information literacy

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Approved by the Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries on January 18, 2000 ———————————— Endorsed by the American Association for Higher Education (October 1999) and the Council of Independent Colleges (February 2004) The Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education are available for downloading at: http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan. html. Five print copies of this publication are available per library without charge. Additional copies may be purchased from the Association of College and Research Libraries for $25.00 for a package of 25. Orders (along with check or money order made payable to Association of College and Research Libraries) should be sent to: Association of College and Research Libraries Attn: Info Lit Standards Fulfillment 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 © American Library Association, 2000 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education The Association of College and Research Libraries A division of the American Library Association Chicago, Illinois 2 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Index Information Literacy Defined .....................................................................2 Information Literacy and Information Technology ..................................3 Information Literacy and Higher Education ..............................................4 Information Literacy and Pedagogy ...........................................................4 Use of the Standards ...................................................................................5 Information Literacy and Assessment .......................................................6 Standards, Performance Indicators and Outcomes ...................................8 Appendix I: Selected Information Literacy Initiatives ............................15 Developers of the Information Literacy Competency Standards ...........16 Information Literacy Defined Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.”1 Information literacy also is increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid technological change and proliferating information resources. Because of the escalating complexity of this environment, individuals are faced with diverse, abundant information choices—in their academic studies, in the workplace, and in their personal lives. Information is available through libraries, community resources, special interest organizations, media, and the Internet—and increasingly, information comes to individuals in unfiltered formats, raising questions about its authenticity, validity, and reliability. In addition, information is available through multiple media, including graphical, aural, and textual, and these pose new challenges for individuals in evaluating and understanding it. The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information pose large challenges for society. The sheer abundance of information will not in itself create a more informed citizenry without a complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information effectively. Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. An information literate individual is able to:  Determine the extent of information needed  Access the needed information effectively and efficiently Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 3  Evaluate information and its sources critically  Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base  Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose  Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally Information Literacy and Information Technology Information literacy is related to information technology skills, but has broader implications for the individual, the educational system, and for society. Information technology skills enable an individual to use comput- ers, software applications, databases, and other technologies to achieve a wide variety of academic, work-related, and personal goals. Information literate individuals necessarily develop some technology skills. Information literacy, while showing significant overlap with information technology skills, is a distinct and broader area of competence. Increasingly, information technology skills are interwoven with, and support, informa- tion literacy. A 1999 report from the National Research Council promotes the concept of “fluency” with information technology and delineates several distinctions useful in understanding relationships among information literacy, computer literacy, and broader technological competence. The report notes that “computer literacy” is concerned with rote learning of specific hardware and software applications, while “fluency with technol- ogy” focuses on understanding the underlying concepts of technology and applying problem-solving and critical thinking to using technology. The report also discusses differences between information technology fluency and information literacy as it is understood in K-12 and higher education. Among these are information literacy’s focus on content, communication, analysis, information searching, and evaluation; whereas information technology “fluency” focuses on a deep understanding of technology and graduated, increasingly skilled use of it.2 “Fluency” with information technology may require more intellectual abili- ties than the rote learning of software and hardware associated with “com- puter literacy”, but the focus is still on the technology itself. Information literacy, on the other hand, is an intellectual framework for understanding, finding, evaluating, and using information—activities which may be accom- plished in part by fluency with information technology, in part by sound investigative methods, but most important, through critical discernment and reasoning. Information literacy initiates, sustains, and extends lifelong learning through abilities which may use technologies but are ultimately independent of them. 4 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 Information Literacy and Higher Education Developing lifelong learners is central to the mission of higher education institutions. By ensuring that individuals have the intellectual abilities of reasoning and critical thinking, and by helping them construct a framework for learning how to learn, colleges and universities provide the foundation for continued growth throughout their careers, as well as in their roles as informed citizens and members of communities. Information literacy is a key component of, and contributor to, lifelong learning. Information literacy competency extends learning beyond formal classroom settings and provides practice with self-directed investigations as individuals move into internships, first profes- sional positions, and increasing responsibilities in all arenas of life. Because information literacy augments students’ competency with evaluating, manag- ing, and using information, it is now considered by several regional and disci- pline-based accreditation associations as a key outcome for college students.3 For students not on traditional campuses, information resources are often available through networks and other channels, and distributed learning technologies permit teaching and learning to occur when the teacher and the student are not in the same place at the same time. The challenge for those promoting information literacy in distance education courses is to develop a comparable range of experiences in learning about information resources as are offered on traditional campuses. Information literacy competencies for distance learning students should be comparable to those for “on campus” students. Incorporating information literacy across curricula, in all programs and services, and throughout the administrative life of the university, requires the collaborative efforts of faculty, librarians, and administrators. Through lectures and by leading discussions, faculty establish the context for learning. Faculty also inspire students to explore the unknown, offer guidance on how best to fulfill information needs, and monitor students’ progress. Academic librarians coordinate the evaluation and selection of intellectual resources for programs and services; organize, and maintain collections and many points of access to information; and provide instruction to students and faculty who seek information. Administrators create opportunities for collaboration and staff development among faculty, librarians, and other professionals who initiate information literacy programs, lead in planning and budgeting for those programs, and provide ongoing resources to sustain them. Information Literacy and Pedagogy The Boyer Commission Report, Reinventing Undergraduate Education, recommends strategies that require the student to engage actively in “framing of a significant question or set of questions, the research or cre- ative exploration to find answers, and the communications skills to convey Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 5 the results...”4 Courses structured in such a way create student-centered learning environments where inquiry is the norm, problem solving becomes the focus, and thinking critically is part of the process. Such learning environments require information literacy competencies. Gaining skills in information literacy multiplies the opportunities for students’ self-directed learning, as they become engaged in using a wide variety of information sources to expand their knowledge, ask informed questions, and sharpen their critical thinking for still further self-directed learning. Achieving competency in information literacy requires an understanding that this cluster of abilities is not extraneous to the curriculum but is woven into the curricu- lum’s content, structure, and sequence. This curricular integration also affords many possibilities for furthering the influence and impact of such student-cen- tered teaching methods as problem-based learning, evidence-based learning, and inquiry learning. Guided by faculty and others in problem-based approaches, students reason about course content at a deeper level than is possible through the exclusive use of lectures and textbooks. To take fullest advantage of prob- lem-based learning, students must often use thinking skills requiring them to become skilled users of information sources in many locations and formats, thereby increasing their responsibility for their own learning. To obtain the information they seek for their investigations, individuals have many options. One is to utilize an information retrieval system, such as may be found in a library or in databases accessible by computer from any location. Another option is to select an appropriate investigative method for observing phenomena directly. For example, physicians, archae- ologists, and astronomers frequently depend upon physical examination to detect the presence of particular phenomena. In addition, mathematicians, chemists, and physicists often utilize technologies such as statistical soft- ware or simulators to create artificial conditions in which to observe and analyze the interaction of phenomena. As students progress through their undergraduate years and graduate programs, they need to have repeated opportunities for seeking, evaluating, and managing information gathered from multiple sources and discipline-specific research methods. Use of the Standards Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education provides a framework for assessing the information literate individual. It also extends the work of the American Association of School Librarians Task Force on Information Literacy Standards, thereby providing higher educa- tion an opportunity to articulate its information literacy competencies with those of K-12 so that a continuum of expectations develops for students at all levels. The competencies presented here outline the process by which faculty, librarians and others pinpoint specific indicators that identify a student as information literate. 6 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 Students also will find the competencies useful, because they provide students with a framework for gaining control over how they interact with information in their environment. It will help to sensitize them to the need to develop a metacognitive approach to learning, making them conscious of the explicit actions required for gathering, analyzing, and using information. All students are expected to demonstrate all of the competencies described in this document, but not everyone will demonstrate them to the same level of proficiency or at the same speed. Furthermore, some disciplines may place greater emphasis on the mastery of competencies at certain points in the process, and therefore certain compe- tencies would receive greater weight than others in any rubric for measure- ment. Many of the competencies are likely to be performed recursively, in that the reflective and evaluative aspects included within each standard will require the student to return to an earlier point in the process, revise the information-seeking approach, and repeat the same steps. To implement the standards fully, an institution should first review its mission and educational goals to determine how information literacy would improve learning and enhance the institution’s effectiveness. To facilitate acceptance of the concept, faculty and staff development is also crucial. Information Literacy and Assessment In the following competencies, there are five standards and twenty-two performance indicators. The standards focus upon the needs of students in higher education at all levels. The standards also list a range of outcomes for assessing student progress toward information literacy. These outcomes serve as guidelines for faculty, librarians, and others in developing local methods for measuring student learning in the context of an institution’s unique mission. In addition to assessing all students’ basic information literacy skills, faculty and librarians should also work together to develop as- sessment instruments and strategies in the context of particular disciplines, as information literacy manifests itself in the specific understanding of the knowledge creation, scholarly activity, and publication processes found in those disciplines. In implementing these standards, institutions need to recognize that different levels of thinking skills are associated with various learning outcomes—and therefore different instruments or methods are essential to assess those outcomes. For example, both “higher order” and “lower order” thinking skills, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, are evident throughout the outcomes detailed in this document. It is strongly suggested that assessment methods appropriate to the thinking skills associ- ated with each outcome be identified as an integral part of the institution’s implementation plan. Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 7 For example, the following outcomes illustrate “higher order” and “lower order” thinking skills: “Lower Order” thinking skill: Outcome 2.2.a. Identifies keywords, synonyms, and related terms for the information needed. “Higher Order” thinking skill: Outcome 3.3.b. Extends initial synthesis, when possible, to a higher level of abstraction to construct new hypotheses that may required ad- ditional information. Faculty, librarians, and others will find that discussing assessment methods collaboratively is a very productive exercise in planning a systematic, comprehensive information literacy program. This assessment program should reach all students, pinpoint areas for further program development, and consolidate learning goals already achieved. It also should make explicit to the institution’s constituencies how information literacy contributes to producing educated students and citizens. Notes 1. American Library Association. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. Final Report. (Chicago: American Library Association, 1989.) http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepa- pers/presidential.htm 2. National Research Council. Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Appli- cations. Committee on Information Technology Literacy, Computer Science and Telecommuni- cations Board. Being Fluent with Information Technology. Publication. (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1999) http://www.nap.edu/books/030906399X/html/ 3. Several key accrediting agencies concerned with information literacy are: The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), the Western Association of Schools and College (WASC), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). 4. Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities. http://naples.cc.sunysb. edu/Pres/boyer.nsf/ 8 Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 Standards, Performance Indicators, and Outcomes Standard One The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed. Performance Indicators: 1. The information literate student defines and articulates the need for information. Outcomes Include: a. Confers with instructors and participates in class discussions, peer workgroups, and electronic discussions to identify a research topic, or other information need b. Develops a thesis statement and formulates questions based on the information need c. Explores general information sources to increase familiarity with the topic d. Defines or modifies the information need to achieve a manageable focus e. Identifies key concepts and terms that describe the information need f. Recognizes that existing information can be combined with original thought, experimentation, and/or analysis to produce new information 2. The information literate student identifies a variety of types and formats of potential sources for information. Outcomes Include: a. Knows how information is formally and informally produced, organized, and disseminated b. Recognizes that knowledge can be organized into disciplines that influence the way information is accessed c. Identifies the value and differences of potential resources in a vari- ety of formats (e.g., multimedia, database, website, data set, audio/ visual, book) d. Identifies the purpose and audience of potential resources (e.g., popular vs. scholarly, current vs. historical) e. Differentiates between primary and secondary sources, recognizing how their use and importance vary with each discipline f. Realizes that information may need to be constructed with raw data from primary sources 3. The information literate student considers the costs and benefits of acquiring the needed information. Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, © ALA, 2000 9 Outcomes