Integrating Information Literacy in the Engineering Curriculum: A Program Approach (original) (raw)
Related papers
Information literacy learning model for engineering students
2008
This paper provides an overview of an information skills program integrated into the first year engineering subject "Documentation techniques". This is a problem-based learning subject, which requires the students to work through and report on an engineering project. Over the past four years the program has transformed radically as a result of applying an action research framework which is primarily concerned with continuing improvement and change in practice. Currently, the information skills program consists of a student-led orientation tour, an integrated subject web page (developed using the RESEARCH AND WRITE tutorial).
Information Literacy Modules for First-Year Engineering Students
AEE Journal, 2022
The abundance of information available to us every day continues to increase, largely because of society's reliance on the internet. While the internet provides access to a wealth of information, information may be inaccurate or irrelevant because anyone can publish content on the internet. As a result, it is critical for individuals to develop information literacy, which includes the skills to gather information, assess its quality, and use it effectively. Information literacy is especially important for engineers because of the need to be lifelong learners in order to adapt to the needs of society and technological innovations. Despite the importance of information literacy, it largely remains absent from undergraduate engineering curriculum. In this work, we developed two modules that were implemented and assessed at two time points in two different first-year engineering courses. These modules focus on defining information and providing a framework to assess the information. Each module includes a short video followed by a handout with questions designed to support students in making connections between the videos and their assigned design project. The development of the modules was informed by current research within the area of information literacy as well as the first two authors' experience teaching first-year engineering students. Assessment data from the two implementations show that students were able to identify a range of resources they used to get information for their design project. While some students were
Integration of Information Literacy Skills to Mechanical Engineering Capstone Projects
2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings, 2015
Searching for information and using that information appropriately is an essential part of every engineering design project. It has been reported that design engineers spend about 30% of their time searching for information. Experience shows that even senior level students have not received proper training, either directly or indirectly, in information literacy (IL). They usually search for information intuitively. For mechanical and aerospace engineering students at West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech), the Mechanical Engineering System Design I and II courses (MAE 480 and 481) are probably the last chance to teach students about IL. In this project, the information literacy outcomes were added to the course syllabus and activities and assignments were designed to instruct and evaluate IL-related skills. Three librarians from West Virginia University and WVU Tech were integrated into this course, each of which provided a workshop to present different IL skills to the students. The students' feedback and course evaluation tools have confirmed an improvement in the IL related skills in the students.
2012
Information literacy has become an important skill for undergraduate students due to societal changes that have seen information become a valuable commodity, the need for graduates to become lifelong learners, and the recognition that information literacy is an underpinning generic skill for effective learning in higher education. This paper describes a sequence of activities and technologies designed to help students learn and practice information literacy skills.
2015
Information literacy in the present era, which is characterized by the multitude of information sources, information explosion, and the rapid development of information technology and communication, has become a must for the effective use of scientific and technical information for both academic and professional success. This article focuses on information literacy of future engineering students. It presents results of a study conducted among a sample of students who reveal shortcomings and gaps in information retrieval in this category. It then proposes ways of intervention for engineering schools in order to facilitate the development of these skills in the academic community. Key-Words: Information Literacy, engineering students, information competency, academic librarians, training program, higher education.
Best Practices for Engineering Information Literacy Instruction: Perspectives of Academic Librarians
2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
Information literacy instruction (ILI) has long been an important part of undergraduate education. Subject librarians, together with undergraduate instructors, help students identify the relevant information sources in their discipline and learn how to search for, locate, and recognize highquality information effectively. Information needs, specific resources, and information practices differ across subjects and vary by workplace and discipline norms. This work, funded by the Engineering Information Foundation, presents our first step in developing a series of modules to support engineering students' development of information literacy. We have interviewed five engineering librarians at the 2018 ASEE annual conference to better understand the best practices for information literacy instruction in engineering courses. Based on the analysis of the interviews we identified and described a number of concepts that will be considered as we develop our modules. This paper also provides a list of recommendations for faculty and librarians who are involved in ILI for undergraduate engineering students.
Integrating Information Literacy in Engineering: Librarians/Faculty
2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
Libraries. She is also the bibliographer for mechanical and aerospace engineering, as well as for civil and environmental engineering. Previously, she worked as the Head of the Physical Sciences Library and as an Associate in the Government Documents Department. She is currently the President of the Patent & Trademark Depository Library Association and Chair of the WVU Library Faculty Assembly. She holds a M.L.I.S. from the University of South Carolina, a M.A. from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. from Calvin College.
Information Literacy Skills of Engineering Students: A Survey
The aim of this study was to measure the self-perceived level of Information Literacy (IL) skills of engineering students of different disciplines at B.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD levels. The findings may be helpful for library professionals to design an instructional program to improve students' suck skills for better utilization of available printed and online sources. This study was also to identify the difference between selected personal and academic variables and the level of IL skills. Data was collected through ACRL Standards based pretested questionnaire in a survey. SPSS software was used for data analysis. Keyword: 1. Information Literacy. 2. Information Literacy Skills, 3. Engineering Students