An overview of teaching and assessment with the ACRL Information Literacy Framework

1. Teaching & Assessing with the ACRL Framework
DIANE FULKERSON
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA SARASOTA-MANATEE
PLAN FLA MINI -CONFERENCE GULF COAST STATE COLLEGE
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

2. Pre-Test

3. A Threshold Concept is…
•New way to solve problems
•An easily grasped lesson for one-shots
•A problem encountered by newly weds
•Theoretical approach to learning focused on the transformative,
educationally critical content of a discipline

4. When I define “information literacy” for a non-librarian
colleague I…
•Tell them it is librarian terminology for research skills
•Give them a copy of the ACRL Framework or Standards
•Tell them it is a librarian thing
•Change the subject

5. Teaching with the Framework
Do we need to use the Framework?
Threshold Concept theory
Teaching with the Frames
Assessing Instruction

6. What is a threshold concept?
“A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal opening up a
new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something.”
--Meyer & Land

7. Threshold Concepts are…
Transformative—cause a shift in perspective
Irreversible—once learned cannot be unlearned
Integrative—unifies facts/lessons/concepts
Bounded—defines the boundaries of a particular discipline
Troublesome—counter-intuitive

8. One-Shot Classes

9. New Opportunities
Less is more
More flexibility
Move away from skills
Knowledge based learning/discovery
Assignment focused one-shots
Explore your options
Combine Frames

10. Instructional Design
Understanding by Design—Wiggins and McTighe
Develop “essential questions” and “understandings”
Understandings=Learning Outcomes
Use Frames to create “essential questions”
Interactive learning
Predictable misunderstandings

11. Understandings/Learning Outcomes
Important inferences—specific and useful generalization
Transferable big ideas—enduring value
Abstract, counterintuitive, easily misunderstood
Developed by “uncovering” and “doing”—realistic
Summarizes important strategic principles in skill areas

12. Clarifying Content

13. Creating a One-Shot Class
Three stages of design development are:
Desired result is for learners to…(Stage 1)
Student evidence of their ability to…(Stage 2)
Learning activities need to…(Stage 3)
Let’s create a class focused on the Frame--
◦ Searching as Strategic Exploration
◦ This frame can be used in combination with:
◦ Authority is Constructed and Contextual
◦ Information Creation as Process

14. Stage 1 Desired Result
Students can search effectively and efficiently
◦ Develop a search strategy
◦ Use database resources to find other articles
◦ Determine information need
◦ Identify scholarly and non-scholarly sources

15. Stage 2 Student Evidence of Ability to…
Develop a search strategy
Use search limiters to expand or narrow results
Find information from different sources

16. Stage 3 Learning Activities
Provide students with a search scenario
◦ Ask two questions
◦ What do you know?
◦ Where will you find the information?
◦ Provide an overview of relevant library resources
◦ Ask them to develop a search strategy
◦ Identify a blog/wiki they would use
◦ Evaluate the blog for content/purpose/authority

17. Assessment
Two questions to ask when developing assessment
◦ How will you know students achieved the outcome?
◦ How will students demonstrate they’ve achieved it?

18. Assessing our Example
How would we assess students for Information has Value?
◦ Class discussion/questions asked
◦ For this scenario walk around the classroom
◦ Listen to discussion
◦ Ask students to share their answers to the questions
◦ Formative vs. Summative Assessment

19. Assessment Methods
Wiggins & McTighe (2005) p.170

20. Performance Assessment Examples
Research log
Reflective writing
Self or Peer evaluations
Open-ended questions
Worksheets
Concept maps

21. Examples
Using the Frames
In
One-Shot Classes

22. Authority is Constructed and Contextual
● Big Questions
o What makes someone an authority on a topic?
o What are some indicators of authority?
o How does bias privilege some sources over others?
● Understandings/Learning Outcomes
o Evaluate a source in order to determine if it meets their information need
o Define or identify different types of authority
o Identify ways authority can limit diverse ideas
● Instruction Activities
○ Provide student with three different sources on the same topic
○ Select different formats for each of the sources
○ Ask them to explain why the articles are authoritative
○ Ask students evaluate/analyze social media posts for a current event and determine why the post is or is not credible
○ Ask students to find movie reviews from different sources and identify biases, authority, and format

23. Information Creation as a Process
● Big Questions
o Does the format indicate credibility and/or quality?
o How does one match information need with the information creation process?
o Why was a particular format used?
● Understandings/Learning Outcomes
o Distinguish between different formats and their limitations
o Identify how the creation process impacts the way the information will be used
● Instruction Activities
o Use a Wikipedia article to discuss how information is created
o Provide sources in different formats--students will try to determine if they are primary, secondary, or tertiary

24. Information has Value
● Big Questions
o How can powerful interests use the value of information to marginalize certain interests?
o What is the impact of open access publications on the value of information?
o Why is it important to cite sources in research?
● Understandings/Learning Outcomes
o Explain the value/importance of citing sources
o Identify why some groups are marginalized through the production and dissemination of information
o Determine how the personal information shared online has value
● Instruction Activities
○ Use the recent court case between the estate of Marvin Gaye and Robin Thicke and have students discuss/explain issues
of copyright, plagiarism, and intellectual property.
○ Have students demonstrate how their online information has value to others
○ Identify issues that impact access to information

25. Research as Inquiry
● Big Questions
o In what ways is research an iterative process?
o How does the research need determine the questions to be answered?
o How can information gaps be found through the research process?
● Understandings/Learning Outcomes
o Students will develop research questions based on information need
o Use research questions to identify key concepts to create a search strategy
o Apply various research methods based on need and type of inquiry
● Instruction Activities
o Use mind mapping software such as Coogle to identify search terms
o Ask them to list the type of information and where they would find it to purchase an item such as a car

26. Scholarship as Conversation
● Big Questions
o How does someone become part of the scholarly conversation?
o Why is it important to find more than one perspective about a topic?
o How do authority structures limit the ability to enter into the scholarly conversation?
● Understanding/Learning Outcomes
o Citing sources in the creation of information
o Become a contributor at the appropriate level
o Identify the contribution of scholarly materials to disciplinary knowledge
● Instruction Activities
o Provide reference page from an article and ask students to find one of the articles listed using the citations provided
o Divide students into group and have them search for different types of information then teach other how to find
information
o Peer review of their evaluation of a scholarly article

27. Searching as Strategic Exploration
● Big Questions
o What role does serendipity play in the search process?
o How does the research need determine the type of search strategy to use?
o Why is it necessary to search a variety of sources to find the needed information?
● Understandings/Learning Outcomes
o Use brainstorming and other techniques when searching
o Match information need with search strategy.
o Use previous search results to expand or refine search strategies
● Instruction Activities
o Concept Maps
o Use bibliography to find another source
o Jigsaw method to develop a search strategy
o Identify the types of sources needed

28. Post-Test
When a colleague asks me about information literacy and threshold concepts I will tell
them….

29. Sources
ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework
Cowan, S.M. (2014) “Information Literacy: The Battle We Won That We Lost? portal: Libraries and the Academy, 14(1), 23-32
Fister, B. (2015) A Bit of a Tall Order. Retrieved from: http://goo.gl/d8vPoN
Fister, B. (2015) Standards, Frameworks, and the Work We Need To Do. Retrieved from: http://goo.gl/pf84zr
Hofer, A., Brunetti, K. & Townsend, L. (2013) A Thresholds Concepts Approach To The Standards Revision. Communications in Information Literacy, 7(2)
108-113
Knapp, M. & Brower, S. (2014) The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education: Implications for Health Sciences Librarianship. Medical
Reference Services Quarterly, 33(4) 460-468. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2014.957098
Launius, C. & Hassel, H. (2015) Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing. New York, NY: Routledge
Meyer, J. & Land, R. (2003) Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practising within the Disciplines.
Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses Project, Occasional Report 4. Retrieved from: http://www.etl.tla.ed.ac.uk/
Oakleaf, M.(2014) A Roadmap for Assessing Student Learning Using the New Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The Journal of
Academic Librarianship, 40(5) 510-514. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aclib.2014.08.001

30. Sources
Houvis, A. (2015) “Part 2: ACRL Alignments-Current and Proposed.” Retrieved from https://designerlibrarian.wordpress.com/tag/information-
literacy-competency-standards-for-higher-education/
Swanson, T. (2004) A Radical Step: Implementing A Critical Information Literacy Model. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 4(2) 259-273. DOI:
10.1353/pla.2004.0038
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005) Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: ACSD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum)
ACRL Crossing the Threshold Workshop Outcomes http://guides.library.unlv.edu/content.php?pid=655776&sid=5494090
Nicole Pagowsky’s Outcomes http://pumpedlibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/12/acrlilrevisions-next-steps.html
Threshold Concepts & Information Literacy http://www.ilthresholdconcepts.com/
Black, B. & Diaz, K. (2015) The Problem with teaching “the Library” to First Years and How Metacognition Can Help. Retrieved from:
https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/68605/IL-Symposium-PresentationSlides-10April2015.pdf?sequence=1
USC Libraries Information Literacy Outcomes for Undergraduates http://libguides.usc.edu/ld.php?content_id=10093239
ACRL Framework List http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/acrlframe
Bravender, P., McClure, H. & Schaub, G. (eds.) (2015) Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts. Chicago, IL: Association of College and
Research Libraries
Smith, K. (2015) “Intersections, Frames, and Lines.” Peer to Peer Review Academic Voices. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/zIUlpZ