Building the Foundation of an Information Literacy Program

Kristy Padron (kpadron@fau.edu)Alyse Ergood (aergood@fau.edu)

Florida Atlantic University Libraries

Building the Foundation of an Information Literacy Program

1. Resources2. Collaboration3. Needs & Expectations4. Training5. Assessment6. Class-Level Planning & Instruction

Foundations: A Schematic

Assessment

Resources

What is available to your IL program?

People: librarians, support staffTime: consider other duties and priorities

for department and peopleInformation & materials: worksheets,

online resources, class space, technologyMoney: support continuing education,

conference attendance and similar activities.

Collaboration

Who can or will work with an IL program?

Within a library:Library administration (dean, director)Department headsLibrarians and library staff

Outside the library:University administration (dean, provost)Academic departments (subject areas as well as

Center for Teaching & Learning)Faculty

Needs & Expectations

What does the institution need (or expect) from an IL program?

Accreditation (SACs)University strategic plansCurriculum requirementsTechnical considerations (Blackboard and

other course management programs)Special populations: distance ed., ESOL,

older students…

Needs & Expectations

What does the library need for its IL program?

Library strategic plan or mission: an IL program should support these.

Exploratory studies to establish needs (FAU is doing this for its students and faculty).

Training

Instructors need to be knowledgeable about the goals, objectives and criterion for instruction.

Provides a foundation for development of teaching strategies and approaches to teaching

Instructors need to be informed of information literacy standards and educational theory and practical information so that everyone is on the same page.

Why is it important to train librarians about information literacy and instruction?

Training

Training leads to effective instruction.Information literacy workshops in-house and

other face to face trainings are available at the county, regional, state, and national levels.

Online sessions- webinars and teleconferencesContinuing education in the areas of education,

instruction. and library and information science.

Establish, schedule. and support formal training for instructors.

Training

Blogs, wikis, listservs and discussion groupsObservations- Instructors have the opportunity to

observe their colleagues and to be observed by their supervisors for feedback.

Team teaching- Provide opportunities for new instructors to teach with seasoned instructors.

Mentoring- New instructors can be assigned mentors who are seasoned instructors.

Encourage participation in informal training experiences.

Assessment

Provides credibility and validity for your program.Ensures that program is designed to meet needs

of those you are servicing (while meeting ALA/ACRL standards).

Reveals areas needing development and attention, and those areas operating at a satisfactory level.

Ongoing assessment for instructional sessions and information literacy programs.

Helps instructors gain feedback on their teaching and to improve.

Why is assessment important?

Assessment

Faculty and adjunct facultyGraduate teaching assistants Students who receive instructionInformation literacy instructors

Who plays a role in assessing your information literacy programs?

Assessment

Survey faculty about their needs and their students needs (how they want students to receive information).

Use focus groups to discuss faculty’s perceptions of your program design and needs for change.

Develop program to meet faculty’s needs and survey faculty again to gauge if that program meets their requirements.

Assess your faculty to obtain information about their and their students’ information literacy needs.

Assessment

Possible ways of assessment include: Online or face to face surveys and focus groups. Student research or bibliographic assignment to

determine that they have gained knowledge and learned from their instructional session.

Evaluation form immediately after instructional session.

Focus groups to gauge student needs .

Assess your students to find out what they know and if your program is effective.

Assessment

Observe instructional sessions and provide feedback.

Survey faculty immediately after IL session.Assess students immediately after IL session

(even if only via the one minute paper).Design instructional wikis providing standards

for information literacy instructional sessions.

How to assess library instructors?

Assessment

Build in assessments for individual, specific classes.

Utilize survey data and focus group findings.Determine if IL goals are being met by revisiting

IL and strategic plan .

How to assess Information literacy program?

Class Level Planning and Instruction

Program-Level PlanningIndividual Class PlanningPlanning procedures for library sessions

Class Level Planning and Instruction

Use strategic plan and library mission statement as guiding forces.

Instructional librarians decide on objectives, outcomes and goals for the program.

Determine level of faculty involvement; then, work with faculty to determine objectives for courses (individually or by program/dept.).

Develop measurable and observable objectives and goals.

Program-Level Planning

Class Level Planning and Instruction

Establish standard elements to be taught in information literacy classes.

Prepare lesson plans for individual classes based upon faculty input and requests by faculty.

Prepare objectives and goals for individual classes.Develop supplemental webpages and materials.Mentor new information literacy instructors through

teaching experience, observation, and discussion.

Individual Class Planning

Class Level Planning and Instruction

Calendars & scheduling Communication (between faculty &

librarian) Facilities (security, scheduling,

technology)Other “freebies”: handouts, web pages,

etc…

Planning procedures for library sessions

Recommended Readings

Curzon, Susan Carol & Lampert, Lynn D. (Eds.) (2007). Proven strategies for building an information literacy program. New York: Neal-Schuman.

Anything on assessment by Deb Gilchrist (Pierce College, Lakewood, WA).

Grassian, Esther S. & Kaplowitz, Joan R. (2001). Information literacy instruction: theory and practice. New York: Neal-Schuman.

_____. (2005). Learning to lead and manage information literacy instruction. New York: Neal-Schuman.

Maki, Peggy L. (2002). Developing an assessment plan to learn about student learning. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28(1): 8-13.

Ratcliff, Carolyn J. (et. al). (2007). A practical guide to information literacy assessment for academic librarians. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.