Freshman English Information Literacy Instructors' Guide

This slideshow details the advantages of authentic, situated learning for students and faculty.  It also offers direction in creating situated learning scenarios that teach and enhance IL and critical-thinking skills.

Contact Dr. Carol Leibiger at: c.leibiger@usd.edu or 605-658-3383.

Dr. Leibiger's LibGuides

Follow these steps to create effective library/information literacy assignments:

1. Choose the IL outcome(s) that you want to teach.  The checklist provided below is especially helpful in identifying desirable IL outcomes associated with each of the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.
2. Choose a context associated with your discipline that students can expect to encounter in their academic or professional lives.
3. Choose an activity or problem associated with that context.
4. Make sure that information finding is a natural, normal part of that activity.
5. Assess/grade the assignment with attention to information finding, evaluation, and use.

The file below contains an example of a decontextualized Communication Studies assignment that is made into an effective course and IL assignment by providing a context and an authentic learning activity.

This box provides guidelines for meaningful library assignments and sample library activities from Concordia University, James Madison University, Gettysburg College, and Gustavus Adolphus College.