PLOA WITH THE LIBRARY
Regina Seguin and Beth King,
Librarians
September 2015
ASSESSING INFORMATION LITERACY
PLOA first step: Destination 2008.
Six faculty: 3 librarians, 3 discipline faculty
develop collegewide Information Literacy rubric.
Persistent Challenges
 Integration within Courses
 Scalability
“Locate, evaluate
and effectively
use information
from diverse
sources.”
2010-2012: INFORMATION LITERARY MODULES
Five modules each consisting of a tutorial and multiple choice assessment
Consistent exposure to information literacy topics
ENC1101 and 1102 instructors piloted in Blackboard
Separate course linked within piloting courses
Biggest challenge:
scalability.
WHAT DID WE LEARN?
About Instruction:
 Shorter instructional videos
 Active learning exercises
 Different platform
 New ways to work with faculty (department level, program level)
 Psychology Information Literacy Modules
 New Student Experience Online Module
About Assessment:
 Consistent exposure to information literacy topics
 PLOA work no longer assumes need for everyone to have the same instruction.
2013:A NEW RUBRIC
Used a revised information literacy rubric
Scored sample papers collected from ENC1101 and ENC1102
What we learned:
Good for assessing integration of sources and ethical use of sources.
Need for a better tool for assessing locating and evaluating information.
2014: RESEARCH LOG
In development. Goals:
Provide insight into students’ searching and evaluating processes.
Can be implemented with any research assignment.
Can be scored quickly; data useful to instructors and librarians
Biggest challenge:
integrating with courses.
STANDARDIZED TESTING
Respected tests of Information Literacy exist (SAILS)
 Never broadly implemented at Valencia
 Piloted in 2004-2005, costly
 Will be piloted again this year (Diane Dalrymple, East)
New test, TATIL, in development:
 Will reflect ACRL’s new Information Literacy Framework.
 Valencia will participate in the pilot.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS: MULTIPLE APPROACHES
To address different aspects of information literacy:
 Checklist
 Standardized test
 Authentic measures (e.g., Research log)
BENEFITS
Scaffolding of information literacy instruction
 New student experience – basic, general
 ENC 1101 & other front door courses – beginner, selected topics
 ENC 1102 & other advanced courses – advanced beginner, specialized
 e.g. abnormal psychology
“Drop in” assessments (like “drop in” instruction)
Bird’s eye view of information literacy across disciplines
NEW DEFINITION OF INFORMATION LITERACY:
Old: “The ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the information needed.”
Information literacy is [now]:
a spectrum of abilities, practices, and habits of mind that extends and deepens learning
through engagement with the information ecosystem. It includes:
Understanding essential concepts
Engaging in creative inquiry … through an iterative process
Creating new knowledge
Adopting a strategic view of interests, biases and assumptions in the information ecosystem
THRESHOLD CONCEPTS:
As described by Jan Meyer and Ray Land, threshold concepts are the
core ideas and processes in any discipline that define the discipline, but
that are so ingrained that they often go unspoken or unrecognized by
practitioners. They are the central concepts that we want our students to
understand and put into practice, that encourage them to think and act
like practitioners themselves.
Transformative | Irreversible | Integrative | Bounded | Troublesome
THRESHOLD CONCEPTS FOR INFORMATION LITERACY
Scholarship is a Conversation
Research as Inquiry
Authority is Constructed and Contextual
Information Creation as a Process
Searching as Exploration
Information has Value
Authority depends upon
the origin, the information
need, and the context in
which the information will
be used. The authority is
viewed with an attitude
of informed skepticism
and an openness to new
perspectives.
ASSESSMENT USING THE FRAMEWORK: RESOURCES
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
Association of College & Research Libraries
 Appendix 1: Implementing the Framework
Information Literacy Threshold Concepts (Delphi Study)
Korey Brunetti, Amy R. Hofer, Silvia Lu & Lori Townsend (CUNY)
 “Citation Sleuthing” Activity
Framework Toolkit with Activities
Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)
Framework LibGuide with Learning Outcomes
Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI)
THANKS!
Regina Seguin x1361
Beth King x1854
Our current PLOA Leaders:
Karene Best x4315
Courtney Moore x2883