Centre forInquiry-basedLearningin the Arts and Social Sciences

www.shef.ac.uk/cilass

Pam Bing, Learning Development and Research AssociateDr Philippa Levy, Academic Director

LILAC, March 28th 2006

CILASS: a national CETL• 5 year programme• £4.5M, initially funded by HEFCE + £350K additional capital funding• Impacting on 10,000 students• Arts, Social Sciences and Law as ‘core’

community• Extending to other disciplines• Impacting nationally and internationally

Inquiry-based Learning

• Student-directed, open-ended inquiry• Problems, case scenarios, small and large

investigations• Individual and collaborative projects• Appropriately scaled from Level 1• Participation in communities and culture

of inquiry• Capabilities for scholarship, employability,

lifelong learning

Information Literacy and IBL• Information literacy - a key theme for

CILASS• Strong information literacy

capabilities are fundamental to the success of IBL

• Specialist educational development support from CILASS team: Learning Development and research Associate (Information Literacy)

SCONUL model: Seven Pillars of Information Literacy

Embedding information literacy Working with key partners: CILASS project

leaders • Explore conceptions of information literacy

• Familiarise them with the SCONUL model

• Identify areas where their students are ‘weak’ in terms of information literacy competencies

• Develop strategies for addressing these skills within the context of their IBL project

• Discuss and recommend support from the Library

• It doesn’t have to be complicated: annotated bibliographies and reflection

Embedding information literacy Working with key partners: The Library

• SEIL: Student Engagement with Information Literacy

• Promoting and adapting existing “Information skills” WebCT module

• Developing and promoting “Talis List” Resource Lists service, including funding staff time

• Proving specialist support for CILASS project leaders

• Potential to assess competencies in information literacy through information skills module

Embedding information literacy Working with key partners: Department of Information Studies

• Information literacy audit• Undergraduate and postgraduate

programmes• Involving students as IL researchers• Interviews with all module leaders, student

focus groups, analysis of module outlines• Methodology scalable to other

departments

Embedding information literacy Working with key partners: Department of Information Studies

• Using the SCONUL framework to map the extent of IL teaching: • where does IL occur in the programme?

• how is it ‘delivered’?

• Is it assessed?

• Are activities explicitly labelled “IL”?

• Is IL mentioned in the learning outcomes?

Embedding information literacy:a ‘community of practice’ approach

• Information Literacy Network• Drawing together expertise in the

Department of Information Studies, Library and CILASS

• A focal point for discussion and debate• Reaching out to the wider university• Developing resources

Embedding information literacy:a ‘community of practice’ approach

• IL development made explicit in the University’s new Learning Teaching and Assessment Strategy (2005-10)

• IL awareness events for departments responding to the LTA Strategy

• Further program of events “approaching information literacy” for staff at the University

For the future• Continuing to strengthen partnership

working• Developing IL pedagogy and resources

for IBL development and innovation• Building on the aspirations of the LTA

Strategy• Holding further IL Network events• Embedding IL focus into staff

development activities relating to IBL• Conducting evaluation and inquiry into IL

Reference

SCONUL (1999) “Information Skills in Higher Education: a SCONUL position paper” [online] http://www.sconul.ac.uk/activities/inf_lit/seven_pillars.html