Transcript Information Literacy

Information
Literacy
Danielle Drasser and
Holly Heller-Ross,
Plattsburgh State
University of New York.
Introductions
 Danielle
Drasser: Graduate Assistant
(Internet Research and Data
Organization)
 Holly Heller-Ross: Associate Librarian
(Research Design and Syllabus
Reviewer)
 Dr. Robert Karp: Director of Institutional
Research (Research Consultant and
Statistical Analyst)
Overview
 Quick


overview of what this is all about
SUNY Trustees approved a new General
Education Requirements, including
Information Management Competencies
CHE/MSA and other accrediting bodies
also include information literacy outcomes
Information
Management
 “These
competencies should be infused
throughout the General Education
program”
http://www.sysadm.suny.edu/provost/Genedguidelines.pdf
perform the basic operations of personal
computer use;
 understand and use basic research
techniques;
 locate, evaluate and synthesize information
from a variety of sources

Research
Questions


Are these competencies already present in
SUNY courses?
To what extent and in what manner are
they present?
 How frequently?
 In which Disciplines?
 In upper/lower levels?
Why is this
Important?
 Students
should be aware of
competencies they are developing
 Faculty deserve credit for work we are
already doing
 Librarians need to know where to
concentrate information management
integration efforts
Research
Methodology
 Searched
campus websites for syllabi
twelve (12) from each campus
 Selected two (2) subjects in each
discipline
Selected two (2) courses in each
subject: one (1) lower level and one (1)
upper level.
 Excluded library and computer courses
Close up Example
Humanities
History 121
History 323
Theatre 101
Theatre 306
Plattsburgh
State
University
Social
Sciences
Psychology 101
Psychology 321
Sociology 101
Sociology 316
Geology 101
Geology 310
Sciences
Env.Science 101
Env. Science 321
Methodology
continued
 Reviewed
each syllabus for the three
information management competencies


Explicitly stated (use adobe photoshop for
final assignment or use three journal
articles in your research paper)
Implied (list of web sites students expected
to access for course materials)
Close up Example


“Protein Structure Project. Each student will
select a protein to study using the program
RasMol. Using RasMol and the primary
literature on the protein, the students will
write a 5-page paper describing the molecule
in detail. An appendix of at least 3-5 RasMol images
of the protein will be handed in with the paper. This
project is due in class on Friday, November 10. A web
page with necessary links will be available for student
use(www.fredonia.edu/department/biology/lee/protein
-project.htm).”
Dr. T. Lee, SUNY Fredonia, used with permission.
Caveats
 Non-random
sample
 Subject variation in disciplines and
campuses
 Limits of generalizing within disciplines
(physics may not be representative of
biology)
 University centers and some university
colleges
Data Analysis
 Coded
data into an Excel spreadsheet
 Descriptive statistics using SPSS
 Frequency distributions
 Cross tabulations
Findings
 81%
of courses required one or more
competencies (116 of 144)
 8% required all three
 56% required basic computer use
 32% required basic research techniques
 39% required
location/evaluation/synthesis of
information sources
Case Processing Summary
Valid
N
Discipline * Perform
basic operations of
computer use
Discipline * Locate,
evaluate, synthesize
information
Discipline * Understand
and use basic research
techniques
Percent
Cases
Missing
N
Percent
Total
N
Percent
80
55.6%
64
44.4%
144
100.0%
56
38.9%
88
61.1%
144
100.0%
46
31.9%
98
68.1%
144
100.0%
0
Theatre
Music
Philosophy
History
Literature et al
Economics
Geography
Communcations et al
Sociology et al
Psychology
Political Science
Business
et al
Physics
Mathematics
Geology
Anthropology
Biology
Chemistry
Engineering
Environmental Earth
Courses by Subject
30
20
10
Perform basic operations of computer use
18
16
14
12
Level
Count
10
100-200 inclusive
8
300-400 Inclusive
Humanities
Social Sciences
Discipline
Sciences
Understand and use basic research techniques
9.5
9.0
8.5
8.0
7.5
7.0
Level
Count
6.5
6.0
100-200 inclusive
5.5
300-400 Inclusive
Humanities
Social Sciences
Discipline
Sciences
Locate, evaluate, synthesize information
16
14
12
10
8
6
Level
Count
4
2
100-200 inclusive
0
300-400 Inclusive
Humanities
Social Sciences
Discipline
Sciences
Use at your own
Campus
 This
research approach could be used
to assess your own courses for
Information Management competencies
 Could be used to establish a
developmental sequence of competency
inclusion within a major
 Group Practice!
Further Research
 Expand
to include SUNY two year
colleges
 Change research design to a stratified
proportionate random sample of courses
 Focus on General Education courses
Thank You!!!!!