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Information Literacy: Sample assessible assignments incorporating ACRL Standards

Art

Assignment
Creating and reviewing online exhibits

Outcomes
Recognizes interrelationships among concepts and combines them into potentially useful primary statements with supporting evidence.  
Draws conclusions based upon information gathered.  ACRL Standard 3, Performance Indicator 2, Outcome A

Manipulates digital text, images, and data, as needed, transferring them from their original locations and formats to a new context.   ACRL Standard 4, Performance Indicator 1, Outcome D

Activity
Using the personal folder feature in ArtStor, have students create an online art "exhibit."  Have each student review another student's exhibit.  Have them summarize the key points of the review and write a review of the work.

EdCap

Assignment
Evaluating a career book

Outcomes
Identifies keywords, synonyms and related terms for the information needed.  ACRL Standard 2, Performance Indicator 2, Outcome B

Constructs a search strategy using appropriate commands for the information retrieval system selected (e.g., Boolean operators, truncation, and proximity for search engines; internal organizers such as indexes for books).  ACRL Standard 2, Performance Indicator 2, Outcome D

Examines and compares information from various sources in order to evaluate reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias. ACRL Standard 3, Performance Indicate 2, Outcome A

Activity
During a visit to the library, have students search the library catalog and locate two books on their career of interest.  Students will go to the library stacks and select one of the two books.  Back in the classroom, have the students evaluate the book's value to answer questions about the publisher, author and their expertise, the book's organization, coverage, currency and relevancy to their career choice.

Allied Health

Assignment
Comparing information on health from different periodicals

Outcomes
Identifies the purpose and audience of potential resources.  ACRL Standard 1, Performance Indicator 2, Outcome D

Examines and compares information from various sources in order to evaluate reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias.  ACRL Standard 3, Performance Indicator 2, Outcome A

Activity
Have students work in small groups to locate and evaluate three different kinds of writing in health: a news article from a newspaper or popular mass magazine, a serious popular health magazine, and a scholarly article on a closely related topic. Students will then analyze and compare the different type of information in each periodical.

English

Assignment
Topic development

Outcomes
Defines or modifies the information need to achieve a manageable focus.  ACRL Standard 1, Performance Indicator 1, Outcome D

Identifies key concepts and terms that describe the information needACRL Standard 1, Performance Indicator 1, Outcome E

Communicates clearly and with a style that supports the purposes of the intended audience.  ACRL Standard 4, Performance Indicator 3, Outcome D

Activity
Have students work in groups of four. Each student explains their research topic to the other three students.  Each student is to find one article on each of the other student's topics and develop three questions they would like to see answered in the student paper or project.