Information Literacy: Designing Assignments

Faculty Guide to InfoLit at APU

Beyond Google: Foundations of Information Literacy & Research

Information Literacy Competency Chart

General Guidelines for Designing Information Literacy Assignments

Information Literacy Assignment Examples

Scaffolding Information Literacy Assignments

There are many resources on designing information literacy assignments in the the bibliography for this guide. Click here or on the Additional Resources tab above.

Constructing effective assignments is crucial in order for students to demonstrate information literacy competencies.  Here are some suggestions to consider when creating effective assignments that incorporate Information Literacy:

• Consciously address the major information literacy competencies.
• Be consistent with the course content and objectives.
• Give clear directions, and specify learning objectives & evaluation criteria in writing.
• Consider scheduling a library instruction session.
• Discuss plagiarism and citations.
• Encourage students to ask librarians for help.
• Test out the assignment; make it do-able.
• Consult a librarian and/or provide a copy of the assignment to the library.
• Avoid busywork.
• Don’t assume student knowledge or expertise in the subject matter or research process.
• Don’t require print sources only; the majority of the library’s journal access is online.
• Don’t require resources that are not available at the library.
• Don’t give everyone the same topic.
• Avoid making assignments that frustrate students.

**The above information is used with permission from Passaic County Community College on April 27, 2015 (http://pccc.libguides.com/infolit). 

This section is intended to help faculty develop suggested student learning outcomes that correspond to two Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) information literacy competencies. This chart is more useful for faculty who are familiar with the previous 2000 ACRL information literacy Standards. While there is not an exact one-to-one correlation, the previous* 2000 information literacy standard (S) is matched with the corresponding new 2015 frame (F).

In addition to the information literacy competencies, the chart suggested corresponding student learning outcomes and relevant videos or tutorials from APU Libraries' website. There are assessment quizzes available for all of the student learning outcomes.

Nevertheless, it is recommended that instead of following the previous 2000 information literacy Standards, faculty will find the Canvas course, Beyond Google: Foundations of Information Literacy & Research, more useful especially the course's main page introduction to the six frames of ACRL's 2015 Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. 

*In 2016, the Association of College and Research Librarians (ACRL) rescinded the 2000 Standards and replaced them with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.

Other videos and tutorials can be found on the Faculty Guide to InfoLit. InfoLit provides high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials on information literacy and critical thinking skills. They are ideal for supplementing and supporting classroom instruction, online teaching, or student remediation needs.

Assessing Information Literacy doesn't necessarily require a traditional research paper.  Here are some common examples of effective Information Literacy assignments that are alternatives to the traditional research paper:

• Write an annotated bibliography on a topic.
• Write a literature review on a topic.
• Compile an anthology of readings on a topic and explain why they fit together.
• Evaluate sources based on specific criteria (esp. Web sites).
• Evaluate scholarly vs popular sources on the same topic.
• Evaluate primary vs secondary sources on the same topic.
• Evaluate conservative vs liberal sources on the same topic.
• Prepare a small group presentation on a research topic.
• Summarize a journal article and provide citation.
• Conduct personal research (and back up personal experience with research).
• Evaluate and reflect on course readings.
• Find sources that back up an editorial/opinion piece.
• Research paper “scaffolding”: select focused research topic; prepare annotated bibliography; write outline; then write thesis statement, introduction and conclusion.
• Examine bias in media (print, broadcast, and/or online).
• Wikipedia article evaluation/critique.

**The above information is used with permission from Passaic County Community College on April 27, 2015 (http://pccc.libguides.com/infolit). 

If you are looking for progressively more advanced information literacy skill application, you might consider the following levels of assignments. If you are teaching one of the three writing courses, we would suggest that Writing I use assignments similar to the ones in the Appreciation level, Writing II use assignments similar to the ones in the Literacy level, and Writing III use assignments similar to the ones in the Facility and Integrated Skill levels.

Appreciation

• Have students explain what an information database is and how it is relevant for finding information.
• Have students discuss the differences among various Web search engines.
• Have students examine the role of information in a democratic society. What are the issues? How is information relevant or important to them?
• Have students explain the difference between a popular and scholarly work.
• Have students explain how information is stored and retrieved, (e.g., print, microform, optical, floppy, CD-ROM, magnetic tape).
• Have students go to a library either on the APU campus or in their local community and report back on the kinds of services that are available.
• Have students share information on how to obtain a library card in their local community or through the APU Libraries.
• Have students interview an information professional about how computers have changed the way people access information.

Literacy

• Given a topic, have students search for relevant information resources using the Web and compare what they retrieve with the resources found in the library databases.
• Have students complete the research for a term paper except for the paper itself. Have students turn in at intervals: choice of a topic, annotated bibliography, outline, thesis statement, first paragraph, and conclusion.
• Have students identify 10 articles from the library databases and obtain at least three full text articles, providing a full bibliographic citation.
• Have students compare using a resource in paper and then in electronic format. Students should discuss the pros and cons of using the resource in different formats. How were they similar? How did they differ?
• Have students retrieve statistical resources of relevance to their course. Have them look for statistical trends and postulate the causes of those trends in writing. Discuss in class the most likely causes of the trends.
• Have students construct a timeline or map that illustrates the influence of a particular piece of published research and then summarize the relationship of the original research with what followed.

Facility

• Stage a debate in class with pro and con panels. Students should be responsible for obtaining relevant information, including both electronic and paper resources.
• Write an evaluation of a particular work or person using book reviews, weighing biographical information about the author and the reviewers. Students should identify at least one electronic resource available on the topic.
• Compare a fictional work with social commentary or accounts written about people during the same time that the fictional work takes place. Cite the resources used, ensuring that the citations are accurate.
• Have students examine a Web search using a search engine (such as Google) and a database (such as Academic Search Premier) for information resources on a topic. Have students prepare a description of the resources available through the two tools and discuss how the tools are similar and different.
• Have students prepare an annotated bibliography including the best, most useful books, essays, periodical articles, or other relevant sources on a subject. Entries should be properly cited and annotated. Students should be prepared to explain how each work was useful to them: basic information, useful insights (if so, what?). Also, students should explain how and where they obtained the information.
• Have students prepare a term paper using appropriate resources in a variety of formats.

Integrated Skill

• Have students develop a logical plan to retrieve information in a variety of formats, retrieve the information, evaluate the information, cite the information resources appropriately, and present their findings to the class.
• Have students use a bibliographic file management program to download citations and personal files of references and then develop a bibliography using their package.

**Used with Permission from University of Maryland University College Library (http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/informationliteracy_tutorial_samples.cfm)

Credo has created a mapping Excel document suggesting different Credo tools (videos, tutorials, quizzes, etc.) that might help illustrate one or more of the six frames of the Framework. To view this Excel, click here or scroll down. 

To see the Credo tools mapped to the six frames, you will need to click the tab labeled "ACRL Framework." 

To view one or more or more of these Credo tools and possibly add them to your class (syllabus, LMS like Canvas) please contact your librarian subject specialist.