Park, ACL

English

Leeds Beckett Repository

ALT JOURNAL NUMBER 4: SUMMER 200828This article will demonstrate why informationliteracy and information skills teaching should be animportant part of the first-year learning experienceat Leeds Met. Numerous definitions of informationliteracy exist, but for the purposes of this article I willuse one by Johnston and Webber (2003):“Information literacy is the adoption of appropriateinformation behaviour to obtain, through whateverchannel or medium, information well fitted toinformation needs, together with critical awarenessof the importance of wise and ethical use ofinformation in society.” Information literacy is not simply about studentsacquiring a set of skills or tools. It is aboutdeveloping higher level attributes: the ability tothink critically, to compare, evaluate and synthesiseinformation and to reflect on and develop a deeperunderstanding of the content. An informationliterate graduate is empowered, effective in theworkplace and has lifelong learning skills. International interest in information literacy hasdeveloped since the 1970s. Key definitions andpractices have emerged from Australia and the USin particular but it has been suggested that in theUK developments have been less progressive(Johnston and Webber, 2003). In 1999 the StandingConference of National and University Libraries(SCONUL) developed a framework model for highereducation, with students progressing through seven‘headline’ information skills (Advisory Committeeon Information Literacy, 1999). There has been littleexplicit mention of information literacy in officialGovernment policy or reports. It is worth noting,however, that the Quality Assurance Agency forHigher Education (QAA) refers to critical evaluationand information skills in its subject benchmarkingstatements (Quality Assurance Agency for HigherEducation, 2008). Such skills readily fit into theinformation literacy agenda.It is timely that we consider information literacy inrelation to our first-year students. A recent reportpublished by the Centre for Information Behaviourand the Evaluation of Research (CIBER, 2008)demonstrates the likely characteristics of ourscholars and researchers of the future, based onthe information-seeking habits of today’s schoolchildren. The findings of the report, commissionedby the British Library and the Joint InformationSystems Committee (JISC), suggest that theincreased use of technology and improvedcomputer competency have had little impact onlevels of information literacy. Children and youngpeople spend little time evaluating information andfind it difficult to develop effective searchstrategies. Their preference is for familiarresources like search engines which deliver a quickfix. The message is clear: without effectiveinformation skills it is likely that our young peoplewill be unable to benefit from and participate fullyin an information society. In response to some of the issues I have outlinedabove, Academic Librarians and InformationServices Librarians at Leeds Met set up two projectgroups which ran over the academic year 2007-08.The librarians form the Library Academic Supportstream within the recently restructured Librariesand Learning Innovation service. Each AcademicLibrarian has responsibility for teachinginformation skills for a particular subject area orareas, alongside their other duties. The first projectwas set up to help raise the profile of informationliteracy at Leeds Met by running an event on theALT Options Day during the 2007 Staff DevelopmentFestival. The objectives of the event were to identifywhat information skills meant to academic staff andwhat they considered to be most important for theirstudents; to highlight current areas of good practicein information skills teaching at Leeds Met; and toexplore how these might be developed further.Around 15 staff attended, from both the library andfaculties. As part of a short exercise, individualswere asked to jot down what they felt were the mostimportant skills for their students. Responsesfocused on common concerns such as plagiarism,distinguishing between good and bad information,over-reliance on websites and the importance ofusing evidence-based research. Some commentsrelated directly to the first-year learningexperience, for example:“Inductions repeated later in term, too muchinformation overload at the start.”“An explanatory tour of the library late in first termwhen work has been given.”“Students need help to get started with researchusing online resources in their first year.”Information literacy and the first-year learning experienceAlison Park36257 New ALT Journal:Layout 1  19/8/08  16:28  Page 28ALT JOURNAL NUMBER 4: SUMMER 2008 29These comments flagged up issues such as thetiming of library inductions, the provision of supportover time with follow-up sessions or refreshers,and the need to be strategic when deliveringinformation skills teaching, for example to coincidewith first assignments. The session provided muchfood for thought and the feedback from the eventwill be used to inform the Library AcademicSupport stream’s current and future initiatives oninformation literacy at Leeds Met.The second project explored teaching and learningmethods to develop and improve information skillsteaching. Working with a revised frameworkadapted from the SCONUL model (AdvisoryCommittee on Information Literacy, 1999),members of the group took a skill level and devisedsuitable activities and exercises that could be usedin practical sessions. The group researched goodpractice in other institutions as well as currentthinking on the role of information literacy in highereducation. To provide a theoretical and pedagogicalbasis for the activities, several colleagues exploredthe literature on teaching and learning theory(Bloom, 1956; Coffield et al, 2004; Fleming, 2005;Kolb, 1984). The group collated these activities intoa resource bank, which was then developed into ateaching and learning support wiki(https://teachingandlearningsupport.pbwiki.com)so that colleagues could easily access theresources, share good practice and develop newideas and activities to support their own teaching. Reflecting on the work of both projects, I believethere are three main questions we as an institutionneed to address, through the assessment, learningand teaching strategy, with reference to informationliteracy and the first-year learning experience.Firstly, we need to establish just how informationliterate our students are when they first come touniversity. Research would suggest that some gapsexist between the skills school leavers possess andthose expected of them by universities (Crawfordand Irving, 2007). The recommendation is thatinformation literacy should start in school andsome work is being done in this field. One suchexample is the Scottish Information Literacy Project(Glasgow Caledonian University, 2008) which seeksto encourage partnerships between the secondaryand tertiary education sectors to improve children’sinformation skills. When working with first-yearstudents, my own observations are that they relyheavily on books and the internet as their mainsources of information. Few appear to usesubscription-based resources such as journals anddatabases, indeed it may be the first time they haveencountered this kind of material or even beenexpected to reference sources properly. Most of us would agree that our students needinformation skills, but exactly how they areexpected to acquire them is still unclear. I wouldargue that it is not something they will necessarily‘pick up’ as they go along. My own experience ofworking with students in both further and highereducation is that without strategic and timelysupport in that crucial first year, many studentsmay struggle in this area. I would welcome furtherresearch into how this may impact on studentretention and achievement rates.This leads me to my second question: how do wedeliver effective information skills teaching? Thereis much debate over how to incorporate this into analready tightly packed curriculum. It has beenargued that information literacy can stand as asubject in its own right with formal assessment(Johnston and Webber, 2003); others advocateembedding it into subject modules (Bordonaro andRichardson, 2004; Walton et al, 2007). Frequently,information skills are taught in a fragmented, adhoc fashion, usually in one-off sessions. As theAcademic Librarians demonstrated at their eventduring the 2007 Staff Development Festival, thereare areas of good practice at Leeds Met already butmuch more could be done. Whatever approacheswe take, we need to ensure that effective, timelyinformation skills tuition is an essential componentnot only in the first year but throughout a student’sstudies.Third, we need to consider what our future first-year students will be like in terms of theirinformation-seeking behaviour. The findings of theCIBER report suggest that even in the era of Web2.0 people will experience difficulties siftingthrough online content. This simply reinforces theneed for effective information skills teaching. Those36257 New ALT Journal:Layout 1  19/8/08  16:29  Page 29ALT JOURNAL NUMBER 4: SUMMER 200830of us engaged in supporting students in this areamust develop innovative ways in which we can equipstudents with the ability to locate informationappropriate to the task they are working on. Iwelcome a debate with colleagues on the issuesand how we might work together to improve anddevelop information skills teaching at Leeds Met tosupport our first-year students through tograduation and beyond.ReferencesAdvisory Committee on Information Literacy (1999)Information skills in higher education. London:Standing Conference of National and UniversityLibraries. Available at:http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/papers/Seven_pillars2.pdf [Accessed 8March 2008].Bloom, B. (ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educationalobjectives: the classification of educational goals.London: Longmans.Bordonaro, K. and Richardson, G. (2004) Scaffoldingand reflection in course-integrated libraryinstruction. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 30(5), 391-401. Available at:http://www.sciencedirect.com [Accessed 12 March2008].Centre for Information Behaviour and theEvaluation of Research (2008) Information behaviourof the researcher of the future. London: UniversityCollege London Publishing. Available at:http://www.bl.uk/news/pdf/googlegen.pdf[Accessed 20 January 2008].Coffield, F., Moseley, D., Hall, E. and Ecclestone, K.(2004) Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16learning: a systematic and critical review. London:Learning and Skills Research Centre. Available at:http://www.lsda.org.uk/files/PDF/1543.pdf[Accessed 18 June 2008].Crawford, J. and Irving, C. (2007) Informationliteracy: the link between secondary and tertiaryeducation project and its wider implications. Journalof Librarianship and Information Science 39 (17), 17-26. Available at: http://lis.sage.pub.com [Accessed7 March 2008].Fleming, N. (2005) Teaching and learning styles: Varkstrategies. Christchurch: Vark-Learn.Glasgow Caledonian University (2008) InformationLiteracy Skills Project. Available at:http://www.gcal.ac.uk/ils/[Accessed 18 June 2008].Johnston, B. and Webber, S. (2003) Informationliteracy in higher education: a review and casestudy. Studies in Higher Education 28 (3), 335-352.Available from: www.informaworld.com [Accessed13 March 2008].Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential learning: experience asthe source of learning and development. EnglewoodCliffs: Prentice-Hall.Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education(2008) Subject benchmark statements. Gloucester:Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.Available at:http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/default.asp [Accessed 6 March 2008].Walton, G., Barker, J., Hepworth, M. and Stephens,D. (2007) Using online collaborative learning toenhance information literacy delivery in a Level 1module: an evaluation. Journal of InformationLiteracy 1 (1), 13-30. Available from:http://jil.lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL/index[Accessed 6 March 2008].Alison ParkAcademic Librarian for Childhood, Early Years,Education and Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment Headingley Library36257 New ALT Journal:Layout 1  19/8/08  16:29  Page 30

Advisory Committee on Information Literacy

Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs:

Information Behaviour and the Evaluation of Research

Information literacy in higher education: a review and case study.

Information Literacy Skills Project. Available at: http://www.gcal.ac.uk/ils/

Information literacy: the link between secondary and tertiary education project and its wider implications.

Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: a systematic and critical review. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre. Available at: http://www.lsda.org.uk/files/PDF/1543.pdf [Accessed 18

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

Scaffolding and reflection in course-integrated library instruction.

Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals.

Teaching and learning styles: Vark strategies.

Using online collaborative learning to enhance information literacy delivery in a Level 1 module: an evaluation.

Information literacy and the first-year learning experience

Information literacy and the first-year learning experience

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Leeds Beckett Repository