The new ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education is an opportunity for IL instructors to ask themselves whether their current approaches to instruction are meeting the higher goals of IL education. Instructors might re-examine their pedagogical approaches by considering their own knowledge practices and dispositions in teaching IL. How might we best create a space in which the desired student knowledge practices and dispositions flourish? How can we approach IL education as fellow students -ones who just happen to be at a different point on the same path of lifelong learning?
Technology lending has proven to be one of the most popular services that the Ryerson University Library and Archives (RULA) has offered in the past few years. Given the number of commuting digital natives comprising our student body, the library wanted to know how these students were using our current laptop loan program and how this service could evolve to better serve their academic learning needs. Using a mixed methodology including focus groups, interviews, and a comprehensive survey, this study sought to discover options to further improve this program. Could we develop the program by customizing the laptop into a unique learning and research tool? Could we insert the library into the laptops to better assist our students along their academic journey?
In 2017, a team of librarians and archivists at Western University developed local Information Literacy Learning Outcomes (ILLOs). The resulting document outlined the skills and understanding that Western University students should demonstrate at the end of a four-year undergraduate degree-specifically, the skills relating to accessing, assessing, and applying information. This article focuses on the challenges and opportunities encountered during the collaborative process as well as the approach employed by the team in the development of these ILLOs.Six librarians and archivists in very different roles formed the project team. Despite coming from diverse backgrounds, the team recognized that there could be many 2 benefits to developing these outcomes: they could be used as a benchmark for students to measure their own learning, as a conversation starter and leveler with faculty and other instruction partners, and as a stepping stone to develop a full instruction program and common understanding among the librarians and archivists at Western University and Huron University College.The ILLOs created also incorporate guidelines and ideas from various sources, including the Association of College and Research Libraries' Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, Western University's undergraduate Degree Outcomes, and the university's and library system's strategic plans.To ensure the success of this complex venture, detailed project planning was vital. We consulted with our colleagues through multiple engagement activities: information literacy retreats, focused discussion meetings, and one-on-one consultations. The diversity of roles and experiences of our team members and colleagues added both a richness to our project and specific challenges in dealing with dissenting opinions, information overload, engagement and visioning fatigue, and collaborative writing. This article will discuss our approach to writing collaboratively and valuing diverse opinions to improve colleague and organizational buy-in. We have also included practical suggestions for implementing a similar process at the reader's own institution.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.