Information Literacy, Composition Studies and Higher Order Thinking

Instructor: Andrea Baer

Dates: June 6 to July 15, 2016

Credits: 2.25 CEUs

Price: $250

Writing programs have long been among the most frequent users of library instruction. Similarly, as the information literacy (IL) movement has shifted toward more integrated instructional models, composition programs have arguably been the most commonly involved in efforts at IL integration. The prevalence of such partnerships points to the critical connections between writing, research, and information literacy.

The remarkably parallel histories and concerns of composition and IL instruction, which James Elmborg articulates in the article “Information Literacy and Writing across the Curriculum: Sharing the Vision” (2003), point to powerful ways that composition and rhetoric studies can help inform library instruction programs. Concepts like rhetorical analysis, rhetorical source use, discourse communities, and discursive practices suggest practical ways that IL instruction can emphasize higher order thinking over more mechanical aspects of information seeking. Similarly, research on students’ conceptions of and approaches to “writing with sources” has deep implications for how librarians can teach and represent the research process in order to foster critical thinking and source use.

In this six-week course, participants will explore intersections between information literacy and composition studies, including the theoretical and practical applications these connections have for us as librarians and as educators. The class will be structured around assigned readings, online discussion, and assignments. More specifically, weekly discussions and assignments will invite participants to apply theoretical and pedagogical concepts to developing practical learning activities and lesson plans for library instruction.

This class, first offered in 2013 as a 4-week program, has been expanded to six weeks in order to enable deeper engagement with course materials, assignments, and fellow participants. The expanded course will enable further opportunity for revising learning activities and plans in light of instructor and peer feedback and discussion.

This course can be taken as one of the elective courses in our eight-course Certificate in Library Instruction, but can be taken as a stand-alone course as well.

Andrea Baer is an Instructional Services Librarian at the University of West Georgia. She was previously the Undergraduate Education Librarian at Indiana University Bloomington. She holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Washington and a Masters in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee. Andrea’s work in libraries and education is deeply informed by her teaching background in writing and literature and by her interests in critical pedagogy and critical inquiry. 

Read an interview with Andrea Baer:

This is an online class that is taught asynchronously, meaning that participants do the work on their own time as their schedules allow. The class does not meet together at any particular times, although the instructor may set up optional sychronous chat sessions. Instruction includes readings and assignments in one-week segments. Class participation is in an online forum environment.

You can register in this course through the first week of instruction (as long as it is not full). The "Register" button on the website goes to our credit card payment gateway, which may be used with personal or institutional credit cards. (Be sure to use the appropriate billing address). If your institution wants us to send a billing statement or wants to pay using a purchase order, please contact us by email to make arrangements: [log in to unmask]

Library Juice Academy

P.O. Box 188784

Sacramento, CA 95818

Tel. 218-260-6115

Fax 916-415-5446

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