Information Literacy for the 21st Century Learner

I recently viewed the teleconference, “Information Literacy for the 21^st Century Learner: Reaching At-Risk High School and Community College Students,” provided by the College of DuPage’s Library Learning Network. The program focused on a project with the same name by the Network of Illinois Learning Resources in Community Colleges (NILRC). A major component of this project is the Needs Assessment Instrument, which is available for others to use free of charge.

Other Things I Learned About

Standards: In developing this project, NILRC not only referred to information literacy standards, such as those by ACRL and AASL, but also considered general education standards: the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) and the Center for Educational Policy Research’s Standards for Success. SCANS considers the skills required to succeed in the modern work world. The report lists 6 “Functional Skills Needed for Effective Work Performance,” including “Information Management: Acquires and uses necessary information.” The purpose of the Standards for Success project was to define the skills students needed to successfully complete entry-level university courses. Several of the standards, provided in Understanding University Success, focus on the ability to locate and use information.

Instruction Design: Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe discussed the Kolb Cycle of Experiential Learning, Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction, and ARCS Motivation Theory.