These slides present the research and paper given by Alex R. Hodges and Alison B. Thomas, faculty at American University in Washington, DC, at the Association of College and Research Libraries 2015 Conference in Portland, OR, on Friday, March 27, 2015.

1. Build Sustainable Collaboration:
Developing and Assessing Metaliteracy Across Information Ecosystems
Alex R. Hodges
Alison B. Thomas
American University
Washington, D.C.

2. Situating Our Study
Composition Studies:
Yancey, 1998; Flower & Hayes, 1981; Artman,
Frisciaro-Pawlowski, & Monge, 2010; Salvatori &
Donahue, 2010, 2012; Bruffee, 1984; Purdy &
Walker, 2013; Burke, 1967
Information Literacy:
Schroeder & Cahoy, 2010; Oakleaf, 2008, 2009a,
2009b, 2010, 2011, 2014; Hofer, Brunetti &
Townsend, 2012; Mackey & Jacobson, 2005, 2011,
2014

3. Methods
Study Population:
WRTG 106: College Writing, Intensive course
13 undergraduate students and their corresponding papers, exercises,
and other course materials, kept on individual Google Docs
The Study:
• Earned Institutional Review Board approval, 2014-2015
• Anonymized and coded each of the final assignments with a letter
that corresponded to an individual
• Rated, using both the program and the final assignment rubrics,
each of the 13 students’ work
• Analyzed students’ self-reflections and dispositions toward the
research process

4. Conceptual Class Discussions:
The Research Complexity Spectrum

5. Goals of the Research Assignment

6. Program Rubric

7. Assignment IL Rubric

8. Sample Student Research Topics & Reflections

9. “I do not expect to be
published or even
acknowledged because
I don’t own a jacket
with elbow pads and I
have not dedicated my
life’s work to the
psychology of emoji
but I do feel more
qualified than ever to
write.” – Student F
Student Reflections

10. “All of a sudden, research became a process as well. It was
something that often began with a question, an intellectual inquiry
or an academic curiosity. It was not something that begins with a
pre-formulated thesis, argument already in mind. Research is instead
just one fragment of a larger conversation; a conversation that is
constantly evolving, and exciting in the sense that I as the researcher
am involved in that conversation in some way.” – Student E
Student Reflections

11. “Through my research and reading, I have
been handed the name tag that gets me
at the table.” – Student F
Student Reflections

12. Mean Course Scores from Assignment-Specific Rubric
Point System: 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F; Total Students=13
Rubric Elements Total Points Average
Research: Info & Commentary about Topic 52.5 4.38
Research: Angle/Approach to the Topic 53.5 4.46
Original Argument 52 4.33
Joins a Conversation 51.5 4.29
Signal Phrases 52 4.33
Summary 50.5 4.21
Integrating Research 53.5 4.46

13. 4.05
4.1
4.15
4.2
4.25
4.3
4.35
4.4
4.45
4.5
Research: Info &
Commentary about
Topic
Research:
Angle/Approach to
the Topic
Original Argument Joins a Conversation Signal Phrases Summary Integrating Research
Mean Course Scores: Plotted on 5-Point Rubric Scale
(5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F)
Average

14. Conclusion & Future Plans
• Extend research protocol
• Re-conceptualize and validate rubric
• Continue modeling scholarly communication
& metacognitive practices
• Engage in ongoing, iterative assessment
• Deliver current & future results
• Incorporate colleagues in our work

15. Questions for Consideration
• Can our work/ideas help your organization value the work of
IL collaborations?
• How can you use the practice of reflection to consider
metaliteracy in your own programs?
• Is it possible to assess metaliteracy? Is it worthwhile?
• Is it tenable to assess conceptual (“threshold concepts”)
learning in information literacy?
• How can you create partnerships or relationships that tackle
these issues?
• Are these assessments possible for librarians alone?
• Is there value in local assessment like ours? Can it inspire or
offer insight to more global assessments?
• How can we further interest our institutional colleagues?

16. Photo Credits
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jun/26/movie-poster-auction-fritz-lang-metropolis
http://classicfilmaficionados.com/2015/01/10/metropolis-happy-anniversary-debuted-on-january-10th-1927/
http://vigilantcitizen.productionshardl.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/metro55.jpg
http://ekaki-uta.deviantart.com/art/Wallpaper-Outside-the-Box-273882450
http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/once-upon-a-time/237756/once-upon-a-time-teases-its-frozen-season-4-storyline
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2014/05/26/3-reasons-why-twitter-killed-the-soundcloud-deal/
http://thelongthread.com/?cat=7
http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/
http://www.lawcommentator.com/business-tech/esports-team-businesses-and-the-rise-of-the-esports-agent/
http://blastmagazine.com/2014/02/24/six-issues-bbcs-sherlock-wont-watching-anymore/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emojiworld.collections
http://www.styleite.com/shopping/elbow-patches/
http://www.humansandnature.org/reweaving-landscape--redesigning-the-road--reconciliing-mobility-article-61.php
http://www.mynamebadges.com/hello-my-name-is-visitor-label/sku-lb-1992
http://pyxurz.blogspot.com/2011/10/metropolis-page-4-of-6.html
The background theme is inspired by Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927).
Lang, Fritz, 1890-1976, Fritz Rasp 1891-1976, Erich Pommer 1889-1966, Thea von Harbou 1888-
1954, Brigitte Helm 1906, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, et al. 2002. Metropolis. New York,
NY: Kino International Corp.

17. Selected Bibliography
Artman, Margaret, Erica Frisicaro-Pawlowski, and Robert Monge. 2010. “Not Just One Shot: Extending the Dialogues about Information Literacy in
Composition Classes.” Composition Studies 38 (2): 93–110.
Bruffee, Kenneth A. 1984. “Collaborative Learning and the ‘Conversation of Mankind.’” College English 46 (7): 635–52. doi:10.2307/376924.
Burke, Kenneth. 1967. The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Flower, Linda, and John R. Hayes. 1981. “A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing.” College Composition and Communication 32 (4): 365–87.
doi:10.2307/356600.
Hofer, Amy R., Lori Townsend, and Korey Brunetti. 2012. “Troublesome Concepts and Information Literacy: Investigating Threshold Concepts for IL
Instruction.” Portal: Libraries and the Academy 12 (4): 387–405.
Mackey, Thomas P., and Trudi E. Jacobson. 2005. “Information Literacy: A Collaborative Endeavor.” College Teaching 53 (4): 140–44.
Mackey, Thomas P., and Trudi E. Jacobson. 2011. “Reframing Information Literacy as a Metaliteracy.” College & Research Libraries 72 (1): 62–78.
doi:10.5860/crl-76r1.
Mackey, Thomas P., and Trudi E. Jacobson. 2014. Metaliteracy : Reinventing Information Literacy to Empower Learners. Chicago: ALA Neal-Schuman, an
imprint of the American Library Association.
Oakleaf, Megan. 2008. “Dangers and Opportunities: A Conceptual Map of Information Literacy Assessment Approaches.” Portal: Libraries and the Academy
8 (3): 233–53.
———. 2009a. “Writing Information Literacy Assessment Plans: A Guide to Best Practice.” Communications in Information Literacy 3 (2): 80–90.
———. 2009b. “The Information Literacy Instruction Assessment Cycle: A Guide for Increasing Student Learning and Improving Librarian Instructional Skills.”
Journal of Documentation 65 (4): 539–60. doi:10.1108/00220410910970249.
———. 2010. The Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report. Association of College & Research Libraries.
———. 2011. “Staying on Track with Rubric Assessment: Five Institutions Investigate Information Literacy Learning.” Peer Review 13 (4/1): 18.
———. 2014. “A Roadmap for Assessing Student Learning Using the New Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.” The Journal of
Academic Librarianship 40 (5): 510–14.
Purdy, James P., and Joyce R. Walker. 2013. “Liminal Spaces and Research Identity The Construction of Introductory Composition Students as Researchers.”
Pedagogy 13 (1): 9–41.
Salvatori, Mariolina Rizzi, and Patricia Donahue. 2010. “Disappearing Acts: The Problem of the Student in Composition Studies.” Pedagogy: Critical
Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture 10 (1): 25–33. doi:10.1215/15314200-2009-018.
Salvatori, Mariolina Rizzi, and Patricia Donahue. 2012. “Stories about Reading: Appearance, Disappearance, Morphing, and Revival.” College English 75 (2):
199–217.
Schroeder, Robert, and Ellysa Stern Cahoy. 2010. “Valuing Information Literacy: Affective Learning and the ACRL Standards.” Portal: Libraries and the
Academy 10 (2): 127–46.
Yancey, Kathleen Blake. 1998. “Reflection, Self-Assessment, and Learning.” The Clearing House 72 (1): 13–17.

18. Questions? Contact Us
Alex R. Hodges
hodges@american.edu
Alison B. Thomas
athomas@american.edu
The full paper is online:
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/cont
ent/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2015/Thomas_
Hodges.pdf