a seminar

Supporting undergraduates of the future: developing a new curriculum

for information literacy

Dr Jane Secker & Dr Emma Coonan

The Arcadia Programme• Based at Cambridge University Library• Academic advisor: Prof. John Naughton• Exploring the role of academic libraries in a digital age

• 20 Arcadia Fellows in 3 years• Many from outside Cambridge, not all librarians

Our research remit:Develop a new, revolutionary curriculum for information literacy in a digital age

Aims: in 10 weeks

• Understand the needs of undergraduates entering HE over the coming 5 years

• Map the current landscape of information literacy

• Develop practical curriculum and supporting resources

Method

Modified Delphi study – means of obtaining expert future forecasting

– consulted widely in the fields of information and education

Literature review– theoretical overview of the field

– revealed conflicts in terminology, pedagogic approach, values

Expert workshop– method, findings and preliminary curriculum presented

– curriculum refined in light of feedback

What do we mean by information literacy?

“Digital fluency”

Theoretical background

• Transition to independent learning• ‘Academic’ vs. ‘support’ elements• The cloistered garden and the labyrinth

• Demos report: ‘Truth, lies and the internet’

Transition: culture clash or opportunity?

Academic mission

IL and the support environment

IL and the library

Rehabilitating information literacy

IL is:

•a continuum of skills, abilities, values and attitudes around analysing, evaluating, managing and assimilating information

•fundamental to the ongoing development of the individual, social as well as academic

IL is not:

•seen as part of the mainstream academic mission

•merely functional/technological skills

•the preserve or saviour of the library

“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.

“It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion in all nations.”

UNESCO (2005) Alexandria Proclamation

The expert consultation

• Consulted librarians, researchers, educators, trainee teachers, school librarians

• How you teach at least as important as what you teach

• Must be embedded into the academic curriculum and disciplines will vary

• Must be based on real needs: students are not homogeneous

• Must be opportunities for reflection

What our experts said…

Modular, flexibleholistic, embedded,Relevant to students

Format and structure of the curriculum

Online / face to faceActive learning: discussion

and reflectionTraining > Teaching

Teaching style and method of delivery

Who teaches?

When?

And don’t forget….

Use of auditsMeaningful assessment

Learning outcomes

How to market IL to different audiences

Assessment

Marketing / hooks

Aligning the curriculum content to discipline specific knowledge, skills and behaviour

Technology in the curriculum

• No need to teach specific tools and software as curriculum needs to evolve but …

• Assumptions around technology– Ownership or access to computers– Ownership or access to mobile technology– Google generation assumption– Greater use of cloud computing– Great use of social media - combating the filter

bubble

Our key curriculum attributes

Holistic – supporting the whole research process

Modular – ongoing ‘building blocks’ forming a learning spiral

Embedded within the context of the academic discipline

Flexible – not tied to a specific staff role

Active and assessed – including peer assessment

Transitional : Transferable : Transformational

Curriculum strands

1. Transition from school to higher education2. Becoming an independent learner3. Developing academic literacies4. Mapping and evaluating the information landscape 5. Resource discovery in your discipline 6. Managing information7. Ethical dimension of information 8. Presenting and communicating knowledge 9. Synthesising information and creating new knowledge10. Social dimension of information literacy

Using the curriculum

• The strands cover 5 broad learning categories, from functional skills up to high-level intellectual operations

• Classes can incorporate multiple strands at the same level

• Classes should be active, reflective, relevant to student need

• You could use the curriculum to audit your own (or your department’s) teaching provision

Unpacking the curriculum• Strand 1: Transition from school to HE

– What are the expectations at higher education level in your discipline?

– What are the conventions around reading, writing and presenting at HE level in your discipline?

– Reflect on your current and previous information behaviour and consider what’s different

• Activities might include: – Reviewing HE level work and discussing differences with prior work at school– Exploring academic journals and how they differ from more popular

publications such as History Today or New Scientist– Students identify top 3 current information sources and evaluate fitness for

purpose

Strand 6: Managing Information• Note-taking• Time management and planning• Storing information effectively• Bibliographic and reference management• Push services / alerting / ways of keeping up to date

• Activities might include: – Listen to short podcast and make 1) a full transcript, and 2) note salient points – reflect

on both and when you might use them– Create a plan including deadlines and a realistic time frame for your next piece of

assessed work– Explore cloud storage tools and discuss the merits of remote vs local storage– Explore free and paid for reference management software – ideally peer-led

ANCIL outputs, July 2011

• Executive summary• The curriculum and supporting documents• ‘Teaching learning: perceptions of information literacy‘

(theoretical background)• Expert consultation report

Free to download at http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com/

Next steps, October - December 2011

‘Strategies for implementing the Curriculum for Information Literacy’

Dr Helen Webster & Katy WrathallArcadia Fellows, Oct-Dec 2011

http://arcadiaproject.lib.cam.ac.uk/projects/strategies-for-implementation.html

What’s New about the New Curriculum?

It’s a curriculum

What’s New about the New Curriculum?

It doesn’t belong to any one profession.

Careers UnitAlumni Office

Student ServicesResearch Support Unit

FacultyLearning Development

Learning DevelopmentStudent ambassadorsInternational Office

Disability UnitStudent Services

Careers Unit

FacultyLibrary

LibraryLibraryStudent ambassadors

LibraryFaculty

Learning DevelopmentFaculty

FacultyResearch Support

Unit

Strand 3: Academic Literacies

• Academic writing, rhetoric and persuasive writing

• Academic reading, critical analysis and textual interrogation

• Activities might include: – Assess and compare the quality of 3 short pieces of writing (one

deliberately flawed)– Compare writing style, structure and use of evidence across a range of

papers n the same topic– Discuss what it means to critique a text and list the evaluative criteria

you would use in your field.

Where to start?!

Institutional Audit tool

Teaching toolkit

What format will it take?

Staff-led Student-led

Subject expertise

Professional expertise

Careers UnitAlumni Office

Student ServicesResearch Support Unit

FacultyLearning Development

Learning DevelopmentStudent ambassadorsInternational Office

Disability UnitStudent Services

Careers Unit

FacultyLibrary

LibraryLibraryStudent ambassadors

LibraryFaculty

Learning DevelopmentFaculty

FacultyResearch Support

Unit

How could LSE implement the New Curriculum for Information Literacy?

Thank you

Image: ‘Tulip staircase at the Queens House, Greenwich’ by mcginnly, flickr.com