1. Building Information Learners
Carl Nelson, UTRGV Librarian
Marcela Hebbard, Lecturer II – Writing & Language Studies

2. Why Information Literacy?
We live information.
We create information.
Information is confusing.
Our information is insecure.
“President Donald J. Trump participates in a tax reform kickoff” by Joyce N. Boghosian /

3. We live information
Smart Phones/Devices
Websites
Social Media

4. We create information. Social Media Online Purchases Using Apps
Using Search Engines
“Social Media Icons Collection” by Ibrahim.ID / Wikimediacommons /CC BY-SA 4.0

5. Information is confusing.
Scope of resources
Ease of accessing information
Fake News
“Confused Man” Notas de prensa / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.5

6. Our information is insecure.
Hackers
Government
Employers
Educators

7. Where librarians fit. Guides Creators Curators
“Archaeology Rome ARP” by Adrian Pingstone / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

8. ACRL Framework! Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
Information Creation as a Process
Information Has Value
Research as Inquiry
Scholarship as Conversation
Searching as Strategic Exploration
Nicholas A. Tonelli Retrieved

9. What we are doing at the University Level!
Before I talk to you about what we are doing at the University Level, I’d like to share an example that illustrates what students perceived as writing for research purposes and how to integrate information.
In 2007, the website StudentHacks.org published “How to Write a Great Term Paper in One Evening.”
The unidentified writer declares paper can be finished in over ten hours.

10. An example!
The unidentified writer gives a time estimate to finish the task:
Step 1: Relax Your Mind (15 Minutes)
Step 2: Develop a Great Thesis Statement (45 minutes)
Step 3: Write a Killer Introduction (15 minutes)
Step 4: Defend Your Thesis in a Brainstorming Session (30 minutes)
Step 5: Start Your Research to Defend Your Thesis (2 hours)
Step 6: Time to Write (4 to 5 hours)
Step 7: Think of Critics Would Say About Your Thesis (1 hour)
Step 8: Summarize Your Thesis At the End (30 minutes)
Step 9: Cut the Fat (1 hour)
Taken from:

11. Writer’s rationale

12. What we are doing at the University Level!
The First- Year Writing Program at UTRGV enrolls over 6,000 students every AY.
Most instructors follow the Writing About Writing curriculum (an approach to teaching writing that introduces students directly to what writing researchers have learned about writing and challenging them to respond by writing and doing research of their own?
Our curriculum aligns with ACRL Framework

13. What we are doing at the University Level!
Two SLOs we have for our students are:
That they develop and build confidence in their abilities to create, interpret, and evaluate texts in all types of media;
That they become rhetorically effective writers who can respond credibly and accurately to a variety of writing situations
Instead of writing research papers, students are introduced to the purposes of research and the benefits of researched writing (Moore Howard & Jamieson, 2014).

14. What we are doing at the University Level!
Researched writing focuses on
helping students find relevant, reliable sources from the sea of information available to them
teaching students how to understand and work with the ideas in the sources they find
having students recognize the ways audience, purpose, perspective, and context shape the content of those sources
Devising assignments where students produce authentic written materials
A key element in researched writing is the collaboration with Librarians

15. What we are doing at the University Level!
A key element in researched writing is the collaboration with Librarians
Research shows how little students understand libraries (Kolowich, 2012) and how little they consult librarians
These findings can apply not just to students but to instructors as well (when was the last time you consult a librarian?)
How a collaboration looks like between a librarian and a writing instructor?
A collaboration is more than a field trip, scavenger hunt, or a tutorial

16. An example
ENG1302 Class – Theme: Collaborative Writing – Format: F2F/Online
Process (Writing Instructor = W.I. / Librarian = L)
16 week semester
1-5 weeks
6 – 12
13-16
Students develop reading strategies for analyzing texts & practice strategies in required course readings
Students select an area of inquiry
Librarian visits class and talks about personal background (why did he/she decide to become librarian?). Also, talks about reliable sources
Students meet Librarian at the library computer lab and learn how to navigate the library database
Students respond to a survey
Before semester starts
W.I. design syllabus
W.I. & L talk and agree on dates of collaboration
After semester ends:
W.I. and L meet and discuss survey results
W.I. and L revise sessions content for next semester

17. Online Setting Session Material Librarian Student chat They ask
questions

18. Work cited
ACRL Board. “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.” ACRL, 2015, ework_ILHE.pdf
Kolowich, Steve. “What Students Don’t Know.” Inside Higher Ed 22 Aug Web. 15 Jan. 2013
Moore Howard, Rebecca & Jamieson, Sandra. “Researched Writing.” In A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Tate, Gary; Taggart Rupiper, Amy; Schick, Kurt; Hessler, Brooke H. eds. Oxford University Press, 2014.
StudentHacks.org. “How to Write a Great Term Paper in One Evening.” 30 Oct Web. Accessed Oct. 3, 2017.