assessing credit –bearing information literacy class using acrl information literacy competency...

Assessing Credit –bearing Information Literacy Class using

ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards

Wenli GaoInstructional 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 Standard Qs # Competency Pre-test Post-test Change

1 4 Types of resources 14.25 71% 16 80% 1.75 9%

1 9 Identify primary resources 12 60% 13 65% 1 5%

1 12 Scholarly/popular sources 15.8 79% 19.2 96% 3.4 17%

2 1 Awareness of library resources 14 70% 15 75% 1 5%

2 2 Refine search 16 80% 15 75% -1 -5%

2 3 Where to access information 14.75 74% 14 70% -0.75 -4%

2 6 Search library catalog 2 10% 12 60% 10 50%

2 7 Truncation 3 15% 7 35% 4 20%

2 8 Best place to find information 10.75 54% 16.5 83% 5.75 29%

2 11 Boolean logic 9 45% 7 35% -2 -10%

3 5 Web search technique 15 75% 15 75% 0 0

3 13 Evaluate web resources 14 70% 16 80% 2 10%

3 15 Understand web domains 18.2 91% 18.2 91% 0 0

5 10 When to cite information 13 65% 17 85% 4 20%

5 14 Citation 16 80% 13 65% -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-test7 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 Slideshttp://tiny.cc/eny

Request Reportgaow@morrisville.edu