Core Academic Skills Faculty Pack: Information Literacy

The content of a syllabus is at the discretion of the faculty member. However, as the Core Academic Skills are more thoroughly integrated into the curriculum, building student awareness of the Skills will aid them in creating and achieving a plan of study that fulfills both the educational objectives of the Core Academic Skills, and the requirements for their degree.

For Intensive courses, including a statement about the CAS requirements, as well as information on the particular skill itself can serve to educate students and prepare them for the specific assignments and tasks they may be asked to complete.

Below is some suggested syllabus language for inclusion in Information Literacy Intensive courses. This language is by no means exhaustive or proscriptive, but meant to serve only as a guideline. Faculty are enthusiastically encouraged to reframe this language to more directly relate to the course and discipline content as appropriate, and the librarians are happy to consult in this process if the faculty member wishes.

Information Literacy Intensive

This course has been designated as “Information Literacy Intensive” and successful completion fulfills one of the six required Core Academic Skills courses necessary to graduate with an Associate’s Degree at NECC.

Information literacy is a set of skills and dispositions regarding where and how to find information, how to evaluate information for relevance, quality, and bias, and how to use information legally and ethically.

The course content and assignments are designed to actively develop information literacy skills in students to better prepare them for the information landscape in which they live and work. In this course, you will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the research process as it applies to the coursework for this class, as well as to the broader field
• Actively engage in evaluating information sources for authority, bias, purpose, and relevance
• Utilize various types and formats of information resources to achieve specific research goals, and demonstrate an understanding of the applicability of different types of information to serve different purposes
• Access the library (physically and/or virtually) to find sources using the library’s print and/or electronic collections
• Use information ethically and legally, and demonstrate the ability to properly credit and incorporate information sources into your work

This Information Literacy Intensive class will:

• Participate in at least one librarian-taught session where students will be introduced to the college’s specific research resources;
• Broadly address information creation, use, and dissemination;
• Have at least one other “library checkpoint” during the term.