General Education and Information Literacy: Partnering with Faculty on Curriculum Reform

1. General Education and Information Literacy: Partnering with Faculty on Curriculum Reform Presented by : Mary Krautter, Reference and Information Services, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Libraries

2. It’s all About the Students!

3. The Academic Librarian’s Challenge How do we reach students? • At the Reference Desk • On our websites • Through presentations to classes Maximize impact: • Through faculty • Through administrators • Through curriculum

4. The Road to Information Literacy Concept first widely used in the late 1980s ALA’s Presidential Committee on Information Literacy in 1989

5. Information Literacy: Revolution in the Library (1989) by Patricia Senn Breivik and E. Gordon Gee Success in information literacy depends on “active partnerships between librarians and faculty in the instructional process.” Breivik and Gee also stress the vital role of academic presidents and vice presidents in integrating IL

6. Information Literacy in the 1990s • Progression of librarians adopting IL principles • Collaboration with faculty increased but emphasis on individual disciplines and classes • Moving toward more visibility among faculty • Emphasis on higher level skills • Change from librarian mediator to self service model due to changes in online information

7. Moving from individual faculty to curriculum level • Breivik (1998) “the best place to start information literacy planning is with general education or core curriculum, where concerns for competencies that all students should acquire provide a natural home for the discussion of information literacy abilities”

8. ACRL Information Competency Standards for Higher Education • Approved by the Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) on January 18, 2000 • Widely adopted and endorsed by numerous bodies

9. American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) • Founded in 1915 • Members include over 1,100 colleges and universities of every type and size: large and small, public and private, research and master’s universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and state systems • Focus is the quality of student learning in the college years • Committed to extending the advantage of a liberal education to all students

10. Greater Expectations : A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)(2002) report with a vision of “empowered learners” with the ability to transform information into knowledge and knowledge into judgment and action

11. Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Board of Directors (2004) Recommended that campuses assess key outcomes including “strong analytical, communication, quantitative and information skills

12. Regional Accrediting Bodies Specifically mention “information literacy” • Middle States Commission on Higher Education • New England Association of Schools and Colleges • Western Association of Schools and Colleges Don’t use term but do include related attributes Southern Association of Schools and Colleges North West Commission on Colleges and Universities

13. Moving Into Curriculum Mainstream • ACRL IL Standards created a clearly stated foundation • Adoption by a variety of higher education organizations • IL is the “gold standard”

14. From Information Literacy To General Education New Tricks for Middle Aged Dogs

15. My UNCG experience Role as ex-officio, non-voting member of the General Education Council – a body formed in 2007 Charge: • Establish policies and procedures for General Education • Conduct ongoing course approval • Address concerns raised in General Education reviews

16. UNCG General Education 5 Year Review (2006) Internal Self study: • Concluded that a structure of 10 General Education Curriculum committees including 80 faculty members wasn’t able to provide coordination and coherence • Recommended a 10 member oversight committee to be “charged with upholding and developing the requirements, management, and assessment of the general education curriculum at UNCG”

17. UNCG External Review (2006) Advised : • “UNCG needs to do some careful definition of the purposes of undergraduate education” • Determine what “student knowledge, skills, and understanding will be outward signs of having achieved those purposes”

18. General Education Summer Workshop • Two week intensive workshop in 2008 including faculty, administrators and students and 1 librarian Goal – to give participants the opportunity to assist the General Education Council in : • Defining the purpose of general education at UNCG • Articulating the relationship between the GEC and general education as a whole • Clarifying the overall general education learning goals, outlining a plan for operationalizing the learning goals.

19. What We Accomplished • Knowledge of national trends in General Education • Intensive examination of UNCG’s current structure • Examination of assessment and accreditation issues • Intensive work on coming up with draft of new goals • Plan for presenting goals to campus • Report to Provost

20. Existing UNCG Learning Goals (approved by Faculty Senate in March 2000) Proficiencies ability to write and speak clearly, coherently, and effectively as well as to adapt modes of communication to one’s audience ability to interpret academic writing and discourse in a variety of disciplines ability to interpret numerical data and perform basic computation ability to locate, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information ability to utilize appropriate technologies Knowledge and Understanding Scientific principles and their use in scientific inquiry Mathematical principles and their use in solving problems Historical, cultural, and philosophical traditions that have shaped our diverse society Significant elements of the world’s diversity of cultural and national experiences, and interconnections among them The aims and methods of intellectual, spiritual, literary, and artistic expression The importance that abstract ideas and artistic expression have in the process of self-understanding and in the shaping of society The individual, society, and interactions between them Habits of Mind and Attributes of Character Sensitivity to social and cultural differences Sensitivity and attentiveness to the ethical dimensions of any problem or experience A disposition to weigh opposing viewpoints in the balance of reason and to develop an informed perspective A disposition to continue learning and to welcome new knowledge and insight (intellectual curiosity) Openness to the value of new social, cultural, or aesthetic forms (flexibility of mind and sensibility) An appreciation for the broader social, intellectual, and historical contexts of individual events and situations Recognition of social and intellectual responsibility DRAFT Revision Learning Goal 1: Foundational Skills*** think critically, communicate effectively, and demonstrate fundamental skills in information and quantitative literacy Learning Goal 2: The Aesthetic World Understand the perception and expression of aesthetic experience as essential features of human interaction . Learning Goal 3: The Natural World Understand fundamental principles of mathematics and science, and recognize their relevance in the world. Learning Goal 4: The Social World explain how historical, political, social, and economic forces shape individuals, social groups, and communities, in diverse contexts from local to global Learning Goal 5: Personal Development*** Develop a capacity for active citizenship, growth, and lifelong learning in a global society *** These learning goals may be integrative in nature throughout other learning goals. Comparison of Existing and Revised General Education Goals

21. NEXT STEPS for the General Education Council • Currently presenting and gathering feedback on draft goals • Presented to Faculty Senate in October • Faculty Forum on November 19 • Analysis of all feedback and response • How to gather student input???

22. What I Learned? • Appreciation of the difficulty of establishing curriculum goals • Appreciation of politics and need for communication • Appreciation of respect for tradition and difficulty of implementing change AND WAY MORE THAN I’VE EVER KNOWN ABOUT GENERAL EDUCATION

23. LEAP – Liberal Education and America’s Promise: Excellence for Everyone as a Nation Goes to College http://www.aacu.org/LEAP/index.cfm • 10 year campaign launched in 2005 by AAC&U to champion the value of a liberal education • Goal is “to expand public and student understanding of what really matters in college”

24. Making the Case for Liberal Education (2006) In the LEAP campaign, AAC&U uses “liberal education” to refer to a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills that cultivates social responsibility and a broad sense of ethics and values.

25. College Learning for the New Global Century http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf published through the LEAP initiative in 2007, spells out essential aims, learning outcomes, and guiding principles for a twenty-first-century college education

26. The Essential Learning Outcomes • Beginning in school, and continuing at successively higher levels across their college studies, students should prepare for twenty-first-century challenges by gaining: Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World • • Through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, • humanities, histories, languages, and the arts • Focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary • and enduring Intellectual and Practical Skills, including • Practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of • progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards • for performance Personal and Social Responsibility, including • • Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global • • Intercultural knowledge and competence • • Ethical reasoning and action • • Foundations and skills for lifelong learning • Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and • real-world challenges Integrative Learning, including • • Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and • specialized studies • Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and • responsibilities to new settings and complex problems

27. Intellectual and Practical Skills: • Inquiry and analysis • Critical and creative thinking • Written and oral communication • Quantitative literacy • Information literacy • Teamwork and problem solving

28. What Employers Value Employers want Colleges to Place More Emphasis On: Science and Technology 82% Critical Thinking and Analytical Reasoning 73% Information Literacy 70% Complex Problem Solving 64% Ethics and values 56% Based on a 2006 survey of employers commissioned by AAC&U

29. What Students Value • Student focus groups held in 2005 – 4 locations and 4 regions of US • High School Seniors and Rising Seniors • College students at public and private colleges and universities • Findings show that students differ radically from faculty on their views on learning outcomes • Students focus on outcomes such as: • Sense of maturity • Time management and work habits • Self-discipline

30. University of Wisconsin Liberal Education Initiative UW working with AAC&U has adopted campus action and advocacy efforts that champion the value of a liberal education. The initiative seeks “to make the goals and outcomes of liberal education, which we view as essential to productive citizenship in 21st century global society, accessible and valuable to all UW students, regardless of chosen major or type of degree earned.”

31. Learning Centered Approach • What faculty teach vs. what students learn • Active learning • Critical thinking • Integrative learning

32. Assessment A major emphasis in campus curriculum and reform Includes: • Developing rubrics • Program assessment vs. individual assessment • Broad and achievable learning goals • Standardized tests • Essential role for accrediting agencies

33. High Impact Educational Practices (2008) Methods to achieve the AAC&U learning goals Strong possibilities for research/library connections

34. Undergraduate Research • The Council on Undergraduate Research lists approximately 50 undergraduate research publications from universities and colleges around the country • Undergraduate Research conferences

35. Learning Communities and Shared Intellectual Experiences • 1st year courses and experiences • Residential colleges • Freshman Reads and One Book, One Campus programs • Becoming part of the college experience

36. Service Learning and Internships • Part of the liberal education ideal of becoming a fully rounded citizen • Making colleges and universities part of the community • Increasingly prevalent in higher education in a variety of programs

37. Capstone projects Often used for Honors programs, but becoming more commonly required of all students • Generally, based on student’s major • Can be thesis, performance or art exhibit • Often research intensive .

38. Writing Intensive Courses • Writing Across the Curriculum – no longer expected that all writing skills will be gained in freshman English • Possible model for “Research Across the Curriculum”

39. Diversity/Global Learning • The World REALLY is flat • Encouraging students to experience other cultures, other viewpoints

40. UNC Tomorrow to prepare students for successful professional and personal lives in the 21st century higher education will need to improve student proficiency in “soft skills” Among these are: • Communication • Leadership • Analytical thinking • Teamwork

41. Questions that Remain • How can libraries work within the process of general education reform to integrate information literacy more fully into curriculum? • How can we work with faculty to make information literacy integral to individual classes? • How can we develop goals and outcomes that can be assessed as part of general edeucation?

42. Recommendations • Become part of the curriculum process by whatever means possible • Approach faculty armed with knowledge of what general education is trying to accomplish • Look at the whole curriculum, not just where information literacy fits • Examine ways to make information literacy part of all learning goals

43. QUESTIONS and Shared experiences? Thanks for your attention!