Presented at LILAC 2008

1. Information Literacy and
Inquiry-based learning
Pamela McKinney
Learning Development and Research Associate
(Information Literacy) at CILASS
www.shef.ac.uk/cilass

2. Learning outcomes
• An increased understanding of the links between
Inquiry-based Learning and Information Literacy
• An opportunity to experience inquiry-based
learning first hand.
• An understanding the practical approaches
taken at CILASS to develop IL through IBL and
the generation of ideas for using IBL to develop
IL that could be applied to their own practice.
• Ideas for developing intra-institutional
partnerships to support IL development through
the practice adopted at the University of
Sheffield

3. Session Overview
• Setting the scene: educational development with
CILASS
• Group inquiry task to design inquiry-based
learning for information literacy based on
CILASS cases
• Group feedback and discussion
• What actually happened: how the CILASS
project developed

4. • Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the
Arts and Social Sciences, a Centre for
Excellence in Teaching and Learning
• 5 year programme, impacting on
10,000 students
• £4.85M funding in total from HEFCE
• Includes £2.35M capital funding
• Focusing on inquiry-based learning
• Core community: Faculties of Arts, Social
Sciences, Law
• Development, innovation and research
• CILASS hub located in the Information
Commons plus ‘satellite’ in Bartolome House
What is CILASS?

5. • CILASS funds curriculum
development projects in all
Departments and Schools in the
faculties of Arts, Social Science and
Law
• CILASS funds Individual or small
group projects proposed by staff from
across the University
• CILASS aims to have a strategic
impact on Learning and Teaching
• CILASS invites projects to respond to
our core themes of collaboration,
networked learning and (of course)
information literacy
What does CILASS do?

6. What does CILASS do?
Provides flexible technology rich space for
learning and teaching

7. What is Inquiry-based
Learning?• The core of inquiry is the
QUESTION
• Inquiry is a process of
discovery, with as its point of
departure a
scenario/question/problem
established by the tutor/student
• IBL is a pedagogy based on
student-led exploration,
investigation, research

8. What is Inquiry-based learning?
• IBL can involve case
scenarios
• IBL can involve experiential
learning such as fieldwork
• IBL can involve small and
large investigations
• IBL can involve Individual and
collaborative projects

9. Inquiry and Information literacy
• Information literacy skills equip students with the means
to conduct independent inquiry and puts them on the
path to lifelong learning
• The development of strong information literacy
capabilities is fundamental to the success of IBL
• Information access and processing skills such as those
involved in using electronic resources to search for
information are a pre-requisite for students undertaking
an IBL curriculum.
• CILASS is particularly interested in building ‘higher order’
IL capabilities in critical thinking, evaluation, synthesis,
communication and knowledge-creation through inquiry

10. Learning Development and
Research Associate – what is that?
• A varied role encompassing educational
development, research, liaison, workshop
facilitation and evaluation
• A special focus on information literacy
• Work with academics to develop their ideas
for their Inquiry-based curriculum
development projects
• Develop strategies for building IL skills
within the context of their IBL project

11. The Task
• YOU are Learning Development and
Research Associate working at CILASS
• The department has approached you to
help them deal with the scenario as given
• For your scenario respond to the question:
“How can these students build their IL
skills through inquiry?”

12. CILASS support
• Technology rich learning spaces
• Funding available to pay academics for
their time
• Funding available to pay students for their
time and input

13. Support from the Library
Can the Library support the project with online
information skills tutorials?
Can academic liaison librarians be involved?
How can you make the best use of Library
buildings and learning spaces?
How can you make the best use of electronic
library resources?

14. Other support in the University
• How can you make use of the Virtual
Learning Environment?
• How can you draw upon media and AV
expertise in the University?
• How can you draw upon existing
knowledge of the student population?

15. Scenario 1
This department wants to radically change the induction
programme, in order to provide a more student-friendly
approach which supports the transition to University.
This is, in part, based on feedback from previous
students, which identified the traditional Intro Week
Library Tour and other similar lecture-type activities as
‘boring and soon forgotten’. The aim is therefore to
replace these with an inquiry-based collaborative activity,
encouraging new students to explore the resources in
the department and University and gain initial knowledge
of the information resources available. Ideally, the new
plan should enable the students to ‘hit the ground
running’ when modules begin, through other activities,
led by student mentors.

16. CILASS solution: Student mentors
in Human Communication Sciences
• Student mentors recruited from Levels 2 &3 to develop
and plan the programme, using IBL approach
• New students assigned to small groups on Day 1 of Intro
Week, to explore a video stimulus and produce a poster
about ‘How we can explain this situation’
• Student mentors supported small group activities and
acted as guides to resources etc.
• Librarians and academic staff on ‘stand-by’ at specified
times, for consultation as required
• Poster session, during buffet lunch on Day 5 of Intro
week. Academics, CILASS & Library Staff attended.

18. Scenario 2
This department is concerned about poor student
perception of library resources when academics consider
the library well stocked for student needs due to strong
partnership working with Librarians. Students lack skills
to look beyond the reading list, often choosing
inappropriate resources while missing out on the large
number of online resources in full text bibliographic
databases. The department is keen to embed
information literacy development in the curriculum to
complement existing IL sessions delivered by the Liaison
Librarian and sees the weekly seminar programme as
the ideal place for IL development through inquiry.
Some 150 students participate in seminars in groups of
20 run by a mixture or PG tutors and academics so
coordination of these different people is a particular

19. CILASS Solution: Information
literacy through the curriculum
• Key core modules identified at L1 and L2 and particular
points in the semester targeted for IL development
• Engagement from all seminar tutors secured
• Small collaborative inquiry-based tasks designed
responding to skills development across the ‘seven
pillars’ of IL
• Library worked with the department to devise new online
tutorials in the relevant databases
• Example task: “Evaluating secondary materials” students
analyse critical writing about a familiar text and consider
how the critics’ opinion is evidenced in the text
• Students engage face-to-face and through discussion
boards on the VLE and receive feedback from seminar
tutors