Information literacy assessment Sheila Webber Department of Information

Information literacy assessment Sheila Webber, Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK September 2003 Sheila Webber Sept 2003

“It has long been recognised that probably the biggest influence on a student’s approach to their studies is the assessment regime of the course” Rust, C. (2001) A briefing on assessment of large groups. York: Learning and Teaching Support Network. (p 11) http: //www. ltsn. ac. uk/embedded_object. asp? id=17152&prompt=yes&filename=ASS 012 Sheila Webber Sept 2003

“the crucial thing, I think, is that you do have to tie the literacy exercises to application to the discipline which is assessed in some way, frankly, because if not, the ones who need it most will do it less” Civil Engineering lecturer, interviewed for our project Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Information literacy is the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, leading to wise and ethical use of information in society (Johnston & Webber 2002) Sheila Webber Sept 2003

No simplistic model for IL assessment • Assessment of student learning • Assessment in context of teaching, learning and course design • Complex assessment as befits the definition of IL Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Learning design Learning purposes Proactive Evaluation/ redesign Developmental Alignment T/L/A for IL Information Design of Learning rich & Teaching Constructivist Relational Assessment of learning Credit bearing Complex Bill Johnston & Sheila Webber Sept 2003 Sheila Webber, 2002

Designing assessment in practice • Common factors • Modes of assessment expressed by • Tasks, activities and products of assessment: individual and group Sheila Webber Sept 2003

4 Common factors 1. Assessment should address a blend of purposes – Diagnosis – Formative feedback for improvement – Summative feedback for judgement – Course evaluation, quality audit (but you may need to address different purposes through different exercises) Sheila Webber Sept 2003

2. Assessment regime should display certain conditions e. g. – relevance, consistency, authenticity, practicality N. B it might be "practical" but meaningless! Sheila Webber Sept 2003

4 aspects of authentic assessment 1. "Assessments sample the actual knowledge, skills, and dispositions desired of teachers [professionals] as they are used in teaching and learning contexts, rather than relying on more remote proxies. 2. "Assessments require the integration of multiple kinds of knowledge and skill as they are used in practice. 3. "Multiple sources of evidence are collected over time and in diverse contexts. 4. "Assessment evidence is evaluated by individuals with relevant expertise against criteria that matter for performance in the field. " Darling-Hammond & Snyder, cited by: Elton, M & Johnston, B (2002) Assessment in universities: a critical review of research. York: Learning and Teaching Support Network. Sheila Webber Sept 2003 http: //www. ltsn. ac. uk/embedded_object. asp? id=17161&prompt=yes&filename=ASS 013

3. Recording of assessment should take variety of forms e. g. – transcripts of test results, portfolios, learning diaries 4. Assessment should address the learner’s concept of, & approach to, learning e. g. – Quantitative/qualitative; Surface/deep Sheila Webber Sept 2003

“Be suspicious of the objectivity and accuracy of all measures of student ability and conscious that human judgment is the most important element in every indicator of human achievement” Ramsden, quoted in: Biggs, J. (1999, p 159). Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Modes of assessment • Expert assessment • Self assessment • Peer assessment Need to develop self-critical and reflective capacity in the student to be able to engage in self and peer assessment through life Sheila Webber Sept 2003

"Critical self-evaluation and self-assessment of performance is an essential quality of the lifelong learner. Unless students are encouraged to take at least some responsibility for their own assessment they are unlikely to reach their full potential as creative, productive learners in the workplace or community” Candy, P. C. , Crebert, G. and O‘Leary, J. (1994, p 154) Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Example • Module taken by students on BSc Information Management - 25 this year • Level 1 semester 1 • 20 credits (i. e. a third of what they do in this semester) • 3 hours most weeks: 1 hr lecture followed by 2 hours in computer lab • Web. CT to support class Sheila Webber Sept 2003

SCONUL 7 pillars of information literacy Recognise information need & IT Skills Distinguish ways of addressing gap Construct strategies for locating Locate and access Compare and evaluate Organise, apply and communicate Synthesise and create http: //www. sconul. ac. uk/ Information Literacy Basic Library Skills Sheila Webber Sept 2003

1. (10%) Review of a website, article or book 2. (50%) Reflection on achievement in each of SCONUL 7 pillars (1, 500 -1, 750 words) plus portfolio of evidence including – – – Before/after mindmaps * Bibliography produced for student client * Presentations Feedback from student client Anything else (e. g. other classes) 3. (40%) Examination Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Reflection/ portfolio • Aims – To reflect on your understanding of information literacy – To improve your information searching skills by carrying out and evaluating a search for a real-life client – To provide the client with relevant information – To familiarise yourself with specific information sources • Standard coursework feedback sheet + individual comments Sheila Webber Sept 2003

• What they don't get marks for includes – Feedback on ppt presentation on infolit strengths/ weaknesses in week 2 (from teaching staff & peers) – Feedback on ppt presentation of group search task in week 6 (from teaching staff) – Feedback from peer and lecturer on reference interview in week 5/6 – Feedback on "bibliography" from student client in week 10 • It can be used as evidence in their portfolio Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Short talk about evaluating information 1 Exercises identifying & evaluating websites in pairs ppts of evaluations posted to discussion list, some presented Further material on evaluating, including "Internet Detective" 2 3 4 Examining how other people evaluate or review Short review of a website, article or book on information literacy (marked) Group exercise searching & evaluating information on MMR vaccine etc. Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Short lecture on interviewing techniques 1 I and a colleague play 2 scenes in which a librarian and information scientist do poor interviews Students asked for feedback on what went well/badly Further reading on interviewing given 2 Tutorial: Interview a fellow student "client" to find out what information the client wants 3 After each interview, interviewer, interviewee & tutor write down comments, then give verbal feedback Written comments copied to interviewer Student reflects on interview in portfolio (marked) Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Over to you! (1) • 10 minutes to think individually about an assessment or assessment task you currently use, or would like to use. Fill out as much of the form as is helpful Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Over to you! (2) • 20 minutes in groups. Choose a theme for your group presentation e. g. : – Ideas for using peer, self and expert assessment – Bringing more variety into assessment - your ideas for particular assessments you have used or would like to use – Collaborating (with teachers, students, administrators, IT experts…) for changes in assessment Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Over to you! (3) • 20 minutes for (some? ) groups to feedback to everyone Sheila Webber Sept 2003

Contacts • Sheila Webber s. webber@sheffield. ac. uk • http: //ciquest. shef. ac. uk/infolit/ - weblog • http: //dis. shef. ac. uk/literacy/ Sheila Webber Sept 2003