Information Literacy Infused Course Activities

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Research as Inquiry

• Have students practice divergent (e.g., brainstorming via mapping or free writing) and convergent (e.g., listing the best source) thinking before searching for information.   Using this information, ask them to search a database.  Have them revise their maps and lists, and write brief (5 minute) low stakes reflections on the search experience.

• Examine effective search statements together and then ask students to write one.

• Ask students to develop a class list of ways to revise questions depending on context and target source (ex. Scholarly database, survey of faculty, survey of students, news site, etc.).  Practice developing search queries on texts throughout the semester with forays into different search tools.  (See also Searching as Strategic Exploration)

• Ask students to construct questions about the topics addressed in texts they examine.  Have them use those questions in one or more search system and ask them to reflect on results.  

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

• Students are given a recent event that has been in the news. They are then tasked with developing a list of experts (not names, but credentials) who could be consulted to offer analysis of the event from various perspectives.

• Examine information needs in different disciplines:  how are they the same, how are they different.

Information Creation as a Process

• Have students find and compare three sources on a focused research topic using pre-defined criteria and/or criteria they determine.  Share these (ex. verbally, on a white board, in a shared Google doc, etc.).   

• Model a search and compare 3 results.  Have students develop a set of criteria that they can use to assess found materials.  

• Assign different small groups of students a variety of publication types –  like a traditional scholarly journal, a personal blog, a trade journal, etc – and ask them to search for publication requirements. What do you need in order to publish with each source? Can anyone publish this way?

Searching as Strategic Exploration

• Model the same search in two to three different databases or search tools and compare and contrast results. Discuss the appropriateness of different search tools for class assignments.

• Ask students to consider what the research process means to them, either through individual reflection or group discussion. Discuss as a large group how research varies depending on the disciplinary focus of one’s research question.

• Create a Research Zine.  Provide students with supplies to make their own one-page books (or zines) with some prompts for their content. Initially, ask them to dedicate at least one page of their zine to their current notions of research. Students can add to their zines as the course progresses, taking notes or writing down ideas that come to them.  Zines are usually collected for assessment, but students can make photocopies.  Towards the end of the course, ask students to revisit what research means to them and to reflect on changes in their understanding of the research process.

• Ask students to develop a class list of ways to revise questions depending on context and target source (ex. Scholarly database, survey of faculty, survey of students, news site, etc.).  Practice developing search queries on texts throughout the semester with forays into different search tools (See also Research as Inquiry). 

Information Has Value ​​​​​​​

• Students gather articles relating to a topic, then complete a list of the voices that have not been represented in the literature (What viewpoints are missing? What biases might be present based on this?).

• Students choose a controversial topic in which they do not already have an opinion.  They search and review articles on the topic and based on their findings deliver an argument in favor or against.

Scholarship as a Conversation

• Think/pair/share as an introductory activity.  Have students think about and develop questions they would have to ask to determine a claim’s [e.g. health related, a new classroom practice, carbon offsetting] validity.

• Have students track the scholarly conversation that follows a landmark study or article.  Students discuss what follow-up studies confirmed or denied the original results, and which tangents were followed by other researchers.

• Collectively track a citation through its lifecycle: use citation trackers and metrics to see how frequently a source has been cited since its publication.

  • Relatedly, ask your students to research how citation metrics are created -- what kind of information do they prioritize and rank?

• Examine a model literature review together: Identify the search query, sources, and points of view presented.

• Have students read an article of interest.  Show them the letter/feedback section of the journal in which the article was published.  Have them write a 3 minute low stakes reflection about this experience.