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Assessing Information Literacy Instruction

Methods librarians can use to assess and improve their teaching.

The Assessment Cycle

Assessment is the process by which librarians identify areas for improvements in our teaching. It helps us make sure we know what we want students to be able to do, how well they're doing it, and ways to improve their learning. It might also be the starting point for a conversation with subject faculty about something you've noticed about student learning. The "end" of assessment is action.

Assessment cycle: plan by writing outcomes, do by teaching and learning, check by evaluating student work, act by revising and reinforcing

 

 

 

  1. What do I want students to learn?

  2. How do I teach effectively?

  3. Are my outcomes being met?

  4. How do I use what I've learned?

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic via Westminster College

Examples of Acting on Assessment

Here are some examples of how to use what you learned from in-class assessments, peer observation, or post-session questions.

Feedback/Observation Action
Student feedback: "...stories help me engage with the content." Finding and/or writing short scenarios to give context to the fact-based questions, so that students are better able to demonstrate their knowledge.
Post-session survey: we already know what APA style is and how to use it. Removed "APA 101" from session outline, spent more time on other content and skills.
In Zotero activity noticed students failed to correct item information and so the reference was inaccurate. Added step-by-step instructions and screenshots of how to edit an item.

 

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