Information Literacy in the Gettysburg College Curriculum
Librarians at Gettysburg College are committed to fostering student learning. We maintain a special interest in the Effective Communication segment of the curriculum, which states that "Gettysburg College students should develop proficiency in the skills of writing, reading, and utilizing electronic media. Further, students should be able to articulate questions clearly, identify and gain access to appropriate information, construct cogent arguments, and engage in intellectual and artistic expression" (Gettysburg College). Librarians are uniquely positioned to support the cultivation of "information literate" students.
Information Literacy Skills and Concepts Students Should Acquire In Their Courses
The student information literacy goals listed below are adapted from the Association of College and Research Libraries' Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. This list is intended to provide some guidance for faculty interested in integrating measurable student learning goals related to information literacy into their courses/assignments. See more about how to incorporate these competencies into course assignments.
Information literacy goals for Gettysburg College students:
- Determines the nature and extent of the information needed
- Identifies concepts and terms to describe information need
- Develops a thesis statement and formulates questions based on the information need
- Constructs and uses effective search strategy
- Recognizes that knowledge can be organized into disciplines that influence the way information is accessed
- Identifies the purpose and audience of sources (popular vs. scholarly, current vs. historical)
- Differentiates between primary and secondary sources
- Revises or refines research question
- Recognizes that existing information can be combined with original thought, experimentation and/or analysis to produce new information
- Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently
- Develops appropriate research plan
- Uses various systems and formats to retrieve information
- Constructs a search strategy using appropriate commands for the information retrieval system selected (e.g., Boolean operators, truncation, etc.)
- Assesses the quantity, quality, and relevance of search results
- Identifies gaps and refines search strategy if necessary
- Selects controlled vocabulary specific to the discipline or information retrieval source
- Creates a system for organizing information and uses various technologies to manage the selected information
- Uses various classification schemes and other systems (e.g. call number systems and indexes) to locate and retrieve information online or in the physical library
- Evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base
- Examines and compares information from a variety of sources in order to evaluate its reliability, accuracy, authority, currency, and point of view
- Recognizes the cultural, physical, or other context within which the information was created and understands the impact of context on interpreting the information.
- Applying evaluation criteria, compares information identified from various sources for contradictions with prior knowledge
- Investigates differing viewpoints encountered in the literature and determines whether or not to incorporate or reject these ideas in one’s value system
- Restates concepts from information source into his or her own words and selects the appropriate data
- Identifies material to be quoted
- Builds on synthesized ideas to construct new hypotheses
- Uses technologies and software (e.g. spreadsheets, multimedia) to study interaction of ideas
- Participates in electronic forums of discourse on a topic and seeks expert opinion through a variety of mechanisms (e.g. email, listservs, interviews)
- Draws conclusions based on collected information
- Determines if original information need has been satisfied or if additional information is needed
- Reviews information retrieval sources and expands to include others as needed
- Individually, or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
- Organizes information to support purpose of project (e.g. outlines, drafts, storyboards)
- Identifies appropriate medium and format to communicate results of project
- Integrates new and prior information, including quotations and paraphrasings, to support purpose of project
- Uses a range of technology applications in creating project and incorporates principles of design and communication
- Clearly communicates to intended audience the purpose of the project
- Maintains a log of activities related to project
- Reflects on past successes, failures, and alternative strategies that occurred during the project development process
- Understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and access and uses information ethically and legally
- Identifies and discusses issues related to privacy, security, censorship, freedom of speech, and free vs. fee-based access to information
- Demonstrates an understanding of intellectual property, copyright, and fair use of copyright
- Participates in electronic discussions following accepted practices (e.g. “netiquette”)
- Legally obtains, stores, and disseminates text, data, images or sound
- Complies with university policies on access to information sources
- Demonstrates an understanding of what constitutes plagiarism and does not represent the work of others as one's own
- Demonstrates an understanding of institutional policies related to human subjects research
- Selects an appropriate documentation style and uses it consistently to cite sources
- Posts permission granted notices, as needed, for copyrighted material
Goals adapted from "UMUC Information Literacy FAQ for Faculty" and used with permission by Information and Library Services, University of Maryland University College.
Discipline-Specific Information Literacy Standards
The Association of College & Research Libraries has created discipline-specific information literacy standards in the following areas:
