This document discusses using student journals and reflections to improve an information literacy module at University College Dublin (UCD). It provides context on authentic assessment and reflective learning. The information literacy module at UCD is described, including its framework, objectives, and initial assessment protocol using student essays and research journals. An analysis of the journals from 2005-2006 identified common problems students encountered and aspects they enjoyed. This led to changes in the module, such as shortening the journal length and adding more library sessions. The goal was to use formative assessment and student feedback to continuously improve the module.

1. USING STUDENT ACCOUNTS OF THE RESEARCH
PROCESS TO IMPROVE AN INFORMATION
LITERACY MODULE
Journals for Learning,
Journals for Teaching
Claire McGuinness

2. Presentation Outline
Context:
 Authentic Assessment for Information Literacy Instruction
 Reflection in the Learning Process
 Journal-keeping as a reflective learning tool
 Reflective practice in teaching
 “Assessment-Evaluation-Revision” Cycle
Information Literacy in UCD: The Case Study
 Module overview
 Analysis of student research experience reported in 2007
 Using students’ research experience to adapt module

3. Framework

4. Authentic Assessment
Traditional methods of assessing IL outcomes (i.e.
quantitative, standardised tests, product appraisal,
evaluation surveys) – only assess certain level of learning or
student satisfaction
Authentic assessment: “an evaluation process that
involves multiple forms of performance measurement
reflecting the students’ learning, achievement, motivation
and attitudes on instructionally relevant activities”
(Callison, in Sharma, 2007, p.127)

5. Reflective Learning
 Metacognition - “awareness of [one’s] own cognitive machinery and
how the machinery works” (Meichenbaum, in Woolfolk et al, 2008, p.319)
 Declarative knowledge – knowing what to do (skills, strategies)
 Procedural knowledge – knowing how to use the strategies
 Conditional knowledge - knowing when and why to use strategies
 “Learning is enhanced as learners become aware of their own learning
strategies and begin to monitor the use of these strategies” (Grassian &
Kaplowitz, 2001, p.48)
 Three skills which enable individuals to regulate thinking and learning –
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating (Woolfolk et al, p.320)

6. Learning & Reflective Journals/Portfolios
“Journals, logs, diaries, portfolios are containers for writing that is
recorded over a period of time”
“A learning journal is:
 diverse;
 not necessarily written - but most of the time assume written format;
 generally reflective and accumulated over a period of time with the
intention to learn, i.e. not purely descriptive;
 flexible (it can be structured or unstructured)
 a useful back-up to learning;
 something that accentuates favourable conditions for learning - e.g.
space, time, reflection.
 •applicable to all disciplines (not just literary)”
(Jennifer Moon for UCD Centre for Teaching & Learning)

7. EG’s of Journals/Portfolios for IL instruction
 Diller & Phelps (2008): Use of e-portfolio to assess IL in General Education
Programme. Students included two pieces of evidence for each of 6 learning
goals, e.g. Critical Thinking, IL and Communication, Self in Society
 Sharma (2007): Use of a web portfolio to document the process of researching
a 20-page paper. Included topic statement, concept maps, research q’s, research
log, annotated bibliography & reflection
 Scharf et al (2007): Use of existing writing portfolios to assess IL skills at end
of 4-year programme. Rubric developed using five traits linked to ACRL
standards to measure IL performance in student papers selected from portfolios
 Sonley et al (2006): Use of research information literacy portfolio in
“Negotiated Learning” module (adult learners), which included a bibliography,
and “evidence to demonstrate the process which had been undertaken to lead to
this bibliography” (p.48), e.g. Search strategies, evaluation of sources, etc.

8. Reflective Practice
“If we are going to address
the issues of librarians’ roles
within educational
endeavours systematically,
we, as a discipline, need to
foster reflective, critical
habits of mind regarding
pedagogical praxis within
ourselves, our libraries and
our campuses” (Jacobs,
2008, p.256)
Critical reflection is
 A process more than an outcome
 Recognising and using trigger
events
 Letting go of assumptions without
feeling guilty
 Tipping over the ‘rocks’ of
tradition or habit
 Confronting illusions
 Deciding on potential
changes in practice (action
research)
(Burge, in Thomas et al, 2004, p.13)

9. Assessment-Evaluation-Revision
“Assessment should be student centred and proactive. The results should
be used to implement positive changes in the teaching of information
literacy” (Avery, 2003, p.2)
“Authentic assessment
is, among other things,
iterative. Librarians
can evaluate student
learning, implement
changes, and continue
this cycle so that
improvement via
assessment becomes
an inherent part of the
instructional process.”
(Sonntag & Meulemans,
2003, p.8)

10. Case Study -Information Literacy Module
Modular structure established in UCD in 2005-6 (“Horizons”)
Overhaul of course offerings – new First Year modules developed
by School of ILS
Concerns about quality of First Year student essays – plagiarism
and copying a particular issue
Decision to establish new full (12-week) information literacy
module, aimed at improving students’ skills in researching and
writing academic essays
“Introduction to Information Literacy” (re-named in 2006-7:
“Information Literacy: Information Skills for Effective Academic
Writing”)
Collaboration with UCD Library staff, who deliver most of the
“information searching” sessions

11. Module Objectives
“On completion of this module students should be able to:
 Identify and clearly articulate information needs in the context of
specific information tasks.
 Identify the range of potential information sources, and evaluate and
choose the appropriate source(s) for specific information tasks.
 Access and retrieve needed information efficiently from a variety of
information media, through the formulation and execution of effective
search strategies.
 Critically evaluate information and its sources in terms of bias and
relevance to specific information tasks.
 Synthesise the gathered information to successfully solve an
information problem and create a final product.
 Recognise and reflect on own information-seeking strategies
and behaviour. “

12. Information Literacy Framework
Stripling & Pitts’ Model of the Research Process (1988)
 Step 1: Choose a broad topic
 Step 2: Get an overview of the topic
 Step 3: Narrow the topic
 Step 4: Develop a thesis or statement of purpose
 Step 5: Formulate questions to guide research
 Step 6: Plan for research and production
 Step 7: Find / Analyze / Evaluate sources
 Step 8: Evaluate evidence / Take notes / Compile bibliography
 Step 9: Establish conclusions / Organize info. into an outline
 Step 10: Create and present final product

13. Assessment Protocol
Year 1:
 One-page essay proposal (10%) –
discontinued after year 1
 1500-word essay (50%)
 Reflective Research Journal
(30%)
 Tutorial attendance (10%)
Year 2:
 1500-word essay (50%)
 Reflective Research Journal
(40%)
 Tutorial attendance (10%)
From Year 3:
 1500-word essay (50%)
 Reflective Research Journal
(35%)
 Tutorial attendance (15%)
IL pre-test (MCQ) used in Years 1
& 2, but discontinued as only
offered limited insight into
students’ skills deficits, and were
labour-intensive to grade

14. Research Journal
In Year 1: 10 weeks (from Week 3 to Week 12)
Weekly entries comprised:
 Goals – planned research activities for week ahead
 Activities – activities actually accomplished during week
 Readings – items read or referred to by student during week
 Problems – honest account of any difficulties encountered
 Reflection – space to reflect on the experience of research and of
writing the journal
 Appendices – diagrams, exercises, concept maps, search printouts,
abstracts, pictures, etc... Not compulsory, but encouraged

15. Research Journal
Reflection in final week:
What was most challenging about the assignment?
What was easiest?
What have I learned through this assignment?
What am I proud of with this assignment?
What would I do differently next time I complete a similar
task?
What did I enjoy most about writing this assignment?

16. Analysis of Journals 2005-6
Problems experienced
 Narrowing essay topics
 Orientation in the library
 Missing/unavailable items in Lib
 Information overload
 Fear of overlooking information
 Identifying relevant information
 “False hits” when searching
 Problems with ICT’s
 Time management
 Getting side-tracked
 Problems with organising info
 Difficulty with essay structure
 Over-reliance on print or electronic
resources, especially the Internet
 Problems with specialist terminology
 Not having much to write about
some weeks
 Problems finding statistics
 Understanding referencing
 Technical problems
 De-motivation
 Difficulties with search strategies
 Lack of confidence
 Fear of accidental plagiarism

17. Analysis of Journals 2005-6
Students enjoyed/were
proud of:
 Opportunity to explore novel
topics to build knowledge base
in new areas
 Freedom to choose own topic
 Improvement in search skills
 Appreciation of using multiple
information formats in
research
 Appendices allowed for creative
expression
 Drawing evidence together to
create arguments
 Sense of achievement and
personal fulfilment –
persistence through difficulties,
hard work, effort
 Success in completing
unfamiliar type of assignment
 Motivation to be organised
 Developing awareness of multi-
disciplinarity and cognate
subject areas

18. Evolution of a Module
Changes made since Year 1:
 Length of journal (10 weeks to 8 weeks to 6 weeks)
 More lab sessions & new lecture content
 Summative to formative assessment (Year 2 only)
 Essay topics – broad and unfocused, to narrower ,
more clearly defined questions
 Increased “portfolio” component – compulsory
worksheets based on lecture and tutorial content
 More emphasis on “activity” rather than pure
reflection

19. Summative to Formative
 Formative assessment: “The purposes of formative assessment are
to guide the teacher in planning and to help pupils identify areas that
need work. In other words, formative assessment helps form teaching.”
(Woolfolk et al, 2008, p.660)
 In Year 2, journal was submitted in two parts (4 weeks each)
 Aim was to provide students with feedback before second half of
journal submitted
 In the event, turnover was not rapid enough to help students – large
numbers meant that second half of journal was mostly written before
first half returned with comments and grades.

20. Old Essay Titles Examples
Old Essay Format
 “Censorship and the Media”
 “Health Promotion and
Smoking”
 “Health Information and the
Internet”
 “Terrorism and News
Reporting”
 “Political Corruption and
Investigative Journalism”
 “Diet and Popular Media”
 Extremely broad topics
 Student expected to narrow
topic through exploratory
research
 Students work together on
topics in tutorial groups
 Student decides on “type” of
essay, i.e. Argumentative,
persuasive, etc
 Unique “thesis statement”
developed for each essay

21. Students’ Research Experience
Students stuck here
until close to end Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process

22. Student Quotes
 In Week 6 (2006): “Again, I had great trouble trying to narrow down the topic,
wish I could just write about a few different things.”
 In week 4 (2006): “Getting worried now as I am still struggling to narrow
down my topic. I feel as if I never will be able to narrow it down and would
much prefer a different research topic!”
 What would you do differently next time? (2006): “I would have tried to
narrow my topic in to a specific essay title sooner. I wasted a lot of time
researching vast amounts of broad information that ended up being useless to
my essay title.”
 What was most challenging? (2006): “As probably everybody else will state as
well, I found it hardest to actually narrow the research topic down to one
specific topic and question relating to it, which was caused by the sheer amount
of information that is to be attained.”

23. Student Quotes
 In week 8 (2007): “Last journal [entry] and things have still not clearly formed in my head
of what my essay title will be.”
 In week 8 (2007): “I am not completely happy with the topic and approach I chose, but at
the moment it is too late to alter anything significantly. I am hoping that my good
intentions an idea will come through in my writing and the paper will fit the initial, broad
topic of Media and Censorship.”
 In week 7 (2007): “I do not have a structure for my essay, or [am not] even certain what it
will be”
 In week 6 (2007): “I feel I made little progress this week; this is alarming as I am over half-
way through the journal. This step backwards is quite disheartening, and I’m starting to
question the aspect I decided to zoom in on.”
 In week 8 (2007): “Although this is the last week, I am having a change of mind in the
direction of my essay [...]. This is a major change, so I will have to change the majority of
my information.”

24. Coursework under the microscope...
 Persisted with broad essay topics for 3 years – belief that students
should develop skills to explore and narrow topics through background
reading and research, and lectures/tutorials were geared towards that
 However, evidence of low confidence and frustration until late in
process, in some cases never fully resolved. While frustration is normal
during process, it should eventually give way to confidence and relief.
 Too advanced for First Year students? More appropriate for 3rd
or 4th
years, or novice postgraduate researchers?
 Transition from secondary to tertiary education needs to be carefully
managed, to ensure student retention and motivation.
 Would a more clearly defined approach to topic selection strike the
correct balance between the structured approach of secondary
education, and the more flexible, independent approach at university?
 What kinds of essays are assigned to undergraduates in other modules?

25. New Essay Titles (Year 4) Examples
 Reflect type of assignments
students have to do in other
modules
 Clearly defined “Essay questions”
but topics still quite broad
 Students more easily able to
articulate information needs?
 Students can hopefully move
beyond “frustration” stage more
quickly
 Students can spend more time
searching for & evaluating info
 “Discuss possible solutions to
the problem of racism towards
immigrants in Ireland”
 “It is widely agreed that poverty
is one of the major causes of anti-
social behaviour. Do you agree?”
 “Reality television competitors
are the modern-day gladiators”
Discuss
New Essay Format

26. From journal to portfolio
Previously, journal was primarily reflective
Possible to complete it all in one go at end (some anecdotal
evidence, and date on printouts in appendices!)
“Hands-on” activities (e.g. worksheets) not compulsory
Reluctant acceptance (to an extent!) of the “strategic student” –
unless submission is weekly, not possible to monitor entries
Revisited course objectives – importance of developing skills
Portfolio format – students have to complete various exercises,
etc, so work gets done regardless of when they do it
Which is more important – students complete regular weekly
entries, or learn through activities?

27. Portfolios
“A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that
exhibits the student’s efforts, progress or achievements in one or
more areas. The collection must include student participation in
selecting contents, the criteria for judging merit and evidence of
the student’s self-reflection” (Paulson et al, in Sonley et al, 2007,
p.47)
Convey the “thinking and activity involved in the creation of
major projects, and may contain records of original
brainstorming sessions, early and current drafts […] and student
self assessments, instructor evaluation, and student thoughts on
further projects” (Thomas, 1999, p.140).

28. Journal Format Change
New Template (Year 4)
What stage of the process are you at this week?
What research and/or writing tasks have you attempted this
week?
Which information resources have you searched and/or read this
week? (List at least 3)
Give your reasons for either choosing or rejecting resources you
have looked at this week.
How do you feel your research and/or writing is going this week?
Compulsory appendices – students must include all
exercises handed out in class, plus self-selected work

29. Student Quotes (2008)
Main challenge is now focused on the information search process:
 “The most challenging aspect of the assignment was the gathering of relevant
sources […] Citing and quoting references was one of the more difficult aspects
for me. I found the need to quote quite tedious, however I do understand the
importance of it”
 “I found the research of my topic quite difficult as it was hard to find books of
good use [sic] and on the same topic.”
 “It was difficult to keep looking at different sources that I could write about in
my journal each week”
 “The most difficult part of this assignment was finding enough sources to fill my
research journal, it was very time-consuming to read three sources a week while
juggling my other subject assignments”

30. Future Plans?
More reflection required....
Change to e-portfolio format?
Give students option of presenting journal in Blog format?
No longer specify the number of readings to be done each
week?
Introduce complete flexibility – students not required to
post weekly entries?

31. Thank you!
Contact details
Claire McGuinness
School of Information & Library Studies, UCD
Ph. 7167054 (Thurs & Fri)
Email: claire.mcguinness@ucd.ie

32. References
 Avery, E.F. Assessing Student Learning Outcomes for Information Literacy
Instruction in Academic Institutions. Chicago: Association of College &
Research Libraries, 2003
 Diller, K.R., & Phelps, S.F. (2008). Learning outcomes, portfolios and
rubrics, Oh my! Authentic assessment of an information literacy programme.
Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 8(1), pp. 75-89
 Grassian, E.S., & Kaplowitz, J.R. Information literacy instruction: Theory
and Practice. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2001
 Jacobs, H.L.M. (2008). Information literacy and reflective pedagogical
praxis. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 34(3), pp.256-262
 McGuinness, C. & Brien, M. (2007). Using reflective journals to assess the
research process. Reference Services Review, 35(1), pp.21-40.

33. References
 Scharf, D., Elliot, N., Huey, H.A., Briller, V. & Joshi, K. (2007). Direct
assessment of information literacy using writing portfolios. Journal of
Academic Librarianship, 33(4), pp.462-478.
 Sharma, S. (2007). From chaos to clarity: Using the research portfolio to
teach and assess information literacy skills. Journal of Academic
Librarianship, 33(4), pp.127-135.
 Sonley, V., Turner, D., Myer, S., & Cotton, Y. (2007). Information
literacy assessment by portfolio: A case study. Reference Services Review, 35
(1), pp.41-70
 Sonntag, G., & Meulemans, Y. Planning for assessment. In Avery, E.F. (ed.)
Assessing Student Learning Outcomes for Information Literacy Instruction in
Academic Institutions. Chicago, Association of College & Research Libraries,
2003, pp.6-21

34. References
 Thomas, D.B., Tammany, R., Daier, R., Owen, E., & Mercado, H.
Reflective Teaching: A Bridge to Learning. (Library Orientation Series). Ann
Arbor, MI: Pierian Press, 2004
 Thomas, N.P. Information Literacy and Information Skills Instruction:
Applying Research to Practice in the School Library Media Center.
Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1999
 Woolfolk. A., Hughes, M. & Walkup, V. Psychology in Education. Essex:
Pearson Education Ltd, 2008