Information Literacy is the term used to describe the ability to effectively locate, evaluate, and communicate information. This skill set is critical not only in the realm of academia, where it is necessary for proper research and writing, but outside of academia, where it is necessary to navigate the constant flood of information (and mis/disinformation) that characterizes life in the 21st century. The Association of College and Research Libraries identifies six important concepts that compose a successful understanding of information literacy:
Some or all of these may sound familiar to you as concepts that you already include in your instruction -- they are relevant to ICaP Outcomes 1, 3, and particularly 5. Intentionally embedding information literacy into your curriculum can assist in reinforcing those concepts. For more details on each of these points and on information literacy in general, see the "Helpful Resources" tab.
The teaching materials on this page (see the "Teaching Materials" tab) are designed to be presented to students in order to help cultivate the skill of information literacy. Ideally, the lessons you choose to implement should precede students' research projects, so that students are able to properly benefit from developing these skills. The instructor is encouraged to modify the lessons as necessary in order to fit them into the course.
If you have questions about any of the assignments or activities or how to embed them into your course, please contact Kristin Leaman: leamankb@purdue.edu.
The Information Literacy Toolkit was developed by Dr. Kristin Leaman and Dr. E. C. McGregor Boyle at Purdue University to provide tangible materials and guidance for introductory composition instructors to embed information literacy in their courses. Dr. Leaman was the instructor of record for an introductory composition course (English 108) at Purdue University and piloted materials from the Information Literacy Toolkit during Fall 2022 and 2023. Based on the feedback from students and assessments by Dr. Leaman and Dr. Boyle, this Information Literacy Toolkit has been developed and refined based on students’ needs for navigating their information landscape, critical thinking, and critical writing. Furthermore, the Information Literacy Toolkit moves instructors away from the idea that a one-time visit from a librarian fulfills information literacy goals for their students and demonstrates how they can embed these practices themselves with scaffolded assignments and activities.
There are three main assignments in this toolkit based on the Academic Rhetorics syllabus approach in Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP): 1.) Scholarly Article Analysis, 2.) Annotated Bibliography, and 3.) Researched Argument Essay. The Annotated Bibliography is part of the Research Argument Essay assignment to help guide students through their research and critical thinking processes. For each assignment, scaffolded activities and lesson plans are provided. These activities are flexible, so they can be amended for in-person and online courses. Moreover, they can be edited by the instructor to fit the specific needs of their class. While there is flexibility with the materials in this toolkit, it is imperative to keep the scaffolded nature of the activities and assignments. The scaffolding builds students’ research and critical thinking and writing skills gradually, while also providing repetition and putting in to practice these skills. The Information Literacy Toolkit was intentionally designed with a scaffolded approach, as students need scaffolding, repetition, and practice to master information literacy skills.
Dr. Leaman and Dr. Boyle also encourage instructors to make use of Foundations of the Research Process, short video tutorials created by Sarah Reifel at Purdue University. Link: https://mediaspace.itap.purdue.edu/media/Selecting+a+Research+Topic/1_ymrbr7zo These video tutorials pair nicely with many of the assignments and activities and provide further context and repetition for students. For example, students can watch the “Selecting a Database for your Research Topic” video tutorial before they come to class to for their “Database Exploration Activity.”
An Archival and Primary Source Literacy Toolkit created by Dr. Leaman and Professor Adriana Harmeyer was also developed and employed during Dr. Leaman’s Fall 2022 and 2023 introductory compositions course. This toolkit can be accessed via Purdue ePubs here: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/alt/
Dr. Leaman and Dr. Boyle would like to thank Professor Melissa Chomintra for her expertise and time in designing the lesson plan and activity on mis/disinformation in this toolkit. Introductory composition instructors at Purdue University and beyond are encouraged to explore and employ this Information Literacy Toolkit. Please reach out to Dr. Leaman at leamankb@purdue.edu with any questions about the Information Literacy Toolkit.
Access the Information Literacy Toolkit here: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/ilt/
The Association of College and Research Libraries has provided a detailed framework regarding the nature of information literacy and how to implement it in higher education. That framework can be found here. Above is a PDF version.
The tutorials found at the above link include content in both text and video forms. Topics covered include how to identify whether an article is scholarly, how to do effective research, and how to navigate aspects of the Purdue Libraries system.