Here are the presentation notes for my parts in the Habits of Information Literacy presentation, presented at the OLA SuperConference 2009. For the slides go here:
Habits of Information Literacy: Presentation Notes
1. OLA 2009 Presentation
Habits of Information Literacy: An embedded approach to instruction
Jenny Marvin, Carol Perry, M.J. D’Elia
Context (Slide 6)
• Case study – Information Management
• Required course for students in the Bachelor of Commerce program
o BUT these students come from many different programs (HR, Marketing, Hospitality)
o ALSO students take the course as an elective (arts and science students)
• BComm program is large – approximately 220 students spread over 3 sections
• Unique position – Liaison Librarian for MCS and an instructor in the department
o Embedded into the department
• The course is about information – business information to be precise
o FOCUS on people, information and technology
• Tackle traditional information literacy topics (but from a business perspective)
o Intellectual property, databases, ethics, security, Internet, etc.
Context (Slide 7)
• For the duration of the semester – pretend to be a corporation
• Carry this “group‐role playing” activity for the entire semester
• WHY? The course is about using information and technology to make decisions
o SO we need to have a context in which to make those decisions
• This also gives them some ownership over the decisions we make as a class
• The focus is long‐term strategic thinking
o NOT operational day to day information tasks (invoicing, interacting with customers)
Context (Slide 8)
• 3 sections – 3 grocery stores, but each are slightly different
o Names and slogans were chosen by the classes
• Section 1: Zippers
o Large format store, full suite of service (deli, bakery, etc.), large selection of products
o Zehr’s, Loblaw, Superstore, Sobey’s, Metro
• Section 2: Fresh
o Small format store, urban markets, specializes in niche products (organic, fair trade)
o Stores which cater to a particular ethnic community
• Section 3: Food Tree
o Mid‐size warehouse style store, competes on price, offers recognizable national brands
o No Frills, Food basics, Price Chopper
• Same industry, but 3 different contexts
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2. Context (Slide 9)
• Assignments were tied to their respective companies
• Debate assignment
o Group presentations debating a particular issue in front of the class
o Class determined winner of debate (and direction the company should go)
o Corporate espionage, reputation management, selling customer data
• Business report
o Individual business report investigating a technology or policy
o Report directed to a senior manager at the company
o Biometric technology, employee monitoring
Context (Slide 10)
• GIS assignment
o THIS is the key assignment that we want to present to you today
o Group assignment
o Needed to identify potential locations for expansion
o Collect census data
o Map it with a Geographic Information System
o Examine the results
o Make a recommendation and defend the recommendation in a report
Context (Slide 11)
• This is what the map output of an assignment might look like
o Kitchener distribution of 18‐24 year olds
o Reasoning: this demographic is in university, would likely determine where to put a low
cost grocery store
• GIS and government data rarely taught in a traditional information management course
o EVEN more rare is to have students do an assignment
• The UNIQUE aspect of the assignment makes it an interesting project to embed
Context (Slide 12)
• SO why did we do this project?
o Students had to grasp a series of complex concepts
o Students had to use industry‐standard technology
• What we’re embedding here is not a simple literature review assignment
• Reasons
o Uphold professional obligation
Most of us belief in IL
We may not do GIS or government documents but we can all think of ways to
improve the IL competencies of our user community
o Broaden awareness of information
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3. Want to expose students to key information
AND give them an opportunity to use non‐traditional information
o Expose users to cutting edge technology
GIS is an increasingly popular tool in business
Students may not be proficient in the software at the end of the assignment,
but they will have more awareness of the tool
o Respond to our user community
Upper year undergraduates wish they had some instruction earlier in their
academic careers
When we were redesigning the course, the chair of the department was pleased
to see that GIS was going to be introduced sooner
• GREAT reasons for doing what we do
o BUT as they sit they’re still in the idealistic stage
Considerations (Slide 13)
• To achieve our objectives for embedding
o AND implement an appropriate assignment we faced some key considerations
• Helpful to think about these considerations in four main categories
o Information, Technology, People, Design
o Incidentally, the entire Information Management course also focuses on these four
areas when considering information systems
o Should acknowledge that these concepts blend together quite naturally
FOR EXAMPLE, it is difficult to separate information from technology
• These considerations represent a make or break approach to the assignment
o At first glance, they look like barriers
o REASONS not to do such a complex assignment in a large, introductory class
o With proper DESIGN these barriers fade away
• We’ll talk about what WE did to address these issues
o BUT we’re hoping you’ll take some of what we’re presenting here and apply it to your
own context
o AFTER ALL, each organization handles these issues slightly differently
• Think of an IL situation where things haven’t gone quite as well as you wanted
o Our discussion may help pinpoint how to improve it
• Think of a rather complex information task in your area (Chemistry, archives, history, etc.)
o Maybe these considerations will help you imagine how you might deliver a worthwhile
session
• THEME – the whole point of this presentation is to talk about the embedded approach
o SO we want to show you why embedding these concepts into the assignment and the
course was better for both implementation and for assessment
• SO let’s unpack these considerations a little further
o Carol is first up…
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4. People (Slide 22)
• NEED to consider the human factor
o The skills and abilities of the students
o BUT also the relationship between the collaborators (usually librarians and faculty)
• In our case:
o Students have little to no experience with government documents or GIS
o Second year students like to immediately see the relevance of what they’re doing
YES this is a bit of a generalization, but in my experience it’s quite accurate
o Students come from a variety of programs
WHICH means they have different expectations
o ALSO – there are a lot of them
Complex concepts and specific technology are not generally taught to such a
large group
View is that these concepts are for specialized uses – not for general overview
• Need to gauge the receptiveness to collaboration
o Admittedly we’re lucky – I am the librarian, I see Jenny and Carol all the time
o Collaboration is easy
o However, these relationships still need to be built
I have Jenny and Carol come into my class because they’re experts (not because
I work with them)
o Familiarity with concepts
HOW important is it for the faculty member to be familiar with the topic?
I am not an expert, I know enough to know that I need some help
AND I’m also willing to call on that help
o Certainly, we need to develop trust and comfort levels
• Key is to build the relationships early
o DEMONSTRATE expertise
o COLLABORATE – use the strengths of all partners
Instructor – I know my class
Librarians – They know the material
• Identify these bridges within your own context
Student’s quote (Slide 23)
• Read quote
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