Printer Friendly VersionInformation Literacy for Teaching and Learning
A Workshop for General Education Faculty
May 8-10, 2007
See the Assignments Created from this workshop
- Would you like to know more about the information seeking skills your General Education students should have after completing Cluster One?
- Would you like your students to have more sophisticated search skills beyond Google or Wikipedia?
- Do you struggle with research assignments due to large classes and grading time constraints?
- Would you like your students to critically evaluate information for relevance, validity, and reliability?
- Would you like to design research assignments that prepare students for coursework in the majors?
- Have you been disappointed with the results of your research assignments?
If your answer is 'yes' to any of these questions, we encourage you to apply for this workshop.
JMU Libraries and the Center for Faculty Innovation will cosponsor a 3-day workshop in May 2007 for full-time teaching faculty and librarians to work together in order to integrate information literacy concepts into the coursework of General Education classes. Through a variety of exercises and presentions, librarians will work with Gen Ed faculty or faculty teams to modify a syllabus to include information literacy objectives. We'll work together to design effective active learning assignments, plan instruction, develop an assessment strategy and test drive an assignment. The goal is to promote resource-based learning outside the classroom and to equip students with skills they will further develop in their major coursework.
JMU Librarians are committed to providing students with opportunities to master skills and competencies which will enable them to succeed in a rapidly changing information landscape. General Education is committed to providing students with a "foundation of knowledge, skills and experiences expected of educated people." (JMU General Education, http://www.jmu.edu/gened/message.html#philosophy). We see a natural partnership among those who teach in these foundational areas and the sources of knowledge held in library resources. With this workshop, we are looking for collaborative opportunities to work with General Education faculty to develop assignments that build student's information literacy skills.
Information literacy is a set of skills defined as knowing how to find, evaluate and effectively use information. All students, regardless of major need these skills in their GenEd coursework, in major programs, as professionals and as productive citizens in their communities. Information literacy supports critical thinking and enables students to become self-directed learners. Incorporating information literacy across the General Education curriculum requires the collaborative efforts of teaching faculty and librarians.
General Education faculty who attend the workshop will incorporate information literacy objectives into a course, develop assignments that provide students with opportunities to practice and strengthen their information literacy skills, plan accompanying instruction, and devise a way to assess information literacy outcomes. Interested faculty can showcase their results at a Center for Faculty Innovation program open to all JMU faculty (Spring 2008).
Librarians will contribute by helping to identify appropriate information literacy objectives, recommending sources that fit the course goals, and helping to provide instruction targeted to the specific assignment. JMU Libraries maintains an archive of syllabi and assignments on the Web to serve as examples for all JMU faculty. (Click here to view assignments created in a previous workshop).
Information literacy, as defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries, encompasses the following set of skills:
- knowing when information is needed;
- finding information efficiently;
- evaluating its quality;
- using it effectively for a purpose; and
- observing ethical use of information
Application Form and Submission Requirements
All full-time JMU General Education faculty are invited to apply. Applicants must:
- fill out an application form (Link to Application Form.);
- write a personal statement about why they are interested in incorporating information literacy
- identify in advance which course they will work on; and
- send a copy of their current syllabus and existing assignments.
The Information Literacy for Teaching and Learning workshop will be held May 8-10, 2007, in Room 301 Carrier Library. Lunch will be provided Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tentative Workshop Schedule:
| Tuesday, May 8 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday, May 9 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
| Thursday, May 10 | 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
To achieve the workshop goals, special sessions throughout each day will focus on hands-on activities and collaborative work between faculty and librarians.
Participating faculty will receive a stipend of $1,000 for attending the workshop and revising the syllabus and assignments for one course to incorporate information literacy objectives and activities.
Workshop Presentation Topics
Learning Objectives, Identifying Student Information Literacy Skills, Plagiarism and Academic Honesty, Assignment Design for large classes, Assessment and Rubrics, and How to teach research skills to students.
Expectations for Faculty Participants
Faculty participants are expected to:
- Attend the 3-day "Information Literacy for Teaching and Learning" workshop in May 2007
- Modify course to include:
- Information literacy objectives
- An assignment that requires students to find, evaluate, and effectively use information
- A strategy to promote academic integrity
- Assessment of student performance
- Teach the course using the modifications
- Report on results
- Via a report to the Coordinator of Library Instruction after the completion of the course to include an evaluation of student outcomes following implementation (due by Dec. 2007 for courses taught in the fall or May 2008 for courses taught in the spring)
- At a Center for Faculty Innovation workshop
- Submit a copy of the modified syllabus and accompanying assignments for the archive on the web.
Participants will be selected by representatives of JMU Libraries and the Center for Faculty Innovation, using the following criteria:
- Preference will be given to submissions by teams of faculty who teach multiple sections of the same class
- Applications will be weighted according to the following:
- Applicant's commitment and interest, as evidenced in the brief personal statement on the application form
- Applicability to the learning objectives of General Education (available here: http://www.jmu.edu/gened/goals.html)
- Overall quality of the proposal
Faculty selected to participate will be notified by March 16 of their acceptance.
Applicants who are not accepted will be notified by March 23 .
This workshop is being planned by the 2007 JMU Libraries' Information Literacy Committee (Kathy Clarke and Meris Mandernach) in consultation with the Center for Faculty Innovation. Please contact us if you have questions.
