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Information Literacy for Your Classroom


The information literate student:

  1. Appreciates the value of information in decision-making, recognizes when information is needed, and understands how information is produced, organized and disseminated.
  2. Determines information needs for the task at hand.
  3. Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently, using appropriate investigative methods or information retrieval systems.
  4. Critically evaluates the information retrieved.
  5. Understands the legal, economic, and social issues surrounding the use of information; accesses and uses information ethically and legally.

  1. Information has value.

    2. Students will:

    • Appreciate the value of information in decision making.
    • Recognize when information is needed.
    • Understand how information is created, organized and disseminated.

    Real life application- A student receives an assignment to research the issue of illegal immigration in the United States. The student realizes he/she cannot rely on their own knowledge base but must seek outside sources of information regarding the subject. They understand that numerous resources, in various formats, have been created on the topic.

    Webpages, tutorials, handouts and other resources for teaching this competency

  2. Certain tasks require specific information.

    3. Students will:

    • Create a search strategy.
    • Find and retrieve information in various formats.
    • Identify keywords for their search strategy.

    Real life application- A student is asked to compare and contrast the profile of an average college student in the United States with a profile of the average Northern Kentucky University student. The student decides to search for statistics on students in the U.S. Census, to search for articles dealing with students and higher education in the library’s database, and to search for specific information on NKU students at the Student Retention and Assessment Office on campus.

    Webpages, tutorials, handouts and other resources for teaching this competency

  3. Skills are needed to access, evaluate and incorporate information.

    4. Students will:

    • Extract meaningful information from targeted resources.
    • Evaluate information in order to determine if it is valid, usable, and timely.
    • Analyze how the information relates to their needs.

    Real life application-A student is asked to write an essay on the theme of immortality as it is expressed in the poems of Emily Dickinson and how this theme has been interpreted by 20th century literary critics. The student will want to read some of Dickinson’s poetry in order to form their own opinion. They will review the pertinent literary criticism written during the 1900’s that addresses the theme of immortality.

    Webpages, tutorials, handouts and other resources for teaching this competency

  4. Information is used effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

    5. Students will:

    • Construct and produce a piece of work based on gathered information.
    • Reflect on concepts, theses, and relationships discovered in research.
    • Communicate their ideas effectively through their writing.

    Real life application-A student is asked to write a summary paper on three primary research projects in nanotechnology and how they might impact future research. The student will select and read three articles. They will write their paper by summarizing the research findings and their relationships with each other in addition to theorizing how these results will lead to future projects.

    Webpages, tutorials, handouts and other resources for teaching this competency

  5. Information must be used legally and ethically.

    6. Students will:

    • Document sources in order to avoid plagiarism.
    • Legally obtain and use information.
    • Understand issues of copyright and intellectual property.

    Real life application-In an English Literature class, each student is asked to keep an annotated bibliography of the books, short stories and poems they read during the semester. The student is to use the APA style when citing a source.

    Webpages, tutorials, handouts and other resources for teaching this competency

updated: Monday, 09-Jul-2007 15:48:03 EDT

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