This paper details the collaborative efforts of a reference librarian and a political science professor to meld seamlessly the study of politics with the acquisition of information literacy skills using a problem-based learning approach. Students in an introductory American Government class were engaged in a group project in which they acted as media consultants for the political candidate of their choice. Two information literacy sessions were embedded into the project. ACRL Information Literacy Standards were used to generate and assess performance outcomes. Student feedback, as well as pre-test and post-test results, indicate that a problem-based approach to enhancing information literacy in political science courses effectively engages students interest and improves students' information literacy skills. 59[ARTICLE]

Preparing the next generation of leaders in science and technology requires new approaches, often collaborative and interdisciplinary, to university research, education and training. In no area are collaborative approaches more important than in microelectronics. This paper describes the organization, management, and education and outreach activites of a successful interdisciplinary academic programthe Science and Technology Center for the Synthesis, Growth and Analysis of Electronic Materials at the Univeristy of Texas at Austin.

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This article addresses the interrelationship among writing, reading, and information literacy (WRIL) by discussing a collaborative assessment project that generated a criteria map focused on process, enactment, engagement, and attribution. The authors connect this map to the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing and the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education but critique the failure of these frameworks to account for the importance of reading. In emphasizing WRIL for students, the authors contend that practitioners must help students understand WRIL practices as dynamic, developing, and complex, and they provide pedagogical suggestions for assigning reference materials, reading as researchers, and sharing visualization tools.