 Makes effective use of instructional
technologies
 Learner centered
 Integrated with learning outcomes
Ideal
 Student introduced to information literacy in first
year; reinforced in general education and courses in
the major (vertically and horizontally)
 Student continues to encounter IL throughout the
curriculum, culminating in a senior level experience
 “Rather than graduating based on which courses
you have taken, you will graduate based on what
you have learned” (CSU Monterey Bay—outcomes
based campus).
Why Move?
 Impact on learning—research by Keith Curry Lance
and colleagues—test scores rise with collaboration
between teachers and librarians
 Increased student learning results when multiple
opportunities to learn occur
 Need process for helping students to address their
immediate information needs, and to continue
learning after they leave the college or university
How Move?
 Find an administrative champion—Provost, VP of
Student Affairs, Director of Residential Life,
Coordinator of the First Year Experience, Head of
Educational Mentoring, Coordinator of Distance
Learning, Dean of Liberal Arts, etc.
 Find a faculty champion—Chair of dept or college
curriculum committee, Coordinator of GE, Director
of English composition or the campus writing
program, Chair of Academic Senate or chair of key
campus committee (curriculum)
How Move?
 Be a champion yourself—team up with new faculty
at orientation, mentor new students, meet with
career center or alumni director, become an
indispensable campus leader as a member of a key
campus committee (e.g. curriculum/instruction so
strategic placement of IL within learning outcomes
of new course proposal submissions, and degree
programs)
 Ask questions of faculty—are you pleased with the
performance of your students? How do you define
IL in your discipline? How can I help you?
How Move?
 College or university-wide IL committee to
recommend action agenda and take next steps
 Cal Poly, SLO; Visionary Pragmatism
(http://www.calpoly.edu/~communic/univ/visionary.html)
 GCC: Research Across the Curriculum TF
(http://www.glendale.edu/senate/RAC%20Report.htm)
How Move?
 Take advantage of timing—accreditation or
program review, strategic planning efforts, grants
 Start small—build support one dept/program at a
time; then move from dept to college or university
level
 Learn from experiences of WAC—Jim Elmborg’s
article in RSR 31:1 (2003)—”Information literacy
and writing across the curriculum: sharing the
vision” (find common ground; right place in curr)
How Move?
 Refer to professional association documents for
support:
--WPA Outcomes Statements for First-Year Composition,
adopted by the Council of Writing Program Administrators,
April 2000
--includes critical thinking, reading, and writing and notes
that “by the end of the first year, composition students
should understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks
including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing
appropriate primary and secondary sources.”
(http://www.english.ilstu.edu/Hesse/outcomes.html)
How Move?
 Refer to non-library publications:
Bean, John C. Engaging ideas: the professor’s
guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and
active learning in the classroom. SF: Jossey Bass,
1996.
(ch 12: Encouraging engagement and inquiry in
research papers—includes how to ask research
questions; find, manage, cite sources)
How Move?
 Give presentation to student clubs; build advocacy
 Work with IT on development of “smart”
classrooms
 Work with Faculty Development to co-sponsor
programs on plagiarism (natural tie-in to IL)
 Work with any/all campus stakeholders to find
“window of opportunity” to promote IL
Gentle Reminders
 IL skills are vital to future growth, development,
and success
 IL skills contribute to a higher level of learning
which is long-lasting
 Students need multiple opportunities to acquire,
practice, and hone IL skills inside and outside of
the classroom
Gentle Reminders
 Not easy to write good assignments—faculty can
benefit from working with librarians and Faculty
Development Center personnel
 Assignments need to be creative, structured, and
focused on identifying, locating, accessing,
evaluating, and integrating information into the
content presented (lead to student success)
 Research is not always a linear process
Gentle Reminders
Decades of research on college student
development shows that the more time &
energy students invest in activities related to
desired college outcomes, the more likely
they are to benefit. (same holds true for IL)
(George Kuh, ACRL 2003 Conference)
Use Appropriate Language
 Use language understandable to faculty and
administrators
 Speak to “their” issues so they will (in turn) support
yours (relationship building)
 Teaching-learning-technology, educational
mentoring, portfolio assessment, residential
learning communities, service learning, honors
program, first yr experience, international educ,
interdisciplinary learning, capstone experiences
Language of 21st Century
Literary
 Technological literacy—ability to use media
(Internet) to communicate effectively
 Media Literacy—ability to produce and distribute
content ethically and responsibly
 Global Literacy—ability to collaborate effectively
across cultures
21st Century Literacy Summit, Mar 7-8, 2002, Berlin, Germany, sponsored
by AOL Time Warner Foundation and Bertelsmann Foundation.
http://www.21stcenturyliteracy.org/
Add More Language
Emotional literacy
--develop self esteem
--fit into information society
--become socially and educationally
successful
Language of Accreditation
“Baccalaureate programs engage students in an
integrated course of study…these programs also
ensure the development of core learning abilities
and competencies including college-level written
and oral communication, …quantitative skills,
information literacy and…critical analysis of data.”
(WASC Handbook of Accreditation, Standard 2, January 2001 p. 20.
http://www.wascweb.org/senior/handbook.pdf)
More Language
“They (teacher education candidates) are able to
appropriately and effectively integrate technology
and information literacy in instruction to support
student learning”
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
(NCATE). Professional Standards for the Accreditation of
Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education, 2002,
page 19.
(http://www.ncate.org/2000/unit_stnds_2002.pdf)
More Language
“Each participating teacher designs, adapts, and
uses lessons which address students’ needs to
develop information literacy and problem
solving skills as tools for lifelong learning”
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (CTC).
Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Professional
Teacher Induction Programs. Program Standard 16.
September 2001, p. 21.
(http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educatorstandards/AdoptedPreparation/Standards.pdf)
More Language
“Students will demonstrate information
competence and the ability to use computers
and other technology for many purposes”
American Psychological Association. Board of Educational
Affairs. Undergraduate Psychology Major Learning Goals
and Outcomes: A Report, 2000.
http://www.apa.org/ed/pcue/taskforcereport.pdf
More Language
The American Chemical Society states that “ a
student who intends to become a practicing
chemist, or who will use chemistry in allied fields
of science and medicine, should know how to use
the chemical literature effectively and efficiently”
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/Chemistry?PID=acsdisplay.html&DOC=ed
ucation%5Ccpt%5Cts_cheminfo.html
More Language
“The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and
Mass Communication requires that, irrespective of their
particular specialization, all graduates should be aware of
certain core values and competencies and be able to
conduct research and evaluate information by
methods appropriate to the communications
professions, audiences, and purposes they serve.”
ACEJMC Committee on Standards and Assessment.
Accrediting Standards, 2002.
(http://www.ukans.edu/~acejmc).
More Language
 Academic Literacies: A Statement of Competencies
Expected of Students Entering California’s Public
Colleges and Universities (Intersegmenal
Committee of UC. CSU, CCC)—includes
information competence
 Information Competency: Challenges and
Strategies for Development (Academic Senate of
the CCC, Fall 2002)
Focus on Outputs
 Measurable learning outcomes
 Embed IL in GE assessment
 What distinguishes a graduate of your
program, department, college, or university
from that of another?
More Roles For You!
 Be aware of obstacles and work with key people—
”keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”
(M. Brando, Godfather I)
 Add value to the curriculum—provide faculty with
tools that are easily integrated into class (in class
worksheets, out of class assignments, web-based
tutorials, toolkits to integrate e-handouts into
management systems)
More Roles For You!
 Identify scope and sequence of competencies for
your liaison departments—demonstrate how IL
skills can build progressively within the
major/discipline
 What is needed in the lower division, upper
division, capstone experience?
 Be an integrationist—connect teaching and learning
to library resources and services across
communities
Successes Within CSU
 System-wide and campus level
 Academic Senate resolutions; grant funds to
reshape curriculum, offer summer faculty
workshops, support faculty retreats and release
time, create assessment instruments; conduct
research studies—info mounted on CSU website
 Share successes across campus through discipline
IL workshops so all can reap benefits and share in
the success
Successes Within CSU
 Introduction in freshmen transition courses, lower
and upper division general education courses, junior
level courses for transfer students, honors courses
 Reinforcement in courses in the major, service
learning, senior capstone experiences, or portfolio
assessments—all raise visibility of IL on campus
Other Successes
 Small liberal arts colleges (St. Olaf and Gustavus
Adolphus)—Journal of Library Administration vol
36:1/2 (2002)
 Oberlin College (“Information Literacy and the
Oberlin Education”)
http://www.oberlin.edu/library/servinfo/reference/
infolit/infolit.html
Planning for Campus-wide
Program
 Strong leadership (from top, middle, and bottom)
 Support of key teaching faculty/campus leaders
 Advocacy by Faculty Development—how IL and
assignments can help faculty achieve (and exceed)
their teaching goals
 Collaborative approach—administrators, faculty,
librarians, IT, Media, Faculty Development, GE
faculty, assessment staff, peer mentors (students)
Planning for Campus-Wide
Program
 Develop a definition of IL which suits your
institution
 Determine if IL will be integrated into existing
courses, be a separate course, part of GE, etc.
 Develop clear IL learning outcomes which can be
included on course syllabi and successfully
measured
Planning For Campus-wide
Program
 Define appropriate instructional strategies
 Design effective student assignments
 Develop effective methods of evaluation
Remember
“Faculty commitments and capabilities make
or break the implementation of curriculum
change, and they are central to sustaining
program vitality.”
Strong foundations: twelve principles for effective general
education programs. Washington, DC: Association of
American Colleges, 1994, p. 44.
Remember
“Faculty need learning opportunities to explore new
ideas and build their confidence to implement new
types of curriculum change.”
Jones, Elizabeth A. Transforming the curriculum: preparing
students for a changing world. ASHE-ERIC Higher
Education Report, Vol 29:3, 2002, p. 81.
Remember
 Building an IL program takes time
 Offering faculty professional development
opportunities for redesigning courses to include IL
components can lead to future success
 Integrating IL vertically and horizontally through
the curriculum will reach a maximum of students
Remember
 Sharing campus successes (e.g. Faculty
Development workshops, “Teaching Tips” listserv,
etc.), can inspire and motivate faculty to move
forward in a positive direction
 Experience-based learning activities can contribute
to “deep learning” (behavioral change) and
transference of knowledge from course to course
Finally
 Help is available:
-Guidelines for Instruction Programs in Academic Libraries
(C&RL News, Nov 2002, pp. 732-735)
-Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy
that Illustrate Best Practices
(http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ACRL/Sta
ndards_and_Guidelines/Characteristics_of_Programs_
of_Information_Literacy_that_Illustrate_Best_Practices
.htm)
--SCIL colleagues
Thanks Very Much
Dr. Ilene Rockman, Manager
Information Competence Initiative
Office of the Chancellor
California State University
(510) 885-2446
irockman@calstate.edu
http://www.calstate.edu/LS/infocomp.shtml