Keys to Teaching the Six Threshold Concepts Workshop

Teaching Information Literacy Reframed

Teaching Information Literacy Reframed

SIX KEYS TO TEACHING THRESHOLD CONCEPTS

A little backgroundSome information about me:

University of Rhode Island librarian for 25 yearsProviding instruction in academic libraries for more than 35 yearsWorked mostly in small libraries where DIY was the normAuthor/co-author of four books and numerous papers about Information Literacy and Assessment

[email protected]

The Framework and the StandardsThe Framework mimics the Standards to some degreeThe Framework is more theoretical than the StandardsThere is no Information Literacy police that requires that we use either document (although your boss may!)The road to Information Literacy is longOnly so much information can be conveyed in one lesson

Unpacking the Frameworks threshold concepts The Framework for IL in Higher Education was created by a committeeThe Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education is theoretical in nature.The frames or threshold concepts of the Framework are broad, indistinct and overlapping.The Framework neither guides nor limits.The Framework mimics the Standards for Information Literacy for Higher Education to a degree.

Unpacking the threshold concepts

Keep in mind the basics that students need to know to become Information Literate:How to find and select informationHow to determine the validity, reliability and accuracy of informationHow to apply selected information to a problem

Unpacking the threshold conceptsThe six threshold concepts given in the Framework document are:Authority is Constructed and ContextualInformation Creation as a ProcessInformation Has ValueResearch as InquiryScholarship as ConversationSearching as Strategic Exploration

Authority threshold

To get across this threshold, a researcher will know that when seeking information they must:

Know what an author is and who can be oneknow who authored information being consideredknow what makes the author credibleunderstand that levels of authority existknow how to select the level of authority appropriate to the information needunderstand that the student may be an authority in some circumstances.

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Information Creation thresholdTo cross the Information Creation threshold a researcher will understand that he/she must:Recognize that information comes in many different formatsUnderstand how the format relates to the content/depth/reliability of the information presentedUnderstand the role of editors/publishers as gatekeepersUnderstand that some information can only be obtained in a specific formatBe able to identify and select appropriate sources in an electronic environment where previous markers no longer apply.

Information has Value thresholdTo cross this threshold, a researcher will understand that he/she must:

Recognize that information is property that is owned and has valueUnderstand the rules governing the use of information and apply them as appropriateRecognize that some organizations gather, hold and limit access to informationUnderstand the value of personal information and privacyUnderstand how third parties collect and use personal information

Research as Inquiry thresholdTo cross this threshold a researcher will understand that he/she must:

Understand that research and inquiry are inextricably linked.Understand that research involves finding out what questions have been asked previously and how those questions have been answeredUnderstand that research involves asking new questions or using a new perspective to re-evaluate an existing questionUnderstand that information exists in many sources and types of sourcesUnderstand the process of drawing information from many sources together to create new information

Scholarship as a Conversation thresholdTo cross this threshold the researcher will understand that he/she must:

Understand that much of the conversation in scholarship is invisibleKnow that the published record of research on a topic is the most accessible part of the conversation for most peopleKnow how to access the published record of research on a topicUnderstand internet-driven means of holding scholarly conversationsUnderstand that researchers outside the academy can be part of scholarly conversations

Searching as Strategic Exploration thresholdTo cross this threshold a researcher will understand that he/she must:

Know how to narrow and refine a topicKnow how to select and use a variety of techniques for strategic searchingRecognize that different disciplines use the same words to mean different thingsUnderstand that as information is acquired, it is often necessary to revise search strategies and use different information sourcesUnderstand that flexibility, critical thinking and open mindedness are assets to answering a research question

Threshold Concepts and the classroom

The bad news

The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education indicates that each individual institution should come up with its own individual plan for information literacy instruction based on individual and local needs.The Threshold Concepts dont clearly map to classroom activities.The students we see are almost always unsophisticated searchers

Threshold Concepts and the classroomThe good news:

All the Information Literacy lessons developed up to this point still apply to some degree.Students still need to learn the basic concepts and applications for Information Literacy.Students are receptive to using non-Google sources if they are shown how to use them and if they understand how the alternate tools will do a better job.

Threshold Concepts and the classroomThings to keep in mind when matching classroom instruction to the threshold concepts for Information Literacy:Keep it simple. Be strategic about what you teach.Even if your only contact with students is a general one-shot session, resist the urge to cram everything into the session. A lesson may address more than one Threshold Concept. Think about how your lesson applies to all parts of the Framework.

Threshold Concepts and the ClassroomCreate your lessons from finish to start and ask yourself:At the end of the lesson, what do you want students to know or be able to do? (These are your learning outcomes. Write them down.)How can you plan your lesson to achieve your learning outcomes?How can you create lessons that will keep students focused on the learning outcomes?Assessmenthow will you know the students got it?Feedbackhow will students know they got it?

Six Keys to Teaching Threshold ConceptsMake it relevantProvide practice/retrievalMake it memorableMake it challengingMake it incrementalProvide assessment and feedback

Key #1: Make it relevant

Key #1 Make it relevant

Students have a lot of distractionsTo learn, students must pay attentionTo teach effectively, the instructor must get the students attention

Key #1 Make it relevantOne way to capture students attention is to plan your lesson around a subject students :care aboutrelate to have some experience withneed to know now


Students learn better when they understand that the lesson relates to them in the here and nowCreate a hook that will capture students interest by asking questions that are relevant to them. For example: Are you aware that the sugar in the coffee you brought with you today may be poisonous? Does anybody in the room want to become diabetic? Who is interested in learning how to lose 10 pounds of ugly fat this semester?

Key #1 Make it relevantKeep their attention by requiring student participation Ask leading questions and get students to answer them to get to the heart of the lesson. For example:What do we know about sugar? (Causes cavities, too much makes you fat, not injurious in reasonable quantities.)How do we know what we know?Who says what we know is true?What would you say to someone who claimed sugar is poisonous?What would make you believe someone who claimed sugar is poisonous?


This scenario addresses aspects of the following Threshold Concepts:AuthorityResearch as inquiryScholarship as a conversation


Get their attentionKeep the lesson moving Keep the students engaged Keep the students activeRemind students how the lesson is relevant in their lives

Key #2 Provide practice/retrieval

Key #2 Provide practice/retrievalStudents retrieve/remember the lesson more easily when they have:tried to solve a problem themselves before learning howpracticed application of the lesson in a variety of situationshad the information repeated/reinforced at spaced intervalslearned the lesson inter-leaved with related learning

Key #2 Provide practice/retrievalProvide practice with variety. For example:

Pose a questionAsk students to search for library resources that might answer the questionAsk students think about disciplines where research on this topic might be conductedAsk students who else might produce information on the topicAsk students to explain the similarities and differences between the searches

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Key #2 Provide practice and retrieval

This scenario addresses aspects of the following Threshold Concepts:

Searching as strategic explorationResearch as inquiryInformation creation as a process

Key #2 Provide practice and retrieval

Allow students to try a task without instructionTeach students using a variety of examplesRepeat and reinforce lessonsInterleave the learning with other related subjects

Key #3 Make it memorable


Often-used information moves from short term memory to long term memory.If you learn something in more than one way (read about it, try it at home, teach someone else how to do it) the same information will be stored in more than one place in the brain.The more you recall the information from its storage spot(s), the easier it is to recall it the next time.

Key #3 Make it memorableThe brain makes links between similar memories, even if they are stored in different places. For example:When learning how to build and fly a kite, your brain will retrieve I the information you read about flying kites and information you watched about building and flying a kite. When teaching someone else how to fly a kite you will create a third place where information about teaching kite building is stored in your brain. Your brain then links all three related memories about kite building. When you again need information about kite building your brain will provide information from all three storage places.

Key #3Make it memorable

Create exercises that use multiple kinds of learningCreate exercises that apply the lesson in different disciplines or situationsIncorporate previously mastered skills in exercises for lessons on other topicsAsk students to recall what they have learnedAsk students to teach what they have learned to others


For example:Have students both write and verbally summarize; have them learn something in a small group and teach what they learned to a large group.Have students search a single topic in a variety of disciplines, then compare the results as a groupHave students find and summarize an article about plagiarism/open access/privacy

Key #3 Make it memorableThe scenarios above address aspects of the following Threshold Concepts:

Information Creation as a ProcessSearching as Strategic ExplorationInformation has Value

Key #4 Make it challenging

Key #4 Make it Challenging

People remember things they worked hard to learnPeople remember things learned using something other than their preferred learning stylePeople remember things they learned by applying something they knew before to a new concept or situationPeople remember things they attempted to do before they knew howPeople remember things they learned in a group

Key #4 Make it ChallengingStart with something known and use analogies to relate the known to the unknownAsk students to come up with their own analogiesMake lessons incrementally more difficult over time or over the course of the lessonProvide brainteasers that students can use to practice the lesson outside of class

Key #4 Make it challenging

These scenarios address aspects of the following Threshold Concepts:

Scholarship as a conversationInformation creation as a processResearch as inquiry

Key #5 Make it incremental

Key #5: Make it incremental

Start with what students know or offer a lesson that will help students to start together at the same level of understandingMove forward in small increments, adding one new idea at a timeKeep in mind that you know much more than the students do. Try not to skip steps that you take for granted.Scaffold your lessons allowing the first lesson to serve as a platform for the second lesson and so on.


For example:Move from known to unknown in small stepsTeach keyword searching, then teach the use of the Boolean andAsk students to come up with ideas that could improve the search processAre there other kinds of searches that might help you locate information?


These scenarios address aspects of the following Threshold Concepts:Searching as strategic explorationResearch as inquiryScholarship as a conversation

Key # 6 Assess

Key #6 Assess

Assessment tells you whether or not students got itAssessment tells students whether or not they got itAssessment tells you whether your lesson was successfulAssessment can tell you where your lesson needs to be improved

Key #6 Assess

Use a variety of assessment techniquesIn class wrap-up questions/answersWritten testCompletion of a set taskGroup or individual question and answerPeer teachingIndividual and/or group presentations

Key #6 AssessFOLLOW UP!Provide immediate feedback, especially for wrong answers

If your assessment shows that the students didnt get it (did not achieve the learning outcomes for your lesson)Identify what specifics they didnt getIdentify where the lesson should be changed to make it more effectiveMake changesRepeat the lesson using new materialReassess

Key #6 Assess

Provide students with a rubric before setting them a task. The rubric should: Let them know what they are supposed to learnLet them know what the assignment/task isLet them know how and on what they will be evaluatedLet them know how to achieve the highest grade for the assignment

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ConclusionFramework is similar to the standardsLessons and curriculum already in play still applyLessons should be created with explicit learning outcomesPractice, recall and application in new situations help students to rememberRelevance, applicability and level of difficulty are key ingredients for student successAssessment and revision are key to removing roadblocks that might keep students from crossing information literacy thresholds.

For more information on the Threshold ConceptsWilkinson, LaneSense and Reference bloghttps://senseandreference.wordpress.com/

Wilkinson evaluated each threshold concept in the Framework when the draft version was first released. He has since begun a second look at how the final version is different. His work is very thoughtful and interesting.

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

Contact informationPlease feel free to contact me if you have questions!

Joanna M. BurkhardtUniversity of Rhode IslandKingston, RI 02881(401) [email protected]