Information Literacy
Finding, evaluating, and using information doesn’t begin at the college level. K-12 educators help students build a foundation for these information literacy skills long before they step onto a college campus. Let’s begin a discussion of information literacy instruction to better understand where and how our work can connect.
- How can we collaborate to support each other’s information literacy instruction rather than hinder or repeat it?
- What are the strategies you’ve used to teach information literacy skills in the classroom?
- What information literacy skills do you see first-year students struggling with or quickly mastering?
- What information literacy resources are available for local educators to use in their own instruction?
For contact information for presenters, search Find a Librarian via the Library website.
Presentation 1
Places Students Get Stuck: Identifying Troublesome Concepts and Sharing Strategies
Kacy Lundstrom, Rachel Wishkoski, & Steph Crowell
Where do students get stuck in the research process and how can we help them navigate these struggles successfully? In the tradition of “unconferences” our session will provide an opportunity for participants to give input on what they’d like to discuss and to share their own information literacy experiences and strategies and learn from others. We will begin the session by sharing a few of our own ideas for potential “sticking points” in student learning and then solicit input on other areas participants have seen students struggle. Potential discussion topics include…
- Emotional attachment to a topic and confirmation bias
- Source use and contextualizing a source for readers
- Evaluation techniques
- Starting points and initial research behaviors
- Synthesis and organizational strategies
- Using news sources and recognizing bias or misinformation
Participants will get to vote for three topics to discuss in small groups. USU librarians will facilitate each and lead a brief large-group share-out. This format and structure provides an opportunity for participants to hear other experiences of teaching students research skills, as well as sharing ways to improve student learning together. Presenters plan to document their discussions and share relevant research with participants after the conference.
Discussion Questions
- Where do students get stuck in their research behaviors?
- What do these sticking points look like in your student’s work?
- What strategies do you use to address these struggles?
Session Documents
Presentation 2
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Collaboratively Navigating Information Literacy Instruction in the Classroom
Katie Strand & Niki Fullmer
Teaching students to critically think and effectively research and write is a tall task, but an important one in ensuring students become informed citizens. The good news is we don’t have to face these challenging concepts alone. In Spring 2022, USU Librarians conducted a research study to better understand information literacy instruction that is occurring in our local high schools as well as understand teacher/librarian collaborations. Presenters will share key findings from this study and facilitate a discussion about how our expertise as teachers and librarians might intersect in ways that will better support our students. Participants will also discover resources to better support information literacy instruction.
Discussion Questions
- What information literacy skills are you prioritizing in your classrooms?
- What information literacy skills do you see your students struggling with the most?
- What resources are you using to support your information literacy instruction?
- How can we as teachers and librarians collaborate and make the best use of each other’s expertise in order to further develop students’ information literacy skills?
Session Documents
Presentation 3
Building Students’ Confidence as Scholars
Lara Petersen & Rachel Lawyer
One of the goals outlined by the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education is to help students understand scholarship as a conversation with many participants of varying experience, authority, and background. When students see themselves as contributors to this conversation rather than consumers, they build confidence in their abilities as a researcher. Educators can help students build confidence in their research abilities by meeting the students where they are and helping them understand that they have their own unique perspectives and authorities as scholars. In this presentation, we want to bridge the gap between high school and university educators whose common goal is to foster collaborative, confident scholars who are able to understand and synthesize multiple perspectives. We will discuss ways to encourage students to view themselves as active participants in scholarly conversation and share perspectives on navigating instruction on synthesizing texts and perspectives.
Discussion Questions
- How do you help students understand their own perspectives as individuals and as scholars?
- How can we support students in seeing themselves as contributors to scholarship rather than only consumers of it?
- How are you encouraging your students to incorporate multiple perspectives in their work?
- What are some of the difficulties you face in having conversations about diverse perspectives?
