Civic Education andInformation Literacy

Workshop on Civics EducationArmenian Connectivity Exchange

Speaker: Steve BurksNov 3, 2003

Coverage

• What is Information Literacy?

• Importance to Civic Education

• Standards

• How to teach and incorporate Research/Information Literacy in the classroom

• Citing information sources

• Sources

Definition – Information Literacy

Information literacy is a set of abilities enabling individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."

This definition was formulated in 1989 by the American Library Association's Presidential Committee on Information Literacy in its Final Report.

http://www.ala.org/acrl/nili/ilit1st.html

Information Literacy

• Information – generally refers to the active process of finding and presenting retrievable data

--- In Libraries and Databases and Internet

-Accessing-Finding-Researching-Publishing

Information Literacy

Literacy - having broad knowledge or

competence in a subject area

Types of Information “Literacy”• Business Literacy: The ability to use financial and business information to

understand and make decisions that help an organization achieve success.

• Computer Literacy: The ability to use a computer and its software to accomplish practical tasks.

• Health Literacy: The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. .

• Media Literacy: The ability to decode, analyze, evaluate, and produce communication in a variety of forms.

• Technology Literacy: The ability to use media such as the Internet to effectively access and communicate information.

• Visual Literacy: The ability, through knowledge of the basic visual elements, to understand the meaning and components of the image.

Definitions Overlap to a large degree with Information Literacy

Civic Literacy

Civic Literacy embodies the knowledge and skills that we need for effective participation in the community, government, and politics

From the Institute for the Study of Civic Values - http://www.iscv.org/

The Nine Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning

from: American Association of School Librarians http://www.infolit.org/definitions/9standards.htm

• Standard 1: The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively.

• Standard 2: The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently.

• Standard 3: The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively.

“Finding” skillsprint/computers

Critical thinking

Skills/Competence

Nine Standards• Standard 4: The student who is an independent

learner is information literate and pursues information related to personal interests.

• Standard 5: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.

• Standard 6: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation.

Life-Longer Learner

Connoisseur

Publishes

Standards Relating to Civic Education

• Standard 7: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society.

• Standard 8: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology.

• Standard 9: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.

Source: AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION LITERACY

http://www.infolit.org/documents/89Report.htm

U.S. Representative Major R. Owens has said:

“Information literacy is needed to guarantee the survival of democratic institutions. All men are created equal but voters with information resources are in a position to make more intelligent decisions than citizens who are information illiterates”

Relation to Civic EducationSource: AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON

INFORMATION LITERACY http://www.infolit.org/documents/89Report.htm

• Information literacy is crucial to effective citizenship and is central to the practice of democracy

• Citizenship in a modern democracy involves [a] capacity to recognize propaganda, distortion, and other misuses and abuses of information

• Any society committed to individual freedom and democratic government must ensure the free flow of information to all its citizens in order to protect personal liberties and to guard its future..

Research Process (Information Literacy)

• Research is complex• Research is NOT a

straight-forward, linear, step-by-step process.

• Students have different learning styles

• Students have different research styles

Research Process Uses Information Literature Standards

• Defining the Task

• Locating Information

• Selecting & Analyzing Information

• Organizing & Synthesizing Information

• Creating & Presenting Information

• Evaluating the Process

Research Process

http://www.4j.lane.edu/libraryservices/guide/

Trends of American Students

• In my experience, High School students in the US are no longer being asked to write research papers

• Libraries (books) used less by students

• Students use the Internet for research

• Students plagiarize increasingly from other sources, often inadvertently

Barriers to Students Researching Effectively

• Internet information is far more difficult to evaluate than print information

• Students don’t synthesize, read or comprehend computer information well ---Instead students scan and “cut & paste”

Barriers to Students Researching Effectively

• Students have difficulty developing strategies

• Students don’t cite their information sources

• Students do not understand plagiarism

Solutions to Barriers/Problems

• Facilitate and Guide students research by developing good learning outcomes for their research projects

Good Learning Outcomes

• Measurable / “Judgeable”

• Clear to the students

• Are used to get to the uniqueness of the learning

• Match the level/degree of the project- short assignment vs long paper

• Based on standards

Example Outcome Formula“My Librarian Favorite Example”

• ACTION - Cite and list the sources used

• IN ORDER TO – write, document and establish the

• OUTCOME – authenticity and rationale of your conclusions and arguments published in your research paper

Citing Sources and Standards

• Citing Sources Requires

1. Evaluating2. Ethics – openness, scholarship3. Allows quick review and progress report4. Demonstrates ability to synthesize information into new formats5. Demonstrates outcome of search competence

Elements of a Citation

• Author [if known] or Authority - Institution• Title of the part of the work – article title eg.• Title of the work – magazine title eg• Date work was created or published] • Pages if given (count paragraphs to cite direct

quotation)• Media Type – Internet eg• How to Access [URL (identifies protocol and

path)• Access Date - in case it “disappears” later

MLA Style Citation

• Useful for High School audience

• Easy to use MLA computer template through free source - Noodle Tools @ http://www.noodletools.com/quickcite/

• Lets use the above link to cite the following Newspaper article: http://www.csi.am/eng/index.php?goto=ann&id=7

Sources

"About Civic Literacy." Institute for the Study of Civic Values . 11 Sept. 2003 < http://www.libertynet.org/edcivic/civiclit.html >.

"AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION LITERACY." National Forum on Information Literacy. Jan. 1989. Information Institute of Syracuse. 3 Oct. 2003 < http://www.infolit.org/documents/89Report.htm >.

Burks, Steven. "Information Literacy: Researching Electronically." Saint Michael's College Graduate School. Sept. 2003. . < http://academics.smcvt.edu/sburks/Information_Literacy/Fall2003.htm >.

Burks, Steven. "Citing Internet and Electronic Sources." Library & Information Services. 3 Mar. 2001. Saint Michael's College. < http://academics.smcvt.edu/sburks/citing_internet.htm >.

"Information Literacy Process." Information Literacy Skills. . Eugene, OR Schoold District. 3 Oct. 2003 < http://www.4j.lane.edu/libraryservices/guide/ >.

"The Nine Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning ." Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. no date. National Forum on Information Literacy . 11 Oct. 2003 < http://www.infolit.org/definitions/9standards.htm >.

Speaker

Steve BurksReference and Instruction / Library Web DeveloperLibrary & Information ServicesSaint Michael's College Durick LibraryOne Winooski ParkColchester, VT 05439

ph - 802 654-2354 / fax - 802 654-2630sburks@smcvt.edu

http://www.smcvt.edu/library