Best practice criteria for designing assignments and/or learning activities which promote information literacy
Purpose-A specific, understood purpose of the assignment/ learning activity.
Alignment-Assignment/ learning activity relates to some aspect of the course subject matter or learning objective and this is made explicit to the students.
Relevance-Whenever possible, tie the assignments/ learning activities to other assignments/ learning activities or to some aspect of the student's personal experiences or field of study or professional application.
Variety-Makes students aware of the variety of information sources and/or formats and/or activities available (eg: print, electronic, microform, video).
Critical Analysis-Assignment/ learning activity teaches students to select and evaluate quality information sources appropriate to their topics.
Academic integrity-Reinforces ethical use of information.
Feasibility-The necessary information resources should be in the Library or available electronically in sufficient quantities to enable successful and timely completion of the assignment/ learning activity.
Correct and unambiguous terminology-Ensure that the wording explicitly describes the intended meaning and is unambiguous for both students and staff.
Examples of common problems are:
- Does "library computer" mean the online library catalogue or some other online database, or something else?
- What exactly do the phrases "peer-reviewed journal" and "primary vs secondary sources" mean in your discipline?
- Use full and current titles of journals and databases; avoid abbreviations and superseded titles.
Best practice assignments may include:
- Developing an annotated bibliography.
- Comparing and contrasting discussions of the same topic in a scholarly journal and popular magazine.
- UIdentifying key issues or scholars in a discipline.
- Comparing the way two different disciplines handle the same topic.
- Analyzing a key publication in discipline
Developed in collaboration with UniSA Information Literacy Consultancy Group, 2002
If you find any links have changed or you have some additions or feedback please contact Irene Doskatsch
