Exploring the need - Kaye Towlson
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This document summarizes the information literacy needs and offerings at De Montfort University. It discusses surveying academics and students to understand their perspectives. Academics agreed that students need skills in differentiating information types, expanding searches, and evaluating sources. Students reported feeling mostly confident in their information and digital literacy skills. The university will promote its information literacy program to academics and faculty to improve understanding and student experience. It will also consider future changes in higher education. The information literacy program provides instruction at different levels, including inductions, in-curriculum support, and advanced training for researchers.
Exploring the need - Kaye Towlson
- 1. Exploring the need: Re-examining our information literacy offer Kaye Towlson Academic Team Manager (Information Literacy) De Montfort University
- 2. Our journey ahead… • Starting point • Historical note • Lay of the land • Road ahead • Points of interest • Which way now?
- 3. The Whys and wherefores • What we did and why • How did we do this, who did we consult? • What does this mean? Who do we need to tell and how? • Lessons learnt and where are we headed?
- 4. What is it we do? • Long legacy of teaching information literacy • Complex picture • Many Librarians involved • Pockets of practice • Slippery overview • Impact of change: People, technology, HE landscape
- 5. We thought about what we do…. • Pooled our thoughts to form a “standard” student learning journey for all levels • Acknowledged discipline differences • Our Information Literacy offer to promote to academics
- 6. But what do the Academics think we need to do? Information Literacy Survey • Responses revealed that academics agreed students required information literacy skills: The ability to differentiate between different types of information: professional, promotional, research Reminders of how to find what they need, expand a search, find a range of journals Evaluating the quality of different sources Better use of digital sources, realise what’s available and how to search
- 7. What do our students think? • Self Assessment Exercise: 2014/15: • Information (Library) Skills: – 66% Students said they were “Quite confident” – 26% Confident – 8% Not confident Digital Literacy: 62% Confident, 38% quite Confident 1% Not confident Interpretations……….
- 8. So What? • Academics agree information literacy is needed • ULTAS 2020: digital literacy, an enabler • Promote understanding of what we do, the need and fit • Hurdle: Students’ perceived skills level, curriculum needs, opportunities and engagement
- 9. Promotion • Articulated our offer: paper to the FLTCs • Presented at DMU L & T Conference plus shared survey results • Shared survey results with academics • This will be followed up by comment at PMBs • Underpinned by ongoing liaison activities
- 10. IMPACT • Better understanding of what we do • Activity that pulled Librarians from different faculties together • Made them think about demands of different disciplines • Helped to identify elements for e-learning bites • Created another area for consultation with Faculties • Reminder of what we do…for all • Help impact on student experience…retention
- 11. Where to now? • Starting to think about future demands and changing landscape • H E Changes: UDL, No DSA, TEF?
- 12. Information Literacy Teaching Coverage: Undergraduate •Induction: Library “housekeeping”, access to library services and e-resources, using an HE library, how to use the library, role of library in your study (library use boosts academic success), library physical orientation, help and support, web page navigation and coverage. Confidence boosting, removing the fear factor •In curriculum: Library search and catalogue, journals, subject guides, referencing and good academic practice , keeping track ( Flow/ Refworks) , evaluation. Different types of information, role and function, information cycle, benefit of using a range of different types of material. How to access material. Year 1 •Refresher of above and focus on subject specialist databases, search strategies, Refworks, good academic practice. Pre-dissertation/final year report or project support. Literature search and review, evaluation, referencing. Peer review journals. •Google Scholar, Systematic Review, Evidence based/Critical appraisal (Medicine etc) Year 2 •Planning and managing your search/research: Selection and evaluation. Dealing with too much or too little information . Subject databases and more advanced searching, Refworks: keeping track, referencing, good academic practice, journal discovery, citation searching. Literature search and review. Dissertation/final year project support. •Information literacy beyond University: Employability, Lifewide and independent learning Year 3
- 13. Information Literacy Teaching Coverage: Postgraduate (Taught) • Getting started, Library Search and Libguides, refresher for some (recent DMU graduates). Induction • Advanced Literature searching, specific discipline databases, citation searching, evaluation, referencing, good academic practice and Refworks. Peer review • Google Scholar, Systematic Review, Evidence based/Critical appraisal (Medicine etc) In curriculum • Information literacy beyond University: Employability, Lifewide and independent learning Beyond University
- 14. Information Literacy Teaching Coverage: Researchers •Induction: Library e-induction REST7001 •E-learning module: Enables students to effectively explore the available resources for their research topic and to demonstrate that they have done this. This offers a variety of resources that guide students through key aspects of literature searching, and helps build confidence in working independently. REST7001 •Advanced searching, conducting a comprehensive literature review. Database usage, selection and evaluation, referencing , good academic practice, Refworks and other bibliographic management software, keeping up to date/current awareness, bibliometrics, open access, Social Media. Obtaining material (ILL, British Library, theses etc). Face to Face
- 15. About me……
Editor's Notes
- #5: Long history, complexities built up over time, difficult to get and maintain an overview. 13 Librarians who teach across 4 faculties at all levels (foundation, UG, PG Taught, Research) in curriculum and on open programme. People: Changes in staff, changes in faculty structure, changes in subject librarian responsibility, so develop relationships, lose contact, p/t hourly paid lecturers Technology, Discovery service, for example. H E Landscape: Diverse student population, loss of DSA, TEF, DMU new ULTAS
- #6: L & T Reflection morning, needed to get a picture of what we do… and identify direction of where going and to see how this fits in with student learning and development. Standard trajectory, pick n mix offer Librarians sharing what they do, help each other understand disciplinary differences, share ideas too. Also by sharing and agreeing together helps to take ownership and responsibility for agreed info lit journey, helps confirm identity of teachers of information literacy , where it fits and its benefits to the student journey, clarify own role.
- #7: June 2015: 99 responses: BAL 39% ADH 34% HLS 17% FoT 10% Academics were asked a number of questions around their students’ information literacy skills including the following specific skills: The ability to locate/find appropriate information for their assignments The ability to evaluate the information they find The ability to synthesise and present information in their writing The ability to reference to the required standard About each of these, they were asked the following: Did their students have these skills? How did the students acquire these skills? Did they feel that students needed further support with these skills? Respondents were also asked whether there were any other information literacy skills they felt their students needed and which format and topic of sessions they felt would be the most useful for students. Finally they were asked to provide their email address if they wanted to be contacted about what the subject librarians Overall, academics do not feel that students usually have the set of information literacy skills that we identified. Whilst 38% of academics say that their students are usually able to locate/find appropriate information for their assignments, only a quarter or less feel that their students usually have the other three skills identified including the ability to evaluate the information they find, the ability to synthesise and present information in their writing and the ability to reference to the required standard. The majority of respondents say that students sometimes have these skills. A substantial minority, between 7% (for the ability to locate/find appropriate information) to 22% (for the ability to reference to the required standard), feel that students do not have these skills very often.
- #8: Overall, academics do not feel that students usually have the set of information literacy skills that we identified. Whilst 38% of academics say that their students are usually able to locate/find appropriate information for their assignments, only a quarter or less feel that their students usually have the other three skills identified including the ability to evaluate the information they find, the ability to synthesise and present information in their writing and the ability to reference to the required standard. The majority of respondents say that students sometimes have these skills. A substantial minority, between 7% (for the ability to locate/find appropriate information) to 22% (for the ability to reference to the required standard), feel that students do not have these skills very often.
- #10: Wanted to make it clear what Librarians are about, how we fit in with student learning, what we offer. Perhaps spark debate and awareness of the broader issue of information and digital literacy as a key graduate attribute and its role in citizenship. Has generated some interest but debate may have been a bit too ambitious. But we have iterated our role within the student learning journey at a high level (FLTCs) and emphasized its contribution to student engagement, experience, retention and achievement. This will be distilled into a smaller document that will be tabled at the May PMBs to remind lecturers again re: need and benefits of information literacy.
- #12: UDL Champion Panopto and more HEA/Define