Information Literacy: creating a policy for Staffordshire University.

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Information Literacy creating a policy for
Staffordshire University.
Alison Pope Senior Subject and Learning Support
Librarian and Learning and Teaching Fellow,
Information Services, Staffordshire University
Miceál Barden Dean of Business School,
Staffordshire University
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the context
The Government White Paper, January 2003, states
that As well as improving vocational skills,
we need to ensure that all graduates, including
those who study traditional academic disciplines,
have the right skills to equip them for a
lifetime in a fast changing work
environment. The Future of Higher Education,
DfES 2003
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The QAAs Agenda

• Honours level
• Graduates with a bachelor's degree with honours
  will have
• developed an understanding of a complex body of
  knowledge,
• some of it at the current boundaries of an
  academic discipline.
• Through this, the graduate will have developed
  analytical
• techniques and problem-solving skills that can be
  applied in
• many types of employment. The graduate will be
  able to
• evaluate evidence, arguments and assumptions, to
  reach sound
• judgements, and to communicate effectively.
• http//www.qaa.ac.uk/students/guides/UnderstandQua
  ls.asp

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Information Literacy a definition

• In its Higher Education Competency Standards for
  2000 the US based Association of College and
  Research Libraries (ACRL) defined information
  literacy as,
• an intellectual framework for understanding,
  finding, evaluating, and using informationactivit
  ies which may be accomplished in part by fluency
  with information technology, in part by sound
  investigative methods, but most important,
  through critical discernment and reasoning.
• According to their definition the information
  literate person must be,
• able to recognize when information is needed
  and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use
  effectively the needed information
• http//www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informat
  ionliteracycompetency.htm

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Information literacy models

• ACRL
• ANZIIL Six standards
• Big Blue
• SCONUL 7 Pillars
• CILIP definition

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The information literacyimperative

• Information literacy is widely regarded as the
  key to being a successful independent learner.

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Why does the University need an information
literacy policy just now?

• External impetus global and UK political agenda
• External market can a convincing approach to IL
  ever be a USP?
• Need to raise profile of work already done within
  the University.
• Need to mesh with the Universitys agenda.

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Developing a strategic approach fitting the
Universitys agenda

• Widening participation
• Emphasis on student progression and retention
• Quality emphasis and QAA benchmarking
• E-learning
• Employability and skill-ing of graduates

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A strategic approach to information

• Professor Sheila Corrall (University of
  Sheffield) has talked about positioning IL in
  relation to a Universitys core business
  education, research and enterprise
• Professor Corrall has raised the question Can
  strategic management concepts, principles and
  techniques help to achieve information literacy
  goals? (Her paper given at Staffordshire
  University IL conference 17th May 2006)

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Fellowship project seeks to

• Raise the profile of work already done by
  Information Services.
• Ensure recognition of the information literacy
  imperative within Faculties.
• Ensure that Information Services and Faculties
  work in partnership on this initiative.
• Shift emphasis on information literacy away from
  the induction process and towards integration and
  embedding within the curriculum.

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What will the project do?

• Work to create an agreed and accepted information
  literacy policy within the University.
• Seek to ensure cross-Faculty awareness of this
  policy.
• Foster commitment to embedding information
  literacy learning opportunities at relevant
  points in the curriculum not just as part of
  induction.
• Evaluate its own success.

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Project benefits

• Enrichment of the students learning experience
  as a whole.
• Patricia Breivik in Student learning in the
  information age (1998) says that it has been
  estimated that the sum of human knowledge will
  double every 73 days by 2020.
• A 21 year old student leaving Staffordshire
  University in 2007 will be just 34 in 2020!

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What has been done so far

• Autumn 2005 Gained Learning and Teaching
  Enhancement Committees approval to develop a
  policy in conjunction with representatives from
  the Faculties.
• Spring/Summer 2006 Meetings with Faculty
  representatives result in a draft policy.
• The development and implementation of an
  Information Literacy Policy included the
  Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy
  2006-2009
• Autumn 2006 IL policy approved at LTEC to be
  passed to next Academic Board for approval

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Learning, teaching and assessment strategy
2006-2009

• Policy identifies Universitys themes and key
  objectives
• Within section 2 Supporting student learning and
  success
• 2.4.3. To develop and implement an Information
  Literacy policy that will enable SU students to
  develop the skills of independent information
  searching, evaluation and utilisation using all
  available sources of information and appropriate
  technologies.

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Main aspects of the policy

• The information literacy policy needs
• to become part of the Universitys strategic and
  management landscape.
• to support academic and information professionals
  in a partnership approach to information
  literacy.
• to develop and enhance the students learning
  experience.

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Steps towards an Information Literate University

• Idea of an Information Literate University is
  discussed by Sheila Webber and Bill Johnstons in
  their paper Working towards the Information
  Literate University in Information Literacy
  recognising the need edited by Geoff Walton and
  Alison Pope, Chandos 2006.
• Staffordshire University policy has been
  influenced by this.

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Becoming part of the strategic landscape

• Needs to be featured within the Universitys
  learning and teaching strategy and mentioned in
  other strategic documents
• Senior staff should have a basic understanding
  of what IL is.
• Should be seen as supportive of major issues
  retention, recruitment and employability.
• IL policy should appear in Student Award
  Handbooks part of the award validation and
  re-validation process and part of academic review.

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Academic and information professional partnership

• Creation of a community of practice or forum
  focusing on IL.
• Faculty Directors for Teaching and Learning to
  become champions for IL.
• IL to be seen as part of educational process not
  just something done at induction.
• Academics and information professionals to work
  together in an integrated way.
• Awareness of Universitys IL policy should be
  part of new staff induction process.

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Development of the student learning experience (1)

• Embedded, integrated, interstitial and subject
  flavoured.
• Iterative and incremental, using a just in time
  approach.
• Via the Information Skills module.
• Catering for all learner styles including the
  strategic learner as well as the more earnest
  scholar.
• The approach to delivery and contact time should
  be much more flexible.

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Development of the student learning experience (2)

• Available in different formats face to face,
  e-learning, whole group etc. with an accompanying
  range of deliverables.
• Information literacy should be regarded as a
  graduate attribute.
• Information literacy should be assessed and
  assessed work should be credit bearing. This
  means that information literacy skills should be
  assessed within the context of subject assessment.

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What remains to be done?

• IL policy needs to go to Academic Board and to
  become part of Universitys fabric in 2007/8.
• Embed approved policy within Faculties.
• Promote how librarians and academics can usefully
  work together what deliverables are on offer and
  what others can be created?
• Develop SU IL Community of Practice working with
  SU Academic Development Institute to create a
  series of seminars on IL
• Maybe create a visiting professorship.
• Evaluate success of project

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Information Literacy implementation

• Policy implementation is key to success
• How to embed and move beyond strategic
  landscape to everyday activity
• Ensure that the ambition of the policy becomes a
  reality.

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Information Literacy implementation

• Use new awards and revalidations as vehicle of
  change.
• Build upon existing good practice(individual
  approach)
• University Award Outcomes document (8 2)
  could be amended to explicitly address
  information literacy.

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Information Literacy implementation

• Aim of University Award Outcomes document
  wasTo develop a common structure of a number
  of Staffordshire University learning outcome
  statements, to be used in writing learning
  outcomes for all awards, specified at the
  appropriate level

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Information Literacy implementation

• Knowledge and Understanding
• Learning
• Enquiry
• Analysis
• Problem Solving
• Communication
• Application
• Reflection

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Information Literacy implementation

• Each outcome has been developed into a outcome
  statement at Certificate, Intermediate and
  Honours. Masters and Doctorate level.
• These have also been mapped against the framework
  for higher education qualifications in England,
  Wales and Northern Ireland

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Information Literacy implementation
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Information Literacy implementation

• Possible to amend this outcome to explicitly
  encompass aspects of information literacy?
• Is the concept of IL too broad to be captured
  within one single outcome?
• Clarity and impact vs. Dilution?

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Information Literacy implementation

• Benefits
• IL would have to be explicitly addressed in all
  validations and revalidations within the
  University
• Clear commitment to IL policy implementation at
  University level
• Implementation through University award level
  outcomes topdown

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Information Literacy implementation

• Next steps
• UG and PG Business quinquennial review in 2006-07
• Opportunity to test implementation through award
  outcome approach
• Individual approach meets institutional
  implementation

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Information Literacy creating a policy for
Staffordshire University.
Alison Pope Senior Subject and Learning Support
Librarian and Learning and Teaching Fellow,
Information Services, Staffordshire University
Miceál Barden Dean of Business School,
Staffordshire University