ITT Information
Literacy Seminar,
June 11th 2014
Hitting the moving target: The transformation of
information literacy instruction for First Year
students over a decade of change
Claire McGuinness
School of Information & Library Studies, UCD
10 years agrowing...
..and a-planning,
a-teaching,
a-researching...
information literacy
for first year
undergraduates
What I will talk about
• Setting the scene - best practices in supporting student
learning for information literacy (and other literacies)
• The learning landscape in 2004, and the first incarnation
of IL module for First Year students
• The key changes in the learning landscape across a
decade of teaching First Years & impact on instruction
• Evolution of a module – how my instructional approach
adapted to change
Best practices?
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Clear concept/definition of information literacy, feeding into Library mission
statement & aligned with institutional goals
• Curriculum-integrated or embedded instruction – meaningful tasks
related to current information needs (the “teachable moment”)
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Clearly articulated learning objectives and measurable outcomes (LO’s)
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Multi-modal learning activities aligned with intended LO’s
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Student-centred – based on instructional needs and group attributes
Authentic, situated learning contexts - not generic
Active, not passive learning environment, using appropriate learning objects
Assessment of learning, not just satisfaction with learning experience
Scalable, adaptable and sustainable
Based on strong collaborative relationships with key stakeholders
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What did the
Learning
Landscape look
like in 2004?
How has it changed
over 10 years, and how
have Information
Literacy
teaching practices
adapted to these
changes – if at all?
Let’s go back in time to 2004....
•
Unreliable classroom technologies
• VLEs (Blackboard) new to instructors
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2004-2005
Learning
Landscape
No smart-phones or tablets
• “Web 2.0” an emerging concept (2004)
• Social networking catching on
• No Twitter until 2008
• Social Sharing Services emerging
• Wikipedia mistrusted as a source
• Personal Blogging not yet mainstream
• eBooks not widely adopted
•
Searching across library e-collections less
integrated – e.g., no discovery
services
• Hard-copy assessment practices
Intro to Information Literacy
• New Module “Introduction to Information Literacy”,
taught first time 2005-2006 (in development since late
2004)
• Stage 1 (core or elective) – 150-200 students
• Collaboration with UCD Librarians
• Structured around the process of researching for, and
writing, an academic essay
• Stripling & Pitt’s 1988 model of the research process as
scaffold – step-by-step, linear structure
Stripling & Pitts’ Model
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Step 1: Choose a broad topic
Step 2: Get an overview of the topic
Step 3: Narrow the topic
Step 4: Develop a thesis or statement of purpose
Step 5: Formulate questions to guide research
Step 6: Plan for research and production
Step 7: Find / Analyze / Evaluate sources
Step 8: Evaluate evidence / Take notes / Compile bibliography
Step 9: Establish conclusions / Organize info. into an outline
Step 10: Create and present final product
Intro to Information Literacy
Instructional approach
• Large group teaching, 2 x 50 minute slots per week
• Lecture-based, (one session of hands-on computer lab work
introduced 2006-2007)
• No live linking to Web in class (unreliable WIFI) – screen-shots
instead of live demos for resources
• Hard-copy IL pre-test & post-test distributed in class
• Each week addressed a different “step” in the research process
Assessment
• No group work – individual assessment only (essay and
reflective research journal)
• Assessments submitted in hard-copy
• Some paper
worksheets to practice using resources
Tools & Learning Objects
• PowerPoint slides & paper handouts
• Blackboard used to upload slides and handouts & make
announcements – no interactive tools used (many not yet available)
• Readings mainly (print) books and some links to websites/pages
Original topics
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Research process
Essay topic selection
Preparing essay outlines
Constructing arguments
Information formats
Reference sources
Org of information
Intro to UCD Library
Library OPAC
Popular VS scholarly
resources
• Electronic info formats
(websites, e-journals,
mailing lists, forums, chat)
• Basics of online searching
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Evaluating information
• Using statistics in essays
• Interpreting visual info
• How to write effectively
• Proof-reading &
formatting
So, what changed?
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Information literacy as an evolving concept
Students’ baseline ICT skills
“Personal viewpoint” content on the Web
New emphasis on presentation and conduct of self
online
The collaborative imperative
The academic web
Wikipedia as a scholarly resource
Rise in popularity of visual media for learning
Reflective learning
Information Literacy
Evolution of understanding of Information
literacy to a
situated, transformative, social practice,
anchored in specific contexts
Librarians should move away from “instrumental,
skill-based definitions of literacy and toward an understanding
of literacy as a culturally situated phenomenon
based in the way communities construct meaning and belonging”
(Elmborg, 2006)
1. ACRL Information Literacy standards revised to focus on
Threshold Concepts (also ANCIL “Strands”)
(JISCInfonet, 2014)
2. Inclusion of information
creation,
collaboration and the presentation of self in online
spaces in definitions of digital literacy
Students’ ICT Skills
A gradual raising of instructors’ expectations of the
baseline ICT skills that students have on entering
third-level education – e.g., can use WORD, can navigate
the Web, use search engines, etc
However, this should not be confused with students’
abilities to use all tools effectively – multiple studies
have shown that students struggle especially with the
“higher-order” aspects of online information use
(UCL CIBER Group, 2008; Project Information Literacy, 2008-present; Beetham & White 2013)
Personal Viewpoint
Increasing availability of personal viewpoint content on
the Web, e.g., Blogs, Tweets, message board comments,
video diaries, and the questions that this raises in terms of
information evaluation
“What has changed is that today's students have
defined their preferences for Information sources in a world
where credibility, veracity, and intellectual
authority are less of a given—or even an expectation from
students with each passing day”(Beetham & White, 2013)
Self and Others Online
New emphasis on the presentation of self in the online
environment – personal reputation management,
digital footprints, generation of content &
contribution to various online discourses
“In 2004, something fundamental happened to the world
wide web. It became a place for collaboration,
more personal, and driven by us, the users” (Godwin &
Parker, 2012, p.3)
The Collaborative Imperative
Shift from physical, F2F collaboration & group-work,
towards virtual or remote collaboration and the
possibilities that it entails, not just for learning activities,
but in a global context
“Although not everybody is going to crowd-source or
crisis map, the knowledgeable digital citizen ought to
know how virtual communities, wikis, and other
varieties of mass collaboration work – and how to
join in the fun”(Rheingold, 2012, p.148)
The Academic Web
Acceptance that students will often turn first to web
search engines, such as Google and Ask.com
for academic tasks. Should we ban or encourage this?
“Universities need to do more to educate students about
these boundaries and the limits of free, unrestricted
access that is their predominant expectation of networked
technology. If done effectively – that is by developing
students' understanding rather than policing their behaviour
– this will prepare them for the world of work, which is
likely to be considerably more restrictive” (Beetham & White, 2013)
Wikipedia in Academia
Very gradual change of perspective re Wikipedia as a
potentially acceptable resource of information for
academic work, and tool for supporting IL development
Recent paper at LILAC 2014: “Wikipedia: it’s not
the evil
elephant in the library reading room” (Graham & Gray, 2014)
Rise of Visual Learning Media
The instructional possibilities engendered by the explosion
of YouTube and video in general, as a self-paced,
asynchronous learning tool, both in terms of content
consumption and creation
“In the not-too-distant past, videos for learning were often
under-budgeted, highly didactic efforts with laughable
production values[…] Advances in technology, however,
have made it so that designed video is no longer in the
sole province of broadcast television or dependent upon
a full-fledged production studio” (Schwartz & Hartman, 2007)
New Tools, New Practices?
Change in the “rules of engagement” – to pique
and maintain students’ interest, must we use their
everyday tools to support learning? Social media,
apps, gaming, etc?
“Students increasingly expect their digital capabilities
to be enhanced by their university experience, especially
in the area of workplace and research-like skills....
HOWEVER
...They continue to be unclear about how to legitimately
use personal devices, services, networks and practices
in academic contexts” (Beetham & White, 2013)
What do Students Expect?
• Free WIFI access across campus, and point-of-use access to the Internet
• Instructors with appropriate ICT skills & technology to be incorporated into
teaching and learning
• Access to a range of learning spaces with robust WIFI, storage facilities,
desk space, power sockets
• Course-related information and personal updates (e.g. timetables) to be
accessible continuously via their preferred device/service
• Explicit instruction in using institutional systems (library catalogue,
VLE, assessment system) and specialist technologies required for
their course
• Technology incorporated into their teaching/learning in ways that
are relevant to their academic success (Beetham & White, 2013)
Reflective Learning
Increasing interest in the concept of meta-cognitive or
reflective learning – supporting students in
managing own learning, and understanding their
learning preferences and strategies
“Lifelong learning and just-in-time learning require informed
self-direction. That is, students need to operate from a
sound knowledge base and use reflective or meta-
cognitive skills to work strategically towards solving
novel problems” (Biggs & Tang, 2007)
New Module 2012
“Students on this module will learn to act as intelligent
digital judges, exploring digital information as an entity
to be scrutinized, verified, and classified to enable us to
locate, generate, and apply trustworthy digital information
in personal, professional, and academic contexts”
Core concept is Evaluation – ability to make intelligent
decisions about information encountered online
New topics
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The Digital Consumer
21st Century info formats
Evaluating digital info
Academic e-Resources (OPAC,
e-journals, etc)
Databases & Online searching
Directories, Portals & Search
Engines
Using Google Tools to find,
create and manage
information
Understanding the “Deep
Web”
• Social networking in the 21st
Century
• Can we use Wikipedia for
academic work?
• Avoiding plagiarism – citing &
referencing
• Fakes and Phonies online Spam, Phishing, Hoaxes and
Scams
• Understanding Digital
Footprints
• Health Literacy/Medical
Misinformation on the Web
• News in the Digital World
What did I change?
• Blended Learning – combination of online and F2F,
synchronous and asynchronous instruction
• Interactive e-tutorials replaced three F2F lectures (and
more in 2014-2015), included in assessment. Independent
learning tasks included reading, viewing videos and
interactive websites (e.g., Internet Detective)
• Jettisoned step-by-step model and replaced with
thematic structure, broken down into weekly
topics, with pre-reading/viewing tasks each week
Learning Design
Learning Tasks/Supports/Resources model
Source: Oliver & Herrington, (2001)
Three core themes
What did I change?
• Content heavily (but not exclusively) focused on
interactions with web-based digital information
• Individual coursework largely replaced with
collaborative group project – Digital Resource
Guide, with group reflective component
• Use of social media tools strongly encouraged – in
addition to Blackboard tools, students use Facebook,
Tumblr, Twitter and Wordpress to collaborate and create
their guides
Student Feedback
“The e-tutorials helped me to learn for myself. The
group-work helped me to gain a more rounded
understanding of the module”
“the online tuts [sic] were amazing, due to the fact that
it allowed for a different learning experience,
information was comprehensive and very well
displayed, loved the fact that the slides could be read
out to you as well by the on screen voice”
Student Feedback
“I loved the e-tutorials, I thought they were a great way
of splitting up the learning/assessment load, along
with the face-to-face tutorials also”
“There was a lot of additional and supplementary
reading which was interesting. I also thought having
the lecture notes up on Blackboard was greatly
beneficial”
“Don't use tutorials. Use more online tutorials”
The Future?
• Change module title!
• Increase e-learning component – current collaboration
with MLIS Capstone project group to revamp existing
and create new e-tutorials for 2014-2015
• More hands-on work in class – “BYOD” approach (Bring
your own Device)
• Explore possibility of video projects (e.g., Video Guide
to resources)
Thank you!
Claire.mcguinness@ucd.ie
References
• Beetham, H. & White, D. (2013). Students' expectations and
experiences of the digital environment: Executive Summary.[JISC
Digital Student]. Available:
http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org/wp/students-expectations-andexperiences-of-the-digital-environment-phase-1-study/ (4th June
2014)
• Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for Quality Learning at
University (3rd Ed.) Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press.
• Elmborg, J. (2006). Critical information literacy: Implications for
instructional practice. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(2), pp.
192-199
• Godwin, P. & Parker, J. (2012) Information literacy beyond library
2.0. London: Facet Publishing
References
• Graham, N. & Gray, A. (2014). Wikipedia: it’s not the evil elephant in the
library reading room. [Presentation given at LILAC 2014]. Available:
http://www.slideshare.net/infolit_group/wikipedia-its-not-the-evilelephant-in-the-library-reading-room-andrew-gray-nancy-graham (4th
June 2014)
• Head, A.J. & Eisenberg, M.B. (2009). Lessons Learned: How College
Students Seek Information in the Digital Age. [Project Information Literacy
Progress Report]. Available:
http://projectinfolit.org/images/pdfs/pil_fall2009_finalv_yr1_12_2009v2.
pdf (4th June 2014)
• JISCInfonet. (2014). Developing digital literacies [InfoKit]. Available:
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies/ (4th June 2014)
• Oliver, R. and Herrington, J. (2001) Teaching and learning online: a
beginner's guide to e-learning and e-teaching in higher education. Mt
Lawley, WA: Edith Cowan University.
References
• Project Information Literacy (2008-2014). Available:
http://projectinfolit.org/ (4th June 2014)
• Rheingold, H. (2012). Net smart: how to thrive online. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press.
• Schwartz, D.L. & Hartman, K. (2007). It is not television anymore:
Designing digital video for learning and assessment. In Goldman, R., Pea,
R., Barron, B., & Derry, S. (Eds.). (2007). Video Research in the Learning
Sciences. New York: Routledge. Available:
http://aaalab.stanford.edu/papers/Designed_Video_for_Learning.pdf (4th
June 2014)
• University College London (UCL) CIBER Group. (2008) Information
behaviour of the researcher of the future: Executive Summary. London:
University College London. Available:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/reppres/gg_final_k
eynote_11012008.pdf (4th June 2014)
Selected Image Attributions
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Nick Chill. Fast Food/Roadrunner. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nchill4x4/3023580056/in/photolist-bz5vQ5-617wsW5BbD1C-aKKyYz-617wqL-4M6Jou-7tVuTe-f1Rmbr-dt6z7x-4s3v54-cCbkdJ-eFEn7M-a1mWPS-ai9RY6-82eCwY-91jgfp-91np9GafFcJC-d2QGE-3gVxkU
Chen Shiang Khoo. Joyce & the Beanstalk. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jameskhoo/2471790195/in/photolist-4Lqz7kikc5qA-ikaQ29-ikbHFD-ikcsqB-ikbmhD-9LiLsW-4tCkvt-JcrtS-ejYBT-dkbigj-77VBmS-8jcjro-4dZCD6-iPq1To-iPqtwo-iPoHXDiPnxSn-iPnsKX-iPqQvh-iPn532-iPohSj-iPqCEo-iPnFAt-iPpLEb-iPnAsS-iPp1ZL-iPoBBc-iPoXK9-iPncGa-iPoJD9-iPpEkY-iPounHiPnnv8-74eSrn-8y3rtb-4Zs959-tQaYK-8jhG3B-dsd446-7hVjG3-dyBz8L-6Dpx5P-4ZXiQv-6DjsPc-4Rxbjf-dj19gQ-dj1bd6-dj1bbZdj1bfk/
Andrew Becraft. LEGO Back to the Future DeLorean .https://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/9312170928/in/photolistfbTiZb-m6Ffa-fbD2xD-386E1v-fbD24t-fbD2dH-fbD1cv-fbD1RX-fbTiEu-fbD2ic-fbTiB9-fbD17D-8ftYFZ-7yTwsu-fbTikf-fbTi7EfbThy5-38bfcd-gXMNq-8D7Axw-fbTicd-38beZG-giTe4A-5kjYTX-6RmmNJ-fFWg27-7GAgGQ-fbThu9-buf5s7-5tCkSo-fxqgHb386Edv-9Vc3jM-eLksLS-386E9F-kP894a-fnb8Yi-7fiJ73-iCHK4C-kP9o2u-ciV1t7-7Qv6Fk-a5Wz74-7FpcEt-cyt7L-6qx4fz-9mzQk98NdpxM-7Gwm3t-6qVJ4
Jan Sefti. Kurdistan Nature, Landscape. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurdistan4all/4543929183/