Enduring exposure: Methodology from Tracking Information Literacy in Science Students (TILISS)

Purpose: Does early exposure to scientific literature produce more information literate students? Can core subject instruction in critical thinking and practical analytical problem solving lead to long-term student success?... [ view full abstract ]

Purpose:

Does early exposure to scientific literature produce more information literate students? Can core subject instruction in critical thinking and practical analytical problem solving lead to long-term student success? The proposed presentation will focus on the methodology from a four-year study on teaching information and scientific literacy in undergraduate chemistry courses and briefly describe some initial findings.

Design, methodology or approach:

The authors developed the Tracking Information Literacy in Science Students (TILISS) project to investigate the long-term impact of explicit instruction in scientific literature. This study builds on the momentum achieved from student learning outcomes assessment conducted at the University of Colorado Denver (Pan, Ferrer-Vinent, and Bruehl, 2014). In the present second phase of the project, the authors continue their interdisciplinary collaboration with the purpose of assessing the longevity of student impacts. Specifically, faculty teaching courses spanning the chemistry curriculum partner with a librarian to investigate the value of reading and citing library online journals on student learning outcomes over their undergraduate education.   

Our project began following students at the start of their chemistry studies, specifically students enrolled in Honors General Chemistry (HGC) I and II Laboratory courses.  Each semester, students were given assignments to introduce them to the scientific literature with a special emphasis on building their information literacy. Later, some of those students enrolled in 3^rd or 4^th year chemistry courses, such as Biochemistry (BC) I and II. Similar to the HGC students, these students were also given a project that required them to search the scientific literature for concepts, record their research process, write a paper to communicate their understanding, and cite sources used in a bibliography. This study analyzes the journal articles viewed and cited by 3^rd and 4^th year chemistry students, relative to the grades received, and whether the students previously participated in the HGC course and assignments. Initial results shed light on how students develop information literacy skills over repeated exposure and usage, and suggest that early instruction in use of library resources impacts academic performance over four years.

Findings:

This case study includes a comparative population analysis. Initial results support the hypothesis that students who took HGC performed better on a BC research assignment than those who did not. Positive trends are observed between prior experience and outcomes from  3^rdor 4^th year chemistry students who completed BC in Academic Year (AY) 2015-16 and were previously enrolled in HGC during AY 2012-13 or 2013-14.  The correlation is stronger for the first semester BC assignment than for the subsequent  second semester BC assignment, indicating that both early (HGC) and repeated literature instruction are retained and contribute to positive learning outcomes.  Additional work includes the examination of the number of resources read versus those ultimately cited in the final assignment and the quality of these resources as judged by journal reputation.

Research or practical limitations or implications: 

As a case study, the results are not necessarily generalizable. The research protocol, however, could be replicated by other librarians, instructors, and institutions. The authors share their methodology and initial findings that contribute to the growing body of literature in support of explicitly articulating and assessing student learning outcomes. Moreover, the connections between the introduction of scientific literature to chemistry undergraduates and ultimate long-term student success is demonstrated, which will have implications on collection development practices. For example, instead of conceptualizing pedagogical library materials as discrete and separate from research resources, the interconnectedness of the higher education environment encourages more complex consideration and analysis.

Conclusions:

Research into the value of library resources in the classroom has provided a useful framework for collaboration between librarians and science instructors. The authors have collected and analyzed data on instructional background, journal usage, and student performance, and have used this data to assess levels of achieving student learning outcomes and enhancing their success. Through this work, the authors are pursuing new interdisciplinary avenues for the use of library collections and assessing the impact of teaching information and scientific literacy to science students throughout the chemistry curriculum, elemental-to advanced courses.

Originality and value:

The literature on information literacy typically focuses on library services, such as reference and instruction. Integrating the value of library collections with student learning assessments is an emerging area. The TILISS project is original in its interdisciplinary focus on comparing information and scientific literacy, use of library online journals, and learning outcomes for chemistry students over four years, three instructors, and one librarian.

References:

Pan, D., Ferrer-Vinent, I., and Bruehl, M. (2014). Library value in the classroom: Measuring student learning outcomes from instruction and collections, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 40 (3-4), 332-338. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.04.011.