Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Spring 2012 Session 2: Creating Effective Research Assignments

Spring 2012 Session 2: Creating Effective Research Assignments


Create library assignments with Information Literacy in mind. Wondering how to help your students get the most out of their research and increase the quality of the resources they use? Want to help students better meet your expectations for their work? Learn about creating effective research assignments and take away tips that can be immediately applied in your classes.


Tuesday, March 6, 2012: 3:00 p.m.-3:50 p.m. Krumm 26 W
Thursday, March 8, 2012: 11:00 a.m.-11:50 a.m. Krumm 26 W


 


What is Information Literacy (IL)?
  • According to the American Library Association, “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.’” (American Library Association, 2006a).
Prince (or The Artist Formerly Known as Prince...)
  • Information Literacy, formerly known as:
    • Bibliographic Instruction
    • Library Instruction
  • IL has changed over the years as information itself and the way information is consumed has changed. 
So, what does this mean in "real people speak?"
  • To become information literate means to acquire "practical skills involved in effective use of information technology and print or electronic information resources" (American Library Association, 2006b).
  • "This can be broken down into the following broadly defined components:
    • Tool literacy - The ability to use print and electronic resources including software and online resources.
    • Resource literacy - The ability to understand the form, format, location and methods for accessing information resources.
    • Social-structural literacy - Knowledge of how information is socially situated and produced. It includes understanding the scholarly publishing process.
    • Research literacy - The ability to understand and use information technology tools to carry out research, including the use of discipline-related software and online resources.
    • Publishing literacy - The ability to produce a text or multimedia report of research results" (American Library Association, 2006b).
Why is Information Literacy important?
  •  There is constantly new information being created and distributed in a variety of formats.  “Not all information is created equal: some is authoritative, current, reliable, but some is biased, out of date, misleading, false. The amount of information available is going to keep increasing. The types of technology used to access, manipulate, and create information will likewise expand” (University of Idaho, 2012). 
San Diego City College Learning Resources Center
  • IL skills are important in the classroom when working to find, evaluate, and understand information for class projects, papers, activities, etc. IL skills are also important after college when on the job, or for consumer decisions (i.e. purchases and comparisons, researching social issues, politics, etc.)
Library Laptops
  • IL prepares our students to be life-long learners.
    • Overwhelmed 
  • Students have to be able to sort through the fluff to find quality information on a variety of topics in a variety of resources.  These are skills they learn and apply, not necessarily step-by-step instructions.
Information Literacy & the New Core

New Core Proposal as of 3-14-11; click photo to make larger
Examples and Ideas of Information Literacy Assignments and Activities

Below are examples and ideas of information literacy assignments and activities in a variety of disciplines. Keep in mind that not all activities are created equal. To get an IL designation, your course would have to emphasize a larger, more intensive project.  I am happy to brainstorm ideas with you, but be sure you visit with GV Library Director Pam Rees if you are seeking the IL designation for your course.
  • On MyView: https://myview.grandview.edu/administration/cetl/conversations/InfoLit/default.aspx
  • From:  Sittler, R., & Cook, D. (2009). The library instruction cookbook. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. [Z 711.25. C65.L53 2009]
    • Traditional papers
    • Class presentations
    • Pamphlets or posters
    • A series of discussions (Blackboard posts) reflecting on finding, evaluating, understanding, crediting, interacting with, research strategies/process or resources, etc.
    • Tracing back newspaper articles’ sources; “According to a study by...”
    • Citation track-back for journal articles, text book recommended readings, etc. (similar to the newspaper article source track-back activity above)
    • Evaluation challenge activities: web vs. wiki vs. library resources (quality & purpose)
    • Academic integrity game show & reflection (examples of academic integrity or issues w/ academic integrity--may use clickers or poll everywhere--or just a show of hands) and reflection afterward re: what students thought was/wasn’t violation of fair use or integrity (plagiarism, copyright)
    • Case studies or role playing using research to evaluate or guide decision-making
    • Using research to gather and apply cultural background information
    • Digging for artifacts: using primary sources, reporting back new information or post ideas/reflections in a Blackboard discussion forum
    • Literature reviews: dissecting/deconstructing literature reviews or writing their own literature reviews
    • Evaluating articles, books, websites, films, etc. for bias--give examples of bias and brainstorm/recommend how bias could have been evened out with other perspectives/research; could even give examples of research the original author/creator could have used to better balance their writing
    • Website evaluation activities (checklist, discussions, Blackboard posts, reflections on exams)
    • Annotated bibliographies - specific to a paper/research question
    • Pathfinder: Create a guide to help point others in the right direction with their research by listing and giving annotations for resources on a general topic (similar to annotated bibliographies, but usually about more general topics)
    • Intro to primary and secondary sources: Telephone activity  
    • Broken citations: recreating a bibliography by separating citation elements & having students put the puzzle pieces back together; also could address plagiarism/copyright, the importance of giving credit to the original source
    • Activities emphasizing search strategies: crafting phrases or questions into key words, synonyms
    • Research teams completing scenarios/case studies: responding to prompts to find information to address a problem using library resources; present scenario & solution to class
    • Article dissection as a class: scholarly vs. popular, sections/elements of a scholarly article (i.e. thesis, methods, results, conclusions, etc.)--translating the article from scholarly language into “real people speak”
    • IL scavenger hunt related to course objectives--hunt for clues which lead students through several different library resources
    • Peer teaching & reflection: students prepare a lesson plan re: a topic or skill (either library related or course content related), deliver lesson to class--include an assessment, discuss/write a reflection on the research process, the lesson prep process, and the delivery of instruction focusing on resources and understanding
    • Class research blog where students discuss resources they find/use, the research process, quality resources and determining credibility, evaluating how the resources they find are directly (or indirectly) related to in-class topics, texts, or readings.
  • You can find more ideas for assignments and activities in these books at the GV Library: 
    • Germain, C. A., & Bernnard, D. (2004). Empowering students II: Teaching information literacy concepts with hands-on and minds-on activities. Pittsburgh, PA: Library Instruction Publications. [Z 711.2 .E562 2004]
    • Jacobson, T. E., & Gatti, T.H. (2001). Teaching information literacy concepts: Activities and frameworks from the field. Pittsburgh, PA: Library Instruction Publications. [Z 711.2 .T425x 2001]
    • Sittler, R.L., & Cook, D. (2009). The library instruction cookbook. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. [Z 711.25. C65.L53 2009]
Information Literacy Standards from the American Library Association
Standard One
The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
Standard Two
The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
Standard Three
The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
Standard Four
The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
Standard Five
The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.
Resources: 


Images:

Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)