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A Workshop Series on Information Literacy

for International Engineering Students:

Effectively Seeking, Evaluating, Applying,

and Documenting Information Sources

Lynn Hegewald

Purdue University

ENE 506, Spring 2015

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Table of Contents

Part 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Project Description................................................................................................................ 3

Institutional characteristics ..................................................................................................... 3

Intended learners ..................................................................................................................... 3

Contextual issues .................................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Motivation for This Project & Author Expertise .................................................................. 7

Motivation ............................................................................................................................... 7

Expertise ................................................................................................................................. 9

Part 2: Content .............................................................................................................................. 10

2.1 Curricular Priorities ............................................................................................................ 10

2.2 Concept Map ....................................................................................................................... 11

2.3 How People Learn............................................................................................................... 15

Difficult concepts & misconceptions .................................................................................... 15

Cultural shock & conflict ...................................................................................................... 15

How people learn .................................................................................................................. 16

Part 3: Assessment ........................................................................................................................ 18

3.1 Learning Objectives ............................................................................................................ 18

3.2 Taxonomy of Learning Objectives ..................................................................................... 20

3.3 Assessment Triangle for Most Important Learning Objective ........................................... 21

3.4 Assessment Worksheets for Top Learning Objectives ....................................................... 22

3.5 Authentic Assessment ......................................................................................................... 24

3.5 Analysis of Selected Assessment with Rubric .................................................................... 25

Part 4: Pedagogy ........................................................................................................................... 26

4.1 Making Learning Whole Principles .................................................................................... 26

4.2 Sample Lesson Plan ............................................................................................................ 29

Application of principles from Making Learning Whole ...................................................... 33

4.3 Syllabus ............................................................................................................................... 34

Part 5: Overall Synthesis ............................................................................................................... 39

References ..................................................................................................................................... 41

Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 44

A-1: Big Six Skills .................................................................................................................... 44

A-2: McCarthy’s 4MAT System .............................................................................................. 45

A-3: Differences in Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing ................................................ 46

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Part 1: Introduction

1.1 Project Description

This paper describes a workshop series intended for international engineering students at Purdue

University on the topic of information literacy. “Information Literacy” can be defined as the

ability to know when information is needed and to be able to identify, locate, evaluate and

effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand (National Forum on Information

Literacy, n.d.; ACRL, 1989).

Institutional characteristics

Purdue University is a public university located in West Lafayette, Indiana with a total

enrollment of 38,788 graduate and undergraduate students.

Intended learners

This workshop series is intended for international engineering students. In the fall semester of

2013, international students made up the following percentages of the student population (Purdue

University, 2015):

• 17% of all undergraduates (4981/29440); 24% of undergraduates in the College of

Engineering

• 44% of all graduate students (3693/8407); 54% of graduate students in the College of

Engineering

The majority of international undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the College of

Engineering originate from China (1309/10479; 12.5%), India (875/10479; 8.4%), and the

Republic of Korea (287/10479; 2.7%).

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Background in target domain

Because the majority of Purdue’s international engineering undergraduates come from China and

India, the information provided here focuses on these two groups.

International students from China and India enrolling at Purdue as undergraduates have typically

completed a secondary education program focused on technical subjects like math, science, and

languages (Lam, 2011). However, because these students must complete high-stakes academic

proficiency tests and college entrance exams, senior secondary education is more focused on rote

learning and exam preparation (Siegel, 2007).

According to my interactions and discussions with Chinese and Indian international

undergraduate students at Purdue, they have little experience with information literacy topics,

including seeking information, evaluating the quality of information, and documenting

information sources using citations and references. According to Joanne Lax, previously the

communication specialist for the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and

currently the College of Engineering’s graduate technical communications specialist, the

following are errors commonly observed in papers submitted by ECE international students

(personal communication, February 10, 2015):

• Lack of in-text citations

• In-text citations but no reference list

• Incorrectly formatted reference list (incorrect style)

• Weak paraphrasing, both with and without citations

• Using a source’s words without properly citing (quotations marks and/or citation)

While a lack of basic information literacy skills definitely contribute to the common errors listed

above, it has also been recognized that lack of ability in English, including a limited technical

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vocabulary, as well as a tendency “to quote verbatim rather than use one’s own words and

phrases in a language that is not well understood” also contribute to these errors (Song-Turner,

2008, p. 41).

Graduate students coming to Purdue who have completed their undergraduate work at

universities outside the US have typically had experience with information literacy topics; they

have conducted research using outside sources, likely have experience evaluating information

sources, and have documented sources using various citation styles. However, in many instances,

the expectations for academic writing related to using and documenting sources are very

different from those at US universities; in addition, international graduate students often have

limited language skills and a limited technical vocabulary, which can contribute to allegations of

plagiarism (Abasi & Graves, 2008).

Other relevant issues

Information literacy standards: The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)

provides the following competency standards for science and engineering/technology (ACRL,

n.d.):

• Determine the nature and extent of the information needed.

• Acquires needed information effectively and efficiently.

• Critically evaluates the procured information and its sources.

• Understands the economic, ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of

information and uses information effectively, ethically, and legally to accomplish a

specific purpose.

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• Understands that information literacy is an ongoing process and an important component

of lifelong learning and recognizes the need to keep current regarding new developments

in his or her field.

While ABET accrediting standards for engineering programs do not explicitly mention

information literacy, perhaps because they are written at a broad level rather than a highly

detailed level, many believe that “students cannot achieve many of the ABET outcomes without

developing information literacy skills” (Riley, Piccinino, Moriarty, & Jones, 2009, p. 2). As

such, mastering information literacy skills is an expectation for today’s college students.

Allegations of plagiarism: Lack of understanding of information literacy topics among

international students can lead to accusations of plagiarism and academic dishonesty. For

example, in my work with FYE students and teaching teams, I have observed that international

students commonly copy information verbatim from the internet, often from Wikipedia, without

a citation. While this is clearly plagiarism at Purdue and can lead to the student being reported to

the Dean of Students, the practice of copying a source directly and not including a citation may

have been acceptable in their home country (Princeton University, 2011). For example, in Asian

countries, the norm may be to repeat back material in a textbook or spoken by a professor

verbatim without a citation “as a sign of respect to the source of knowledge” (Redden, 2007).

Contextual issues

At this time, it is unknown if this workshop will be geared at undergraduate students or graduate

students; while undergraduate students have less knowledge in this area as discussed above, their

writing requirements as undergraduate engineering students is not as great as that of graduate

students. However, implications of a lack of knowledge of information literacy skills and

expectations can be detrimental to both groups.

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1.2 Motivation for This Project & Author Expertise

Motivation

First-Year Engineering (FYE) students at Purdue study information literacy in their first-

semester FYE course; this lesson consists of a two components: 1) a custom-built e-learning

module designed around the InfoSEAD model developed by Purzer and Wertz (2014) and shown

in Figure 1; and 2) an in-class activity that involves seeking, evaluating, applying, and

documenting information. For most domestic students, particularly high-achieving engineering

students, the majority of the topics covered in this lesson are review, as they have written

research papers in high school that required external information sources to be used and

documented.

Figure 1. Four facets of information literacy in the InfoSEAD model (Purzer & Wertz, 2014).

However, as discussed above, international students have had very different experiences in the

area of information literacy, and the inability to properly complete the four information literacy

tasks (seek, evaluate, apply, and document) could have significant consequences related to their

academic pursuits, particularly for graduate students, for whom significant writing will be

required to complete their degree.

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While various seminars and workshops related to information literacy are held on campus at

various times as listed in Table 1, there does not exist a comprehensive program intended to

inform and teach international students practical skills related to information literacy and the

associated expectations and standards in the US classroom.

Table 1. Existing seminars, workshops, and resources at Purdue University related to

information literacy skills.

Item Description

Purdue OWL Extensive collection of web-based information a variety of topics, including writing in general, conducting research, and citing sources.

Purdue OWL Workshops During the semester, workshops on various topics related to information literacy are offered. For example, in Spring 2015, a workshop titled “Research Made Easy: Finding and Evaluating Sources” was offered.

Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange (PLaCE)

Two courses focused on improving international student oral and written communication skills; designed for international students with lower English proficiency

English /106106i, Introductory Composition at Purdue

Required course for engineering students; main course goal is to improve students’ skills in writing various types of text. Includes content related to the writing process, conducting primary and secondary research, documenting of sources, and other topics.

In addition, as I developed information literacy materials for FYE students, I found very little

content, resources, or guiding material written specifically for international students attending

US universities. This workshop is intended to meet a recognized need and prepare international

engineering students for the writing tasks they will almost certainly encounter in their

engineering courses at Purdue.

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Expertise

While I am not an expert in information literacy, I have developed course materials, including an

e-learning course and an in-class, hands-on activity for FYE students on this topic. In addition,

my background in technical writing aligns with the topic of information literacy.

While I currently work as a staff member in Engineering Education, I am seeking opportunities

to expand my reach and develop new expertise. In addition, the prospect of implementing and

then refining this seminar series is of interest to me.

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Part 2: Content

2.1 Curricular Priorities

Curricular priorities for this project are shown in Table 2 below and are organized according to

the InfoSEAD model (Purzer & Wertz, 2014) and also incorporate the “Big Six Skills” from

Eisenberg and Berkowitz as shown in the appendix (1995, 1998). Objectives that directly relate

to the enduring outcome are starred with an asterisk.

Table 2. Curricular priorities.

Enduring outcome • Engineers seek, evaluate, and apply, and document information.

Important to know and do

Important to be able to do: 1. Seek information relevant to the task at hand or research question.*

a. Physically locate sources. b. Find information within sources.

2. Evaluate information to determine if it is trustworthy and of high quality.*

3. Apply information to the task at hand or research question.* a. Extract information from a source. b. Organize information from multiple sources. c. Determine if information applies to the situation. d. Present information, including quoting, summarizing, and

paraphrasing. 4. Document information to clearly identify its source.*

a. Write in-text and reference list citations in a specified format for books, websites, journals, etc.

b. Determine whether a given example of quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing constitutes plagiarism.

c. Use the Purdue OWL to write references. d. Use a citation generation to write references.

Important to know: 5. Seek:

a. Sources of relevant information (eg, reports, textbooks, patents, etc.).

b. Resources for seeking information other than Google or basic internet searches: Purdue libraries & Google Scholar.

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c. Definition of “peer-reviewed journal” and “trade magazine.” d. Best practices for using Wikipedia.

6. Evaluate: a. Why it is important to use trustworthy and high-quality

information. b. Criteria for determining/evaluating the quality of information:

accuracy, authority, currency, and objectivity. 7. Document:

a. Why citations and references are important (allows other to judge the quality of your information and acknowledges your sources).

b. When citations are required. c. Most commonly used citation formats. d. Resources available for formatting citations and references. e. The relationship between citations and references and

plagiarism as typically defined by US universities.

Worth being familiar with

Worth knowing: 8. That Purdue librarians are available for personal assistance when

conducting research. 9. How Wikipedia works (who creates entries, who updates, how often

updates occur, etc.). 10. How to proceed when conflicting or inconsistent information is

encountered. 11. That citations are required for non-print or non-standard information,

such as interviews, images, etc. 12. Other citation formats that may be encountered by an engineering

student. Worth knowing how to do:

13. How to set your library preferences on Google Scholar.

2.2 Concept Map

A concept map for content in this workshop series is shown on the next page. This map divides

the content into the four main topics: Seek, Evaluate, Apply, and Document. The enduring

outcome is represented by purple, the “important to know and do” content is represented in blue,

and the “worth being familiar with” content is represented in green.

Note that because the concept map is very wide, it is shown in multiple parts.

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Concept Map Part 1: Seek

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Concept Map Part 2: Evaluate

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Concept Map Part 3: Apply & Document

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2.3 How People Learn

Difficult concepts & misconceptions

Today’s college students are sometimes referred to as “digital natives” who have grown up

assuming that “everything they need to know is a Google search away” (Joy, 2012; Head, 2013).

However, once they arrive at college and are faced with more intensive research assignments,

they often find themselves overwhelmed by the huge quantities of information they need to wade

through, evaluate, and synthesize (Head, 2013).

Further, given their limited exposure to information sources, students typically lack an

understanding of the wealth and types of information available on any given subject. For

example, if students’ information researching habits have been limited to the internet and

Wikipedia and if they have never worked for a company or organization, the concept of “internal

reports and documents” may be foreign.

International students face additional challenges related to learning information literacy,

including the following:

• Many have limited language skills and a limited technical vocabulary, both of which

make writing tasks, particularly tasks such as summarizing and paraphrasing, difficult.

• Many have come from an academic environment that required little academic research

and was instead focused on exam preparation; in addition, many have limited experience

using libraries, both physical libraries and virtual libraries (Siegel, 2007).

Cultural shock & conflict

International students, particularly Chinese students, studying at US universities may find

themselves experiencing cultural shock and conflict as they learn to encounter and adapt to the

US college environment, which has “social norms, academic practices, and communication

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styles” that are very different from what they may have experienced in their home country

(Gillespie, 2012). For example, Chinese education commonly focuses more on rote learning,

memorization, and repetition and with the teacher placed at the center of the learning, while

education in America stresses “developing individual talents, personal values, and the creative

spirit” (Zhang, 2013). In addition, international students have little to no exposure to the US

perception of plagiarism as it relates to referencing and citation. In fact, students from countries

such as China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam “value their source with the utmost authority, yet do

not believe in citing their sources as expected in Western society” (Gillespie, 2012).

Williams defines “cultural conflict” as conflicts that occur due to “differences in values and

norms of behavior of people from different cultures”; she also states that cultural conflict can

cause conflict and misunderstanding due to different worldviews and interpretations of behavior

(1994). Williams recommends the following methods to resolve cultural conflict:

• Acknowledge and understand the cultural dimension and the conflict.

• Learn about the other culture and become culturally aware rather than developing cultural

stereotypes.

• Change the practice and/or procedure to make the system more sensitive to cultural

norms of other people.

Related to the topic of this workshop, it will be important that international student are not made

to feel that their home country’s views on and methods related to information literacy are wrong;

instead, the cultural origins of these views should be discussed, appreciated, and openly

contrasted with US expectations.

How people learn

According to the Final Report of the Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (1989):

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Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know

how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and

how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them.

Carey relates information literacy skills to problem solving skills; problem solving tasks, and

information literacy tasks, are often ill structured and complex, require the organization of a

great deal of knowledge, and “require that knowledge, tool skills, and solutions strategies be

orchestrated into an effective process” (1998, p. 3). Further, he recommends a constructivist

learning environment when teaching information literacy skills, where guidelines such as the

following are implemented:

• Give students choices on the content they explore and the methods used for exploration.

• Situate the problem in an authentic context.

• Emphasize constructing process over finding answers and connect to what students

already know.

• Use cooperative learning to expose students to multiple perspectives and interpretations.

• Provide enough facilitation to ensure progress and minimize frustration.

Fortunately, these guidelines share similarities with recommendations for teaching in a

multicultural setting. For example, IEAA (2013) recommends the following for teaching across

cultures: focusing on students as learners, such as providing a variety of learning and assessment

activities; providing context-specific information and support; and being adaptable, flexible, and

responsive to evidence, such as designing assignments that allow students to draw on their

experiences.

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Part 3: Assessment

3.1 Learning Objectives

The learning objectives for this workshop series are shown in Table 3 and are organized to

correspond to the InfoSEAD model. Note that the exact number of workshop sessions has not yet

been determined and may depend upon external factors; the assumption at this point is that all

learning objectives will be covered in six to eight workshop sessions.

The column “alignment with curricular priorities” in Table 3 relates each learning objective to

the curricular priorities identified on pages 10-11.

Table 3. Learning objectives and curricular priorities.

InfoSEAD facet Learning objective Alignment with curricular priorities

1. Seek a. List possible sources of trustworthy and high-quality information.

IMP: 5a

i. Define “peer reviewed journal.” IMP: 5c

ii. Define “trade magazine.” IMP: 5c

iii. List best practices for using Wikipedia for research.

IMP: 5d W: 9

b. Seek and locate information relevant to the task at hand or research question.

IMP: 1a, 1b, 5a W: 8

i. Use the Purdue Libraries website to locate information sources.

IMP: 1a, 1b, 5b

ii. Use Google Scholar to find locate information sources.

IMP: 1a, 1b, 5b W: 13

iii. Find information within sources. IMP: 1b

2. Evaluate a. List criteria for evaluating the trustworthiness and quality of information.

IMP: 6a, 6b

b. Apply criteria to information/sources to determine if it is trustworthy and of high quality.

IMP: 2, 6b

3. Apply a. Extract information from a source and organize information across multiple sources.

IMP: 3a, 3b

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InfoSEAD facet Learning objective Alignment with curricular priorities

b. Determine the extent to which specific information applies to a situation.

IMP: 3c

i. Evaluate information for conflicts or inconsistencies and determine next steps.

W: 10

c. Quote, summarize, and paraphrase information. IMP: 4b

4. Document a. Explain why citations and references are needed/expected.

IMP: 7a

b. Explain when citations and references are required.

IMP: 7b W: 11

c. Define what is meant by “citation style” and identify commonly used citation formats.

IMP: 7c

d. Document sources of information using in-text citations and reference lists.

IMP: 4a, 4c, 4d, 7d W: 11, 12

e. Define plagiarism in the context of documenting information.

IMP: 7e

i. Evaluate academic writing and determine if plagiarism has occurred.

IMP: 4b

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3.2 Taxonomy of Learning Objectives

Table 4 below maps the learning objectives for this workshop series according to Anderson &

Krathwohl’s (2001) framework.

Table 4. Learning objectives mapped to Anderson & Krathwohl’s revised Bloom’s Taxonomy

(2001).

Knowledge Dimensions

Cognitive Processes 1

Remember 2

Understand 3

Apply 4

Analyze 5

Evaluate 6

Create

Factual 1a -IMP

1ai - IMP

1aii – IMP

4c – IMP

1aiii – IMP

4a – IMP

4e - IMP

Conceptual 2a - IMP

4b - IMP

3a - IMP

3b - EU 3bi - IMP

Procedural 1b - EU 1bi - IMP

1bii – IMP

3c - IMP

4d – EU

2b - EU 4f - IMP

Mega-cognitive

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3.3 Assessment Triangle for Most Important Learning Objective

The most important learning objective in this workshop series has been identified as “Document

sources of information using in-text citations and reference lists.” This objective was chosen

because of the four main tasks, Seek, Evaluate, Apply, and Document, the “document” task is the

one the students will likely be most assessed on during an undergraduate education at Purdue and

it is also the task that, if completed incorrectly, can lead to allegations of plagiarism and

academic dishonesty. In addition, the objective relates to the curricular priority “Document

information to clearly identify its source.”

Figure 2 shows the assessment triangle for this objective.

Figure 2. Assessment triangle for learning objective “Document sources of information.”

Observation:

Given source material that has been summarized,

paraphrased, or quoted, write in-text and

reference list citations using resources such as the Purdue OWL or an

online citation generator.

Interpretation: Instructor will interpret

that learners have shown mastery of the content if they correctly write in-text and reference list

citations for summarized,

paraphrased, and quoted material from common

sources.

Cognition: As specified by Carey, the related activity will be constructivist in nature. It will be

structured as an open-ended problem-solving activity on an authentic topic where students

can determine how to best proceed to complete the task.

Document sources of information using in-text citations and

reference lists.

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3.4 Assessment Worksheets for Top Learning Objectives

An assessment worksheet for the three most important learning objectives are shown here. Note

that each student will chose a topic at the start of the workshop series related to their engineering

area of interest or expertise and all learning and assessment activities will be related to that topic.

For example, a student interested in environmental or chemical engineering might choose to

investigate an aspect of the topic of desalination. Each step in the information literacy process

will be assessed through distinct activities; together these activities will lead to the students

creating a short (1-2 pages) report on the topic that demonstrated effective information seeking,

evaluation, application, and documenting.

Learning Objective 1bi: Use the Purdue Libraries website to locate information sources.

Objective Assessment

Use the Purdue Libraries website to locate information sources.

General Hands-on activity requiring use of a computer and including completed worksheet students will use to document the process and outcomes.

Claim Students will use the Purdue Libraries website to conduct research on their topic and find relevant sources of information.

Task Having defined a topic or question related to engineering, students will:

• Identify at least three specific information requirements (i.e., what information is required).

• Create a list of at least two possible information resources. • Use the Purdue Libraries website to locate sources of

information. • Describe their search process and share their preliminary

findings with a peer. • Create a table detailing at least three the information sources,

type, publication date, and overview of information found in that source.

Evidence Evidence of successful completion of this task consists of the student

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Objective Assessment locating multiple (at least 5) trustworthy sources of information using the Purdue Libraries website that are relevant to the topic or question.

Learning objective 3c: Quote, summarize, and paraphrase information

Objective Assessment

Quote, summarize, and paraphrase information.

General Written assignment that includes a worksheet students will complete.

Claim Students will properly quote, summarize, and paraphrase information they have found.

Task Having located sources of information relevant to their topic, students will:

• Extract relevant information from the sources. • Write sentences that include information quoted, summarized,

and paraphrased.

Evidence Evidence of successful completion of this task consists of the student accurately quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing information from a source.

Learning Objective 4d: Document sources of information

Objective Assessment

Document sources of information using in-text citations and reference lists.

General Written assignment that includes a worksheet students will complete; includes using the internet to access online resources related to writing citations and reference lists.

Claim The students will take source material that they have summarized, paraphrased, or quoted and write in-text citations and reference list citations.

Task Having located sources of information relevant to their topic and quoted, summarized, and paraphrased information, students will write in-text and reference list citations to identify information sources.

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Objective Assessment

Evidence Evidence of successful completion of this task consists of the student correctly identifying the type of information source (book, journal, report, etc.) and writing a properly formatted in-text and reference list citation according to the rules of the specified format (APA, MLA, etc.).

3.5 Authentic Assessment

The table below illustrates how the assessment related to the learning objective 1bi, “Use the

Purdue Libraries website to locate information sources,” meets the criteria for an authentic

performance task as outlined by Hansen (2011).

Criteria Connection

Realistically contextualized The student is conducting research on a topic he or she has chosen in an area of engineering interest or expertise.

Requires judgment and innovation

Replicates key challenging situations

Assesses the student’s ability to use a repertoire of knowledge and skills

Searching for information using the Purdue Libraries website is very different from the regular internet-based searches most students are accustomed to conducting. When seeking specific information, students will be faced with a multitude of resources to choose from (reports, journal articles, and textbooks) and will have to make judgments such as which types of information sources might be most suitable, whether recent or older sources are most appropriate, and appropriate key words for searching.

Ask the student to “do” the subject

Learners will use a computer to access the Purdue Libraries website to search for information sources.

Allow appropriate opportunities to rehearse, practice, and get feedback

Students will likely have to conduct multiple searches using multiple resources to locate the needed information. To obtain further insight and obtain feedback, students will share their search process and approach and findings with a peer; through this sharing, students can obtain feedback on their search process, insight on alternative approaches, and feedback on the suitability of their identified sources.

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3.5 Analysis of Selected Assessment with Rubric

Shown below is a rubric for the assessment related to the learning objective 1bi, “Use the Purdue

Libraries website to locate information sources” as detailed above.

Criteria

Level of achievement

Underachieved Partially achieved Fully achieved

Identify specific information requirements related to topic.

Did not identify information requirements or requirements identified are not relevant to topic and not specific enough to facilitate search.

Identified at least two information requirements and only one of the following is met: information requirements are 1) relevant to topic or 2) specific enough to facilitate search.

Identified three or more information requirements that are 1) relevant to topic and 2) specific enough to facilitate search.

Identify possible information sources.

Did not identify at least 2 possible information sources or sources identified are not appropriate.

Identified at least 2 possible information sources but one or more is not appropriate.

Identified at least 2 possible information sources that are appropriate.

Locate appropriate sources of information.

Anything less than requirements for partially achieved

1) Provided details on three sources of information, including type, publication date, and overview of information

But

2) Not all information sources are appropriate for the topic.

1) Provided details on three sources of information, including type, publication date, and overview of information

And

2) All information sources are appropriate for the topic.

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Part 4: Pedagogy

4.1 Making Learning Whole Principles

Table 5 below shows how the learning environment for this workshop series addresses each of

the seven principles in Making Learning Whole (Perkins, 2009).

Table 5. Addressing Making Learning Whole principles.

Principle How addressed

1. Play the whole game

“Play the whole game” refers to structuring instruction so learners can do what you want them to do at the end of the instruction (Perkins, 2009).

This workshop series is designed so that upon completion, students will be able to effectively seek, evaluate, apply, and document information sources as they work on assignments as students at Purdue.

To start, students will practice tasks in a scaffolded manner; for example, when learning about seeking information, students will be provided a topic and guided through the process of seeking information through steps or instructions from a facilitator.

However, students will have a final deliverable that incorporates all tasks learned in the workshop and mirrors a typical assignment they might encounter in a Purdue class. Specifically, students will be asked to write a short report on a technical topic of their choice; to ensure that appropriate skills are exercised, students will be provided requirements for the number and type of resources used as well as how information is incorporated into the report (summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting).

2. Make the game worth playing

“Make the game worth playing” refers to motivation and relevance (Westerberg, 2013).

Students who are the target for this workshop will likely “not know what they don’t know” about information literacy nor know the possible consequences of not complying with expected standards and practices related to information literacy, particularly citing sources. As a result, they may not be motivated to learn the material or see how it affects them. As such, it will be important to begin the workshop series with a “what’s-in-it-for-me” message that clearly illustrates to students why they should be motivated to learn this information; reasons include being prepared for possible assignments to be encountered and avoiding claims of academic dishonesty or plagiarism. For example, a case study may be shared where a student innocently copies verbatim from Wikipedia and as a result is reported to the Dean of Students for academic dishonesty. Note, however, that the goal is not to scare students but instead to convey the importance

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Principle How addressed

and gravity

of learning and applying expectations in the US academic environment.

In addition, the final project discussed above (a report on a technical topics that illustrates learned information literacy skills) is designed to mirror a typical assignment student might encounter, making the workshop outcome relevant to their future success as students at Purdue.

3. Work on the hard parts

“Work on the hard parts” refers to providing students adequate, targeted practice on concepts and tasks that are difficult (Leading and Learning, 2009).

It is anticipated that workshop participants will struggle most with evaluating sources for trustworthiness; summarizing and paraphrasing information; and documenting sources of information, as these are concepts that most international students are unfamiliar with.

To help students work on these “hard parts,” targeted exercises and repeated practice will be incorporated into the workshop. For example, related to evaluating sources for trustworthiness, students may be 1) asked to evaluate provided sources for trustworthiness and 2) locate trustworthy sources on their own and justify selection of these sources.

In addition, these “hard parts” will be acknowledged and discussed openly; helping the students realize that they aren’t alone in their struggles and that mastery will take practice may help them persevere. Lastly, students will also be provided resources and tips for improving their skills.

4. Play out of town “Play out of town” relates to the transfer of learning from one context to another (Perkins, 2009).

While students in this workshop will be learning skills that will allow them to effectively apply skills in seeking, evaluating, applying, and documenting information when completing assignments, they will have the opportunity to learn and practice these skills in various contexts and with various levels of support. Most of these opportunities will fit into the category of “near transfer” as defined by Perkins: “connection to situations very like those of the original learning” (2009, p. 111). This is because students will be learning some very discreet skills in this workshop series with the goal of being able to implement information literacy skills as they complete academic assignments at Purdue.

One way “playing out of town” could be incorporated includes mainly concentrating on one style, such as APA, and then asking students to cite work using MLA so they have experience using more than one format.

5. Uncover the “Uncover the hidden game” refers to exploring and learning below the

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Principle How addressed

hidden game surface (Perkins, 2009).

Uncovering the hidden game is possible in this workshop but may be a challenge given the newness of the material to the workshop participants and the limited time that will likely be allocated to the workshop.

However, opportunities to uncover the hidden game may be available in the area of evaluating sources, which might appear straightforward when one learns a list of guidelines for evaluating sources but can sometimes appear “muddy” when actually applying the guidelines to a given source.

6. Learn from the team

“Learn from the team” refers to students learning collaboratively (Leading and Learning, 2009).

It is expected that many of the tasks and activities students will engage in in this workshop will involve group work. While workshop participants are expected to have little knowledge of the information literacy tasks to be covered, some students may have more knowledge than others, so opportunities to learn from one another may be present. Additionally, since this workshop series is targeted at international students, some of who have limited language skills, the ability to work with others may bolster students’ confidence and allow them to become involved in the learning instead of their language limitations isolating them from the class and material.

An example of a group activity relates to quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing. Pairs of students will first be provided quoted, summarized, and paraphrased information and will examine and evaluate these examples. Next, these pairs will be asked to quote, summarize, and paraphrase specific information. Collaborative learning is particularly important for this topic (quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing) since this is expected to be a “hard part” for students.

7. Learn the game of learning

“Learn the game of learning” refers to students relating new things to those they already know and making choices and taking control related to their learning (Perkins, 2009).

In this workshop, one way students will be allowed control is to select a topic of interest upon which to base their final assignment, in which they will demonstrate all the skills learned. Another way to incorporate “learning about learning” is to connect those information literacy skills students may have encountered during schooling in their home country with what they are learning now. While what they know may be limited, there are likely knowledge and tasks that can be used as a basis upon which new knowledge can be built.

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4.2 Sample Lesson Plan

Shown below is a sample lesson plan related to the learning objective “Quote, summarize, and paraphrase information.” Note that this

topic is expected to be a “hard part” for international students who are non-native English speakers. Additionally, the in-class

activities portion of the lesson plan is modeled after McCarthy’s 4MAT system, shown in Appendix A-2 (Purdue ITaP, n.d.).

Session overview

Session topic Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing information

Time required 60 minutes

Related objectives Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Quote, summarize, and paraphrase information.

Student pre-work None

In-class activities

Time Sequence Instructional strategy Materials needed & resources

5 minutes Why should I know this?

Do: Review what students have learned to date and what they will learn today; make connections between the topics.

Discuss:

• There are three main ways you will incorporate the work of others into your work: quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing.

• There are unique rules related to in-text

Materials needed:

• Instructor slides; wrap-up slide should include workshop “roadmap” that includes today’s session and prior sessions

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Time Sequence Instructional strategy Materials needed & resources

citations for each, so it is important for you to know the difference and know how to properly cite each. Writing citations will be covered in another lesson; this lesson is intended as preparation for this upcoming lesson.

• Throughout your education at Purdue, you will likely be asked to complete assignments that require you to conduct research and evaluate, apply, and document sources. Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing information is a skill you need to complete assignments such as these.

• Properly quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing information can help you avoid accusations of academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

20 minutes What is this? Definition of terms (10 minutes) Do: Have students work in groups of 2-3 to define the each term: quote, summarize, paraphrase. Ask students to share their definitions with the class, and discuss.

Examining examples (10 minutes) Do: Ask students to read a short piece of written work and identify examples as a quote, summary, or paraphrase. Students should complete this exercise on their own and then compare their answers to that of 1-2 peers. Review the students’ answers.

Materials needed:

• Instructor slides • Laptops or other device with internet

access • Worksheet containing a short piece

of written work (technical but simple in nature) plus examples of quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing, for the second student activity

Resources:

• Purdue OWL website on quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing:

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Time Sequence Instructional strategy Materials needed & resources

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/

• Plagiarism awareness workshop: https://sites.google.com/site/plagiarismworkshop/paraphrasing-summarizing-and-quoting

25 minutes How do I do it? Practicing quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing (20 minutes) Do: Provide students the practice worksheet and the reference handout, ask them to work in groups of 2-3 to complete the worksheet (however, all students should turn in their own worksheet).

As students work, the instructor should be available to answer student questions and encourage/direct students as needed.

Debrief (5 minutes) Do: Debrief the activity by:

• Summarizing some of the difficulties you observed students having (“hard parts”)

• Asking students which tasks was the hardest and why.

Materials needed:

• Instructor slides with activity instructions

• Worksheet containing a short piece of written work (technical but simple in nature) plus space for students to quote, summarize, and paraphrase the work, similar to https://sites.google.com/site/plagiarismworkshop/activity-2---paraphrasing-summarizing-and-quoting-practice .

• Reference handout describing differences in quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing (similar to handout shown in Appendix A-3)

10 minutes What if something happens?

Wrap-up Do: To wrap up the session, ask students the following questions:

• As an international student or non-native English speaker, what makes quoting,

Materials needed:

• Instructor slides; wrap-up slide should include workshop “roadmap” with preview of next topic/lesson

• Reference handout with list of resources related to quoting,

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Time Sequence Instructional strategy Materials needed & resources

summarizing, and paraphrasing hard? o Possible responses: Limited

vocabulary, limited English skills • What can you do to improve your skills in

this area? o Possible responses: Practice, have

others proofread your work, utilize resources on campus.

Note: Depending upon students’ willingness to engage in a classroom discussion, this could be a think-pair-share type activity. Do: Preview the next session and connect what students learned today to the next topic.

summarizing, and summarizing.

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Application of principles from Making Learning Whole

Multiple principles from Perkin’s Making Learning Whole (2009) are represented in the lesson

plan above. These principles are further discussed here.

Make the game worth playing: To make the topic relevant and motivate students, this lesson

begins with a discussion of “Why should I know this?” It will be stressed that the skills to be

taught are skills students will need and exercise during their academic career at Purdue.

Additionally, the need to avoid claims of academic dishonest and plagiarism will also be touched

upon.

Work on the hard parts: Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing are likely to be difficult for

international students, particularly those who are non-native English speakers. As a result, an

entire lesson is devoted to this topic, and students are given time in class to apply and practice

these skills. Another possibility that could be incorporated into this lesson is a follow-up

assignment that would allow students to further practice this skill. However, because students

will be required to complete a final assignment that will incorporate the skills of quoting,

summarizing, and paraphrasing, a follow-up assignment such as this has not been added at this

time.

Learn from the team: Collaborative learning is important in this workshop because of the

newness of this material and the potential difficulty students will encounter. Rather than ask

students to respond to the instructor’s prompts, students will be given opportunities to work with

others to prepare responses to the instructor’s questions and complete activities. Given that many

if not most students will be non-native English speakers, allowing students time to process their

thoughts and formulate responses will likely lead to more discussion and engagement.

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4.3 Syllabus

Shown below is a draft syllabus for this workshop series that follows the format specified by this

assignment.

Information Literacy Workshop Syllabus

Goals, objectives, and expectations

The goal of this workshop series is for you to be able to seek, evaluate, apply, and document

information as expected in a US college environment. Skill such as this are commonly referred to

as “information literacy” skills.

When you complete this workshop, you should be able to do the following:

Seek information: • List possible sources of trustworthy and high-quality information.

• Seek and locate information relevant to the task at hand or research question.

Evaluate information: • List criteria for evaluating the trustworthiness and quality of information.

• Apply criteria to information/sources to determine if it is trustworthy and of high quality.

Apply information: • Extract information from a source and organize information across multiple sources.

• Determine the extent to which specific information applies to a situation.

• Quote, summarize, and paraphrase information.

Document information: • Explain why citations and references are needed/expected. • Explain when citations and references are required. • Define what is meant by “citation style” and identify commonly

used citation formats. • Document sources of information using in-text citations and

reference lists. • Define plagiarism in the context of documenting information.

There are no prerequisites for this workshop, and there is no textbook or other required materials.

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Criteria for grading and grading standards

During this workshop, you will complete and submit the following assignments:

• Reflections (3 assignments)

• In-class activities on seeking, evaluating, applying, documenting, information (9

assignments)

• A final project report, in which you will write a short paper on a technical topic of your

choice (additional requirements for this assignment will be provided during the first

workshop session).

Grades are distributed as follows:

Reflections 15%

In-class activities 45%

Final project report 25%

Attendance & participation 15%

Total: 100%

Grades will be assigned as follows:

90-100% A

80-89% B

70-79% C

60-69% D

Below 60% F

Note that because this is a workshop and not a class, you will not be awarded a grade that goes

on your transcript. Instead, all students who achieve a grade of B or higher will receive a

certificate of successful completion for the workshop.

Criteria for each grading assignment

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All written assignments will have a rubric; because the goal of this workshop is for you to master

information literacy skills, the instructor will also provide written feedback on all assignments.

You will have an opportunity to review all rubrics before you submit your work.

Workshop description & teaching methods

This workshop will consist of seven sessions as described in the course schedule below. At each

workshop session, you can expect to learn new terms, concepts, and skills. You will be provided

many opportunities to practice new skills, and you will also have many opportunities to work

with classmates. During each session, the instructor will be available to answer your questions

and provide feedback. As described here, the workshop sessions will be active in nature, and

your participation will be expected.

In addition, most work will take place in class, with the exception of the final project.

Guidelines

To get the most out of this class, you should:

• Come to class prepared to participate and learn.

• Ask questions when you are having difficulty.

• Complete all assignments, such as reading and pre-work, on time and to the best of your

ability.

• Feel free to work with others on all assignments, as we know that working with others

can increase your learning, particularly when learning difficult concepts.

• Bring a notebook to each workshop session; you may want to consider purchasing a small

three-ring binder so you can organize course materials for future reference.

• Bring your computer to each workshop session, so you can access the internet when

practicing skills.

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The skills you learn in this workshop will be valuable to you during your education at Purdue, so

we encourage you to make the most of this opportunity and take responsibility for your success

in this workshop.

What you can expect from the instructor

The instructor of this workshop will strive to be a guide as you learn and practice new skills. The

workshop environment will be informal, and you will have many opportunities to ask questions

of the instructor and receive feedback from the instructor.

In addition, the instructor will be available by email to answer questions related to workshop

materials; please allow 24 hours for a response to your email.

How to approach materials

We understand that mastering the objectives of this workshop series may be difficult for you as

an international student due to differences in information literacy approaches and expectations

between your home country and the US. In addition, still-developing language skills and a

limited vocabulary, particularly vocabulary related to engineering and technical topics, can also

make mastering the objectives difficult. As a result, we recommend that you realize that

mastering the objectives in this workshop will require effort and practice but also realize that the

results of your work and effort will be important during your academic career.

Course schedule

Session Topics Major Activities

1 Overview of information literacy: what is it and why is it important?

Preview of workshop sessions and activities.

1. Reflection #1: What you already know about information literacy and what you hope to learn?

2. Identify your final project topic

2 Seeking information: identifying and locating trustworthy information; best practices for

1. Practice seeking information using the Internet and the Purdue libraries

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Session Topics Major Activities

using Wikipedia 2. Seek information related to your final project

3 Evaluating information for trustworthiness and quality

1. Practice evaluating information for trustworthiness and quality

2. Evaluate information you found on your final project topic

4 Applying information: Extracting and organizing information; evaluate information for conflicts; quote, summarize, and paraphrase information

1. Practice quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing information

2. Reflection #2: What have you learned so far? What topics are unclear?

5 Documenting information, Part 1: Reasons for citing, when citations are required, citation styles and resources, writing citations

1. Practice determining if citations are required

2. Practice writing both in-text and reference list citations

6 Documenting information, Part 2: Avoiding plagiarism.

Final project work time

1. Practice determining if plagiarism has occurred

7 Peer review of final project and final project work time

Notes:

• Bring a printed draft of your final project to class. You will receive feedback from a peer and also from the instructor, with which you can improve your draft.

• Your final project is due on <insert date.>

1. Share your final project draft with a peer and review the work of a peer.

2. Reflection #3: What have you learned? What work remains?

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Part 5: Overall Synthesis

This workshop series is intended to provide international students basis of knowledge and skills

related to information literacy upon which they can build as they progress through their academic

careers. It is not expected that upon completion of the workshop that participants will be experts

in seeking, evaluating, applying, and documenting information; instead, the intention is that

through this workshop students will learn key terms and concepts, practice key tasks, and

develop an awareness of and appreciation for expectations related to information literacy in the

US classroom.

Content for this workshop series is structured around the InfoSEAD model developed by Purzer

and Wertz (2014); students learn about seeking, evaluating, applying, and documenting

information. This knowledge is particularly important to international students, as the

conventions and expectations for performing these tasks in their home countries can be

extremely different or even nonexistent. However, in a US college classroom, performing these

tasks incorrectly can have severe consequences for students, such as allegations of academic

dishonesty and plagiarism.

Although this is a workshop series, learners will be assessed across a full range of learning

objectives spanning the four elements of the InfoSEAD model. These learning objectives involve

not just “remember” and “understand” objectives but also “apply” and “analyze” objectives,

since without the ability to “do” (apply and analyze) students are unlikely to be able to

successfully build on what they have learned. All assignments will have rubrics, and students

will be provided written feedback from the instructor.

Pedagogy for this workshop series is intended to incorporate active-learning activities that

include collaboration among participants and extensive practice with instructor feedback. Active

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learning methods have been chosen to engage students in the course materials; extensive practice

is important, because some concepts and tasks, such as paraphrasing and then citing information,

will likely be completely new skills for participants. Working with others will also assist students

with comprehension and difficulties due to language or vocabulary limitations.

Together, the content, assessment, and pedagogy of this workshop series are expected to provide

international students vital foundational skills they can and will likely put into practice during

their academic careers.

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Appendix

A-1: Big Six Skills

Reference: (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1995, 1998)

Big Six Skills Activities

1. Task definition Define the problem.

Identify the information needed (type, amount, format, etc.).

2. Information seeking strategies

Determine the range of possible resources.

Evaluate the different possible resources to determine priorities.

3. Location and access Locate sources (intellectually and physically)

Find information within resources.

4. Use of information Examine information in sources (read, hear, view).

Extract relevant information.

5. Synthesis Organize information from multiple sources.

Present the result.

6. Evaluation Judge the result (effectiveness).

Judge the information problem-solving process (efficiency).

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A-2: McCarthy’s 4MAT System

Reference: (Purdue ITaP, n.d.)

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A-3: Differences in Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Reference: (Aquinas College, n.d.)