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[Purpose/Significance] The collaboration between the instructor of a general-purpose course "Writing and Communication" and information literacy (IL) librarian teachers at Southern University of Science and Technology provides a new embedded teaching cooperation scheme for an undergraduate writing course. This new model can help college academic librarians design more active ways to teach embedded IL class in general-purpose writing courses for freshmen and sophomores against the background of cultivating "top innovative professionals". [Method/Process] Based on the teaching collaboration between the librarians and the instructors in the past five years, we explored and analyzed effective and integrated teaching models of embedded IL education. Focusing on assessment and student's learning outcome, we constructed an embedded IL teaching evaluation model to comprehensively evaluate student's learning outcome, which includes both direct and indirect evaluation. The direct assessment includes five evaluation indicators: information awareness, information inquiry and access, information evaluation, information management and utilization, and information regulation and security. The indirect evaluation is a "librarian-writing instructor" dual assessment based on students' course papers, in which the librarian and the writing instructor rate students' IL skills and writing skills independently and then compare the assessment results. The librarian scrutinizes students' work under the rubric of search strategy, resource selection and reference standardization; and the writing instructor examines the critical thinking, essay structure and writing style of students' papers. The comparison of the scores on writing and information use of students' papers provide quantitative evaluation on the correlation of students' writing and information skills. [Results/Conclusions] There is a positive correlation between IL and writing performance. College freshmen differ from senior students in IL competence in many ways due to their lack of information training and of limited exposure to various academic scenarios. Thus, besides teaching basic searching skills, instructors should also help students build up information awareness and competence by situating IL teaching in specific writing tasks in an integrated teaching model. By collaborating with writing instructors, the embedded information session is more contextualized, and therefore a "process-based" IL development can be demonstrated to students. Other new pedagogical approaches such as flipped classroom also help to enhance teaching and learning.

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Copyright of Perspectivas em Ciência da Informaçao is the property of Nova Economia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The main goal of this study is better understanding of LIS students' affective and effective status with regard to a range of basic information literacy competencies, through their attitudes – belief in importance (BI), motivations – self/efficacy (SE) and actual levels of knowledge and skills (KS). In order to check to what extent specific pedagogical intervention may result in an improvement, a cycle of combined instruction and assessment was implemented with the following steps: (1) pre-test on affective and actual values concerning information literacy competencies; (2) information literacy instruction on 'content analysis' subject; (3) post-test replicating the same questionnaires (ILHUMASS and EVALCI). Various statistical methods such as paired sample tests, factor analysis and correlations were used for data analysis. Some significant relationships between students' attitudes, motivations and actual levels of knowledge and skills are confirmed, but not in all competencies. Instruction has greater impact on students' self-efficacy (SE) and lower on belief-in-importance (BI). Latent structures at pre- and post-instruction remain stable in SE and vary considerably in BI. In sum, instruction/assessment experience has been relevant for LIS students' motivations (SE), ant to a lesser extent for their attitudes (BI). Thus, both information literacy dimensions should be approached separately, with higher emphasis on BI. Though limited to a group of LIS students from one institution, a new research path towards better understanding of the relationships between their affective and actual values on information literacy competencies is suggested. Through the combination of paradigms on both information literacy frameworks and information literacy competencies, outstanding results on the relationships between LIS students' affective and actual status concerning information literacy competencies are delivered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the lack of a standardized and normalized assessment tool for measuring Iranian primary school students' levels of IL, this study adapted and modified the Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills to evaluate the IL skills of a group of the 6th grade students. In this research, descriptive research design was used and the data were collected through a survey. A sample of 701 female and male students in the 6th grade from Ahwaz city was selected. Stratified random sampling technique was used to draw/choose representative sample. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, median, interquartile deviation, scores of percentile ranks, and z, Zn, T scores were used to specify the IL skills test norms. According to the results, the mean score of female students in IL skills assessment was 11.56, while in males was 9.04. This demonstrates that the Iranian 6th grade students have weakness in IL skills; this issue is due to the lack of IL instruction in school curriculum and despite the adoption of various documents to improve the education system in Iran in recent years. Findings of this research provide insights towards the IL assessment tool development of k-12 students in Iran and establish a baseline for introducing TRAILS testing in k-12 setting in Iran.

The present article is a review of information literacy (IL) outlook in the present academic perspective. The paper discusses as how from the traditional bibliographical instruction, it has been advanced as a tool for library and information professionals to streamline the profession and their position. The article points out the expected outcome of IL can only be achieved with the collaborative endeavor of library professionals and teaching staff. The existing models of information literacy instruction have also been highlighted along with brief overview of information literacy content. The academic dishonesty and the accountability of academic libraries are explained briefly. IL is the basic pre-requisite of lifelong learning, the article exhorts international, national and local governments should have information policies and strategies with emphasis on assessment. Library professionals are predictable to play a key role in extending cognitive abilities of the users to make IL to be a great success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore and investigate the perception of faculty on Digital Information Literacy (DIL) and their skills and competencies in using digital information in an Indian University. In this study, special focus has been on Sambalpur University (SU) in the state of Odisha. Furthermore, this study has enlightened various types of DIL skills and competencies required for faculty members of Information Communication Technology, constraints affecting related skills, competencies, and suggested suitable measures to meet challenges in University libraries. The study has provided direction for information professionals to meet the challenges and demands of the information requirements of faculty members from the University by adopting innovative solutions through evidence-based practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to develop an Information Literacy Assessment for 2nd-grade students and evaluate their performance. The assessment included a regular test and a portfolio assessment. There were 30 multiple-choice items and 3 constructed-response items in the test, while the portfolio assessment was based on the Super3 model. This study was conducted in an elementary school located in southern Taiwan. One hundred and forty-two second graders took the test, and only one class was randomly selected as the subjects for the portfolio assessment. The results showed that the test and portfolio assessment had good validity and reliability. In the fields of library literacy and media literacy, second-grade students with different abilities performed differently, while boys and girls performed similarly. Students performed well in the process of the Super3 model, only in the Plan Phase, they still needed teachers’ help to pose inquiry questions. At last, several suggestions were proposed for information literacy assessment and future research.

The construction and validity of an assessment tool mapped to objectives in a high enrollment credit-bearing information literacy course delivered primarily online is the focus of this article. An open book and non-proctored objective test can be a reliable measure for assessing student competencies in basic information literacy skills, both at the course level and for reporting to national accrediting bodies and state agencies. An analysis of overall student performance on test items that are mapped to information literacy outcomes helps to identify competencies that need improvement in a course, as well as provide a baseline for informing the process of assessing student learning outcomes in an undergraduate curriculum.

The article provides an analysis of the dominant neoliberal logics of assessment of libraries. additional funding for libraries, impact of budget cuts, return on investments in electronic resources, monographs, uncritical use of the language of quantification and measurement, and assumptions and limits embedded in the LibQUAL+ survey of academic libraries.

This study assesses the information literacy (IL) perceptions of instructors at a technical college in the Middle East, the College of the North Atlantic - Qatar. Students at this college are instructed in four areas of study - engineering technology, information technology, business studies and health sciences - which takes place exclusively in English and uses a Canadian curriculum. A web-based survey sent to instructors asked questions in two general areas on their perceptions of student information literacy based on the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) definition. Initially, over half of the respondents believed that their students were information literate. However when asked a series of questions about each of the seven IL skills identified by SCONUL, there was a large discrepancy between what skills instructors wished their students achieved, versus what was actually achieved by the end of their programme. Students' inability to critically evaluate sources of information was seen as the weakest skill by instructors and was considerably lower than the skill level reported by university professors in similar studies. Instructors also conveyed their belief that students lacked strategies when searching for information. When compared to faculty perceptions of students in universities, overall perceptions of IL competency of college students in this study are lower. The study reinforced the need to provide students with tools/strategies to cope with large volumes of information and, when searching, to select appropriate and credible sources of information for both academic and personal uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the information literacy (IL) team designed an instrument to determine international graduate business students' perceptions of their IL skills and their actual test-assessed IL skills. The purpose of this research was to compare international graduate students' perceptions of their IL skills versus their test-assessed competencies, with the aim of creating training modules to improve test-identified deficiencies. Results demonstrate that wide discrepancies exist between students' perceptions of their own skills and their actual skills on all six ILA-topic areas assessed by the internally developed test instruments, with students overestimating their abilities in all areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the lack of a standardized and normalized assessment tool for measuring Iranian primary school students' levels of IL, this study adapted and modified the Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills to evaluate the IL skills of a group of the 6th grade students. In this research, descriptive research design was used and the data were collected through a survey. A sample of 701 female and male students in the 6th grade from Ahwaz city was selected. Stratified random sampling technique was used to draw/choose representative sample. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, median, interquartile deviation, scores of percentile ranks, and z, Zn, T scores were used to specify the IL skills test norms. According to the results, the mean score of female students in IL skills assessment was 11.56, while in males was 9.04. This demonstrates that the Iranian 6th grade students have weakness in IL skills; this issue is due to the lack of IL instruction in school curriculum and despite the adoption of various documents to improve the education system in Iran in recent years. Findings of this research provide insights towards the IL assessment tool development of k-12 students in Iran and establish a baseline for introducing TRAILS testing in k-12 setting in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to present information search tasks as an alternative to standardized tests for the assessment of scholarly information literacy(IL). The article describes how a task taxonomy and scoring rubrics were developed as a basis for the construction of standardized search tasks. Based on this taxonomy, sample tasks were created and used in an evaluation study in which an IL instruction programme was scrutinised. In this study, the tasks were applied alongside with a standardized IL test to determine their convergent validity. The results show that IL can be assessed using information search tasks in a reliable and conceptually as well as ecologically valid way. To our knowledge, this is the first publication using information search tasks for the assessment of IL with this degree of standardisation. The task taxonomy, sample tasks, and scoring rubrics are included and can be used by practitioners to create information search tasks tailored to their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study investigates academic faculty perceptions of information literacy at eight New Jersey higher educational institutions. The study examines the value and importance faculty place on information literacy (IL), the infusion of IL into curricular learning outcomes and an assessment of the competency levels students achieve in mastering IL skills. This study adds to the research in the field as a multi-institutional study conducted at both two-year and four-year institutions, investigating full-time and part-time faculty perspectives. Findings are based on results from an online survey, with a total of 353 usable responses. Overall, faculty familiarity with IL concepts was high; faculty are overwhelmingly supportive of IL and are incorporating these skills into learning outcomes for their courses; and there are strong expectations of students' achieving IL skills by graduation, but faculty perceptions are that students fall short of mastering those skills by the end of their programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This pilot study was developed to determine if the University's students were proficient in IL based on the requisite skills defined by ALA (2000), to define faculty and student perceptions and behaviours related to information literacy (IL) and to test an evaluation rubric using empirical inquiry and triangulated methods. Findings suggested that not all students (n=164) had satisfactory IL skills even at the senior student level. While 4th year college students (seniors n=91) fared better on an IL survey when compared to 1st year college students (freshmen n=53), analysis of the senior students' theses led researchers to believe that students were most likely not skilled in this area, and had an inflated opinion of their own IL abilities. Overall, students felt they were less IL challenged compared to the faculty's (n=55) observation of the IL challenges experienced by the students. Students' self-assessment of their literacy skills may have been coloured by the propensity of the faculty to over-edit students' papers rather than simply providing constructive feedback, thus altering the natural end result. These authors used a triangulated approach including thesis review, comparisons between student and faculty survey responses and comparison of findings from the theses and the student and faculty surveys. Findings and discussion of methodology will hopefully provide valuable lessons for those interested in assessing students' IL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to develop an Information Literacy Assessment for 2nd-grade students and evaluate their performance. The assessment included a regular test and a portfolio assessment. There were 30 multiple-choice items and 3 constructed-response items in the test, while the portfolio assessment was based on the Super3 model. This study was conducted in an elementary school located in southern Taiwan. One hundred and forty-two second graders took the test, and only one class was randomly selected as the subjects for the portfolio assessment. The results showed that the test and portfolio assessment had good validity and reliability. In the fields of library literacy and media literacy, second-grade students with different abilities performed differently, while boys and girls performed similarly. Students performed well in the process of the Super3 model, only in the Plan Phase, they still needed teachers' help to pose inquiry questions. At last, several suggestions were proposed for information literacy assessment and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Canadian-based survey research study investigates the information literacy (IL) instruction practices, attitudes and perceptions of university faculty at York University. Findings are based on results from an online survey distributed to all full-time faculty (1,451 in total) with a response rate of 15.2%. The value of this paper lies first in its contribution to a field of enquiry where a research deficit has been identified especially in terms of survey-based studies that have been conducted in the last five years and qualitative research studies, in general. In other words few studies in the library literature investigate faculty perceptions and experiences of IL. Second, it contributes to IL research and practice by both synthesising and corroborating some of the findings of earlier studies of a similar nature and establishes that many faculty attitudes and practices regarding IL instruction have remained relatively constant over time. They show evidence of a strong and enduring faculty belief in the value of solid student IL proficiencies; concerns that these competencies fall below desired standards; the view that IL instruction is beneficial; and evidence of disconnections between expressed beliefs and actual IL practice. Third, this study builds on what is already known by uncovering disciplinary differences in faculty opinions and practices in the domain of IL instruction and by providing insights on how perceptions and rankings of different types of IL competencies among faculty are evolving and changing in an increasingly web-based information universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes integration of IL as a thread running through the environmental sciences curriculum at Newcastle University. A variety of IL activities, including skills development, reflection and assessment, were piloted within existing modules between 2005 and 2008. Discussion groups and learning logs were used to draw out student perceptions of their experiences and to investigate the students' concept of IL as a graduate attribute for life. Student self assessments were considered in the light of independent analysis of their IL abilities. Students' responses show that embedding the assessment of information literacy can play a crucial role in engaging students with the concepts involved, so that as well as learning specific skills, they have the opportunity to develop a wider awareness of the information environment. Continuing assessment of the value and effectiveness of these interventions has also supported the learning processes for staff involved in the implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on teaching and assessing information literacy in a geography program in the U.S. Definition of information literacy; Information literacy instruction in a geography curriculum.