Advancing Critical Thinking and Information Literacy Skills in First Year College Students

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 81-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Alfino ◽  
Michele Pajer ◽  
Linda Pierce ◽  
Kelly O'Brien Jenks
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year College ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year College Students

scholarly journals Instructional Preferences of First-Year College Students with Below-Proficient Information Literacy Skills: A Focus Group Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 430-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don Latham ◽  
Melissa Gross
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
First Year ◽  
Instructional Preferences ◽  
First Year College ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year College Students

The Attaining Information Literacy Project has focused on identifying first-year college students with below-proficient information literacy skills, gaining an understanding of those students’ self-views and perceptions of information literacy, gaining an understanding of their instructional experiences and preferences, and developing an intervention that will address their instructional needs. Focus groups were conducted with students with below-proficient skills to determine their instructional preferences. The findings from the focus groups indicate that students place a high value on personal relevance in the knowledge and skills they are learning, and they prefer a combination of demonstration and hands-on activities, interaction with the instructor and other students, and the availability of supplemental instructional materials in the form of handouts. In addition, they feel that incentives to participate in instruction are crucial and that a number of communication strategies are needed to advertise effectively the availability of instructional sessions.

scholarly journals A Study of the Residual Impact of the Texas Information Literacy Tutorial on the Information-Seeking Ability of First Year College Students

2004 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Orme
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
First Year ◽  
Web Based ◽  
First Year College ◽  
Information Research ◽  
Information Skills ◽  
First Year College Students ◽  
The Web

The study discussed in this paper investigated the residual impact of the Web-based tutorial known as the Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT) on first-year college students and their ability to perform tasks related to information research. Unique to this study is the investigation of ability beyond the semester in which instruction was provided. The study examined four groups of students, each of which received a different type of information skills instruction. Results and implications are discussed at the end of the article.

scholarly journals Leveraging accreditation to integrate sustainable information literacy instruction into the medical school curriculum

2018 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Tagge
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year Medical Students

Background: While the term “information literacy” is not often used, the skills associated with that concept are now central to the mission and accreditation process of medical schools. The simultaneous emphasis on critical thinking skills, knowledge acquisition, active learning, and development and acceptance of technology perfectly positions libraries to be central to and integrated into the curriculum.Case Presentation: This case study discusses how one medical school and health sciences library leveraged accreditation to develop a sustainable and efficient flipped classroom model for teaching information literacy skills to first-year medical students. The model provides first-year medical students with the opportunity to learn information literacy skills, critical thinking skills, and teamwork, and then practice these skills throughout the pre-clerkship years.Conclusions: The curriculum was deemed a success and will be included in next year’s first-year curriculum. Faculty have reported substantial improvements in the information sources that first-year medical students are using in subsequent clinical reasoning conferences and in other parts of the curriculum. The effectiveness of the curriculum model was assessed using a rubric.

Enhancing Skills, Effecting Change: Evaluating an Intervention for Students with Below-proficient Information Literacy Skills

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don Latham ◽  
Melissa Gross
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Library Science ◽  
First Year ◽  
Full Paper ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
Depth Interviews

An intervention was developed for first-year community college students with below proficient information literacy skills. This presentation focuses on the development of the intervention and the evaluation of the intervention through pre- and post-intervention surveys, and in-depth interviews with intervention participants.A été conçue une séance d’intervention s’adressant aux étudiants de première année d’un collège communautaire ayant des lacunes en maîtrise de l’information. Cette communication porte sur le développement et l’évaluation de cette intervention au moyen de questionnaires pré et post intervention et d’entrevues en profondeur avec les participants. ***Full paper in the Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science***

scholarly journals Exploring the Disconnect Between Information Literacy Skills and Self-Estimates of Ability in First-Year Community College Students

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Coates
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
Literacy Test

Objective - To explore the relationships between information literacy (IL) test scores and self-estimated ability both prior to and after completing the test. Design - Information Literacy Test (ILT) with pre- and post-test surveys of self-estimated ability. Setting - Two community colleges: a small institution in a rural area and a large institution in an urban area. Subjects – First-year community college students enrolled in entry-level English courses. Methods – The authors conducted a replication study of their earlier work using a larger sample from two community colleges. Information literacy (IL) skills were assessed using the Information Literacy Test (ILT) developed and validated by researchers at James Madison University. During the spring and fall semesters of 2009 and 2011, the authors administered in a single session the ILT, pre-, and post-test survey instruments to 580 participants. Participants self-selected via sign-up sheet. The first hundred students to sign up per enrollment period were scheduled. Participants received incentives for participation, with an additional incentive offered for scoring in the top 15%. Main Results - The majority of students at both schools (95% at school 1, 80% at school 2) scored in the below-proficient range on the ILT, a few scored in the proficient range (5% at school 1, 20% at school 2), but no students scored in the advanced range. The mean of the few scores in the proficient range was closer to the below-proficient range (≤65%) than the advanced range (≥90%). For students at both schools, significant differences were found between their self-estimated and actual test score. While students at both schools adjusted their self-estimated scores downward after completing the ILT, post-test self-estimates remained significantly inflated in relation to their test performance. In particular, students scoring in the below-proficient range demonstrated a large and significant gap. The difference between the self-estimated comparisons to peers and actual scores was significant for students from both schools who scored in the below-proficient range. Only the proficient students at school 1 were able to accurately estimate their IL skill level. Most students completed the ILT remaining unaware of their poor performance. Conclusion – The study revealed a significant disconnect between students’ perceptions of their information literacy skills and their actual performance. Students scoring in the proficient range demonstrated a stronger post-test correction response than students scoring at below-proficient levels. Generally, the authors of the find that the results support the Dunning-Kruger Effect theory that people lacking skills in a particular domain demonstrate a miscalibration between self-estimated and actual skill. Specifically, it confirms that this effect occurs in the domain of information literacy. There is a need for tools to diagnose information literacy competence. Most students are unable to self-assess accurately and competency should not be assumed. Meeting the needs of this population will be challenging, given that they do not recognize the need for instruction or assistance.

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