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ACM Information Literacy Project Workshops and activities for psychology faculty |
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Psychology faculty and librarians at ACM colleges have worked to develop models for teaching information literacy in the psychology classroom. The groups' first activity was a workshop in summer 2003 (see below). There was a follow-up workshop in July 2004. |
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Psychology workshop in July 2003 |
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Overview: Information literacy in psychology To many, “information literacy” is the current buzzword for teaching students to do something they have been doing for a long time -- how to find, evaluate and use information on issues in Psychology. So what has changed to anoint these activities with a new rubric and to call for new skills and new approaches? First, some of us may still be more familiar with using printed sources than electronic sources. And the way that print sources are traditionally provided offers several safeguards in their use. Libraries are not only organized on a common basis which we have come to understand, but are staffed by trained professionals who serve as guides to the collection. Moreover, the expense of holding materials requires a filtering of materials into the standing collection -- a filtering, in college and university libraries, largely based on quality and disciplinary relevance. With the Web, students access information directly, perhaps with little training on how to search effectively for information on psychology and how to critically assess the quality and authority of the information they find. Second, while access to both qualitative information and data has increased and the cost and time required to obtain information has decreased, faculty seem, too often, to feel that the quality of student research has fallen rather than risen. Many of us object to papers drawn too heavily from Web-based sources. Where we are familiar with the literature or the availability of data on a topic, we are taken aback by students' inability to find it and evaluate it. It sometimes appears to us that students are conducting the academic equivalent of mid-ocean drift netting -- sweeping the ocean clean for miles, but catching too much that cannot be used. As faculty and information specialists, we face the challenge of exploiting this information revolution and teaching our students to do the same. Many of us were trained in a research process in which we found a good current article and worked back, to previous works, and out, to related works. While this skill is still relevant, a student starting on the Web must sort in, to the relevant material, and down, to works of quality and authority. With respect to quantitative information, we need to ask what new opportunities this ready access to data creates for undergraduate instruction and research. The result of this analysis will enable us to develop assignments for various widely-taught psychology courses that will aid students in gaining stronger skills in using these recently available materials. The planning committee felt that faculty in the field of psychology could collaborate effectively to develop assignments to help students gain necessary information retrieval and evaluation skills. The curricula on different campuses have many common elements. We share a common structure of introductory, intermediate, and research courses. We look forward to a fruitful discussion among ACM colleagues. |
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In late July 2003, 24 psychologists and librarians met at St. Olaf College to discuss ways to teach information literacy in the psychology classroom. Thomas Pusateri, director of assessment and Florida Atlantic University and executive director of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, outlined the topic in a keynote address. Campus teams described how they teach information literacy in introductory, research methods, and special topics classes. The entire group brainstormed on the information competencies needed by students of psychology at each level. The workshop participants agreed that teaching psychology was a natural fit for information literacy. The field requires knowing how to find and cite references -- in effect, how to become part of the ongoing scholarly conversation. The psychology curriculum is also highly structured, with students moving through a sequence of courses that is fairly consistent from college to college. The psychologists agreed that certain information literacy skills, such as identifying quality articles from quality journals, critically evaluating sources, citing sources correctly, and developing a strong thesis, need to be taught at different levels. Reference materials from the workshop are available at www.lawrence.edu/fac/revieg/acminfolit/psychinfolit.html. At the end of the workshop participants identified several projects they were interested in pursuing over the coming year. Among them were:
Each project will be spearheaded by one or more participants; the ACM information literacy grant will provide financial support where requested. A possible follow-up meeting next summer may share the results of these projects. In the meantime, the psychologists hope to develop an electronic mailing list for the sharing of assignments and resources. If you are interested in knowing more about the workshop or follow-up activities, contact ACM (312/263-5000). |
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Return to: Information Literacy Project home ... workshops and ongoing activities |
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