Information Literacy Progression Standards: The Story So Far

Information Literacy Progression Standards:

The Story So Far

Jacqui DaCosta The College of New JerseyEleonora Dubicki Monmouth UniversityGary Schmidt Ocean County College

Session Outline

• Evolution of the standards

• The standards themselves

• What’s next

What does Lampitt mean to you?

A. Text-speak for switching on the lights?

B. The family from “The Beverly Hillbillies”?

C. A 2007 state law concerning the transfer of credits between two and four year colleges

General Education Requirements

• Comprehensive State-Wide Transfer Agreement (NJ Presidents’ Council, September 2008)

• General Education Foundation Course Categories• 4 – Technological Competency or Information

Literacy“Any course that emphasizes common computertechnology skills that helps students to access, process,and present information. “

http://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/PDFs/XferAgreementOct08.pdf

Getting the gang together!• Sept 2008 - Charge from VALE Executive

Committee to Shared Information Literacy Committee to create Progression Standards

• Oct 2008 – Discussions with NJLA/ACRL (CUS) User Education Committee and the Central Jersey Academic Reference Librarians (CJARL)

Task Force

• Task Force formed – December 2008• 8 librarians (4 from two year colleges; 4 from

four year colleges)• Aim was to produce:

– Standards for students transferring from two to four year colleges

– A document that faculty could embrace– A framework for institutions to customize– A blueprint for faculty/librarian collaboration

Building the Standards• Association of College & Research Libraries

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

• SUNY-OswegoInformation Literacy Learning Outcomes for Undergraduates

• Ideas and Best Practices fromOther Institutions

Consultations

• With our three professional groups• Within our own institutions:

– Librarians– Faculty “critical friends”

• NJLA Conference 2009 – program with approximately 30 attendees

Progression Standards BrochureGlossy version included in your conference program.

Electronic version (.pdf) available on our wiki:

http://njla.pbworks.com/Progression-Standards-for-Information-Literacy

Incorporating Progression• Two Levels

– Introductory/Novice – Intended to be acquired upon completion of 30-32 credits

– Gateway/Developing – Intended to be acquired upon completion of 60-64 credits

• General Skills Discipline Specific Skills

Framework

THE FIVE STANDARS

THE TWO LEVELS

Room to Grow: The Future of the Standards

• K-12 students• First-year remedial / developmental students• Upper-level undergraduate• Graduate students

Standards in Practice• Flexibility: Allows effective integration of

Information Literacy education into existing courses

• Adaptability: Can be made relevant to virtually any discipline or subject area

• Assessment: Alignment with Progression Standards provides a framework for assessment

Standards in Practice

• Opposing Viewpoints– Ideal for first year students – Develops essential research skills– Provides structure and creativity – Incorporate additional Literacies

Standards in Practice • Citation Examination

– Emphasizes both Introductory & Gateway skills– Deconstruct citation to locate resources – Recognize value of bibliographies – Incorporates technology

Standards in Practice

• Annotated Bibliography– Standalone element of traditional research papers– Focused on subject specific resources – Evaluation of selected sources – Demonstrate consistent use of a citation style

• More sample assignments are available on our wiki, including:– Research Process Paper– Understanding Primary and Secondary

Sources within the Disciplines– Examining Bias

Standards in Practice

What’s next?Action Plan covering:• Endorsements• Raising awareness with librarians and faculty• Best practices

Endorsements• VALE Executive Committee • VALE Directors• NJ Presidents’ Council• NJ Council of Community Colleges• Middle States• Academic Officers’ Assoc.

Raising Awareness • Conferences

– NJ Edge– VALE– LILAC

• Publications – Flyers– NJLA/CUS newsletters

• Campus workshops

Best Practices• Wiki

– Background– Standards– Best practices– Sample assignments

• Webinars/podcasts• How-to-use the standards programs

http://njla.pbworks.com/Progression-Standards-for-Information-Literacy

Questions