Information Literacy in the New

Core Curriculum 

Elisa Slater Acosta

Library Instruction Coordinator

Loyola Marymount University

What is Information Literacy?

Definitions

“Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (ACRL)

“Information literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use, and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals” (UNESCO)

Image courtesy of Beloit College Library http://www.beloit.edu/library/infolit/

ACRL Information Literacy Standards

http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency

WASC Accreditation

CORE COMPETENCIES

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

ORAL COMMUNICATION

QUANTITATIVE REASONING

INFORMATION LITERACY

CRITICAL THINKING

WASC 2013 Handbook of Accreditation, CFR 2.2a

Loyola Marymount University

• Private Jesuit and Marymount university in Los Angeles, CA

• 6,087 Undergraduate• 2,220 Graduate

• WASC visit Fall 2014

WASC Assessment

institution-level assessment

LMU Undergraduate Learning Goals and Outcomes (2010)

Information literacy:

Students will be able to identify information needs,

locate and access relevant information and critically

evaluate a diverse array of sources

http://www.lmu.edu/about/services/academicplanning/assessment/Undergraduate_Learning_Goals_and_Outcomes.htm

Sources of Evidence

• Direct Measure: Looks at student work products or performances that demonstrate learning

• iSkills Testing

• Indirect Measure: Captures students’ perceptions of their learning and the educational environment that supports learning

• National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

• 2012 Alumni Outcomes Survey

7

Powerpoint slide courtesy of the LMU Office of Assessment

LMU Assessment Cyclefor information literacy outcome

2012 iSkills Testing

Alumni Outcomes SurveyNSSE

2013 Evidence Report

2014 Actions for

Improvement

Massa, Laura and Kasimatis, Margaret. Meaningful Assessment of the WASC Core Competencies (Mini-workshop) 2013http://2013.wascarc.org/content/meaningful-assessment-wasc-core-competencies-mini-workshop

New Core Curriculum

course-level & program-level assessment

Core Outcomes (25)

Through the LMU Core, students will be able to…

• collect, interpret, evaluate and use evidence to make arguments and produce knowledge.

• identify information needs, locate and access information and critically evaluate sources.

Info Lit Flag

http://www.lmu.edu/libraries_research/cte/Resources/New_University_Core_Curriculum.htm

First Year Seminar

First Year Seminar

• Freshman requirement – Fall Semester

• Assign at least 10% of the course grade on the basis of assessed information literacy, which must include completion of standardized tutorials prepared by LMU librarians

Information Literacy Outcomes:

1. Be able to evaluate sources for quality (e.g., by learning to differentiate between scholarly and popular sources)

2. Acquire research skills including use of the library catalog and electronic databases to retrieve books or articles, whether in print or online

http://www.lmu.edu/Assets/First+Year+Seminar.pdf

Lion’s Guide to Research & The Library

Public version of the tutorialhttp://library.lmu.edu/research/researchtutorials/

Module 2

Module 2

Module 3

Module 3

Quiz

Overall Average Scores:FYS Info Literacy

Starting… Types of Info

Finding & Evaluating

Using Info Ethically

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

87%

78%

84%

80%

93%

82%

86%87% Module (across 74

courses)

Quiz (across 69 courses)

Mapping Course Outcomes to Quiz Questions

Planned Improvements

Break down content into smaller, shorter chunks

Create a “handbook” that includes a summary of key points/content covered in tutorials & other supporting materials

Encourage more integration of content into FYS course and provide assignment or activity suggestions

Rhetorical Arts

Rhetorical Arts

• Freshman requirement – Spring Semester

• Assign at least 10% of the final course grade on the basis of information literacy, with a librarian-led workshop and one or more course-integrated assignments

Information Literacy Outcomes:1. Conceptualize an effective research strategy and then collect, interpret,

evaluate and cite evidence in written and oral communication

2. Distinguish between types of information resources and how these resources meet the needs of different levels of scholarship and different academic disciplines

http://www.lmu.edu/Assets/Rhetorical+Arts.pdf

Course Integrated Assignments

Assessment

Library Rubrics • Annotated Bibliography• Research Diary

Core Assessment Committee• Collect random sample of

student work• Modify & calibrate the

rubric• May 2014?

Information Literacy Flag

Information Literacy Flag

• All students must take one Info Lit Flagged course to graduate

• Any course at the 200 level or higher is eligible

• No course may carry more than two flags

• At least 10% of the total course grade must assess information literacy

Learning Outcomes – IL Flag

1. Select information that provides relevant evidence for a topic.

2. Find and use scholarly and discipline-specific professional information.

3. Differentiate between source types (differences include primary vs. secondary vs. tertiary sources; scholarly vs. popular sources; professional vs. academic) recognizing how their use and importance vary with each discipline

4. Evaluate resources for reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, and bias.

“Assignment as Assessment”

• Poster• Research Prospectus• Historical Trace• Scientific Literature Review• Podcast• Research Journal/Blog• Citation Chasing• Business Plan• Source Evaluation• Annotated Bibliography

http://lmulibrary.typepad.com/lmu-library-news/2012/03/undergraduate-research-symposium.html

Program Assessment

Rubric Resources• AAC&U VALUE Rubrics• RAILS - Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills• Locally developed rubrics

Librarians can help…

• Designing & Revising IL assignments

• Instruction - teaching search strategy, how to evaluate sources

• Custom Research guides/Online tutorials

• Assessment - rubrics & testing• Get Help - research consultation

appointments, chat or text-a-librarian, in-person or phone help

Image created by Jamie Hazlitt, Outreach Librarian

Additional Information

.

• PPT Slides: http://works.bepress.com/elisa_acosta/7

• Contact Information:

Elisa Slater Acosta

elisa.acosta@lmu.edu

All images are from Microsoft Office clip art unless noted.

SIG-2 California Academic and Research Libraries (CARL): Information Literacy Is Core: From Building Assessment Capacity to Accreditation

April 23, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Atrium 3

This SIG gathering is designed for librarians, teaching faculty, and academic administrators who wish to learn more about what distinguishes information literacy from other core competencies and how to promote its development on campuses. We will discuss strategies for creating awareness and building relationships with specific groups and/or units at academic institutions. Assessment instruments and methodologies will be reviewed, and examples provided of implementation of information literacy assessment at different levels. The gathering will conclude with implications for accreditation.• Convener: Les Kong

CARL Executive Board member and Coordinator, Media Services

California State University, San Bernardino• Panelists: Lynn Lampert

Chair, Research, Instruction and Outreach Services, and Information Literacy Librarian

California State University, Northridge• Panelists: Catherine Palmer

Department Head, Education and Outreach, UC Irvine Libraries

University of California, Irvine• Panelists: Elisa Slater Acosta

Coordinator, Library Instruction

Loyola Marymount University• Panelists: Henri Mondschein

Manager of Information Literacy, Pearson Library

California Lutheran University