Gross, M. and Latham, D. (2009). Undergraduate perceptions of information literacy: defining, attaining and self-assessing skills. College & Research Libraries 70(4), 336-350.
Cameron, L., Wise, S.L. and Lottridge, S. (2007). The development and validation of the information literacy test. College & Research Libraries 68(3), 229-236.
So I finally got around to reading the undergraduate perceptions article today, and it made me realize that I have a lot to learn about assessment, so I also read about the development of the ILT.
The one thing that really stuck out to me was that the surveyed student use people and the internet to meet their information needs in equal measure. I was surprised that the student used other people so much. When I was an undergraduate, I don't think I asked for any help regarding my information needs, not even those that I had a close relationship with. Relationships were another interesting aspect of the study. Students were more likely to seek help finding information from people they already knew and trusted, rather than going to a librarian or professor. This is really interesting, and it suggests to me that there needs to be further outreach by librarians into the class room and into the university as a whole. That is why I was intrigued by James Madison University's approach to IL. They have both a General Education class that teaches IL and study skills and a more focused IL component that is included in the course work of their major.
I have had some experience with the in-major type of IL. As an undergraduate in psychology, I took a research methods and statistics course that has been invaluable to me in my education and career. I do feel that every student, even those who are "proficient" in their information seeking behaviors, could benefit from a General IL/Education course. I was a little disappointed to read that JMU allows students to test out of their General Education class, because I feel like all new university/college students should have an opportunity to be introduced to the resources that the library has to offer both physically and digitally, and that they should be informed of and actively involved in the process of evaluating the information that they find.
I agree with Gross and Latham that over structured research assignments often do not accomplish their information literacy goals. They believe that the freedom to select a topic that is important or meaningful to the student is more likely to result in an increase information literacy. I would add that, that by specifying specific types of information or resources, it reduces the students' ability to learn about the evaluation of information resources. Freedom to explore different types of information can lead to a more developed understanding of what information meets their needs. I dislike it when professors define a certain information resources as wholly bad, and others are wholly good. This type of oversimplification does not serve the student.
