Civic Education and Information Literacy Workshop on Civics Education Armenian Connectivity Exchange Speaker: Steve Burks Nov 3, 2003

Coverage What is Information Literacy? Importance to Civic Education Standards How to teach and incorporate Research/Information Literacy in the classroom Citing information sources Sources

Definition – Information Literacy Information literacy is a set of abilities enabling individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." This definition was formulated in 1989 by the American Library Association's Presidential Committee on Information Literacy in its Final Report.

Information Literacy Information – generally refers to the active process of finding and presenting retrievable data --- In Libraries and Databases and Internet -Accessing -Finding -Researching -Publishing

Information Literacy Literacy - having broad knowledge or competence in a subject area

Types of Information “Literacy” Business Literacy: The ability to use financial and business information to understand and make decisions that help an organization achieve success. Computer Literacy: The ability to use a computer and its software to accomplish practical tasks. Health Literacy: The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.. Media Literacy: The ability to decode, analyze, evaluate, and produce communication in a variety of forms. Technology Literacy: The ability to use media such as the Internet to effectively access and communicate information. Visual Literacy: The ability, through knowledge of the basic visual elements, to understand the meaning and components of the image. Definitions Overlap to a large degree with Information Literacy

Civic Literacy Civic Literacy embodies the knowledge and skills that we need for effective participation in the community, government, and politics From the Institute for the Study of Civic Values -

The Nine Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning from: American Association of School Librarians Association of School Librarians Standard 1: The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively. Standard 2: The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently. Standard 3: The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively. “Finding” skills print/computers Critical thinking Skills/Competence

Nine Standards Standard 4: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and pursues information related to personal interests. Standard 5: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information. Standard 6: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation. Life-Longer Learner Connoisseur Publishes

Standards Relating to Civic Education Standard 7: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society. Standard 8: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology. Standard 9: The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.

Source: AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION LITERACY U.S. Representative Major R. Owens has said: “Information literacy is needed to guarantee the survival of democratic institutions. All men are created equal but voters with information resources are in a position to make more intelligent decisions than citizens who are information illiterates”

Relation to Civic Education Source: AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION LITERACY Information literacy is crucial to effective citizenship and is central to the practice of democracy Citizenship in a modern democracy involves [a] capacity to recognize propaganda, distortion, and other misuses and abuses of information Any society committed to individual freedom and democratic government must ensure the free flow of information to all its citizens in order to protect personal liberties and to guard its future..

Research Process (Information Literacy) Research is complex Research is NOT a straight-forward, linear, step-by-step process. Students have different learning styles Students have different research styles

Research Process Uses Information Literature Standards Defining the Task Locating Information Selecting & Analyzing Information Organizing & Synthesizing Information Creating & Presenting Information Evaluating the Process

Research Process

Trends of American Students In my experience, High School students in the US are no longer being asked to write research papers Libraries (books) used less by students Students use the Internet for research Students plagiarize increasingly from other sources, often inadvertently

Barriers to Students Researching Effectively Internet information is far more difficult to evaluate than print information Students don’t synthesize, read or comprehend computer information well --- Instead students scan and “cut & paste”

Barriers to Students Researching Effectively Students have difficulty developing strategies Students don’t cite their information sources Students do not understand plagiarism

Solutions to Barriers/Problems Facilitate and Guide students research by developing good learning outcomes for their research projects

Good Learning Outcomes Measurable / “Judgeable” Clear to the students Are used to get to the uniqueness of the learning Match the level/degree of the project - short assignment vs long paper Based on standards

Example Outcome Formula “My Librarian Favorite Example” ACTION - Cite and list the sources used IN ORDER TO – write, document and establish the OUTCOME – authenticity and rationale of your conclusions and arguments published in your research paper

Citing Sources and Standards Citing Sources Requires 1. Evaluating 2. Ethics – openness, scholarship 3. Allows quick review and progress report 4. Demonstrates ability to synthesize information into new formats 5. Demonstrates outcome of search competence

Elements of a Citation Author [if known] or Authority - Institution Title of the part of the work – article title eg. Title of the work – magazine title eg Date work was created or published] Pages if given (count paragraphs to cite direct quotation) Media Type – Internet eg How to Access [URL (identifies protocol and path) Access Date - in case it “disappears” later

MLA Style Citation Useful for High School audience Easy to use MLA computer template through free source - Noodle Lets use the above link to cite the following Newspaper article:

Sources "About Civic Literacy." Institute for the Study of Civic Values. 11 Sept "AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION LITERACY." National Forum on Information Literacy. Jan Information Institute of Syracuse. 3 Oct Burks, Steven. "Information Literacy: Researching Electronically." Saint Michael's College Graduate School. Sept Burks, Steven. "Citing Internet and Electronic Sources." Library & Information Services. 3 Mar Saint Michael's College.. "Information Literacy Process." Information Literacy Skills.. Eugene, OR Schoold District. 3 Oct "The Nine Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning." Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. no date. National Forum on Information Literacy. 11 Oct

Speaker Steve Burks Reference and Instruction / Library Web Developer Library & Information Services Saint Michael's College Durick Library One Winooski Park Colchester, VT ph / fax