The Writing Across the Curriculum program hosted a day-long event titled, “Critical Literacies: Writing & Information Literacy.” Featured was guest speaker Michele Van Hoeck from Project Information Literacy (projectinfolit.org), which is a nonprofit that has been conducting ongoing research about early adults and their research habits. In collaboration with the University of Washington, they have gathered data from more than 200 U.S. colleges and universities to significantly contribute to our understanding of how students respond to assignment, use research skills in daily life, and more.
Information literacy is crucial because, as Ms. Van Hoeck pointed out, "The sheer abundance of information will not in itself create a more informed citizenry without a complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information effectively” according to the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Faculty attending the event learned about the findings from Project Information Literacy and how these could inform what is done in the classroom to improve students’ information literacy skills.
Click here to see the slides from the presentation.
