Increasing Information Literacy for Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduates

1. Increasing Information Literacy for Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduates Moderator: Octavio Ramirez, University of Georgia Presenters: Joan Fulton, Purdue University Mary Dugan, Purdue University Leah Greden Mathews, University of North Carolina - Asheville Lynn Hamilton, California Polytechnic State University Katherine O'Clair, California Polytechnic State University Jay Noel, California Polytechnic State University TLC/NAAEA Track Session

2. The Purdue Team Approach to Promote Information Literacy Joan Fulton Professor of Agricultural Economics Mary Dugan Associate Professor of Libraries

3. Fulton had project she had used over many years in senior level undergraduate marketing course AGEC 426 Current Issues Project

4. Students Developed Skills in: Integrative Learning Oral Communication AGEC 426 Current Issues Project Ethical Reasoning Creative Thinking Critical Thinking Information Literacy

5. Students had to conduct a search and screening process to find the Current Issues Topic for the Project AGEC 426 Current Issues Project

6. Over the years . . . Quality of the Topics was falling

7. WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS IDEA - ITS NOT A CURRENT ISSUE

8. I knew I needed help . . . So I partnered with Mary Dugan, faculty member in Libraries

9. You can read about our approach . . . • Dugan, Mary and Joan Fulton, (2012) “Introducing Library Research Databases to Agricultural Economics Students.” National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Journal. Volume 56, No. 3, pp. 44 – 47. • http://www.nactateachers.org/vol-56-num-3-september-2012/1990-introducing-library-research-databases-to-agricultural-economics-students.html

10. Leah GredenMathews University of North Carolina - Asheville

11. Unique in the UNC system: public liberal arts university • Primarily undergraduate • 3500 students, 214 full time faculty • Known for • Undergraduate Research • 4 course Humanities sequence • Providing a liberal arts college experience at a public tuition price • Forbes, Fiske, Princeton Review, Kiplinger’s: “Best Buy,” “Best Value,” “top-notch academic experience,” etc. • Great location

12. Integrative Liberal Studies at UNCA • Learning foundations • Academic Writing (4 hrs; IL) • Foreign Language (0-6 hrs) • Health and Wellness Promotion (2-3 hrs) • Laboratory Natural Science (4 hrs) • Mathematics (4 hrs) • Liberal Studies Colloquia • freshman/transfer colloquium (3 hrs; transfer colloquium is IL) • A capstone experience (usually a 4th HUM course; 4hrs) • Intensives • 3 Writing-Intensive courses • 1 Diversity-Intensive course • 1 Quantitative-Intensive course • 2 (1 additional) Information literacy-Intensive courses • Humanities Cluster (3 courses; 12 hrs) • Topical Cluster (3 courses: 1 NS, 1 SS, 1 other; 9 hrs) • Arts (3 hrs)

13. Information Literacy Intensive Course Student Learning Outcomes • Find information presented in different formats (for example, in books, scholarly journals, and authoritative web sites). • Evaluate information presented in different formats. • Integrate information from different sources into their assignments. • Cite information from different formats as appropriate to the discipline in which they are writing. • Demonstrate academic integrity by respecting intellectual property, using information ethically, and avoiding plagiarizing. 

14. IL in Economics: ECON 380 • ECON 380: Approaches to Research in Economics (1 cr) • Required for all majors; 1st of 2 classes in senior capstone • Course presents an overview of alternative approaches to the conduct of research in economics • Read and discuss papers that use different research methods • Students develop a proposal for research to be conducted the following semester • Information literacy is determined by successful completion of the proposal

15. For more information • Leah Greden Mathews lmathews@unca.edu • UNCA http://www.unca.edu • Integrative Liberal Studies http://ils.unca.edu • Info Literacy http://ils.unca.edu/information-literacy-intensives

16. Early Introduction to Information Literacy – AGB 101 Lynn Hamilton Cal Poly Agribusiness Department

17. Several goals of AGB 101 • Identify and describe agriculture’s contribution to the economy, and the many career opportunities in the food and fiber system • Describe and analyze activities in agribusiness production, finance, marketing and distribution, both generally and for one of California’s top commodities • Analyze and describe economics principles underpinning the food system. • Conduct research using a variety of sources, compile findings and write clearly about an assigned California commodity.

18. Information Gathering/Research in AGB 101 • Iterative Process • Project is assigned in 4 parts, following topics in class. 80 different commodities, randomly assigned. • 1. Production – find acres, # growers, 10-year production trends, climate needed • 2. Marketing channel – sales, exports, prices at wholesale/retail, processing, transportation • 3. Economics/Business – supply/demand trends affecting commodity, CA business profile in commodity, marketing orders • 4. Put it all together, correct anything from previous versions, make a complete story of the product.

19. Writing Skills and Research • At the undergrad level, BOTH need to be conducted iteratively • Students need feedback on both writing and information collection • Need to develop skills in finding good, reliable information • One-shot assignments will not yield desired results • Hard to break the “Google” habit

20. What I’ve found works… • Work with your librarian – she/he is a valuable asset! • Be prepared to hold LOTS of office hours • If you use a graduate TA, need to spend time working with them to understand requirements • Incredible amount of time spent

21. Next steps.. • Measure improvement in information literacy/competency • Similar to Fulton/Duggan, will measure pre-post via a survey to classes this Fall. • Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a huge gain from beginning to end • Bigger question – does it carry over to subsequent quarters/semesters/years?

22. Questions? • Thank you! • Lynn Hamilton • lhamilto@calpoly.edu

23. The Role of Librarians Katherine O'Clair, California Polytechnic State University

24. Librarians define information literacy as… one’s ability to “recognize when information is needed and … to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.”* *American Library Association. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. Final Report.(Chicago: American Library Association, 1989.)

25. Our Approach

26. Student Learning Outcomes

27. Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education • Established by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in 2000 • Currently under revision • Used as a set of guiding principles for teaching information literacy

28. ACRL IL Standards “An information literate individual is able to: • Determine the extent of information needed • Access the needed information effectively and efficiently • Evaluate information and its sources critically • Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base • Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose • Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally” Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/standards/standards.pdf.

29. IL in Agribusiness at Cal Poly

31. Practical Considerations • Course integrated information literacy is best • Connect with course learning outcomes and assignments • Course collaboration is best for all involved • Best approach for all students to receive instruction • Students struggle with connections and synthesis of information • Don’t see relation between what they already know and what they are learning

32. Integrating Information Literacy Into the Agribusiness Curriculum: Observations of the ChairJay E. Noel, Ph.D.Chair and Professor, California Polytechnic State University Agribusiness Department

33. Information Literacy and the Curriculum: Some Thoughts • Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. • Integrating information literacy programs throughout a curriculum is about enabling students to develop skills to learn independently and to carry on learning, throughout their employment professional and personal lifetime. • Information literacy cannot be effectively implemented as an add-on course or to a curriculum class. It needs to be thoroughly integrated into the design of courses and reflected in both objectives for individual courses and the entire curriculum .(D.W. Farmer “Information Literacy: Developing Students as Independent Learners, New Directions for Higher Education Vol. 1992, Issue 78 pgs. 103-112, Summer 1992) 1992.

34. The Need to Incorporate Information Literacy into the Cal Poly Agribusiness Curriculum • Cal Poly Learning Objectives: Thinkcritically and creatively; Communicate effectively; Demonstrate expertise in a scholarly discipline and understand that discipline in relation to the larger world of the arts, sciences, and technology; Work productively as individuals and in groups; Use their knowledge and skills to make a positive contribution to society; Make reasoned decisions based on an understanding of ethics; a respect for diversity, and an awareness of issues related to sustainability; and engage in lifelong learning. • Agribusiness Learning Objectives: Exhibit critical thinking and complex problem-solving skills leading to engaging in lifelong learning; Develop technical competency in their discipline but will also learn to think in a broader global context;Possess oral and written communication skills that are effective with diverse audiences (employers, employees, industry, and government); Graduates are industry-ready with skills and knowledge employers’ value. • Industry Expectations: Thinking (Creative Thinking; Critical Thinking); Communication; Teamwork skills; and Specialized Technical knowledge in marketing and finance (Noel, Qenani, and MacDougal “New Age, New Skills, New Learners: What Skills Do Agricultural Graduates Need to Succeed in the Knowledge Economy? Presented at IFAMA 23rd World Forum and Symposium, Atlanta, GA. June 2013).

35. 2013 – 2015 Cal Poly Agribusiness Curriculum • Curriculum restructuring done for 2011 – 2013. Core, General AGB Electives (includes program area courses), Quantitative Methods courses, Advanced Applied course, and Senior Project. • Several modifications of 2011-2013 curriculum where included in 2013- 2015 curriculum. • Information literacy is not formally integrated into the entire curriculum. • Individual courses include assignments that require students to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. • The Instructor of those classes work with College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences librarian (Katherine O'Clair)to provide students with sources of information required for assignments, act as facilitators, and motivate students to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

36. Information Literacy and the Agribusiness Curriculum: Considerations for the Future • Information literacy programs throughout the curriculum should provide students with systematic instruction beginning in their freshmen year and continuing to graduation. Information literacy cannot be learned in a vacuum. Information literacy assignments and projects must be used often and within a variety of curricular activities. • Computer competency and information literacy are interdependent skills. Information technology necessarily supports the development of information literacy but does not substitute for it (AGB 260 Agribusiness Information Technology). • The information literate student focuses on content: exploring, evaluating, and converting facts and data into new knowledge that can be communicated in a meaningful way.

37. Information Literacy and the Agribusiness Department: A Systems Approach to Teaching and Learning • Topics: • Development of a systems approach to interrelate and integrate the curriculum coursework to better meet the Cal Poly learning objectives and provide the flexibility to continually adjust curriculum course work to changes in agribusiness, economic, societal, and political challenges. • Recognize that information literacy programs, instructional models (e.g. redesign courses based on new approaches to teaching and learning), and information technologies need to be complimentary, integrated, and interrelated. • Actions: We are actively working with the Cal Poly Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT) to assess the strengths and weaknesses in different instructional models, information technologies, and incorporation of information literacy throughout the Agribusiness curriculum coursework. We plan on involving our Librarian in this effort. • Outcome: Integration of information literacy programs, appropriate education models, and information technology to achieve a learning environment which enables students to develop the skills to learn independently and to carry on learning, throughout their professional and personal lifetime.