Information Literacy and Measurable Learning Objectives

This has been a very tough week for me as we experienced the loss of our beloved Abby this week.  I apologize in advance for the quality of this week’s posting.  It is difficult to fully investigate the material when dealing with a tragic loss.  I will do my best.

           

I love information literacy.  This is good since I have chosen to study a field in which it weighs heavily.  So, I have to admit that I was intrigued to read Information Literacy: The Partnership of Sociology Faculty and Social Science Librarians.   As many have posted in the class blog, it seems common sense what is presented in this article and it could easily be tailored to meet the needs of each higher education discipline.  As librarians, we must work to ensure that this happens. So many people, and I am sure that this includes faculty and instructors at institutes of higher education in addition to the students of these programs, believe that they are information literate. After all, most are adept at searching Google.  And while there is perfunctory instruction on assessing sources in some high school programs, does it go far enough?  Couldn’t each discipline work to ensure that the standards of its discipline are incorporated within information literacy?  In my Foundations class, we read Instructional Preferences of First-Year College Students with Below-Proficient Information Literacy Skills.  It was eye opening to see that most students, even honors students grossly overestimated their own information literacy skills.  Librarians cannot wait for faculty and students to come to them; they are not likely to seek help if they do not realize that their skills are lacking.  Librarians should seek out faculty and students, not just within the sociology field, but also in all fields to assist in developing information literacy skills that work in conjunction with the standards of each discipline. 

So back to Sociology and Information Literacy. I really appreciate what has gone into developing the Anthropology and Sociology Information Literacy Standards.  It adapts the ACRL’s generic Information Literacy Standards to meet the needs of the fields of Anthropology and Sociology. Because sociology works so closely with human subjects, ethics is not a separate standard but is incorporated within each of the standards (Caravello, Kain, Kuchi, Macicak, Weiss, 2008, 11). 

            Reviewing the Anthropology and Sociology Section of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ANSS) was interesting. As you may have guessed, I was first drawn to the information literacy standards to review them myself and not simply rely on the review put forth by Caravello ET all.  The next thing I did was review the most current and the oldest Newsletter available to see what had changed since 1997. In 1997, the newsletter appears to have been scanned in and the Spring 2013 is much more reader friendly. In 1997, members of the ANSS were looking for tips on instruction.  This continues today but now there is a committee for the Information Literacy Standards for Anthropology and Sociology Students (ANSS Currents, Spring 2013, 6).  What I found most interesting was that the ASA is also looing at developing “…clearly defined assessment strategies” (ANSS, 2013, 7).    And while the separation of Anthropology and Sociology within the ANSS indicates that the differences between sociology and anthropology are important, I was more interested in the development of measuring success of the learning outcomes of information literacy instruction. As important as information literacy instruction is within all disciplines, not just sociology, it is important to develop measurable learning outcomes.  The trends in education require measurable learning outcomes and we must keep pace.  It is important to consider this within all disciplines. I am interested in this trend of providing measurable outcomes and hope to see it develop throughout the LIS field.

References:

ACRL Anthropology & Sociology Section.   (1997, May).  ANSS Currents.  12 (1).  Retrieved from http://anssacrl.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/anss-currents-spring-1997.pdf.

ACRL Anthropology & Sociology Section.  (2013, Spring).  ANSS Currents.  28,  (1). Retrieved from http://anssacrl.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/anss-currents-spring-2013.pdf.

Caravello, P.S., Kain, E.L., Kuchi, T., Macicak, S. & Weiss, G.L.  (2008).  Information literacy: The partnership of sociology faculty and social science librarians. Teaching Sociology, 36, 8-16).

Latham, D., & Gross, M. (2013). Instructional Preferences of First-Year College Students with Below-Proficient Information Literacy Skills: A Focus Group Study. College & Research Libraries, 74(5), 430-449.

Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd Edition)

Borgatta, E.E. and Montgomery R.J.V. (Eds.).  (2000).  Encyclopedia of sociology (2^nd ed.). New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA. 

Scope:  August Comte deemed Sociology the “Queen of the Social Sciences” as cited in the Preface of volume 1 of Encyclopedia of Sociology (1991, vii).  In the preface to the second edition, Borgatta states “We reminded authors that the purpose of the reference section is to provide users with an opportunity to explore the area further.” (2000, xii).  Encyclopedia of Sociology, Second Edition provides a broad scope of terminology and areas of sociological interest ranging from abortion to world religions. It is a five volume set that provides a background on the subject area but also a starting point for further research.

Audience:  The intended audience is the undergraduate or graduate student studying sociology or other social sciences and those professionals working in the field of sociology or other social sciences. Sociology encapsulates many, if not all the other social sciences and contains many fields and subfields. 

Timeliness:  Sociology, like most of the social sciences, is a relatively young science with much of the development occurring during the 1930s and 1940s.  Due to its relative infancy, it is likely that there have been changes in the field in the past 13 years. In fact, when Borgatta, there were significant turnaround in the field between the writing of the preface of the first edition in 1991 to the writing of the second preface in 2000.  He made mention in the first preface that while Sociology had once been the Queen of the social sciences, there were factors that had detracted sociology from that role.  Borgatta speaks of the “blossoming of applied fields” in which sociology in general seemed “indifferent and uninvolved.” (vii).  The technical training for Sociology became more advanced, the involvement of sociologists in civil rights movements and other political activities, technicalogical development and the increase of special subfields were all deteriorating the field of sociology.  Yet, less than ten years later, Borgatta states that there were areas of sociology that had changed with the approach of the Millennium and that “…the social sciences appear to have softened their borders….” (xi).  This leads me to believe that there are likely substantial changes in sociology in the past 13 years. This publication occurred before 9/11 and many other technological advances that have been made.  I failed to find a newer edition of the Encyclopedia available.

Authority:  Edgar Borgatta does not have a Wikipedia page, though a Google search of his name retrieved many hits and indicates that he has published a number of books on the subject of sociology. He is listed as an Emeritis professor at the University of Washington, though not much additional information is provided.

Rhonda J. V. Montgomery is listed as a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, where she holds the title of  Helen Bader Endowed Chair of Applied Gerontology in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare.  Her areas of speciality are gerontology and family and she also has a list of selected publishings.

Documentation: It is very interesting that Borgatta made the following statement in his preface to the second edition: “ Thus, we asked authors to give special special attention to providing direction rather than overwhelming the reader…In addition to the work of the authors, the professional sociological staff of the Encyclopedia prepared for the article a short list of additional reference to broaden the scope of coverage and provide additional transitions to related concepts.” (2000, xii)

Relevance: In spite of changes that may have occurred in the past 10-13 years, this is still a relevant resource for those working in the field of sociology or the social sciences in general.

References:

University of Washington. (n.d.)  Department of Sociology University of Washington.  Retrieved from http://www.soc.washington.edu/faculty-details/borgatta.

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.  (n.d.).  UW-Milwaukee: Sociology – Rhonda Montgomery. Retrieved from http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/sociology/faculty/montgomery.cfm

Geography Online Tutorial and the Needs of Online Library Tutorials in General

            Having recently created an online module myself for information literacy, I have a firsthand appreciation of the work that goes into the preparation, roll out, instruction and assessment of the online tutorial.  Of course, these are challenges also are in play within the traditional instructional setting; but by nature, it seems that the instructional design seems more imperative in the online environment.  With an asynchronous learning environment, it is not possible for the instructor to adjust to the nuances and immediate needs of the students.  To provide an environment that allows asynchronous, self-directed learning, the library instructor must be extremely prepared.

A common problem, as described by Salmon (2003), is that resources are largely reading and writing based.  For an online tutorial to succeed in developing student skills, it must incorporate a combination of activities and information to encourage learning by doing – promoting student interaction and engagement (Hutchings et al. 2007; Race and Pickford, 2007; Roberts and Levy 2005; Biggs 2003). Incorporating audio, video, animation, and interactive exercises along with text-based instruction can be used to better meet the needs of students with a range of different learning styles –especially those who are more visual thinkers (Cornelius and Gordon 2009; Lo and McCraw Dale 2009; Greener 2008; Silver and Nickel 2007; Peacock 2005).  (Thornes, 2012,  84). 

            In the initial preparation the library instructor must understand the learning needs of the students in order to determine the proper learning outcomes for the tutorial. As she gathers materials for the online tutorial or module, she must keep in mind that students learn in different ways. She must work to provided material in a variety of media that are relevant and current.   Thornes indicates that the library instructors creating the geography tutorials consulted the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for the recommended benchmarks for students studying geography. (2012, 85).  As librarians, they likely married the QAA benchmarks with the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Standards for Information Literacy Competency when the tutorials were developed. 

            Creating an online instruction module or tutorial requires collaboration between the departmental faculty but also with instructional designers.   The images provided by Thornes showing the before and after PowerPoint slides were great examples of successful results when librarians and instructional designers work together (89).  Online instruction also requires interaction with the students; this can be hard to manage in an online environment.  Thornes indicates the troubles that the librarians had in obtaining student feedback and usage statistics. In my recent module, I found that I did not receive one question from students, even when I reached out to them.  However, in reviewing my students’ comments, each of them had questions about my module and were unsure of the assignments.  This tells me that even with careful preparation and development, a concept that seems clear to the instructor may not be clear to the students.  The lack of questions does not indicate that there is a lack of confusion.  I am not sure how to balance this within the online instructional module.  It seems that it is an open point for many librarians working within the online learning environment.

            It would be helpful if LIS programs would address the aspect of teaching and instruction within its programs. For students who plan to work in higher education, not just those students studying geography or other social sciences, having a background and training in instructional technology, online teaching and basic principles of pedagogy will go a long way in developing programs as librarians transform from the keepers of information to facilitators of information and instructors of information literacy.

References

American Library Association. (2006, September 1) Information literacy competency standards for higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.

Thornes, S.L. (2021).  Creating an online tutorial to support information literacy and academic skills development.  Journal of Information Literacy, 6(1), pp. 82-95.  Retrieved from http://lis60621-09f.iwiki.kent.edu/file/view/geography module IL and distance students.pdf/368446070/geography module IL and distance students.pdf.

Sightseeking: Clues to the Landscape History of New England.

Lenney, C.J. (2003).  Sightseeking: Clues to the landscape history of New England.   Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England.

Scope: Lenney explores the place names, boundaries and townplans, roads, houses and gravestones.  New England is rich in history and the geography and topography of the area have helped define the history and development of this region. It is also greatly influenced by the British settlers and by the Native Americans who originally inhabited this land.  This book does not capture the entire richness of the area’s geography and focuses greatly on the Massachusetts area. Lenney addresses the history of the region and the role that the settlers and technology have played in shaping the local topography. It addresses how changes in technology can change the region, such as the development of the train and car and how the geography could be reorganized to accommodate the new technology.  This is a fascinating approach to geography and one that I had not considered before.  He also addresses the influence of the settlers in naming cities and towns in the region.  As the name New England would suggest, the English settlers have greatly influenced the area.

And while he addresses the invention of the train and cars and their effects on roads he does not address how such industries as the textile industry defined Southeastern Massachusetts or the whaling industry.  It does not address the influence of farming or the lumber industry in Northern New England. And while he briefly touches upon the coastal communities, it is a brief assessment.  The ocean, the beaches and the effects of the weather, tourism, and the industries surrounding the ocean affect so many coastal communities, it is surprising that these aspects did not take a greater role in this book.  Lenney does not address current developments in the region, such as the biomedical corridor near Boston, where many corporations and innovative companies have settled and not only have restructured the area north of Boston but have also restructured business in the region and helped develop the economy. 

The history presented is more pre-industrial and industrial age than post industrial or modern.  However, this book cannot be dismissed because of the omissions.  The aspects addressed within Sightseeking are quite fascinating.  It provides an interesting, if not limited history of New England geography.

Audience:  The title would suggest that this book is written for those who want to travel to New England and explore the geography and history of the region.  Yet, this book is written for those who already possess knowledge of history and geography.  I would recommend this book for both those studying history and geography.  It may be a tougher read for lower level undergraduates but it is not out of reach.

Timeliness: As a historical resource, it is still relevant ten years later.  It would be interesting to read additional books addressing other areas of impact on the geography of the region.

Authority:  Christopher J. Lenney is a lifelong New England resident and has worked for twenty years at the Harvard College library.  The Harvard Library website lists him as a Reserves assistant.  I was unable to find much information regarding Lenney’s background but with a long history within the Harvard College library and a familiarity with the region, he speaks with authority of the local history and geography.

Documentation:  As one would expect with a book written by a Harvard library staff member, there is an extensive bibliography, nineteen pages total.

Relevance:  This resource is relevant to both history, anthropology and geography majors. 

References:

Harvard University.  (2013, November 16).  HCL staff directory- Lamont Library- Harvard College Library. Retrieved from  http://www.hcl.harvard.edu/staff_directory/browse.cfm?ld_id=8