INFORMATION LITERACY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A REVOLUTION IN LEARNING

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INFORMATION LITERACY IN HIGHER EDUCATION A
REVOLUTION IN LEARNING

• Dr.P.V.Konnur
• University Librarian Head IT
• Bangalore University
• Bangalore
• K.Kavita Rao
• Librarian
• Hindustan College of Arts Science
• Chennai

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Paper presented at

• International Conference on e-Resources in Higher
  education Issues, Developments, Opportunities
  and Challenges,
• Dept. of Library Information Science,
  Bharathidasan University
• Tiruchirapalli, 19-20 Feb 2010.

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• It is not the strongest of the species that
  survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one
  most responsive to change.
  
• - Charles
  Darwin

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HE environment Information literacy

• HE is facing many great challenges and
  opportunities.
• HE in the new century has to deal with
  competition.
• Need for Information literate Colleges and
  Universities.
• IL is a major need, topic of concern and research
  in the HE sector.

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Information Literacy

• Information literate persons are described
  as"(t)hose who have learned how to learn. They
  know how to learn because they know how knowledge
  is organized, how to find information and how to
  use information so that others can learn from
  them. They are people prepared for lifelong
  learning because they can always find the
  information needed for any task or decision at
  hand." (ALA)
• Information literacy makes students independent
  learners who in turn become lifelong learners.

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• Significance of Information Literacy
• IL is a shot in the dark in the semantic
  information environment.
• Information literacy connects all constituencies
  across campus,
• weaves information resources and practiced skills
  into the curriculum,
• highlights the global nature of information
• equips individuals for lifelong learning,
• promotes curricular revitalization and challenges
  
• students to become engaged and thoughtful
• students become lifelong independent learners.

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Information Literacy Education

• Need for integration into courses at all levels
• The quality of teaching
• The pedagogies
• active learning, project-based learning,
  problem-based learning, internships, inquiry
  learning, and service learning.
• acceptance and attention.
• ILE - a shared responsibility
• collaboration among academicians.

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Six Frames for Information Literacy Education
developed by Christine Bruce

• The Content Frame
• (users adopt discipline orientation)
• (2) The Competency Frame
• (users adopt behavioral or performance
  orientation)
• (3) The Learning to Learn Frame
• (users adopt constructivist orientation)
• (4) The Personal Relevance Frame
• (users adopt experiential orientation)
• (5) The Social Impact Frame
• (users adopt a social reform orientation)
  and
• (6) The Relational Frame

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Relational principles of learning related to ILE

• Learning is about changes in conception
• Learning always has content as well as a process
• Learning is about relations between the learner
  and the subject matter
• Improving learning is about understanding the
  learners perspective

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• Information Literacy Education For Teachers
• The seven guiding principles are
• Encourages contact between fellows and leaders
• Develops reciprocity and co-operation among
  fellows
• Encourages active learning
• Encourages effective use of technology
• Gives prompt feedback and sustained mentoring
• Emphasizes time-on-task
• Communicates high expectations for all fellows
• Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
  among the many disciplines represented.

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Information Literacy Education For Students

• Emphasizes the inquiry approach to learning
• analysis, synthesis, evaluation and reflection
• inculcating both lower order thinking skills and
  higher order thinking skills
• Professor/Academic librarian acts as facilitator
• Motivates students to participate
• Students produce results
• Learning emphasizes teamwork
• academic success through different learning
  styles.

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Information literacy and the Curriculum

• as a stand-alone course, discipline based course
  or as instructional programme.
• figure as a central component of the educational
  curriculum.
• Information literacy is a field of study
• Reasons for not including IL
  
  
• no room in the curriculum
• lack of understanding
• belief that IL and study skills are taught in
  other modules
• confusion of IL with IT competency
• student misconceptions

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Information literacy and the Curriculum (cont..)

• The learning outcomes approach is more
  appropriate
• It differs from more traditional academic
  approaches that emphasize coverage by its
  emphasis on
• basing curriculum on what students need to know
  and be able to do as determined by student and
  societal needs
• 2. focusing on what students should be able to
  do rather than merely what knowledge they should
  possess as a result of a course or program,
• 3. making explicit the development and
  assessment of generic abilities.

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Information literacy Curriculum (contd..)

• 1. The content of Information Literacy
  instruction is most effective when purposefully
  tailored to its classroom contexts.
• 2. IL instruction should be
• i. critical (stating its rationale and social
  context)
• ii. learner-centered (relational and
  problem-based)
• iii. adaptable (relevant for lifelong-learning)

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Questions to be addressed by curriculum leaders

• What kind of learning opportunities should be
  provided for students at various stages of their
  study?
• (graduates, post-graduates and research
  scholars)
• What can be done to deal with objectives that
  emerge out of academic activities? From the point
  of view of educators, learning activities emerge
  from pre-planned objectives.
• What kind of learning support best facilitates
  students to acquire a set of given skills
  (example information literacy) and new
  knowledge?
• How can we prepare the faculty/instructional
  collaborators/academic librarians for developing
  and implementing the curricula for the new age?
• What kind of assessment and accreditation
  activities must be undertaken to measure the
  learning outcomes of students and the
  effectiveness of the curriculum implemented?

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Information Literacy Assessment

• In the HE sector, LIS professional
  bodies in the USA (the Association of College and
  Research Libraries, ACRL) and Australia
  (Australian and New Zealand Institute for
  Information Literacy) have produced standards for
  information literacy, and a UK body (Society of
  College, National and University Libraries,
  SCONUL)-each of these has produced a model for
  information literacy. There have been
  translations of the ACRL standards, and the IFLA
  Information Literacy Section has also worked on a
  framework for information literacy.

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Information Literacy Accreditation

• Is the development of information skills
  identified in learning objectives?
• Does the curriculum ensure progressive
  development of increasingly sophisticated
  information skills?
• Is IL widely encouraged in the early years of
  undergraduate study as well as later?
• Do teaching and learning strategies encourage
  regular use of information skills?
• To what extent are students required to identify
  their own learning resources?
• Using rubrics for information literacy
  assessment is necessary..

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Suggestions For promoting Information Literacy

• Progress reports on information literacy.
• Standards and Frameworks
• Information sharing and dissemination
• Raise awareness
• Scope should be given for Research.
• More discussions, seminars, workshops and
  guest-lectures.
• Internationalization and cooperation
• improve the infrastructure
• incorporate innovations and follow new directions
  
• Enhancement of teaching, learning and assessment
• groups should be formed at regional, state and
  National levels

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Conclusion

• address changing expectations
• providing quality education.
• attaining the goal of IL
• an IL vision is necessary for every nation.
• who ensures IL in HE
• how IL is ensured.
• new initiatives and analysis

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REFERENCES 1.Quotes online
http//www.quotesdaddy.com/quote/1252801/charles-d
arwin/it-is-not-the-strongest-of-the-species-that-
survive 2. American Library Association,
"American Library Association Presidential
Committee on Information Literacy," 10 January
1989, (7 February 2000). http//www.ala.org/acrl/
nili/ilit1st.html 3. Six frames for information
literacy education a conceptual framework for
interpreting the relationships of information
literacy education..
http//www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/italics/vol5-1/pdf/
sixframes_final20_1_.pdf. 4. Brown, David.
2003.The development of e-teachers for e
learning. In Developing Faculty to use
Technology, Brown. David, Ed. Anker Publishing.
Massachusetts, 672 5. Battersby, Mark. 1999. So,
Whats A Learning Outcome Anyway? ERIC Document
ED430611 6. Grafstein, Ann. A discipline
based approach to information literacy. The
Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28, 4,
127-204. 7. Thompson, Gary B. 2002 Information
Literacy Accreditation Mandates What They Mean
for Faculty and Librarians. Library Trends, 51,
2, 218-241 8. Information Literacy Standards and
statement http//dis.shef.ac.uk/literacy/st
andards.htmlinks 9. Knight, Lorrie A. Using
rubrics to assess information literacy, Reference
Services Review, 34, 1, 43-55
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• Thank you all