Information literacy skills focus on the student’s ability to assess their information needs and then locate, evaluate, and use the information they need effectively. In each course, students must utilize information literacy skills to meet the outlined learning outcomes. Strong information literacy skills can be utilized in nearly every course and serve to promote lifelong learning.
The goal of library instruction at LSC-Montgomery is to teach the skills needed to support the development of information literacy in each student. The methods and curriculum developed by LSC-Montgomery for this purpose are aligned with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). The ACRL Framework guidelines are considered the professional standard for developing student learning outcomes for information literacy instruction.
Librarians play an important role in developing the information-literate student with library instruction sessions at LSC-Montgomery that are specifically developed to align with the Framework. Librarians have identified goals and learning outcomes that are anchored in the Framework’s thresholds and assessed against the markers associated with each. These learning outcomes have been divided into modules that reflect the level of threshold mastery that students should be achieving at different points in their academic career. Each module’s learning outcomes are designed to be flexibly integrated with the professor’s course learning outcomes.
While the learning outcomes for library instruction sessions differ from the course learning outcomes, each session is customized to support the student in meeting the outcomes of the course. These sessions also aid future academic success because students can take the skills, they learn in a library session for one course and apply them to another course.
The Framework is based on six foundational ideas or threshold concepts that are key to navigating the modern information environment. These thresholds are:
Authority is Constructed and Contextual | Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.
Information Creation as a Process | The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.
Information Has Value | Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world.
Research as Inquiry | Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers, in turn, develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.
Scholarship as Conversation | Communities of scholars or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.
Searching as Strategic Exploration | Searching for information is a nonlinear process that requires the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops.
For each of these thresholds, the ACRL has listed two sets of markers that determine a student’s mastery of a particular threshold. First are the Knowledge Practices which demonstrate a student’s practical application of information literacy skills, and second are the Dispositions that demonstrate the presence of an informed mindset or critical analysis of available information.
The learning outcomes and curriculum of the LSC-Montgomery Library is based on the Framework. See the next two tabs for more information about the learning outcomes and the curriculum map.
LSC-Montgomery Library has identified the following program-level student learning outcomes for the Information Literacy curriculum. Students who receive information literacy instruction will be able to:
Description: This module provides an overview of the skills necessary to find, evaluate, and apply information in an academic or professional environment.
Course Alignment: EDUC 1300
Sessions are tailored to meet one or more of the following learning outcomes:
Description: This module is designed to help students identify various sources of scholarly information, as well as select and use the available research tools to locate appropriate sources in accordance with legal and ethical standards.
Course Alignment: ENGL 1301 and other introductory courses
Sessions are tailored to meet one or more of the following learning outcomes:
Description: This module expands on basic college research skills to include organizing and defining research within the context of a specific discipline.
Course Alignment: ENGL 1302 and other courses requiring in-depth research
Sessions are tailored to meet one or more of the following learning outcomes:
Description: This module focuses on understanding how information is created and disseminated, as well as how the student can both access and contribute to the body of information within a specific discipline or profession.
Course Alignment: Upper-level or workforce courses, including Bachelor or Honors courses
Sessions are tailored to meet one or more of the following learning outcomes:
All information literacy instruction sessions are customized to meet course-specific learning outcomes and assignments. Sessions can be designed to provide a basic introduction to library services, basic research skills, or advanced research skills.
Instruction is available for your courses in several different formats:
In-Person and Hybrid Classes: The librarians offer either an in-person session (in your classroom or the library's instruction lab) or a live WebEx session.
Fully Online Classes (Synchronous): The librarians offer to host a live WebEx session with your students.
Fully Online Classes (Asynchronous): The librarians can send you links to a variety of pre-recorded tutorials that can be uploaded to D2L.
Please contact the Curriculum & Assessment Librarian, Lauren Gaeth, with any questions about library information literacy instruction. If you are interested in including an information literacy session in your courses, reserve your spot now by filling out the Library Instruction Request Form or contact your liaison librarian.
Librarians are available to collaborate with faculty in a variety of ways.
Options for collaboration include:
To collaborate on an assignment contact us at MC-ResearchHelp@lonestar.edu or 936.273.7390.
The librarians have created resource guides to support students doing research in the different subjects offered through LSC-Montgomery. These guides provide students with information on getting started with research in a particular subject and connect students to the different resources the library has to support research in that field.
Faculty can request a course specific resource guide that will provide more tailored resources and information that your students will need to complete assignments in your course.
To request a course specific resource guide contact us at MC-ResearchHelp@lonestar.edu or 936.273.7390.
The librarians have created short tutorial videos that introduce databases as well as a variety of information literacy skills and concepts. You can embed these videos in your D2L to help support your students with their research. Contact your subject librarian if you would like to request a specialized video.