The objective of this presentation is to provide librarians with a potential outline for beginning an information literacy assessment strategy, starting with pre-assessment. Librarians unsure about where to start when it comes to assessment will find that developing a pre-test can be a great way to start such a strategy collaborating with classroom faculty. Pre-assessment also is nonjudgmental pertaining to faculty’s teaching abilities and students’ learning making it an easier sell for collaboration or even initiating collaboration where none existed. If we can’t know where students end up after a class, at least we can get a sense of where they start and focus our instruction, likely a one-shot session, on the research skill areas that students may be lacking. But a good relationship with classroom faculty could lead to new methods of post-assessing, like bibliographic analysis, focus groups or search logs. It could also lead to more sessions with the librarian if a faculty member finds that some classes are extensively deficient in information literacy skills.
This presentation will highlight the pilot study conducted by College of DuPage Library and a select group of Composition faculty members. It will include study objectives, methodology, and results. Reasons for focusing only on pre-assessment versus both pre and post-tests will also be discussed. The need for using course management systems or online survey tools will made due to the need for immediate results by faculty and students. Future items will be discussed as the study continues throughout subsequent semesters
