Librarians collaborate with writing faculty on embedding and supporting information literacy in all writing courses at Chemeketa. In all courses at all levels, Librarians encourage students to develop metacognitive awareness by prompting them to reflect on their Information Literacy knowledge practices and dispositions throughout the composition process.
Assessment of Information Literacy in composition courses at Chemeketa is collaborative and part of an ongoing and recursive process.
The goal of IL assessment is continuous improvement and planning around evidence in support of student learning. In the assessment process we:
Librarians participate in ongoing workgroups with the writing program in which we discuss data and findings around the common assignment which has a strong focus on IL. As part of a collaborative process, we revise the common assignment, instructional techniques, assessment rubrics, and data collection mechanisms in light of emerging evidence about what works for students and where students struggle. We look at assessment as an opportunity to close equity gaps, a chance to answer questions about our students' learning, and an opportunity to turn concerted attention to specific areas in order to impact positive change.
Since embedding IL in the writing sequence, we have learned from successful and less successful data gathering mechanisms and built on those experiences to inform program shifts. Our most meaningful assessment work has been with group norming activities where librarians join writing faculty to analyze randomized, anonymous samples of student work and come to shared understandings about the content, scope, and leveling of research expectation and use of sources in the writing courses.
Norming has been used effectively as a way of developing a community of practice and helps give us information about where students experience confusion, why confusion exists, and how we can improve support in those areas. Norming that engages part-time and CCN instructors when possible has been a productive way to extend the breadth and depth of expertise in our professional learning community around information literacy in the writing sequence.
(2013-2014) A Chemeketa librarian represented ILAGO on Oregon’s Community College Workforce Development Developmental Education Redesign Workgroup Group. The workgroup recognized the library as an essential service and vital part of a wrap-around student support network. The workgroup recognized that development of IL is critical to the academic preparation and persistence of all college students.
(2006 - 2007) A group of librarians, writing instructors, and information technologists from two- and four-year colleges and universities in Oregon convened to discuss how to include Information Literacy (IL) in revisions to the Associate of Arts / Oregon Transfer (AA/OT) degree. Representatives expressed concern that students transferring from a two-year to a four-year environment were less prepared to be successful than students native to the four-year schools. In response to this input, the group drafted and agreed on eight IL proficiencies students need to develop in the first two undergraduate years in order to be successful in upper division coursework. There was unanimous agreement that IL is a metaliteracy that needs to be taught across the curriculum with opportunities for repeated practice, rather than being embedded as discreet skills in one class or discipline.
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