Assessing Credit –bearing Information Literacy Class using ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards Wenli Gao Instructional Services Librarian Morrisville State College ENY/ACRL Spring 2012 Conference

Background GNED 104 Basic Research Methods One credit class that meets 10 weeks Outcome: Students completing the GNED 104 Basic Research Methods course will demonstrate an improvement in mastery of specific college subject area and life-long learning information literacy skills

Procedure Pre-test in week 1, post-test in week 9 20 students took both tests (total 25 students) 15 questions Test questions were mapped against ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

IL StandardQs #CompetencyPre-testPost-testChange 14Types of resources %1680%1.759% 19Identify primary resources1260%1365%15% 112Scholarly/popular sources15.879%19.296%3.417% 21Awareness of library resources1470%1575%15% 22Refine search1680%1575%-5% 23Where to access information %1470% % 26Search library catalog210%1260%1050% 27Truncation315%735%420% 28Best place to find information %16.583%5.7529% 211Boolean logic945%735%-2-10% 35Web search technique1575%1575%00 313Evaluate web resources1470%1680%210% 315Understand web domains18.291%18.291%00 510When to cite information1365%1785%420% 514Citation1680%1365%-3-15%

ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards Standard 1: The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed. Standard 2: The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently. Standard 3: The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system. Standard 4: The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. Standard 5: The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.

Analysis of Pre-test Results by Question to Identify Teaching Focus Students taking GNED 104 had a fair amount of prior knowledge in some areas—web domain, refine search, & citation Students lacked prior knowledge about some basic library skills– search catalog, truncation

Pre and Post-test Scores Paired t tests resulted in a significant improvement in total scores from pre-test to post-test. GNED 104 Students scored higher in each standard in the post- test. Paired t tests confirmed a statistically significant improvement in standard 2 from pre-test to post-test(t=-2.529, p=0.02). Mean scores for standard 2 increased from 3.48 (SD=1.14) to 4.32 (SD=1.30). Significant improvement in student competencies in standard 2 appears to have led to the improvement of the total score.

Letter Grade Mean scores increased from a letter grade of D for the pre-test to a letter grade of C for the post-test For individual students  One student scored a B in the pre-test  7 students scored a B or above in post-test; among them three scored an A

Limitations Pre and post tests used for this class were designed for students in any major Pre and post test also lacks handson tasks ACRL information literacy standard 4 was not measured

Link to Slides Request Report