The Situation We Face

Neither a single course nor workshop series will address such an overwhelming gap in students’ technological preparation and critical thinking performance. However, a cooperative, multi-year effort among faculty and professional staff involving changes in the way we teach students and support their learning can make a significant difference in students technological sophistication and critical thinking skills. The Information Literacy Initiative is such an effort.

A New Approach

In this new Information Age, mastering information technology has become an increasingly vital component of this continuum. Technology and in particular the phenomenon of “Web Publishing” gives students access to large amounts of un-refereed, unfiltered literature, thus increasing the need for critical faculties in the choosing and interpreting of “published “ information.

The Information Literacy Initiative works with faculty to prepare students for research and reasoning in an age of information overload and high-tech tools. Our goal is to provide students with learning and knowledge acquisition skills they will use to explore ideas and solve problems throughout their lives.

Information Literacy and Faculty

The Information Literacy Initiative begins with the assumption that students gain knowledge by questioning, evaluating, and problem-solving. The broader technological arena that characterizes contemporary life underscores the need for these critical thinking skills. We will assist faculty with teaching methods that will support their critical thinking goals in the classroom.

Information Literacy and Students

Students who participate in active, critical approaches to thinking experience school and learning in an entirely new way. More students appreciate the fruits of their own intellectual labor and that of others. They become aware of intellectual talents they did not know they possess. Students learn that they must apply critical thinking skills to technology in order to become informed citizens.

How We Function

There is broad appreciation throughout the University Community that information literacy is increasingly an indispensable component of a university education. This includes the application of critical thinking skills to the mountain of data available on any subject. The Information Literacy Initiative is helping faculty seek ways to provide these skills to students within the context of individual courses and disciplines. Through seminars, workshops, individual consultation, and communication media, the Information Literacy Initiative helps Faculty:

• Create assignments that require students to use technology as they search for and evaluate information in both print and electronic formats.
• Develop assessment tools that allow faculty to document student progress.
• Include more active learning in courses.

The Initiative partners with Chairs and Program Directors to plan integration of a sequence of information literacy experiences into the curriculum, providing workshops and year-long working sessions for groups of faculty and entire departments. Some potential outcomes:

• Information literacy classes in more areas of the curriculum.
• Definition of critical thinking outcomes for each level of core courses within a given curriculum.
• Specific assignments that involve both enhancement of information literacy skills and the application of critical thinking to search outcomes.
• Assessment tools to measure outcomes.

The Staff

Critical Thinking and Assessment — William Rando is the Director of the Academy for the Art of Teaching. He is the author of Learning from Students and numerous articles on teaching and learning in the college classroom.

Information Literacy — Patricia Iannuzzi is the Head of the Reference Department, a library faculty member and an instructor for Undergraduate Studies. She has authored several textbooks on information literacy and study skills .

The Facility

Towering above the University Park campus at the center of academic life, the eight story, newly expanded library provides a renovated space for the Office of the Information Literacy Initiative.