Using assessment to shape information literacy goals
Bonnie J. M. SwogerSUNY Geneseo
SUNYLA 2010 ConferenceSUNY Brockport, June 17, 2010
Assessment is only useful if you do something with the information collected.
One shot instruction in a freshman writing seminar
50 or 75 minutes
Make them assessable
Collaborative process
Not proscribing the lesson, but the outcomes
Faculty survey
Setting our Original Goals
The assessment
2008-2009 school year
Pre and Post assessment of first year students
Multiple choice, attitudinal, and research questions
Results
Goal 1: Access Library resources and services by successfully navigating the Milne Library website.
No more guided tours of the library website
Retained a focus on ILL services
Changes to Goal 1
Goal 2: Use GLOCAT to locate a variety of materials in Milne Library.
Reduced emphasis on the mechanics of any particular database
We still want students to learn what kinds of materials can be found through our primary search tool
(challenging, because it has changed recently)
Changes to Goal 2
Goal 3: Use research tools and strategies to identify and locate periodical articles on a specific topic.
Re-arranged, but left largely in tact
Changes to Goal 3
Assessing things we weren’t trying to teach them
Assessing not just student learning, but the appropriateness of our goals and objectives
Scholarly vs. Popular
Usefulness of different types of resources
Additional Changes
It’s a cycle...