Asking the Right QuestionsPractical Methods for Teaching Information Literacy

SJC Technology, Learning, Collaboration ConferenceNicole Gitau

May 2015

In recent years, standards presented by Common Core, Middle States, & Association of College & Research Libraries have placed emphasis on technological competency and information literacy.

● The College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard of the Common Core continually points to the “use [of] technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.” -corestandards.org

● “Information literacy” appl[ies] to all disciplines in an institution’s curricula. These skills relate to a student’s competency in acquiring and processing information in the search for understanding… [Including the ability to] determine the nature and extent of needed information, access information effectively and efficiently, incorporate selected information in the learner’s knowledge base and value system, and use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.” -msche.org

Introduction

Critical Information LiteracyThe Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) goes one step further. In recent revisions to their Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, greater emphasis has been placed on evaluating how information is created and disseminated.

● “This Framework draws significantly upon the concept of metaliteracy... in which students are consumers and creators of information. Metaliteracy demands engagement with the information ecosystem... with special focus on metacognition, or critical self-reflection, as crucial to becoming more self-directed in that rapidly changing ecosystem.” -acrl.org

This is a radical departure away from skill-based standards toward flexible constructs that put power in the hands of information consumers rather than traditional information production structures.

The FrameworkThe Framework is organized into six concepts, each consisting of their own practices and take aways.

The concepts: 1. Authority Is Constructed and Contextual2. Information Creation as a Process3. Information Has Value4. Searching as Strategic Exploration5. Research as Inquiry6. Scholarship as Conversation

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

Concept● View all information with a sense of “informed skepticism”, critically examine the authority of all

information producing sources.

● Consider how others’ worldview, gender, sexual orientation, and cultural orientations frame their

views. Is the information limited by/reflective of that background?● Systems that produce information may unfairly elevate the work of some over others. There

may be times where an informal source is as equally authoritative on a matter as a published journal.

Challenge• “I can only use peer reviewed articles!”: Students are challenged by the idea that truth is

relative, and depends on context.

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

Exercise● Discuss the authority of a site like fivethirtyeight.com for political coverage, noting it’s inception

as a blog and Nate Silver’s outsider status (BA Economics, early career professional), when it

was launched.

● Compare articles on similar topics in two online journals. Consider the perspectives of each

author, publication, and how journals online may be perceived differently from those in print.

Technology• Google.com/advanced_search for targeted searching on the web• Scholar.google.com for online journals

Information Creation as a Process

Concept● Information is not static. Facts change over time as more is learned, as do information delivery

methods. Ongoing attention must be given to these developments.● Information may appear in a number of forms, to different degrees of completion throughout its

lifespan.

Challenge• “I’m just going to use this 25 year old paper.”: Students have trouble seeing that ideas are never

hatched fully formed, nor do they remain a constant. Scholars are often viewed as infalible.

Information Creation as a Process

Exercise● Compare visual data in a print articles vs. interactive data in an online article. Does the way

information is presented facilitate the creation of new ideas or change students’ conclusions?

● Observe academic debate on Twitter then locate authors’ work on blogs, their conference

papers, and publications.

Technology● google.com/advanced_search for target search of nytimes.com, topsy.com to search Twitter

● statista.com for examples of interactive data

● infogr.am or piktochart.com for students to create their own infographics

Information has ValueConcept

● Information has social, economic, negotiating value that may be leveraged for individual, civic,

or corporate gain.

● “Value may be wielded by powerful interests in ways that marginalize certain voices.”

● Who has access (and how much) is very much a part of this conversation.● Information is not just academic theory, even personal information (name, age, location, job,

purchasing habits, etc.) can have value.

Challenge• “I can just Google it.”: Students struggle to understand concepts of ‘intellectual property’ when

simple search makes everything seem easy (i.e. free). As a result, paywalls are confounding. Students also fail to see how they may participate in an information economy (through public record sites and information entered on social media).

Information has ValueExercise

● Have students find a scholarly article first using Google, then using the library’s Journal Locator

tool. Many may encounter paywalls on public sites. Consider how their status as college

students affords them access through subscription databases.

● Encourage students to give credit their authors by properly citing works!

Technology• EasyBib app to scan and cite• Scholar.google.com for linked ‘cited by’ option• Journal Locator for finding journals by title/subject

Searching as Strategic Exploration

Concept● “Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of

information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding

develops.”

● The who/what/where/when must be considered before beginning research. Determine what kind

of and how much information is needed for the scope of the project is necessary.

Challenge• “My topic is The Civil War and I can’t find anything when I search that.” Students skip the

brainstorming stage of executing their assignment and jump to using the limited resources they’re familiar with and with few strategies for improving their searches.

Searching as Strategic Exploration

Exercise● Students should break out their topic into its key points, related terminology. Keeping good

notes throughout this stage helps students return to their core ideas later.

Technology• Google Drawings for creating word maps in the brainstorming stage.• Analog also works! Resource worksheets with blank spaces for topic book/article/website keeps

students focused.

Research as InquiryConcept

● “Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.”

Challenge• “I found some information on my topic, but I don’t know where to go next.” In the Google age,

students expect one-stop shopping, not realizing that anticipatory technology (including natural language processing) is still a thing of the future. For now, the research process is successfully furthered by targeted user input informed by previous search results.

Research as InquiryExercise

● Once students have located an article on their topic, have them read the abstract and circle 3 other related keywords to use in their next search.

● Explore Subject Headings, Thesaurus Terms, and other linked assets in database interfaces.

Technology● Most databases feature faceted searching (drop downs linking to related content), many even

use tag clouds, etc.

Scholarship as Conversation

Concept● Scholars do not answer complex questions with single, finite answers. Many scholarly inquiries

engage a variety of perspectives and disciplinary approaches in response to an issue.

● Students can add to the conversation, but “established power and authority structures may

influence their ability to participate and can privilege certain voices and information.”

● Citation is a way of contributing to conversation.

Challenge• “I need the one article on my topic.” Students want definitive, concise answers and often pursue

research pathways that only confirm what they already know. There is little engagement with “grey areas” or conflicting viewpoints.

Scholarship as Conversation

Exercise● Create a blog where students can post their findings, link to current issues on the subject, and

comment on their classmates’ work.

● Encourage students to tweet at a contemporary scholar, or comment on a blog or article the

scholar has posted.

Technology• Public blogs (i.e. Wordpress, Lore) and Wikis are best, as BlackBoard discussion boards are

private and students lose access to their contributions at the end of the semester.

ConclusionEasy steps for encouraging Information Literacy skills in students:

1. Use worksheets!http://brooklyn.sjcny.libguides.com/Home/ResearchHelp

2. Specify the types and amounts of resources!A reasonable amount of books, articles, AND websites (~1 resource/page) are the key to

any successful paper. Note: print publications lag behind the most current events and, while websites may meet an immediate need, they must also be evaluated critically.

3. Contact a Librarian!We offer short sessions on brainstorming, detecting bias/evaluating resources, one-on-

one research sessions...

ResourcesWebsitesgoogle.com/advanced_searchscholar.google.comwordpress.comlore.comtwitter.com

Available on sjcny.edu/librariesJournal LocatorNoodleToolsGoogle Drive: Docs, Drawings

Further ReadingBeilin, I. (2015). Beyond the Threshold: Conformity, resistance, and the ACRL Information Literacy Framework for

Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/beyond-the-threshold- conformity-

resistance-and-the-aclr-information-literacy-framework-for-higher-education/

Carncross, M. (2015). Redeveloping a course with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: From

skills to process. College & Research Libraries News, 76(5). Retrieved from http://crln.acrl.org/content/76/5/248.full

Mathews, B. (2015). Forensic Bibliographic Reconstruction: Tracking down troublesome citations and the problem of lost knowledge. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/2015/05/04/forensic-

bibliographic-reconstruction-tracking-down-troublesome-citations-and-the-problem-of-lost-knowledge/