1. Implementing a New Curriculum
for Information Literacy:
lessons from LSE
Jane Secker, Maria Bell & Katy Wrathall
@jsecker @bellmari @SmilyLibrarian
IFLA Satellite Meeting ‘The Road to Information Literacy’ August 2012
2. Introducing the New Curriculum for Information
Literacy (ANCIL)
◦ Discussion and thoughts
Strategies for implementing ANCIL
The ANCIL audit at LSE
◦ How might it be useful in your institution?
3. Developing the new curriculum
◦ Arcadia Fellowship with Emma Coonan at Cambridge
◦ Academic advisor: Prof. John Naughton
Research remit: Develop a new, revolutionary
curriculum for information literacy in a digital age
◦ Understand the needs of undergraduates entering higher
education over the coming 5 years
◦ Map the current landscape of information literacy
◦ Develop a practical curriculum and supporting resources
Multiple outputs from the research
4. Modified Delphi study
◦ means of obtaining expert future forecasting
◦ consulted widely in the fields of information and education
Literature review
◦ theoretical overview of the field
◦ revealed conflicts in terminology, pedagogic approach, values
Expert workshop
◦ method, findings and preliminary curriculum presented
curriculum refined in light of feedback
7. Information literacy is a continuum of skills,
behaviours, approaches and values that is so
deeply entwined with the uses of information
as to be a fundamental element of learning,
scholarship and research.
It is the defining characteristic of the
discerning scholar, the informed and judicious
citizen, and the autonomous learner.
ANCIL definition of information literacy (2011)
8.
9. What is a curriculum?
◦ What does it mean to have a curriculum (as
opposed to a model or competency framework) for
Information Literacy?
How might a curriculum impact on
◦ your provision to students?
◦ your understanding of your own role?
◦ your interaction with other professions in your
institution (and beyond)?
15. LSE is a specialist social science institution
teaching wide range of subjects
Highly ranked in terms of research excellence
Cosmopolitan student body, relatively small
undergraduate population
Compulsory core course for undergraduates
(LSE100)
Traditional teaching and assessment: lectures
& seminars and end of year exams
LSE use Moodle
16. To inform Library / CLT teaching provision
To highlight good practice and any gaps in provision
Put information literacy on the agenda at LSE
Planning various reports for different audiences:
◦ Report for Library and CLT
◦ Report for LSE100 Course team
◦ Short paper for Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Committee?
17. Interviews with key members of staff to explore
provision in central support departments,
Interviews with Deans of UG and PG Studies
Interviews / online survey with academic staff
Questionnaire for Academic Support Librarians
Student focus groups
◦ How prepared are they for study at LSE
◦ What support students they need
◦ Their preference for delivery
18. Unequal provision across ANCIL strands and
support often not joined up
Much provision informal, standalone, not assessed
Services often not coordinated
However
◦ Belief that IL is important, needs to be embedded and
student learning should be scaffolded
◦ Evidence of willingness to change and opportunities to
work together arising from work
19. Good understanding of IL but focus on online information:
find, evaluate and manage
They tend to cover strands 1-5 in more detail
Rarely cover ethical and social dimension
Some courses (quantitative) state Strand 9 not required at UG
level
Highlights examples of good practice and suggested skills
embedded at some level
Time a factor in UG curriculum
Assumptions that students ‘should’ have IL skills when they
arrive are problematic
20. Clear engagement with strands 1, 5 & 6 while strands 8, 9
and 10 not well covered
Less evidence that IL is truly embedded although
recognised as ideal
Recognised need to work with other professionals
(Careers, Teaching & Learning)
Belief that embedding is difficult
Inconsistent coverage across departments
Not all ANCIL strand titles clear to librarians
21. Information use is largely driven by reading lists and
resources in Moodle
Very dependent on lecturers for direction
Unaware of expertise of librarians
More likely to seek support from Careers, IT Training, TLC
rather than Library
No systematic coordination between departments and
services
Often seek out help at point of need (or crisis?)
22. Teaching & Learning Centre
Language Centre
Careers LSE100
Language Centre Departments
Library
Teaching & Learning
Centre
Departments
Departments Language Centre
Library
LSE100
Language Centre
Teaching & Learning Centre
Careers Teaching & Learning Centre
Departments Departments
LSE100 Language Centre
Library
Centre for Learning Library
Technology
Library Library
23.
24. Phase 1 reports
• Executive summary, expert consultation report, and
theoretical background
• Curriculum and supporting documents
http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com/
Phase 2 resources and case studies
• Case studies - University of Worcester, York St John
University
• Cambridge resources
http://implementingancil.pbworks.com
YouTube Video
• Search for “ANCIL curriculum”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY-V2givIiE
25. LSE Library: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/library/
Maria m.bell@lse.ac.uk
LSE Centre for Learning Technology: http://clt.lse.ac.uk/
Jane j.secker@lse.ac.uk
York St John University Library Services:
http://library.yorksj.ac.uk/index.php
Katy k.wrathall@yorksj.ac.uk
Thanks to Darren Moon, LSE ANCIL
Audit project team
Editor's Notes
EmmaThe 2011 Demos report argues that helping young people navigate hugely variable Internet sources should be achieved not by tighter controls but by ensuring they can make informed judgements (4).The move towards independent learning is again key not just to our practices but in our thinking – we should think less about the internet causing harm (passive learning model) and instead focus on what young people bring to the technologies – helping them equip and empower themselves with an understanding of how to apply critical judgement.The Guardian’s high-provile digital literacy campaign for radical change to how ICT is taught and thought about in schools, JISC’s portfolio of projects around the digital library, data management, digital repositories, and Vitae’s events for the ‘Digital Researcher’ – all show that this concept of digital literacy or fluency is becoming of national importance (at last!). In this environment we have a chance to rehabilitate IL.
JaneInfluenced by UNESCOHolistic ModularEmbedded FlexibleActive and assessedTransitional : Transferable : TransformationalJaneholistic: supporting the whole process of researching and writing rather than just teaching traditional library skills modular: ongoing classes to meet the developing needs of students during their whole academic career, not just one-shot sessions embedded and flexible: can be implemented and taught not only by librarians but by study skills advisors, learning developers, supervisors and lecturers (depending on the needs and structure of the institution) active and assessed: containing a significant element of active and reflective learning, including peer assessment elements, in order to help students develop into informed and autonomous learnersTransitionalTransferableTransformationalTransition occurs in learners, who enter university from a wide variety of backgrounds, but often need to make the transition from school to higher education. They also have to make the transition from dependent to autonomous learning.The curriculum content needs to be transferable, forming a part of education, not simply ‘library training.’ Information literacy fosters and develops appropriatebehaviour, approaches, cognitive functions and skills surrounding the use of information. In essence information literacy equips students with the capacity to generate their own strategies for dealing with new information contexts, for example when they leave higher education and enter the workplace.Finally, information literacy should be transformational for the learner, changing their attitude, behaviour, outlook and even their world-view. Therefore this curriculum has the potential to change lives and make a real difference to society.
Katy – now curriculum is defined what next?How best to take it forward in an HE institution?Logical next step is using ANCIL to audit existing provision across the institution (mounting block analogy)
KatyUsing strands to inform the questionsAncillary questions to identify any issuesQuestionnaire v interview
KatyStrands alone initiate reaction, often lack of recognition of own provisionExpansion of strands then prompts reflection, often interviewees realise they do deliver the strands in some wayLeads to reflection on collaborative holistic approach
KatyResults identified who could lead, enthusiasts and cynics (need both), how to get institutional buy-in, where there were gaps in understanding and provision and what resources might be neededAction plan can be createdLike any campaign, keep moving and do not lose the impetus
You need to identify the important players before you auditAllow time – 3 weeks in a 10 week project is not enough – but make sure you maintain the impetusFind the right format and right reward reward to encourage participation
LSE has around 9000 students in total, 4500 are undergraduates. The rest are postgraduate and come from over 140 countries. Largest departments Economics and Accounting and Finance but strong qualitative departments: Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, Philosophy, Social Policy, Geography, International History etc. 16 Nobel Prize winners from LSE – the first being George Bernard Shaw who was one of the founders of the school34 past or present world leaders have studied ot taught at LSE.
Unequal provision across ANCIL strands and support often not joined upMuch provision informal, standalone, not assessedServices often not working togetherHowever Belief that IL is important, needs to be embedded and student learning scaffoldedEvidence of willingness to change and opportunities to work together arising from work
Good understanding of IL but focus on online information: find, evaluate and manageThey tend to cover strands 1-5 in more detailRarely cover ethical and social dimensionSome courses (quantitative) state Strand 9 not required at UG levelHighlights examples of good practice and suggested skills embedded at some levelTime a factor in UG curriculum
Clear engagement with strands 1, 6 & 7Strands 8, 9 and 10 not well coveredLittle evidence that IL is embedded although recognised as idealRecognised need to work with other professionals (Careers, Teaching & Learning)Belief that embedding is difficult, might be met with resistance from faculty, organisational problems, timetables all seen as reasons why it might not happenInconsistent coverage across departmentsNot all ANCIL strand titles clear