Authentic information literacy in an era of post truth

in an era of Post Truth

Information LiteracyAUTHENTIC

@acarbery

CONTEXT

Embedded instruction reaching every student

SEVEN TIMESthroughout their undergraduate studies

EVERY STUDENT,

EVERY STUDENT,SEVEN TIMES

EVERY STUDENT,SEVEN TIMES

(in some cases, 9)

Program of instruction that relies on

15 UNIQUE, SEPARATE information literacy lessons

EVERLuckiest librarian

We’re teachingBUT ARE STUDENTS LEARNING?

AUTHENTICAssessment

to understand students’ information literacy

Leveraging ACTUAL STUDENT COURSEWORK

When asked to do so, students generally choose academic, peer-reviewed sources

for their research papers

Students generally

CITE & ATTRIBUTEtheir sources when the assignment is designed to encourage them to do so

In other words…

In other words…

When a student is specifically asked to do something,

In other words…

When a student is specifically asked to do something,when there are real grades at stake,

In other words…

When a student is specifically asked to do something,when there are real grades at stake,

they are more likely to perform positively in information literacy

But what about when they’re not specifically asked?

How much of our teaching actually sticks?

What about the

long-term applicability

of our instructional

efforts?

NEWS EVER!

MOSTDEPRESSING

RUDIMENTARY CONCEPTSEarly in their development, students can display

of information literacy

“This author is credible, because they have a PhD”

But what does that mean for the

real-world context?

“This article is from the New York Times,

therefore it's credible.”

Or well known?CREDIBLE?

How "simplistic" is our approach to teaching information literacy?

SCHOLARLY

vsPOPULAR

SCHOLARLY

vsPOPULAR

(resist the binary)

How much of our teaching is library centric?

Do we care that our users know what the definition of a periodical

is? How to search the OPAC?

How much of our teaching is academic-centric?

Is our information literacy instruction

GENUINE, MEANINGFUL and AUTHENTIC?

We ride the coattails of “lifelong learning”, but can we genuinely claim success in this?

showing students how to search EBSCO & Proquest products.

HOURS OF TEACHING EFFORTWe're spending

How is this setting them up for workplace success? Success in the real world? Prepared for civic duty?

When they're unlikely to have access to EBSCO & Proquest after they

graduate?!?

What does it look like for us to be info-centric instead of library-centric?

critical information literacyREAL WORLD

Using our profession to impact our community

Highlighting issues of

RACISM & PREDJUDICEin information landscapes

What does thewestern perspective

look like?

“EVILS OF CHINESE IMMIGRATION”

human trafficking

IL for understanding

from a local perspective

facilitating access tosurvivor storiesnot often heard

as perpetuated in informationGENDER INEQUALITY

Ideas of power in gender, as expressed

through information

information literacy forSOCIAL JUSTICE

our students care about these issues

Jan 23rd 2017

This is a real-world information literacy

problem

Speaking truth to power

in the unlikeliest places…

your move, mainstream media

your move, scholars

Information Literacy as it impacts our

EVERYDAY LIVES

2017: The year the filter bubble chicken came home to roost

Fake News: ANNOYING

Fake News: OXYMORON

Fake News?

Fake News: EVOLVING CONCEPT

evolving conceptDANGEROUSLY

When did we start talking about fake news?

Actually, just in the last 6 months

IFLA’s Guide to Spotting FAKE NEWS

false information

Fake news is NO LONGER ABOUT

Fake news can no longer be fixed by a

CRAP test or a LibGuide

Fake news as a moniker for“I don’t agree with you”

and I REJECT your premise, outright.

As consumers, we've positioned ourselves to discount the credibility

of information just because we disagree with it.

TO CONSUME IDEAS & INFORMATION

We've lost the ability

that we don't agree with.

filter bubble!We’ve created an analog version of our

is an information literacy problemTHIS

A REAL-WORLDinformation literacy problem

Despite overwhelming evidence, what makes us vote against our best interests?

Information as distraction

The consumption of information is evolving in complex & new ways

How do we toteach strategiesto address this?

CURIOSITY & INQUIRY

question-centric

teaching

Imagine a scenario where we're teaching information literacy, not to

know how to use the library, or search a database, or find information...

but instead, we’re teaching students to be

questioning, open & curious;

that we're teaching information literacy so our students are asking & answering questions about the world.

Imagine information literacy as a tool or a mechanism for curiosity and inquiry

to become engaged, informed global citizens

Information literacy at

the heart of learning

Information literacy at

the heart of citizenship

We can construct this world

Do not let

STRUCTURE & TRADITIONbe the thing that guides your values as an educator

Alan Carbery@acarbery

[email protected]