Faculty Guide to Information Literacy Assessment

The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.

Performance Indicators for the Standard

Examples of student activities that address this standard:

• Developing a research topic
• Forming a thesis statement
• Developing a timeline and plan for research
• Revising research topics, questions, and thesis statements as new information is gathered.

Ways to teach and assess SLOs related to this standard:

• Assign the "Starting Your Research" videos and have the students complete the quiz(zes).
• Develop a rubric for a research project and have one piece of the rubric devoted to the strength of the research topic or thesis statement.
• Give students multiple broad research topics and have them practice narrowing them.  Discuss ways to narrow all topics (demographic, historical, etc).
• Consult with students on their topic choices. Grade their revisions.
• Ask students to find background information on their topics, share what they find, and revise their topics accordingly.
• Ask students to turn in a project timeline for their research. Discuss that some information takes time to obtain.
• Model the research timeline by having the students turn in different pieces of the research project at different times.  Our Assignment Calculator can help.  Bonus: grade the topic or thesis statement separately!
• Assign a Research Log for exploring a topic.

The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.

Performance Indicators for the Standard (ACRL)

Examples of student activities that address this standard:

• Using appropriate keywords to search on a topic.
• Choosing appropriate search engines for the task at hand (web, library database, library catalog, etc.)
• Locating sources from a citation list

Ways to teach and assess SLOs related to this standard:

• Assign the "Finding Sources" videos and have the students complete the quizzes.
• Bring your students in for a library instruction session - Contact Your Subject Specialist!
• Consult with students on their keyword choices and analyze their choices against the vocabulary of the discipline.
• Assign the use of particular databases and resources in your field.
• Have the students find and bring in sources. Talk about where and how they discovered them.

The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.

Performance Indicators for the Standard (ACRL)

Examples of student activities that address this standard:

• Creating an annotated bibliography
• Selecting relevant articles for their research argument
• Synthesizing sources in a literature review.
• Evaluating websites.

Ways to teach and assess SLOs related to this standard:

• Assign the "Evaluating Sources" videos and have the students complete the quiz(zes).
• Develop a rubric for a research project and have one piece of the rubric devoted to source quality.
• Assign an annotated bibliography or literature review.
• Choose a variety of sources for the students to evaluate and analyze.
• Assign a book, book chapter, or article review.
• Discuss, create, and test source evaluation criteria.

The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

Performance Indicators for the Standard (ACRL)

Examples of student activities that address this standard:

• Writing a research argument
• Creating a presentation
• Writing a proposal, grant, or strategic plan.

Ways to teach and assess SLOs related to this standard:

• Assign the __ video and have the students take the quiz.
• Assign the x, y, z, videos and have the students take the quiz(zes).
• Discuss how to incorporate sources into an argument
  • How do sources that agree support your argument?
  • How do you accommodate sources that do not?
• Assign a research paper, researched presentation, proposal, etc.

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.

Performance Indicators for the Standard (ACRL)

Examples of student activities that address this standard:

• Citing sources using a style convention (e.g., MLA, APA, etc).
• Incorporates quotes, paraphrases, and summaries in-text, giving attribution.
• Using images and sources that are under a Creative Commons license or seeking permission from the content creator, if applicable.

Ways to teach and assess SLOs related to this standard:

• Assign all or some of the "Using Information Ethically" videos and have the students complete the quiz.
• Assign sources to cite on a Works Cited, Reference, or Bibliography page.
• Grade the citation section of an annotated bibliography or research paper separately, e.g. on a rubric.
• Have students practice and view examples of sources incorporated within the text.