Web evaluation has been a standard information literacy offering for years and has always been a challenging topic for instruction librarians. Over time, the authors had tried a myriad of strategies to teach freshmen how to assess the credibility of Web sites but felt the efforts were insufficient. By familiarizing themselves with the cognitive development research, they were able to effectively revamp Web evaluation instruction to improve student learning. This article discusses the problems of traditional methods, such as checklists; summarizes the cognitive development research, particularly in regards to its relationship to the ACRL Information Literacy Standards; and details the instructional lesson plan developed by the authors that incorporates cognitive development theories.

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Do you remember the first time you ever taught a class in the library? Who taught you how to teach? According to a survey administered by Julien and Genuis, 86.2% of librarians prepared themselves for instructional work informally while on the job. Westbrock and Fabian found that librarians learn the ACRL Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators through self-teaching or on-the-job training, not through library school courses. It seems like we are choosing to employ the sink-or-swim method of instructional training: throw new librarians into the classroom and hope that they manage to stay afloat. This method is detrimental to the instruction program, the librarian, and the students.