Information Literacy

OVERVIEW:

This document provides a description of the Information Literacy component of University Studies. In so doing, it differentiates between common component-level student learning outcomes and discipline-specific course-level learning outcomes, offering examples of both types. The goal is to encourage the development of challenging and varied University Studies courses that share common assessable student learning outcomes, and to outline a clear procedure by which these courses may be proposed and approved.

PART I: DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE

This component of the University Studies program is designed to foster the development of students' information literacy skills by requiring two information literacy intensive courses: The First Year Experience and at least one in the major field of study.

Rapidly changing information technologies and increased access to a variety of information resources make information literacy (IL) skills crucial for any lifelong learner. Information literacy is defined by Project Information Literacy as the “competencies an individual summons in order to locate, retrieve, evaluate, select, and use information sources.” Information literate citizens examine the socio-cultural production of information and knowledge, and they approach all information production and consumption in a critical manner. The American Library Association describes information literacy as “the basis for lifelong learning,” noting that it "is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education.”

PART II: COMMON STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ALIGNED TO UNIVERSITY STUDIES GOALS

The following are the Common Student Learning Outcomes for Information Literacy courses. These are aligned with the UNCW Learning Goals and the Fframework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Each course in this category must address all the Common Student Learning Outcomes for the category and list these Common SLOs along with course-specific SLOs in the course syllabus. Proposals for inclusion in the category will describe the opportunities which will be provided for students to learn the outcome (readings, class discussion and/or activities, applied projects) and list the specific sources of evidence (papers, projects, quizzes, exams, etc.) that will be used to determine the level of student understanding.

The student will:

IL 1. Develop questions for research that necessitate information seeking, gathering, and analysis and employ effective and iterative search strategies to address them. [Information Literacy, Inquiry]
IL 2. Critically evaluate and classify sources based on the context in which they were produced and disseminated, their place in the relevant scholarly conversation(s), and their indicators of authority. [Critical Thinking, Information Literacy]
IL 3. Synthesize and effectively use information to create new content (e.g., papers, presentations, data analyses, videos) that addresses the research questions, demonstrates ethical use of information (including the acknowledgement of other's intellectual work), and adheres to any established disciplinary or professional parameters. [Information Literacy, Thoughtful Expression]

PART III: STUDENT COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS

Students are required to take six hours from this component, with at least three hours taken at UNCW and at least three hours in the major.

CATEGORY SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSERS

Information literacy courses in the major are best located EARLY in departmental requirements and not in Capstone.
UNCW Library has prepared suggested student benchmarks for each SLO, categorized by first year students, intermediate students, and graduating seniors.