Library Assessment Plan

WRIT 101 Information Literacy (IL) Student Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Identify authoritative information sources based on information need
• Recognize that similar content may be presented in different contexts, which may affect interpretation of the content
• Select a source that best meets an information need based on the audience, context, and purpose of various formats
• Give credit to the original ideas of others through attribution and/or formal conventions
• Formulate questions for research of an appropriate scope, based on information gaps or by reexamining existing information
• Evaluate information from a variety of perspectives in order to shape their own knowledge base

Library instruction and assignments will focus on the following IL Student Learning Outcomes:

• Students will be able to identify authoritative information sources based on information need
• Students will be able to formulate questions for research of an appropriate scope, based on information gaps or by reexamining existing information
• Students will be able to select a source that best meets an information need based on the audience, context, and purpose of various formats
• Students will be able to give credit to the original ideas of others through attribution and/or formal conventions
   

IL Learning Objectives to Address this Outcome:

WRIT 101 students who complete the homework and in-class session for Essay #1 will be able to:

1. Understand the dynamic nature of the research process.
2. Understand the process of background reading.
3. Identify keywords appropriate to one’s research topic.
4. Develop a basic search strategy for locating information.

Assessment of IL Learning Objectives for Essay #1

• Learning Objective #1 “Understand the dynamic nature of the research process.”
  • Analyze the submissions of the WRIT 101 Essay #1 Library Assignment
  • Determine what percentage of students provided any of the three most important takeaways (as determined by the instruction staff) from the “Picking your Topic IS Research!” and “One Perfect Source?” videos with a target of 80% of better providing one of the three top takeaways.
     
• Learning Objective #3 – “Identify keywords appropriate to one’s research topic.”
  • Review every 4^th response to the WRIT 101 Essay #1 Library Assignment in each class section, analyzing the keywords provided in those submissions. Indicate the level of complexity of the students’ keyword choices on the rubric below.
  • Then, identify the same students and review their WRIT 101 Essay #2 Library Assignment submission. Once again, analyze the keywords submitted in the assignment and indicate the complexity level of the students’ keyword choices on the rubric below.
  • Determine what percentage of students’ keyword submissions are evaluated to be Developing, Accomplished, or Exemplary for Essay #1 and Essay #2, noting any improvement between the two assignments.

Library instruction and assignments will focus on the following IL Student Learning Outcomes:

• Students will be able to identify authoritative information sources based on information need.
• Students will be able to give credit to the original ideas of others through attribution and/or formal conventions.
• Students will be able to select a source that best meets an information need based on the audience, context, and purpose of various formats.
• Students will be able to evaluate information from a variety of perspectives in order to shape their own knowledge base.
• Students will be able to formulate questions for research of an appropriate scope, based on information gaps or by reexamining existing information.

IL Learning Objectives to Address this Outcome:

WRIT 101 students who complete the homework and in-class session for Essay #3 will be able to:

1. Identify keywords appropriate to one’s research topic.
2. Evaluate information sources for authority, currency, and relevance.
3. Determine if an information source is appropriate to use for their research need.
4. Identify how a source can support their writing according to the BEAM categories.