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Ideas and Strategies for Incorporating Information Literacy Into your Classroom
Here are examples of assignments which will strengthen your students information literacy skills. These are effective alternatives to the traditional research paper.
Information literacy Assignment Ideas
Are your students information literate? Do they know how to identify, locate, evaluate and use information effectively? These are examples of assignments which will strengthen your students' information literacy (IL) skills. College Library librarians would be happy to work with you to customize these assignments for your course, or to teach a class in person.
- If they need to find overview information on a topic:
Use a print and a web-based encyclopedia (general or subject-specialized) to gather background information on your topic (e.g., the print and licensed online versions of Encyclopaedia Britannica and the freely available web-only "The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Compare and contrast the information you find in each.
- If they need to define terms related to a particular topic or discipline:
Use a print subject specialized dictionary (e.g., The Facts On File Dictionary of Environmental Science , College Library Reference: TD 9 S74 1991 & on online dictionary (e.g., "EPA Terms of Environment") to define terms related to your research topic or project. Note discrepancies between the two dictionary definitions.
- If they are doing assignments related to famous or important individuals:
Compare and contrast a biography in a print biographical reference source (e.g., Current Biography , College Library Reference: CT 100 C93) to a web-based or another print biography. Base your comparison on the expertise and bias of the biographer, the sponsoring organization or group, recency, and completeness. Note any disagreement on the "facts."
- If they need to examine and analyze published materials:
Use a print and an online index to book reviews to identify two book reviews of a non-fiction book on your topic. (Print example: Book Review Digest , College Library Reference, Z 1219 B64. Online index: "MLA Bibliography" or "Expanded Academic ASAP." Go to the UCLA Library Frequently Used Databases page and select MLA International Bibliography or Expanded Academic ASAP from the list of article databases. Search for reviews by entering some of the book title words and the word REVIEW. Incorporate your analysis of these reviews into your own analysis of the book.
- If they need to do historical research of any kind:
Identify and locate two useful journal articles on your topic, using America: History and Life or Historical Abstracts. Compare these articles to two web sites on the same topic.
- Identify and locate two useful up-to-date articles on personalities or issues by using Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe's" General News" database.
Compare these articles to two web sites on the same topic.
- If they need to write opinion pieces:
Identify and locate 2 opinion pieces on your topic by using Alternative Press Index (print: College Library Reference, Z 7164 S66A46) or Alt-PressWatch, and Expanded Academic ASAP.
Critique the opinion pieces from an alternative press index and Expanded Academic ASAP in your own position paper on the topic.
Additional Alternatives to the Traditional Research Paper – check out these sites:
Research and Web Site Evaluation Skills
For any of these, you might consider asking students to turn in an annotated bibliography cited in the style used for your discipline, along with copies of web pages they used.
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