School of Health, Care & Early Years/ Learning Resources/HELMs A collaborative approach to Information Literacy from Level 3 to Level 6 School of Health, Care & Early Years/ Learning Resources/HELMs

Project Team Members School of Health, Care & Early Years Margaret Bamforth Jo Hall Jonathan Ratcliffe Caroline Sloane Steve Tipping Marie Whiston (HELMs) Learning Resources Gwen Law (FE) Eileen Norris (HE)

Research Groups OCR Level 3 (PT) Pathway to Nursing BTEC ND Level 3 (FT) Childcare Learning and Development FD Professional Practice in the Early Years Yrs 1-3 (FT & PT) BA Hons Top Up (FT) Early Childhood Studies

Background to project Learning Resources Sessions Induction Initial Indepth Refresher sessions Referencing & Plagiarism

Main aims and objectives To investigate information skills needs from Level 3 through to Level 6 Give students the tools to become independent and information literate lifelong learners Increase the School’s potential for increased achievement, retention and progression between FE and HE

Main aims and objectives To be informed by learner feedback and sustainable Plot the skills needed at various stages of each course Translate this into a programme of workshops Specify timing, content, provider and length of session Produce suitable resources

Models of Information Literacy National Scottish Framework Big Blue CILIP SCONUL Seven Pillars ANZIL

What is information literacy? (1) Recognise the need for information Where do I start? Address the information ’gap’ How do I plan my assignment? How do I start my research? Retrieve the information required How do I find resources I need?

What is information literacy? (2) Compare and evaluate the information critically How do I use my research? Adapt, organise and communicate the information ethically and legally How do I write my assignment up? Review the process Have I answered the assignment brief? What have I learnt from the process? http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/headline_skills.html

Sources of information for evaluation Track previous support in terms of sessions, theme and when delivered Marking of assignments Athens and interlibrary loan data Comment and data from HELMs Feedback from academic writing sessions Questionnaires

What we did! Method 182 learners completed detailed questionnaires on various elements of information literacy.

Control Groups Two control groups of Foundation Degree Professional Practice Early Years learners were engaged in detailed planned delivery of information literacy skills including: referencing critical analysis reading for purpose accessing sources through Athens and LRC (delivered in conjunction with tutor time and LRC this was planned on a weekly basis and covered more than 10 hours of delivery in tutorial and lesson time)

We focused on referencing The two control Foundation Degree Early Years groups were questioned on how confident they were on referencing for assessment. Before the ‘detailed planned delivery’ of sessions, the results show that: Learner voice stated that just having referncing overview in induction week left 89% not very confident From this we devised the ref books

Findings from our research We found that 75% of learners lacked confidence in navigating Moodle for referencing purposes (especially learners over 30) Within our school 61% of HE learners are over 30. From this we created a reference guide book in order to support learners

What we did next The reference guide book was given to learners, supported by embedded reference sessions in tutorials (that corresponded with the appropriate module) After the focused input we discovered that 63% learners ‘very confident’. This is in comparison to previous results that showed that 89% were ‘not very confident’ with referencing procedures. After ref book and embedded ref session in tutorials to correspond with the appropriate module gave us stronger results: 63% learners very confident.

Systemic Integration of Support Timing Systemic Integration of Support Learner Feedback; Questionnaire; Resources Usage; Exit Reviews (08/09) Designed framework that inputs right support at right time PPEY pilot Initiate framework (embedded within tutorial sessions with specialist staff from School and LRC) Whole School approach (09/10) Induction: provides overview of skills; students complete I.L Skills Scan to indicate gaps Inform HELMs of skills gaps for additional, tailored support

Does it work? From integrated, customised support for one assignment: Learners attaining 50-59 increased by 22% Learners attaining 60-69 increased by 6% No learners attained 30-39 Learners without framework Learners with framework

Systemic Integration of Support Timing Systemic Integration of Support Sustainability: Embedded Collaborative Review tools annually Ensures continuity of approach Retention: Increased student confidence with specific I.L skills Clarity of framework = consistent, customised support per course LRC increased additional online resources – promotes independent learning

Additional Recommendations Further Actions The Loop team has devised referencing activities designed for Level 3 groups that can be utilised cross-college (sustainable) and has taken a more ‘hands on’ approach to in-depth sessions for Level 3 Level 5 specialist classes – dissertation, academic reading, academic writing Additional Recommendations Level 3 specialist classes in preparation for level 4 (daytime and twilight)– applicable to all learners, irrelevant of subsequent progression. Also available for mature learners who applied for level 4 programme.