What Can We Learn from Students about Information Literacy? Keynote at Bridgewater State University
1. Critical Literacies: Exploring the Intersections of
Writing and Information Literacy
Bridgewater State University
17 Oct 2014
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM STUDENTS ABOUT INFORMATION LITERACY? MICHELE VAN HOECK PROJECT INFORMATION LITERACY & CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY MARITIME
4. Recognize when
information is needed. Locate,
evaluate, and use effectively
the needed information.
WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY?
5. In an environment of rapid technological
change, proliferating resources, escalating
complexity, diversity of choices, and unfiltered
formats of uncertain quality…
The sheer abundance of information will not
in itself create a more informed citizenry without a complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information effectively...
Information literacy forms the basis for
lifelong learning. It is common to
all disciplines, to all learning environments,
and to all levels of education.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
6.
7. The information literate student:
1.Determines nature and extent of information needed
2.Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently
3.Evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
4.Uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
5.Understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.
8.
9. Information Literacy Threshold Concepts
Scholarship is a Conversation
Research as Inquiry
Authority is Contextual and Constructed
Format as a Process
Searching as Exploration
Information has Value
ACRL DRAFT FRAMEWORK
12. How would you rate the information literacy of the students you teach, on average?
What do you see students struggle with most in research projects?
POLL!
13. “Adjectives that describe how you feel when you get a research assignment?”
fear,
angst,
tired,
dread,
excited,
anxious,
annoyed,
stressed,
disgusted,
intrigued,
confused,
overwhelmed
2008, n = 86 | 7 campuses
How Do Students Feel About Research?
17. 8,353 students
(sophomores, juniors, seniors)
Course and everyday life research
Spring 2010
25 campuses across U.S.
Funded by MacArthur Grant
ONLINE STUDENT SURVEY
20. Search
Using
Information
Task
definition
Search
Self
assessment
69%
41%
30%
25%
WHAT TASKS ARE MOST DIFFICULT?
Getting started
(84%)
Defining a topic
(66%)
Narrowing a topic (62%)
24. WHY WIKIPEDIA?
82%
76%
69%
67%
64%
54%
44%
39%
17%
16%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Obtain a summary
Get started on assignment
Interface is easy to use
Finding the meaning of terms
Comprehensible explanations
Citation trail included
Figure out search terms
Current, up-to-date entries
More credible than other Web sites
Peer-to-peer source
25. Instructor’s handout
Course readings
Google and Wikipedia
JSTOR
etc.
Instructors
Satisficing
Situational context
Big picture &
Language contexts
A FAMILIAR PATH…
50. We need someone who will
explore on their own and then
come back to the team and say,
‘Here's my best take, what do you
think?’ They need that ability to
invite discussion and be able to
redirect on the fly.
1. ENGAGE TEAM DURING RESEARCH PROCESS
51. They believe the computer is their workspace, so basic interactions between people are lost. They won’t walk over and ask someone a question. They are less comfortable and have some lack of willingness to use people as sources and also have a lack of awareness that people are a valid source of information.
52. There were many graduates who just looked in one place— the Internet—and that was the problem. It’s a whole bag of tricks you need for doing research today.
2. USE VARIETY OF FORMATS
53. difficulty
distinguishing the noise from the solid material
3. FIND PATTERNS
get stuck in the mud trying to figure out what it all means
54. I don't think there's a lot of
that desire to go deep. They expect information to be so easy to get, that when it's not, it's frustrating to them.
4. BE THOROUGH
56. “Which college learning experiences
have been most applicable?”
“What’s challenging about solving
information problems in the
workplace?”
WE ASKED:
57. My job feels like there’s a perpetual thesis due, but my job is literally about finding information that does not exist. My information needs have changed and intensified since I was an undergraduate.
58. Systematically evaluate sources
Critically analyze published sources
Synthesize large volumes of content
WHAT TRANSFERRED? ABILITY TO:
59. 1.Filtering and sorting relevant sources (57%)
2.Summarizing and integrating different sources (43%)
3.Reading and comprehending sources (34%)
LOOKING BACK: FRESHMAN DIFFICULTIES
2013 Learning the Ropes interviews, n = 35 first year students; 6 campuses
60. 1. Increased sense of urgency
2. Little structure or direction
3. Highly contextual and
fundamentally social
WORKPLACE CHALLENGES
61. OVERLAP: WORKPLACE RESEARCH IS SOCIAL
The biggest hurdle for me was getting used to talking to strangers.
They need to look beyond their computer screens.
Recent grad
Employer
62. Grads perceive: fast pace
Employers need: persistence, thoroughness
OPPOSING VIEWS
63. Synthesizes a variety of sources
Requires persistence
Requires openness to continuous learning
Is fundamentally social
WORKPLACE RESEARCH:
71. ACRL Information Literacy Standards for Higher Education: www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency
ACRL Draft Framework for Information Literacy:
acrl.ala.org/ilstandards/wp- content/uploads/2014/02/Framework-for-IL-for-HE-Draft- 2.pdf
Project Information Literacy reports: projectinfolit.org/publications
Etienne Wenger, Communities of practice: A brief introduction. http://wenger-trayner.com/theory/
CRITICAL RESOURCES
72. IMAGE CREDITS
Ditch digging by Auburntown Historical Society
Arthur Sulzberger by Reuters News Service
“Sea of Blue” by Flickr user Ben Stephenson
Etienne Wenger by Wikimedia Commons user Beverly Trayner
Jean Lave from UC Berkeley Graduate Council Lectures
"Getting help at the ref desk" by Flickr user Wendt Commons
“Seminar Bard College Berlin, 2013” by Wikimedia Commons user Irina.stelea