Information Literacy Instruction (eBook)

Selecting an Effective Model

John Walsh (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF | EPUB

2011 | 1. Auflage
218 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-1-78063-284-1 (ISBN)

Infos

An invaluable guide for MLS professionals and students, this new book explains how librarians can select an effective method of library instruction based on their users, the objectives of the instruction and the delivery environment. The content describes the different methods available and in what circumstances the methods are most effective. It includes descriptions of curriculums for the methods currently available and describes a range of objectives the curriculums meet and the common environments librarians use for instruction. Information Literacy Instruction also introduces two new ideas for methods of instruction: one which combines information literacy with cyber-literacy (MLI) forming an instructional method appropriate for internet users and internet information and the Fully Automated Reference Instruction (FARI) that actively involves users with the instruction while completing research they are currently involved in for specific targeted classes. - Introduction to multi-literacy instruction - Using instruction to protect users from disinformation on the Internet - New active learning idea for web based instruction (MLI and FARI)

John Walsh has over 10 years' experience in academic and corporate libraries. He is currently a PhD. Student of the School for Information Resources and Library Science at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. He has been researching the effectiveness of information literacy instruction since 2006 and currently works in access services at Cochise College Libraries in Sierra Vista, AZ.

Textauszug

2

Objectives of instruction

Abstract:

This chapter identifies the measures of success when determining the effectiveness of ILI. Cognitive outcomes, measuring changes in knowledge, are considered a standard by many ILI programs; however, these are only one aspect of determining effectiveness. This chapter describes different cognitive outcomes as well as behavioral outcomes which measure changes in actions, and affective outcomes that measure changes in attitudes and values. The behavioral outcomes address increases in student library usage and information seeking behavior of participants. The cognitive outcomes include increased learning skills and library skills. The affective outcomes involve decreasing library anxiety and increasing student self-efficacy.

Key words

information literacy instruction effectiveness

information literacy instruction assessment

cognitive learning outcomes

behavioral learning outcomes

affective learning outcomes

self-efficacy

library anxiety

The role of assessment

In the twenty-first century, assessment has become an integral part of higher education and one of the driving forces behind this movement is accountability (Radcliff et al., 2007). In the 1970s, several changes in higher education brought about the cry for accountability. Many universities faced a financial crisis, the population of students attending college became more diverse, and concerns were raised that college graduates did not have the skills and abilities needed in the workplace. The value of higher education came to be questioned by the public and politicians (Northern Illinois University, 2010). Four reports were issued in the 1980s, The Access to Quality Undergraduate Education, Integrity in the College Curriculum, Involvement in Learning, and To Reclaim a Legacy, that brought accountability to the forefront in higher education. The results of these reports produced specialized accreditation bodies and a demand for an outcomes approach to evaluation in higher education instruction. What began as an external influence on education has grown into an internal force: improvement as accountability (Northern Illinois University, 2010).

As the accountability movement progressed, information literacy became a general educational requirement at public institutions in higher education. The six regional accreditation organizations of higher education and several professional and disciplinary accrediting organizations have included information literacy in their standards, either implicitly or explicitly (Saunders, 2007). The academic library has always been the leader in promoting information literacy within higher education, and the decision to make it an educational requirement obligated academic libraries to address how they would measure success within their instructional programs. The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) have developed a set of competency standards for information literacy in higher education (see Appendix) to evaluate the information literate student. Many libraries that use cognitive outcomes to determine effectiveness use the standards to measure the success of their programs. Connecting success with learning outcomes was a logical choice for academic libraries because it associated the library with institutional instructional goals and attached the library to the instructional process. Many libraries use cognitive outcomes to determine effectiveness, and with the evolution of ILI to become a marketing tool the measures of other options were explored to determine instructional effectiveness. Other measures of effectiveness use the measures defined by the specialized accreditation organizations that evaluate the academic standards. For example, the Handbook for Accreditation of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) includes a criterion that demands organizations learning resources from the library support student learning and that it is critical for colleges to assess actual student use of the resources (NCA, 2003). Using these measures, a library could determine effectiveness by measuring students’ increased usage of the library after receiving library instruction. Whatever measure an academic library chooses to use, institutional assessment has to be considered before any decision is made.

Measuring effectiveness of instruction

When selecting an effective method of ILI for a specific situation, first one must define what will determine the success of the ILI program. A program needs to determine what the instructional goals will be to assess the effectiveness of teaching methods. When developing an ILI program, assessment of effectiveness should be one of the earliest considerations and should be ‘built into the planning process from the very beginning’ (Grassian and Kaplowitz, 2009). There are many aspects that determine success and most can be classified into three categories: changes in cognitive outcomes, changes in behavioral outcomes and changes in affective outcomes. Changes in cognitive outcomes can be as small as remembering facts to applying what was taught to a new situation and may require more than a simple survey to collect results. Behavioral changes most often involve students increasing their usage of the library and participant information seeking behaviors. The changes can usually be measured through self-administered surveys. Affective changes including decreases in library anxiety require long survey questionnaires and a comparison of test results against a Library Anxiety Scale (LAS). Choosing the instructional goal is a major factor in the equation for selecting an effective method for a particular environment.

Behavioral outcomes

Behavioral outcomes are changes in action (e.g., improved and increased use of online library resources; improved and increased use of librarians; improved and increased use of the physical library itself). ILI programs are the most common outreach used by academic libraries today, and most often the outreach instructional goals are to get the student to use the library and its resources. Library usage is essential to the academic library maintaining a physical presence on college campuses and should be considered a primary objective in promoting the library and its resources. The Cochise College Library director, Pat Hotchkiss, believes the primary objective of most ILI is to promote use of the library and its resources. She claims, ‘It’s all about getting the students to start using our databases and coming in the door.’ Student usage also drives the expenditures on resources (Hotchkiss, 2007, 2009). Academic libraries allocate their budget using a formula of student usage, educational priorities, and materials cost (Trombley, 2003). ‘Facing yearly budgetary constraints, accountability has become essential to academic libraries’ success in today’s competitive environment’ (Trombley, 2003). Any consistent decrease in student usage will result in a reduction of the library budget. Comparatively, increased student usage statistics are sufficient justification for additional funds (Trombley, 2003; Hotchkiss, 2007). In the late 1990s two prominent researchers performed a longitudinal study to explain the use of library facilities at that time. The study, published in a 2001 issue of Library Trends, showed ‘one’s familiarity with the library had the greatest impact on library use’ (Simmonds, 2001: 630). Instruction has become the most popular method to advance student familiarity with library resources.

Library usage is a fundamental variable in determining many aspects of an academic library: it regulates hours of operation, budgetary decisions are based on increases and decreases of usage, and it controls resource acquisition and weeding. The importance of student usage to the infrastructure of the academic library makes usage an appropriate and important measurement of effective instruction. Increasing usage pertains to any resource offered by the library from online databases to the most valuable resource in the library, the librarians. Although researchers have expressed a need for more research measuring the effects of ILI on increasing usage, studies on this topic are scarce. The two studies that have been done measured the increases using self-administered surveys by participants. The survey in Figure 2.1 was used in a recent study that measured the effectiveness of ILI in increasing students’ usage of the library.

Figure 2.1 Library usage questionnaire: pretest/posttest survey

Another behavioral outcome is a change in participant information-seeking behavior. Information-seeking behavior has been of interest to librarians and information science professionals for decades. Although a large number of studies have been done on this subject, the process itself is still largely a mystery and requires more quantitative research.

The first model for study of information-seeking behavior was developed by James Krikelas in 1983. This model suggested that the steps of information seeking were as follows: (1) perceiving a need, (2) the search itself, (3) finding the information, and (4) using the information, which results in either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Krikelas stated...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 28.9.2011
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Kommunikation / Medien ► Buchhandel / Bibliothekswesen
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Wirtschaftsinformatik
• ISBN-10: 1-78063-284-3 / 1780632843
• ISBN-13: 978-1-78063-284-1 / 9781780632841