Information Literacy Summit
Illinois State University
April 30, 2012
2012 Program & Session Schedule
The 2012 program theme was Transforming Information Literacy: Engaging Stakeholders. Descriptions of the keynote address and breakout sessions are listed below.
Quick Program Schedule: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
AM
8:30 Check In & Continental Breakfast
9:00 Welcome and Introduction
9:15 Keynote Speaker: Sharon Weiner
10:50 Breakout Sessions 1
11:50 Lunch
PM
1:10 Breakout Sessions 2
2:00 Breakout Sessions 3
3:00 Breakout Sessions 4
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Sharon A. Weiner, Professor of Library Science and W. Wayne Booker Chair in Information Literacy at Purdue University
Who Teaches Information Literacy in Colleges?
We know about librarians' involvement in teaching information literacy in academic institutions. But there are indications that the disciplinary faculty are teaching information literacy, without collaboration with librarians. Dr. Weiner will present the findings of her Spring 2011 study of Purdue faculty. This study revealed who the teaching faculty report are teaching information literacy competencies. This study can easily be replicated at other academic institutions and can give college administrators and accreditation agencies a fuller, campus-wide picture of what is happening with information literacy.
About Dr. Weiner
Dr. Weiner is Professor of Library Science at Purdue University and holds the position of W. Wayne Booker Chair in Information Literacy. She serves as Vice-President of the National Forum on Information Literacy and as a board member for the journals, Practical Academic Librarianship and the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research. She also is the editor of the column, “Information Literacy Beyond the Library” for College & Undergraduate Libraries. Her doctorate is in higher education leadership and policy studies from Vanderbilt University. Her MLS is from the University at Buffalo.
Breakout Sessions
And What About the Stakeholders with Special Needs?
Patti Foerster, Librarian, Vaughn Occupational High School, Doctoral Student in Disabilities Studies, National Louis University
Today’s librarians face multiple challenges when teaching information literacy skills, given limited resources, burgeoning technologies, and diverse populations of patrons. But of particular concern, with the ominous beacon of NCLB 2014 stipulations gleaming on the horizon, survey responses from hundreds of school librarians in Chicago, Illinois (Foerster, 2009); New Jersey (Duelly, 2000); New York (Small et al, 2009, 2011); Missouri (Cox & Lynch, 2006) and North Carolina (Allen, 2008) indicate that librarians feel unprepared to effectively teach their special needs students. As educators of librarians and providers of professional development, what position do we take concerning how individuals with disabilities learn? What information literacy skills do we believe special needs stakeholders really need? What knowledge-base should librarians have in order to effectively teach in a setting that is fully inclusive, self-contained, or somewhere in-between? This session reviews the concerns that school librarians raised about working with special needs students. Several actual examples of how information, media, cultural, and visual literacy can be taught to individuals with very low reading skills will be shared. Most importantly, a group discussion will focus on how we can better enable all librarians to enhance the information literacy skills of their patrons with special needs.
Beyond the Physical Archive: Teaching Primary Source Research Skills in the Age of Digitization
Nina Clements, Humanities Librarian, Kenyon College
Melanie Maksin, Librarian for Political Science, International Affairs, Public Policy, and Government Information, Yale University
As more of the raw materials of historical scholarship--primary sources--become available through subscription databases and the free Internet, archival research is moving into digital space, and in some cases, happening entirely outside physical archives. What does this mean for the students and faculty who want to incorporate primary sources into their research, and how can instruction librarians support their work? This presentation will explore strategies for teaching information literacy skills to undergraduates with a focus on building a framework for finding, evaluating, and contextualizing primary sources beyond the archives. We will share tactics for developing partnerships with faculty to create meaningful primary-source-based workshops and assignments. In our presentation, we hope to generate discussion about the multiplicity of approaches to primary source research, and how to model these approaches using information literacy concepts and a variety of pedagogical practices.
Bridging the Design: Moving from IL Standards to Skills through Tiered Instruction at Loras College
Julie Arensdorf Greenberg, Instruction Services Librarian, Loras College
Adapting the ADDIE and BLAAM models of instructional design, the Loras College Library has begun the process of restructuring the College’s information literacy program. Librarians began by refining and structuring Loras’ information literacy standards and objectives, using these as a lens through which to consider both the practical skills and more broad sensibilities Loras students should possess by the end of their academic career. Working collaboratively and involving various campus stakeholders, the librarians revised the Loras information literacy rubric—synthesizing ACRL standards, the VALUE rubric, and the practical needs of Loras students; generated a list of skill-based objectives; mapped these skill objectives to the ACRL standards (providing an opportunity for iterative revision); thought creatively about the best means for achieving these learning objectives; and ultimately designed a program that is more dynamic and responsive to the needs of Loras students and faculty. The resultant program combines in-class and online instructional resources through a tiered course design. Attendees will be introduced to the Loras Library’s model for bridging (conceptual/theoretical) standards to (practical) activities, be shown the revised lesson plans, and will have an opportunity to try out this method of instructional design.
Can’t See the Standards for the Indicators and Outcomes: Considering the Importance of Defining Information Literacy to Students and Faculty
James Rhoades, Associate University Librarian, Florida State University
Librarians are continually assessing, measuring, and analyzing the impact of library instruction in relation to information literacy. Librarians are constantly exploring new ways to convey indicators of a particular standard and how to ensure outcomes have been understood. Yet, it seems, many librarians can’t see the forest for the trees, as many librarians focus more on the indicators and outcomes while neglecting to explain the concept of information literacy or to discuss what it means to be information literate. Despite debating and discussing how to define information literacy for years, librarians have said little about how such a definition fits into the lesson plan of a library instruction session. Even less effort has been focused on the challenge and importance of defining the overall concept of information literacy to students and faculty during instruction sessions. This presentation will highlight the importance and methods of defining information literacy to each class.
Digital Information Literacy at National Louis University: Embedding and Integrating Information Literacy into Degree programs
Deana Greenfield, Assistant Professor, National Louis University
Rob Morrison, Assistant Professor, National Louis University
This session will provide an overview of NLU Librarians experience to develop a new teaching model that enhanced traditional library instruction through embedding in online courses and new courses on digital information literacy. Our integration into undergraduate degree programs with a required library course was the result of engaging with academic stakeholders and being “out in front” with technology. This resulted in a major shift in our roles and workload and brings us deeper into the teaching and learning process. We will engage participants in a discussion of useful strategies to integrate teaching into academic programs, the role and use of technology, and share our successes for transforming librarians into teaching partners and faculty.
From collaboration to co-teaching: Is co-teaching an effective method for integrating information literacy instruction into first-year composition courses?
Stephanie Bush, Instructional Services Librarian, Eastern Mennonite University
Chad Gusler, Assistant Professor Language and Literature Department
Embedment is becoming a standard method of delivering information literacy instruction, with librarians exploring various degrees of course involvement. Librarians at Eastern Mennonite University wanted to answer the question, does student learning increase when librarian embedment increases? Specifically, is increased embedment an effective method of information literacy instruction in first-year composition courses? To answer these questions, a librarian and a writing instructor co-taught a pilot first-year composition course. The course goals were to create a rich learning environment where students would identify the librarian as the information literacy expert and learn that research and writing are intertwined processes. The librarian was involved in all stages of course development and taught part of every class session. This presentation will explain why co-teaching was a successful model of information literacy instruction in a first-year composition course. Increases in student learning were documented through a library skills assessment test and an analysis of student research papers. In addition, anecdotal evidence will be provided that reveals a positive student response to co-teaching. Course materials including the syllabus, research portfolio assignments, and grading rubrics will be shared. The successes and failures of the pilot course will be discussed and attendees will be able to determine if co-teaching is a viable instructional method for their institution.
Implementing and Teaching a Web-Scale Discovery Tool
Chris Sweet, Information Literacy Librarian, Illinois Wesleyan University
In the fall of 2010, Illinois Wesleyan University reviewed all the major web-scale discovery tools available to libraries. We chose to be a beta-test site for EBSCO’s Discovery Service (EDS) and conducted usability testing with students. We eventually purchased EDS and did a full roll-out this past fall semester. This presentation will address the philosophy behind web-scale discovery along with our experiences regarding selection, testing, implementation, evaluation, and teaching. The presentation will also include live search demonstrations using Wesleyan’s EDS interface.
Information Literacy Objectives: The Next Generation
Frances Whaley, Head Librarian, Illinois Valley Community College
How can we ensure that our students do not fall into a black hole of Information Illiteracy? And that the library galaxy will remain safe from the Klingons? How do we unify our fleets toward the prime directive of an Information Literate race? How can we train cadets at warp speed on the Information Literacy continuum? All crew from K-12 schools, community colleges or 4-year colleges/universities starships are invited to join in a dialogue about a current mission to create the next generation of Information Literacy objectives.
Liberating IL -- Inspiring Critical Thinking
Charlet Key, Library Director, Black Hawk College
Torria Norman, English Professor and Assistant Chair, Humanities, Languages, Journalism, Black Hawk College
All too often, librarians are required to react to research assignment criteria that may present obstacles to student learning and success. It's been my very good fortune to collaborate with an English professor to design a staged research process that incorporates multiple presentations and visits to the library and engages students in thinking differently about that process. For Fall 2011, we developed the theme of Problem/Solution/Second-Generation Problem : think soil erosion in the Southeast and the introduction of kudzu that has now become a seriously invasive species. Students were invited to discover solutions to problems that themselves have become problems and prepare the conventional English 101 paper. The results have been refreshing and demonstrate higher order thinking skills.
Moving Beyond a Focus on Tools
Mike Westbrook, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Illinois College
Brittney Thomas, Visiting Librarian, Illinois College
We have begun revising our information literacy instruction to focus on a more conceptual model of the research process, rather than a dry enumeration of the features of various databases, online tools, and indexes. We hope to help students find "the forest in the trees", but it is not easy to move students to a consideration of strategy when they are still uncertain about making the tools run. We would like to moderate a discussion of the various ways we and others have found to avoid becoming mired in the details.
Transformative Connections: Information Literacy and Student Development
Maria T. Accardi, Coordinator of Instruction, Indiana University Southeast
This presentation will explore a relatively new position in the LIS profession: theories concerning the interconnectedness of student learning and student development have the potential to transform information literacy pedagogy, which, in turn, will reshape the way libraries envision library instruction. Student development theories pertaining to college students provide frameworks for understanding how students learn, grow, and develop. While many writers have examined the ways in which libraries can partner with student affairs, an important campus stakeholder, in order to promote student engagement and library visibility, the profession is only just now beginning to yield thoughtful examinations of the philosophical tenets and theoretical underpinnings of the student development literature in order to make connections, investigate intersections, and identify practical implications for information literacy instruction. For example, if student development and student learning are inextricably connected, as student development theories contend, then should our information literacy learning outcomes take into consideration psychosocial or cognitive models of student development? This presentation will initiate a discussion that will highlight the interdependence of information literacy and student development and provide new directions for innovative research and practice.
Transforming instruction: How games make and reinforce the connections
Sharon A. Sample, Access Services and Serials Librarian, Quincy University
Amy Brokaw, Payson Community School District Librarian and Enrichment Coordinator
Tammy Sayles, Marketing and Outreach Librarian, Western Illinois University
Leslie Starasta, Information Services Librarian, Lincoln Christian University
Games are no longer child’s play. One-shot, traditional instruction events do not produce the same learning outcomes results compared to the impact created by integrated and interactive information literacy or "transliteracy" sessions. What does current literature say about the use of games in instruction? What types of games are being effectively used in instruction? How and where can instructional games be created? Finally, participants in this session will witness a journey through a mobile app-based game development project collaboratively created by five librarians from five different institutions and have the opportunity to play this interactive game which can be adapted for use in libraries.
Using Blogs to Develop Critical Thinking Skills
Ericka Raber, Research and Instruction Librarian, The University of Iowa
Students are often not academically ready for the traditional peer-reviewed articles required for their research assignments; the articles are sometimes beyond their understanding and out of scope for what they need. Meanwhile, threads of scholarly conversations can be observed in online news sources, blogs, and Twitter, formats that are more familiar to today’s students than the popular, trade, and scholarly article distinctions librarians often present. This presentation will discuss an instructional approach that focuses on the content of expert blogs, and encourages students to think critically about the authors, their arguments, and how conclusions are supported. This session will include a learning activity in which students, played by audience members, will work in small groups to answer some key critical-thinking questions about a sample blog. The audience will be provided with examples of blogs. Discussion of instructional design will be included, and audience members will be encouraged to share their own ideas and experiences.
Writing to Think Research
Meghann Walk, Library Director, Social Studies faculty, Bard High School Early College
This workshop will demonstrate low-stakes writing and thinking practices to help students engage in processes of research, reading, and reflection. Low-stakes writing is a valuable tool for scholars of all ages. This workshop will share strategies that can be used with one-shots, for-credit IL courses, and collaboratively taught projects. It will focus on strategies that help transform students' orientation towards learning from task-oriented to inquiry-oriented, including writing to read, writing fruitful questions, and writing to search.