Alexius Smith Macklin

Integrating information literacy using problem‐based learning

Teaching information literacy skills is increasingly difficult as the number of students entering the university demonstrate an extraordinary confidence using technology. Students and subject area faculty often do not grasp the subtle difference between being technology proficient and being information literate. Some faculty are even beginning to dismiss library instruction by saying “my students already know how to use the Internet”. This paper introduces a new method for teaching essential information literacy skills, combined with problem solving techniques, to develop, promote, and assess critical and analytical thinking of students further (and faculty) using information technologies today.

A Blueprint for Progress: Collaborating with Faculty to Integrate Information Literacy into the Curriculum at Purdue University

Abstract Students coping with the escalating complexities of available electronic resources often demonstrate undesirable behaviors including the inability to identify information needs, uncertainty about selecting information resources, poor evaluation of information sources, and inappropriate use of information for problem solving. To eliminate these obstacles in higher education, librarians and faculty at Purdue University collaborated to integrate the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) core competencies for information literacy directly into course content. This manuscript describes the development of an overt information-centered curriculum and its impact on student learning.

Information Literacy Instruction: Competencies, Caveats, and a Call to Action

SUMMARY While the value of information literacy (IL) instruction has been repeatedly demonstrated, there remain numerous difficulties in establishing it in the academic curriculum. The IL competency standards for science and technology as articulated by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) provide guidelines for instruction, but they do not address the pedagogical requirements needed to align the standards to learning objectives and outcomes. In this paper, we review the issues confronting librarian/instructors, and offer some guidelines in how to use these competencies effectively.