LibGuides: General Education Information Literacy at Millersville University: Gateway Information Literacy

Getting Started with an Information Literacies Label

For an overview including instructional elements, definitions, and summary of suggested IL concepts, see the Gateway Information Literacies: Instructional Concepts and Elements pdf.

How to Use this Guide

In this guide, library faculty provide the information literacies definition, learning activities, and assessments to help meet the Gateway Information Literacies student learning outcomes (ILSLOs). The guide is organized by ILSLO, followed by suggested discussion concepts developed by the library department based on university needs and information literacy standards. Library faculty then provide learning activities (i.e. videos, tutorials, lesson plans, etc.) that help students learn the concept and assessments (i.e. quizzes, assignments, etc.) that test whether students learned the concept for each.

It is up to individual faculty to decide which concepts to incorporate and how. To simplify faculty adoption of these new practices, the library faculty have listed options that allow flexibility in meeting the Gateway course requirements. Library faculty will update the guide regularly as a living document to best meet faculty needs.

For assistance, recommendations, or to plan information literacy sessions please contact your subject librarian or Greg Szczyrbak (greg.szczyrbak@millersville.edu), Information Literacy Librarian.

Suggested Information Literacy (IL) Concepts for Gateway Courses

The following suggested concepts unpack the Gateway Information Literacies course student learning outcomes (ILSLOs) and are informed by the Library Department Student Learning Outcomes (LD).

The concepts are divided into 5 broad categories that match the ILSLOs: Source Exploration, Strategic Searching, Source Evaluation, Synthesis, and Source Attribution.

ILSLO #1: Identify the most appropriate sources and information to meet the scope of their need. 

Concepts to discuss:

Exploring information from sources to develop or refine relevant question(s) that guide inquiry
Valuing the spectrum of source types
Examining the importance of disciplinary based sources
Identifying a diverse selection of sources to meet your information need

Materials to support your course in the area of source exploration.

ILSLO #2: Create, execute, and refine search strategies with iteration utilizing search outcomes to find relevant sources and information. 

Concepts to discuss:

Translating research question(s) into actionable search strategies
Distinguishing between keywords, subject terms, and controlled vocabularies
Incorporating advanced search techniques (e.g. limiters, thesauri, field searching, etc.)
Applying an iterative approach to searching

Materials to support your course in the area of strategic searching.

ILSLO#3: Evaluate the credibility of sources to critically select and interpret information relevant to their need. 

Concept to discuss:

Concepts to discuss:
Utilizing disciplinary criteria and techniques to critically evaluate and select sources
Reflecting on the ethics of why certain perspectives are missing and how to include them
Recognizing personal biases and identities influence perception of information

Materials to support your course in the area of source evaluation.

ILSLO#4: Contextualize and synthesize selected information to engage in ongoing scholarship and communities of learning and/or practice. 

Concept to discuss:

Distinguishing between summarizing and synthesizing sources
Organizing and categorizing information to meet a specific purpose
Recognizing the importance of informational context
Representing information accurately while paraphrasing

Materials to support your course in the area of synthesis.

ILSLO#5: Contribute to ongoing scholarship and communities of learning and/or practice through ethical reflection, proper attribution, and respect of intellectual property. 

Concept to discuss:

Crediting sources through proper attribution based on disciplinary practices
Understanding the intellectual property rights and responsibilities of being an information creator and consumer
Reflecting on the ethical use of information and creation tools, such as generative ai, to fulfill an information need

Materials to support your course in the area of source attribution.

IL Definition for Gateway Information Literacies Courses

Information literacy is a set of integrated abilities requiring students to recognize when and what information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information to participate ethically in communities of learning and/or practice. Students proficient in information literacy critically reflect on the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the creation, access, and use of information. As a result, students will be able to incorporate new understandings into their perspectives, questions, or works (academic, professional, or creative). 