This document discusses assessment in information literacy instruction. It begins by outlining the learning outcomes of the session, which are to define key assessment terms, distinguish between objective, performative and authentic assessment measures, and prepare performative or authentic assessments for learning outcomes. The document then discusses why assessment is important for improving teaching and learning. It provides an overview of the assessment cycle and explains key steps like creating learning outcomes and activities, developing assessment tools, and using rubrics. Various assessment examples are provided and different types of assessments are defined. The document emphasizes using performative and authentic assessments to evaluate higher-order thinking. It concludes by recapping the assessment cycle and encouraging attendees to design their own assessment questions.

1. Reaching the Summit:
Using Assessment to Help You
Get There
JULIE NANAVATI, INFORMATION LITERACY COORDINATOR
LOYOLA-NOTRE DAME LIBRARY
BRANDY WHITLOCK, INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN
ANNE ARUNDEL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

2. Learning Outcomes for Today’s Session
Upon successful completion of today’s session, participants will be able to:
 Define key terms related to assessment
 Distinguish among objective, performative, and authentic measures of
assessment
 Prepare a performative or authentic assessment for a particular learning
outcome

3. Why Assess?

4. Why Assess?
 Gauge the effects of our teaching on student
learning
 Extend learning outside of the classroom
 Find ways to improve instruction
 Prove our worth

5. Why Assess?
Good teaching is inseparable
from good assessing.
Source: Wiggins, G. (1996), “Creating tests worth taking”, in Blum, R.E. and
Arter, J.A. (Eds), A handbook for student performance in an era of
restructuring (pp. 1-9), Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, Alexandria, VA.

6. Overview of Assessment
Create learning
activities/assessments
Create rubric or
other grading
criteria
Reflect and
enact changes Learning
outcomes
Enact activities/
assessment
Adapted from Oakleaf, M. (2009). The
information literacy instruction assessment Score assessment
cycle: A guide for increasing student learning
and improving librarian instructional skills. and analyze data
Journal of Documentation, 65(4), 539-560.

7. Overview of Assessment
“Assessment Cycle at USC.” (2010). Institutional
assessment and compliance. University of South
Carolina. Retrieved from
http://ipr.sc.edu/effectiveness/toolbox/cycle.htm

8. First Step: Outcomes
When developing a learning experience, start with
outcomes,
i.e., what should students be able to do?
Upon successful completion of the
course/class/session/assignment, students will be able
to:

9. First Step: Outcomes
When designing learning outcomes, be sure they are:
 Clear
 Specific
 Achievable
 Observable
 Measurable

10. Resources for Creating Learning Outcomes
You’re not alone!
 Bloom’s taxonomy
 ACRL standards

11. Make Outcomes Explicit

12. Map to Broader Outcomes

13. Map to Broader Outcomes
Module 12 Learning Outcomes:
After completing this week's lesson, tutorial, research log, and/or
discussion, you should be able to:
• define terms related to the World Wide Web
• use appropriate criteria to evaluate sources, especially web sources
• search for web sources effectively and efficiently for a particular
research topic and/or research question
Related course objectives: When you have finished the course
successfully, you will be able to access needed information effectively
and efficiently, and use information effectively to accomplish a specific
goal.

14. Hey, remember this?

15. Second Step: Activities & Assessments
Next, develop learning activities and assessments,
i.e., what will students do to develop their skill(s) and
demonstrate what they’ve learned?

16. Learning Activities
Through what experiences will students learn the
knowledge and skills that you will assess?
 Lecture
 Discussion
 Direct observation
 Experimentation
 Problem-solving
 Service
 Research
 etc.

17. Tools for Assessment
 Faculty opinion  Observation
 Student opinion  Quiz
 Tutorial  Exam
 Graded assignment  Paper
 Pre-test / Post-test  Presentation
 Poll  Debate
 Standardized test  Portfolio
 Bibliography  Multimedia project
 Annotated bibliography  Research log

18. Tools for Assessment
Questions to ask yourself:
• Will this tool tell me what I want to learn
about the students?
• Will this tool work best for my
information literacy class/program?
Other factors: time, manpower, faculty
collaboration, level of skills being assessed

19. Types of Assessment
 “Objective”/“Traditional” – (Knowing)
 Performative – (Demonstrating)
 Authentic – (Doing)

20. Types of Assessment
 Formative – while the learning activity is
happening
 Summative – at the end of the learning activity

21. Types of Assessment
 Formal – data collected
 Informal – no data collected

22. Sample Assessment 1
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to identify
relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: Margie is researching a career
in dog training. What are possible keywords for her
topic?
Authentic?
Performative?
“Objective”?

23. Sample Assessment 1
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to identify
relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: Margie is researching a career
in dog training. What are possible keywords for her
topic?
Authentic?
Performative!
“Objective”?

24. Sample Assessment 2
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
identify relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: What are keywords?
Authentic?
Performative?
“Objective”?

25. Sample Assessment 2
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
identify relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: What are keywords?
Authentic?
Performative?
“Objective”!

26. Sample Assessment 3
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
identify relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: List possible keywords for
a topic you want or need to research.
Authentic?
Performative?
“Objective”?

27. Sample Assessment 3
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
identify relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: List possible keywords for
a topic you want or need to research.
Authentic!
Performative?
“Objective”?

28. Sample Assessment 4
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to identify
relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: Which of the following are the best
keywords for researching careers in dog training?
a. dog trainers
b. professional dog training
c. dog training careers
d. canine training certification
Authentic?
Performative?
“Objective”?

29. Sample Assessment 4
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to identify
relevant keywords for a research topic.
Assessment Question: Which of the following are the best
keywords for researching careers in dog training?
a. dog trainers
b. professional dog training
c. dog training careers
d. canine training certification
Authentic?
Performative?
“Objective”!

30. Why Performative& Authentic Assessment?

31. Why Performative& Authentic Assessment?
 Assess higher-order
thinking
 Assess application of
acquired knowledge
 Mimic activities that
students will have to
accomplish
 Build students’ confidence
in their ability to
successfully accomplish
those activities
 Encourage student
investment in the learning
process

32. Third Step: Create Grading Criteria
Step 6: Article Evaluation*
A. Evaluate the Article Content
Using the general evaluation criteria described in module 3, explain in the boxes below how the
article you selected meets each of the criteria (authority, reliability, coverage, and currency).
B. Article Relevancy
Explain why you selected this particular article (Step 5) and how it is relevant to your research
question. What are some specific points the article made that would assist you in writing a paper
that addresses your research question? Your response must be at least two complete sentences.
How will Step 6 be graded?
Unsatisfactory (0 points): Does not answer all of the evaluation criteria questions, or answer the
article relevancy question, or both.
Satisfactory (1–3 points): Minimally answers the evaluation criteria questions, or minimally
answers the article relevancy question, or both.
Excellent (4 points): Thoroughly responds to the evaluation criteria questions with details about
the selected article's authority, reliability, coverage, and currency, and thoroughly responds to the
article relevancy question.
*UMUC LIBS 150, Research Log Project 2

33. Why Use Rubrics?
 Students better understand instructor’s
expectations
 Eases grading dilemmas for instructors
 More standardized and consistent grading
 Students better understand what they’ve learned
and what they still have to learn

34. ENG 200 Assignment

35. ENG 200 Assignment
Performative
Summative

36. ENG 200: Short Answer

37. ENG 200: Multiple Choice

38. ENG 200: Question 2

39. ENG 200: Question 2
What did we want to learn?
1. Can a student construct an effective search?
2. Can a student evaluate the results that she or he
generates to find results that answer her or his
research question?

40. ENG 200: Question 2
ACRL Standards:
 Standard 2, ACRL Information Literacy
The information literate person accesses needed
information effectively and efficiently.
 Standard 3, ACRL Information Literacy
The information literate person evaluates
information and its sources.

41. ENG 200: Question 2
Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify key terms from a research question
2. Access database appropriate for research need
(MLA Bibliography)
3. Combine key terms using the connectors and&or
4. Evaluate results and identify scholarly journal
articles relevant to research need
5. Cite a scholarly journal article using MLA style

42. ENG 200: Question 2

43. ENG 200: Search History

44. ENG 200: Results

45. ENG 200: Grading

46. ENG 200: Feedback
Nice job pulling out the key
terms from the research
question. Remember, when
combining two terms with
“OR,” keep those terms on
the same line and type the OR
in between like this:
1st line: mothers or daughters
2nd line: sula or beloved
Also try leaving the term
“relationships” out, you will
get more results this way.

47. ENG 200: Challenges
Challenges:
 We grade about 270 assignments a semester.
 We all have to be on board with the grading
process (rubric)
 We have to keep faculty buy-in
 We have to make sure students are invested

48. ENG 200: Why We Do It
Benefits for Students:
 Prepares students for their literature class research
assignment
 Serves as another opportunity to learn information
literacy skills
 Provides students with feedback

49. ENG 200: Why We Do It
Benefits for Us:
 Provides us with a window into how well students are able
to do what we teach (Search History)
 Shows us where we can strengthen our instruction
 Gives us data we can use to demonstrate our effectiveness

50. ENG 200: Changes We’ve Made
 Changed the way we taught how to use “ORs” in our
freshman class
 Explained to all classes the challenges of using “TX-All
Text” in a search
 Reemphasized the importance of evaluating results before
using them in all library classes
 Created an interactive tutorial for students to use before
completing the assignment

51. LIB 100 Research Logs: Assessing Process

52. LIB 100 Research Logs: Assessing Process

53. LIB 100 Research Logs: Assessing Process

54. Assignment for Today’s Session
1. Identify one ACRL learning outcome that is challenging for
you to assess.
2. To assess that outcome, select an optimal assessment tool
that will work with your information literacy program.
3. Design one question or task that uses authentic or
performative assessment to evaluate whether students
have met that learning outcome.
4. Mark whether this question or task will be part of a formal
(FM) or informal (IN) assessment, and whether the
assessment will be summative (SU) or formative (FV).
Write your answers on the carbons provided.

55. Next Steps: Score, Reflect, Change
Create learning
activities/assessments
Create rubric or
other grading
criteria
Reflect and
enact changes Learning
outcomes
Enact activities/
assessment
Adapted from Oakleaf, M. (2009). The
information literacy instruction assessment Score assessment
cycle: A guide for increasing student learning
and improving librarian instructional skills. and analyze data
Journal of Documentation, 65(4), 539-560.

56. We Made It!
Visit Our LibGuide for an extensive bibliography, full and
additional sample assignments, rubrics, and more:
libguides.aacc.edu/LOTWassessment
Photos courtesy of Mike Cooperstein, http://www.andesmountainguides.com