What is Information Competency?
Definition |
Rationale |
Procedure |
Palomar's Plan |
Competencies |
Creating Assignments |
IC Classes |
Links
| Checklist |
Assignments
ASSIGNMENTS TO PROMOTE INFORMATION COMPETENCY
(See Charts Below)
The librarians at Palomar College have conducted a variety of professional development workshops to assist faculty in their awareness of library resources, information competency, and how to incorporate information age activities into their course work. Below is a chart that we used in the workshop, "Creating Successful Library Assignments." We did a variety of things like looking at other faculty's library assignments and completing a research assignment acting as students. We used the charts to identify categories of research assignments. The categories were taken from The Journal of Academic Libraries, January 1998. Also included in the chart are information competency objectives taken from the ACRL Standards, potential library resources, and activities to match the standard. If the accompanying charts are useful, please use them or adapt them for your use.
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Information
Competency Skills |
Instructional
Model |
Potential
Resources |
Assignment |
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Analyze and evaluate information. Apply the skills gained in information competency to lifelong learning.* Identify a variety of types and formats of potential sources for information. Gain an understanding of how knowledge is organized, stored, and transmitted. |
Skills Exercise: teaches generic information seeking skills, not subject specific, useful for gaining basic understanding of resources and their use |
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1. Explain what an information database is and how it can be useful for finding information. 2. Explain the differences between a popular magazine and a scholarly journal. 3. Explain the use of a catalog and the information that it contains. 4. Explain the use of an index or periodical database. 5. Explain the difference between a search engine and search directory. 6. Conduct a Web search and a periodical database search on a topic related to the discipline; compare the information results. 7. Evaluate a Web site based on specific criteria. 8. Browse reference shelf in a particular discipline. Select three different reference books; explain how they could be useful in locating information in the discipline. 9. Group activity: Prepare a guide that introduces others to information sources in a subject field. 10. Compare how a given topic is treated in several different reference sources (print and electronic). 11. Analyze the content, tone, style, and audience of 2 or 3 journal titles or web sites basic to a discipline * Add to any of the above: List minimum of one life experience where this tool could be useful in your future personal or educational life. |
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Information
Competency Skills |
Instructional
Model |
Potential
Resources |
Assignment |
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Short Answer: student locates specific piece of
information |
Various reference
books: biographies, encyclopedias, statistic sources, etc., both print and
online including subscription sources like Rand, Country Watch,
and Art Online |
1. Using the Library of Congress Subject
Headings books, look up the term bioethics. What are narrower terms,
what is the call number?
2. Using the Oxford English Dictionary,
locate the origination of the word ______________.
3. Using Rand, locate statistics on
_______ for (location). Locate the
same topic for (another location). Compare and contrast the results. Speculate the causes for the differences.
4. Using the Statistical Abstract, locate
statistics_________.
5. Using the Psychology Encyclopedia, locate
the definition of a (particular phobia).
6. Use a directory or company sourcebook to
locate background information about a company or organization.
7. Locate a major newspaper published on the
date of your birth. Determine: name
of the president; major national
issue or concern; name of significant entertainer, etc.
8. As a student develop your own questions
which will require searching in a variety of resources for the answers. |
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Information
Competency Skills |
Instructional
Model |
Potential
Resources |
Assignment |
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Bibliography/ Citation Completion Exercises: Generally requires use of indexes both print and electronic. Students will need instruction in how to use periodical databases and the online catalog |
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1. Locate an article for ("topic"), summarize, and write a citation Metacognition-additional requirements: Describe search process. List search tool used and why. List search statements used with
results, 1 A. Instead of only writing a summary, critical thinking would be encouraged by adding one of these activities:
2. Locate two articles:
3. Update a literature review which is 5 years or older. 4. Look at entire single publication, analyze on the basis of content, tone, style, and audience. Compare with a second journal in the same field 5. Write an annotated bibliography on a selected topic. 6. Locate an article, cite, and write an abstract. 7. Locate two book reviews for a publication in a discipline, compare the two reviews. 8. Locate 5 or 6 sources with information that relates to your birth date, choosing from: biography, quotation, newspaper headline, census information, popular culture person or event, local event. Write a description of each source and include citation. 9. Use (3 to ?) Internet search tools. Search the same topic with each search engine; write an annotated bibliography. |
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Information
Competency Skills |
Instructional
Model |
Potential
Resources |
Assignment |
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Recognize the need for information. State research question, problem, or issue. Use information technology tools to locate and retrieve information. Organize information. Analyze and evaluate information. Communicate using a variety of information resources and technologies. Understand the ethical and legal issues surrounding information and information technology. |
Research paper, oral report, Web page, poster: students use a variety of resources in order to design a new product requiring synthesis and critical thinking |
Variety: include books, reference books, periodicals, Web pages |
1. Write a term paper using a variety of resources. 2. Give a ten minute oral presentation on a topic using a variety of resources for support. 3. Debate the pro or con of an issue. Use information from a variety of resources for support. 4. Peruse standard reference sources in a discipline including two or more journals related to the field. Write a paper describing the discipline, including the issues and topics practitioners in the field are involved with. 5. Create a Web Page on a topic related to the course. Include selected links and an annotated bibliography. 6. Research a topic using information published in different decades. Compare the changes that have occurred. 7. Research an historical topic using newspapers from New York Times and London Times. Contrast point of view. 8. Research a topic using a variety of resources; present your findings in a poster. 9. Propose new legislation for a current issue. Conduct research to support need for the legislation. 10. Write a series of journal or diary entries in the persona of a significant person in the discipline which demonstrate knowledge of the person's contributions and the era of the time. 11. Use a movie, cartoon, or editorial as the initiating step to research issues presented. 12. Research your family heritage including the era when the first family member arrived in America. |
Compiled by Carolyn Funes
Instruction Librarian, Palomar College
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