Measuring students’ information skills through concept mapping

This paper seeks to develop a methodology that will discover, specify and measure students’ abilities and skills in creating concept maps. Because competencies are the key factor in higher education, the paper analyses the role of concept maps as a tool to diagnose and improve information analysis, synthesis, organisation and representation skills and competencies. We propose a methodology that enables these skills to be evaluated by observing, analysing and measuring the stages involved in creating a concept map: identification of the main and secondary subjects; subject codification by concepts; grading of concepts; and representation of the concepts and their relationships with labels. A case study using action-research methodology tests the usefulness of the methodology on a group of university students of Library and Information Science. The method proposed provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of the students’ skills analysed, thus enabling their training to be improved by means of specific actions

ALA bulletin

Mode of access: Internet.Official bulletin of the American Library AssociationVols. for 1939-48 include as a regular number: American Library Association. Conference. Annual conference proceedings of the American Library Association; vols. for 1939-47 also include: American Library Association. ALA handbookNE

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

Contents of the standard: Information Literacy Defined; Information Literacy and Information Technology; Information Literacy and Higher Education; Information Literacy and Pedagogy; Use of the Standards; Information Literacy and Assessment; Standards, Performance Indicators and Outcomes; Appendix I: Selected Information Literacy Initiatives; Developers of the Information Literacy Competency Standard