Embedding Information Literacy Research Articles

An inquiry-based teaching intervention to embed information literacy instructions into a library and information science curriculum in Bangladesh

Introduction. This paper describes a novel pedagogical practice and reports its effectiveness in improving library and information science students' information literacy knowledge. In addition, it addresses the association of students’ information and communication technology (ICT) self-efficacy with their information literacy learning. Method. SPSS (version 27) was employed for the statistical analyses of the data. A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to examine the differences between the intervention group (n= 35) and the control group (n= 36). Independent samples t-tests were carried out to see the differences between various groups. Pearson’s correlations were conducted to measure relationships among dependent variables. Analysis. SPSS (version 27) was employed for the statistical analyses of the data. A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to examine the differences between the intervention group (n= 35) and the control group (n= 36). Independent samples t-tests were carried out to see the differences between various groups. Pearson’s correlations were conducted to measure relationships among dependent variables. Results. Students who attended the novel guided-inquiry based information literacy instructions scored higher in the post-test than those who participated in regular class lectures. In addition, the students in the intervention group learned course subject contents as well as the controls. Students’ ICT self-efficacy did not influence their overall learning of information literacy knowledge. Conclusion. Considering the short duration of the intervention, the learning outcomes in information literacy were satisfactory. We gathered some experiences implementing a novel student-centred pedagogical practice in a developing country to help educators and researchers take such initiatives.

Developing Students’ Skills of Identifying Reliable Scientific Sources: The Role of a Librarian

Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to provide modes of teaching Russian undergraduate students fundamental critical analysis of scientifc papers and ways of identifying misinformation and disinformation in “Academic Writing” discipline. design/methodology/approach. “Academic Writing” discipline was taught to frst-year undergraduate students by scientifc library experts. At a starting period students were asked to complete a questionnaire and perform a test, and then write an essay to identify how students were able to assess Web scientifc literature and verify their “tolerance” to inaccurate and fake scientifc information. Then contact hours on theory and practice of identifying and assessing information were introduced into the curriculum. At the end of the semester lists of works cited in original essays and fnal assays were compared.Findings. The fndings reveal that entirely all frst year undergraduate students lack the ability to differentiate between qualitative certain scientifc information and misinformation and disinformation, and they willingly borrow anything from the Web. However, students acquired necessary skills to assess information critically using socio-technical systems infrastructures.This was demonstrated with list of literature analysis in students’ essays and peer-checking. originality. It is headline news and social networks when it is necessary to distinguish from authentic and inaccurate information. However, skills of critical assessment of scientifc publications are of vital importance at a starting period of studies. In publications of that sort falsifcations, fabrications and other fake discoveries can lead to reputational and fnancial risks, and then trigger unethical demeanour of future researchers. It is qualifed librarians being experts in electronic resources and data based use who are able to get students to “digital hygiene”.Practical implications. The results of the paper can be used for teaching in university curriculum. Embedding information literacy and academic writing as well as involving information resources into students’ curriculum are aimed at the ability to identify misinformation and disinformation. Librarian-developed “Academic writing” discipline component might be introduced into curriculum as a self-contained short course or a composing element of any students’ academic discipline. All this mitigate the risks of applying low-equality, unverifed and openly fake information in educational and scientifc works.

Information Literacy and Instruction: Building a Multi-Format Graduate Student Information Literacy Program

College and university library instruction programs often focus on providing information literacy instruction for undergraduate students. In this article, Kathy Christie Anders shares how she has developed an information literacy program specifically aimed at graduate students. She discusses the challenges of embedding information literacy into graduate and professional school curricula, particularly across degree programs. She also discusses the advantages of taking a multi-pronged approach to instruction for graduate students, especially in an instructional context that makes programmatic implementation a challenge.—Editor

Enhancing students’ professional information literacy

Creating information literate students and future employees is an expected outcome of a tertiary education. This paper shares insights from a successful collaboration between an academic and three university librarians to create an online learning module designed to develop students’ professional information literacy capability: identifying business information types, searching online databases, and evaluating quality using a new indigenous-informed evaluation approach. Student learning was measured using reflective tasks and assessments. The paper challenges teachers and librarians to consider ways they can collaborate to explicitly embed information literacy (IL) skills development into large disciplinary courses, particularly during the transition into tertiary learning, to enhance lifelong learning capability and meet future workplace IL demands.

Sculpting an Information Literate School Community: Looking for Touchstones

The authors review, and provide findings from, a collaborative action research project in a large private school. The purpose of the research was to implement actions to facilitate a holistic approach to information literacy, and to embed information literacy within teaching units in the school. A second aim was to benchmark best practice. The research took the form of a situation analysis and individual case study 'units'. The experience has created awareness, amongst teaching staff, of techniques and resources to improve the information literacy process amongst students, and of the potential role of the library in collaborative practices.

Embedded Librarianship and Blended Learning


 
 
 The library of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences has wide experience in providing different kinds of training in information literacy. For a long time the formats for these trainings were mostly standalone library instructions and online training. However, slowly over the last few years a shift towards workshops that are integrated into courses of various study programs has taken place. The reason for this transition is in line with the philosophy of embedded librarianship. Embedded information literacy training should be more successful than standalone instructions, but what other factors influence its success and how to increase its effectiveness even further? The library of the Rotterdam University has examined this question by not only embedding a complete information literacy course into the curriculum, but also by selecting blended learning as an innovative educational model for it.
 
 

Embedding an information literacy course into a learning management system: a case study

PurposeThis article outlines how an existing information literacy (IL) course was developed and embedded into a Learning Management System (LMS) with the aim of creating a blended learning environment for the course. It outlines how the platform was chosen, choice of learning design (LD) approaches, tools and processes used, Open Educational Resources (OERs) incorporated, the choice of Creative Commons (CC) licensing, branding, usage options and formats of materials.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method approach was used in conducting this research. The online course was piloted in 2017 with two groups of students who completed an online questionnaire to provide their evaluation and feedback.FindingsThe results showed a very positive evaluation by the students, which shows that the university is on the correct path with embedding IL into a learner management system.Research limitations/implicationsThe author could not have the second face-to-face class with group 1 as was intended due to the student unrest at the university during this time. Also, with the disruption to the academic programme, the author had less feedback from students than expected; however, the 20% response rate was sufficient to inform the author’s future developments.Practical implicationsThe flexibility (not a one size fits all) in usage was relevant and necessary to accommodate a number of student needs and socio-economic factors.Originality/valueThis article adds value to the academic project by showing how IL courses can successfully be embedded within an LMS, student preferences and socio-economic factors to be considered in a South African context.

Can you teach research in 10 minutes? Embedding information literacy micro-sessions in module programmes

This case study discusses the inception and continued delivery of 10-minute micro research skills sessions within two entrepreneurship modules at Coventry University London. The case study starts with an explanation of how and why the project was developed. Its rationale was underpinned by both established, current bite-sized learning research, and established psychological and neural evidence. This paper describes how these practices are used in the workplace to promote continuous professional development and disseminate company information for training purposes. Discussing both the delivery and skills content, this paper explains the methods used by the Information and Skills Development Specialist (ISDS) in each 10-minute session to engage students and embed database searching skills in to their routine study practices. It also explains how this practice has been adopted by students and how the skills have been embedded to enhance their final business pitches at the end of their modules.

Information Literacy and Transcultural Learning: How Chinese Calligraphy and Historical Korean Poetry Were Turned into a Library Co-Curricular Initiative

Library run co-curricular programs offer a powerful response to the growing demand for academic librarians to perform new roles to improve students’ information literacy. Increasing in popularity, co-curricular programs are embedding information literacy skills in increasingly unique, creative, and effective ways. Initiated by the Run Run Shaw Library, CityU, the poetry recital project is a co-curricular program which connects students with historical East Asian poetry in a fun, engaging and insightful manner. This paper recounts how the poetry recital project facilitated a knowledge transfer linking students to scholars, and used historical poetry as a device to embed information literacy teachings.

Teaching Mode of Library Information Literacy Course Based on Hierarchical Embedded Service

With the development of computer technology and network processing technology, information literacy competency has become an essential ability for contemporary college students. The traditional teaching mode of information literacy takes the form of library literature retrieval. The teaching content is relatively boring and dull, and the teaching form is backward, which makes many students lack interest in learning and produces an adverse effect on students’ improvement of information literacy required by their professional study. For this reason, in this paper, “hierarchical embedded service mode” was applied in the learning of information literacy course and an embedded information literacy teaching network composed of three elements, that is, teachers, learners and librarians, was built. After that, targeted information literacy teaching methods were designed from the perspectives of program, object, teaching content, teaching methods and teaching staff. On this basis, a teaching feedback mechanism for information literacy course with entrepreneurship and innovation as the goals was set up, which included 5 primary categories, course content, teaching design, interface design, media technology, and course management, and 25 secondary categories. It was found in a teaching experiment that the students have been greatly improved in terms of autonomous learning ability, learning interest, classroom activity and reading ability.

Extending Boundaries: Team Teaching to Embed Information Literacy in a University Module

In today’s knowledge-based economy, the role of universities in preparing students to be information literate and independent thinkers and researchers is crucial. Information literacy (IL) skills enable students to become research-oriented, hold critical approaches to knowledge, be critical thinkers, consider things from different perspectives, develop their own ideas and defend and share these in an ethical manner. University students are often expected to access, process, evaluate and synthesise information from a number of sources in order to complete their assessment tasks. To do this efficiently, they need to possess good IL skills. This article postulates that students’ IL skills can be successfully fostered and enhanced if academics and academic librarians enter into a partnership to collaboratively develop students’ IL skills. The article discusses an intervention at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa that entailed embedding IL skills in an academic literacies (AL) course offered to first-year students in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences. This intervention involved a partnership between academic librarians and an AL lecturer in adopting a team-teaching approach to collaboratively develop students’ IL skills. Overall, students showed great enthusiasm for the IL sessions, and their responses to the different tasks given to them were positive. The partnership between the team members was found to be successful. Although the researchers concluded that a collaborative partnership between academics and academic librarians was feasible and sustainable, they acknowledged that the available resources within an institution, for example, library computer laboratories, might well impact on the decision to pursue such an initiative.

Embedded Information Literacy Instruction in the Mobile Environment: A Case Study

Information literacy instruction in various countries has expanded in a variety of ways. At universities, it has mainly taken the form of credit-based courses, lectures, and embedded instruction. While European and American universities carry out more embedded instruction, universities in China focus more on credit-based courses and lectures, leaving embedded instruction in an exploratory stage. This paper is a preliminary study of a research project that aims to investigate the department-based, embedded information literacy instruction among the libraries of 42 "Double-First Class" universities in China. Using East China Normal University Library as an example, this paper discusses the teaching mode, teaching philosophy, teaching design, teaching methods and contents in order to explore how embedded information literacy instruction can make use of the mobile Internet platform. The specific areas to be examined include teaching resources, enhancing classroom interactions, and after-class feed-pushing as part of teaching support. Finally, some recommendations are put forward for the extension and expansion of embedded information literacy instruction.

The Evolution of Information Literacy Outcomes in Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Science Courses

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy presents opportunities for moving beyond ‘one-shot’ information literacy sessions and creating a more scaffolded and embedded approach for instruction. We collaborated with faculty at Carnegie Mellon University to create Framework-inspired information literacy learning objectives for first-year and third-year science undergraduates and are continuously refining the objectives as the curriculum continues to evolve. This article describes our learning objective design and refinement process, challenges encountered, and ideas on how to create opportunities for embedding information literacy into a curriculum. We also share our full activity lesson plans and assessment tool.

Cognitive authorities in health education classrooms: A nexus analysis on group-based learning tasks

Socio-technical changes have transformed information practices and challenged conceptions of cognitive authorities, referring to information sources that are deemed credible and legitimate and influence people's thinking. Cognitive authorities in group-based knowledge-construction projects in health education lessons were explored in this study. Nexus analysis was used to analyze participant interviews and video-observed social actions in three secondary school health-education classrooms (Grades 8–9) in Finland. The findings show how group-based projects employing multiple information sources offer opportunities for the distribution and co-construction of cognitive authorities. However, explicit negotiations on the authority of sources were rare. Cognitive authorities appeared as contextual and situational but also guided by broader discourses circulating in the scene of action. By embedding information literacy instruction throughout the curriculum, information professionals and teachers can support young learners to recognize relevant authorities in different spheres of knowledge and to become competent users of health information.

Revealing instruction opportunities: a framework-based rubric for syllabus analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to develop a rubric based on the ACRL framework to analyze departmental syllabi for opportunities to scaffold information literacy instruction. The rubric provided a replicable method of gathering and analyzing data using course syllabi to enable instruction librarians to strategically embed information literacy instruction within a disciplinary curriculum.Design/methodology/approachThis study examined 231 syllabi from three departments at a large American university. The authors developed and normed a rubric based on ACRL’s 2015 Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and coded the syllabi for the presence of these six themes using a three-indicator scale: not present, implied or explicitly stated. Cohen’s kappa calculations for interrater reliability was 0.92, which indicates that the raters had a high level of agreement and that the rubric could be a reliable instrument to replicate this sort of study.FindingsThe analysis revealed numerous opportunities for targeted, curriculum-integrated instruction in each department at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It also offered disciplinary insights on the Framework within and across each program. Thesedata can be used to inform conversations with program administrators about scaffolding information literacy interventions across a curriculum.Originality/valueThis study contributes a new instrument with which to analyze syllabi for information literacy outcomes to develop curricular maps and conduct strategic instructional outreach. The data demonstrated that the rubric is reliable and could be used to replicate this study in a variety of programs or institutions. Authors have presented at Library Instruction West, July 2018.

Attribution and plagiarism in the creative arts

The concepts of attribution and plagiarism can be challenging for creative art students who may engage with both text and non-text sources such as images, film, computer games, performance art and more while working on an assessment task. To introduce students to the basics of attributing non-text sources and to explain the distinctions between ethical reuse of creative works at university and in the professional setting, the authors developed an embedded Information Literacy workshop utilising a flipped classroom model. Short educational videos were produced that students watched before attending an in-class library workshop. The students also completed pre- and post-teaching tests to collect evidence of their preconceptions and knowledge before and after watching the videos and attending the library workshop. This article will report on the planning and design of the videos and the library workshop, and share the results of the formative assessment activities.

Digital Academic Writing Support

At the University of Bergen (UiB), Norway, the library is given the coordinator responsibility for a project involving faculties, first-year-support, Department of Education and student administrative support. The project aims at making it easy to embed information literacy and academic writing into the curriculum.
 
 Develop a digital tool box where academics will find and share teaching activities
 Harvest experiences and suggest models for physic and digital writing support
 Suggest competence building measures for teachers and guides of academic writing
 
 Academic writing and critical dealing with sources are central skills that students are expected to master after graduating from university. At the same time these are generic skills which need practice, discussion and reflection. However, we know that this part of students' learning is easily neglected in competition with subject teaching.
 What we have done: The library has established the project in collaboration with two pilot subjects (biology and geography), emphasising digital writing support according to the UiB’s strategic aims and action plans. The two pilot subjects recognise the importance of writing for critical thinking and development of subject knowledge. They will redesign courses in their BA programmes to better align learning outcomes and assessment with learning activities, e.g. writing including peer and teacher feedback.
 By the time of the conference in June, we will have drafted a framework for typical writing support in the pilots to use for their teaching in the autumn semester.
 In our presentation we will address these key questions:
 
 How does our institution support academic writing?
 How do we train the trainers?
 How do we provide integrated teaching of academic writing and IL?

Preliminary design and implementation of embedding information literacy into an undergraduate engineering course

Engineering students need content-relevant information literacy (IL) experience for critical acquiring and using information in academic to professional life. Modular learning becomes a self-directed and connectivism approach that blends IL and subject learning outcomes explicit to students. However, there is rarely applicable model for this entire integration. This paper presents the design and implementation of modular learning with embedding of IL into a learning course (ei2LC). The modules were designed with: 1) core concepts of an engineering subject; 2) core concepts of IL; 3) instructional design, for a course on machinery and design and presented to 32 undergraduate students. Pre and post-IL assessment were administrated to reveal their IL skills improvement. The results indicate their progress on IL skills and valuable feedbacks. This study shows how to embed a cohesive IL experience in all elements of an engineering course as a seamless instruction and a concept in other courses.

Preliminary design and implementation of embedding information literacy into an undergraduate engineering course

Engineering students need content-relevant information literacy (IL) experience for critical acquiring and using information in academic to professional life. Modular learning becomes a self-directed and connectivism approach that blends IL and subject learning outcomes explicit to students. However, there is rarely applicable model for this entire integration. This paper presents the design and implementation of modular learning with embedding of IL into a learning course (ei2LC). The modules were designed with: 1) core concepts of an engineering subject; 2) core concepts of IL; 3) instructional design, for a course on machinery and design and presented to 32 undergraduate students. Pre and post-IL assessment were administrated to reveal their IL skills improvement. The results indicate their progress on IL skills and valuable feedbacks. This study shows how to embed a cohesive IL experience in all elements of an engineering course as a seamless instruction and a concept in other courses.

“I Wanna Be in the Room Where It Happens”…: Using Curriculum Mapping to Support the Information Literacy Goals of Online Programs

Embedding information literacy and instruction within an online program can be a difficult process to begin. Curriculum mapping guides librarians to the courses where their services can have the most impact. However, curriculum mapping can seem like an overwhelming and unwieldly process. This case study demystifies the process and shows how simple and effective curriculum maps can be designed and utilized. Particularly in environment with a single librarian dedicated to online outreach serving as a coordinator for other subject liaison librarians, curriculum mapping is a tool that allows for clear communication, outreach and systematic assessment. This paper will provide an overview of how the curriculum maps were developed, how they were used for communication and outreach both within and outside the Libraries, and ideas for programmatic assessment based upon the maps.