274 p. · $50.00
8½" x 11" · Spiral-bound
Includes supplementary materials on disk

ISBN 0-9652711-7-X
© 2001

Teaching Information Literacy Concepts: Activities and Frameworks from the Field

Trudi E. Jacobson and Timothy H. Gatti, Contributing Editors
Active Learning Series, no. 6

From the Editor | Reviews and Comments | Table of Contents
Sample Lesson Plan (260K, PDF) | Order this Book

From the Editors

"'Information literate' students are increasingly recognized on university, college, and high school campuses as essential. Part of the impetus comes from employers, who want a workforce that knows how to find information to meet new situations and needs. More and more academic administrators understand that one or two course-related instruction sessions are not enough for students to learn the sophisticated information seeking skills that they need.

"Not surprisingly, there has recently been a surge in the number of higher education institutions that are offering for-credit information literacy courses. ...Some of these courses are primarily basic classes that teach important information concepts and searching skills. Others are more specialized and sophisticated. Regardless, putting together such a course and developing the material for the class sessions can be daunting and extremely time consuming. However, by borrowing ideas, lessons, and assignments that have already been developed and tested, it becomes much easier. ...This book shares hands-on activities, lesson plans, assignments, and course frameworks that are being used by over 40 librarians throughout the United States. Many are designed for introductory information literacy classes, while others have been developed for use in more specialized classes."

Reviews and Comments

"Anyone who teaches research instruction or information literacy concepts should have a copy (for $50 it's a bargain). There are great ideas from librarians that you can adapt for your needs. This is the most pragmatic resource I've found regarding ways in which to include active learning in instruction." - Rebecca Eve Graff, SMU

Teaching Information Literacy Concepts - "we love it! There is so much great stuff in there." - Sarah Burns Feyl, Pace University

Table of Contents

62 lesson plans in 6 sections

Course Frameworks and Assessment
  • Meta-Learning Research Project
  • Library Ambassadors
  • Using Poster Sessions in a Chemical Information Literacy Course
  • Research Notebooks: A Framework for an Information Literacy Course
  • Annotated Bibliography Project
  • Research Presentation
  • Using a Concept Map to Assess Learning
  • Culmination Project for an Information Literacy Course (or Series of Workshops) for Art Students
  • Authentic Assessment in Information Literacy Courses: A Holistic Framework of Student Evaluation
  • Critical Thinking in an Information World
Library and Research Skills and Strategies
  • Tour and Tell
  • Covering the Catalog
  • LC Potpourri
  • Library vs. Bookstore: Field Trip!
  • A Primer for the 2000 United States Presidential Election: An Integrated Approach to Presenting Library Resources in Information Literacy Activities
  • Translating a Citation
  • Teaching Print and Electronic Resources through Student Presentations
  • Writing Annotations
  • Evaluation of Sources through Their Citations
  • Let's Play Telephone
  • What Do I Do Next?
  • Citation Scan: Scholarly or Popular?
  • Charting Your Research
  • Teaching First-Year Students Coping Skills for Information Overload in the Virtual Library
  • Different Types of Information Organizations (Including Libraries)
  • What's Wrong Citation Style Exercise
  • Six Sources in 30 Minutes
  • Using Questions to Evaluate: Or, If at First You Don't Deceive, Try, Try Again
  • Pick a Number, Any Number: An Information Review Activity
Hierarchy of Learning, Publication Flow, and Formats
  • The Five W's of the Scholarly Communication Process
  • Exploring the Definition(s) of Information
  • Primary and Secondary Sources; Presentation and In-Class Exercise
  • Publications Hierarchy: Question Authority!
  • Defining, Identifying, and Understanding the Difference between Data, Information, and Knowledge
  • Primary vs. Secondary Sources
  • Production and Transfer of Information in the Sciences
  • Around the World of Information
OPACs, Databases, and Indexes: Content and Searching Techniques
  • Human Database
  • Search Scenario
  • Let's Go Fishing! Introduction Library Databases and Basic Keyword Search Techniques
  • Translating English into Computerese: An Exercise in Building Keyword Search Statements for Library Databases
  • Creating Effective Search Strategies
  • Print Periodical Indexes CAN Be Useful
  • Effective Database Searches: Setting the Stage and Evaluating Learning
  • Teaching Students the Concept of Controlled Vocabulary
  • Using Tattooing to Teach Boolean Searching
  • Understanding Controlled Vocabulary: A Thesaurus Exercise
  • Boolean Logic
  • Empowering Students: Encouraging Peer to Peer Learning
Internet Content and Evaluation
  • Internet Past, Present, and Future
  • Internet Directories and Search Engines
  • Course Research Assignments and Web Site Evaluation
  • Lists of "Best Web Sites" and Web Site Evaluation
  • Web Page Design and Web Site Evaluation
  • Finding U.S. Government Information on the Internet
Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues Related to Information Literacy
  • Hey, That's No Fair! Copyright and Fair Use Case Studies
  • From Ethics to Copyright Law: Protecting Intellectual Property in the 21st Century
  • Digital Divide
  • Androids, Cyborgs and Robots: A Glimpse into Technoculture's Future?
  • City Council Lab
  • Virtually Homeless
  • You Be the Judge: Internet Filters and Censorship