Information Literacy

Assessment of Information Literacy - Assessment Committee Papers from Fall 2012 & 2016
The HEDS/Nitle Research Practices Survey (RPS) provides information about student research habits and skills. The survey instrument includes questions about the students’ own perceptions of their research abilities as well as research-related tasks embedded in the questionnaire for the direct assessment of student knowledge and skill sets.  RPS data consistently indicates that SLU students fair very favorably with students at other institutions in terms of research experience and improved skill development.  The survey illustrates that learning happens cumulatively: students show substantial gains in their research skills and knowledge at the end of their First-Year Seminar, yet experience additional growth in their second, third and forth year.  The survey also pointed to some areas for improvement.  Read more...

Direct Assessment of Research and Information Literacy Skills in First Year Seminar Courses - Assessment Committee Paper #3 Spring 2013
(see also posting under "writing")
This paper discusses results from the direct assessment of research papers randomly collected from First Year Seminars in Spring 2009 and Spring 2010.  Results suggest that for the majority of students, skill development is at the level expected of students at end of the first year of college, with over 1/3 of our students already achieving above a 3.0 score for research criteria.  Greatest weakness in the area of research and information literacy is the effective synthesis of source material into the research paper.  Read more...

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