This resource introduces students to rubrics for evaluating information, including SCARAB, CRAAP, and Reuters Source Guide. Furthermore, it provides a framework of questions to ask about a piece of information under consideration. 

Because most research tasks are complex, they require more than one search strategy. Additionally, such tasks require students to organize and synthesize the results of those searchers into one cohesive document.  This handout intends to introduce students to that process.

This exercise gives students a model for approaching a research task, beginning with general information and ending with more in-depth sources. Discussion can focus on research as inquiry, research as strategic exploration, and the context and construction of authority. Students are required to cite their sources using both MLA and APA.

This handout provides a crosswalk between the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.  Librarians using this handout are prompted to describe their past instruction and service experiences that are related to each frame for the purposes of sparking ideas for programming and learning activities related to the Framework. The handout is designed to ease the transition from using the Standards to embracing the Framework in instruction and programming.  The FIU Information Litearcy Framework combines the Outcomes of the Standards with the Knowledge Practices of the Framework to provide assessable indicators of information literacy competencies in students.

I wrote "How Information Works:ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Lay Language" for a faculty workshop we held at Ohio University called, "Reimagining the Research Assignment."  Later, the Learner-Centered Teaching team took the "Actions" and/or "Attitudes" from that restatement and wrote "Gateway Scales:" almost-rubrics for each frame.  Our intention here is to greatly simplify the language so faculty can more easily understand our purpose. I have linked to our page, where several versions can be accessed: simple (b/w), color handout, long color version with attitudes and actions from novice to expert.  I have also uploaded PDFs of both documents.

For a performance task/ assignment, students will be expected to find evidence to investigate a pseudoscientific claim or conspiracy theory. They will be submitting a two-page paper to their Chemistry professor in which they make a case that either supports the claim or rejects it. They will be expected to use both library and credible online sources for support. The performance task will follow a full 75-minute library instruction session in which students will learn to:construct various search phrases for use in online and library search tools  use certain evaluation criteria (e.g. CRAAP) to assess the credibility of online sources  examine sources for relevance to their research question and search need (specifically, to determine credibility of claims)Throughout the class, an example claim will be used for searches. Either one of the following is recommended:Feng Shui – or the arrangement of furniture according to Chinese philosophy – can positively or negatively impact your wealth, health, happiness, and prosperity.President John F. Kennedy was not assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald – or his assassination is the result of a conspiracy of various entities and agents. Materials included:The full sequenced instruction outline for the face-to-face library instruction session. The assignment prompt for the performance task. CRAAP handout. 

This hands-on activity was piloted as part of a teach-in on fake news at Purchase College, SUNY. To convey the idea that “fake news” exists on a continuum, we did a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey activity using a blank version of Vanessa Otero’s Media Bias chart. The chart is a useful tool for showing the nuances between nonfactual, biased, and inflammatory news sources. Participants are asked to research a news media organization and decide where to place it on the chart, then compare their choices to Otero's original infographic. Two groups can also compare their choices to each other. The ensuing discussion fits nicely with the ACRL Threshold Concept: “Authority is constructed and contextual” and can relate to "Research as Inquiry" or "Information as Value" as well, if economic factors related to the press and clickbait websites are discussed. The concept of a source being on a spectrum of “complex vs. clickbait” adds an additional layer of complexity for students who are used to focusing on binaries such as: liberal vs. conservative or “trustworthy vs. fake.” The details of how to implement this activity as well as copies of Otero's chart are attached. (P.S. An updated version of the chart was created in Fall 2017 adding more nuance along the "complexity" axis and removing some of the "PG-13" or "sassy" language. See attached PDFs).

The Inform Your Thinking video series introduces students to the frames of the ACRL Framework in an easy-to-understand manner by using conversational tone, approachable peer hosts, relatable comparisons, and eye-catching graphics. This video introduces students to the Research as Inquiry frame by illustrating how formulating the right research questions takes time and may shift as you get further into the topic. Students will recognize that their question is just one of many being asked within the field, and will explore tips for focusing their research question.

This lesson plan from Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts, edited by Patricia Bravender, Hazel McClure, and Gayle Schaub and contributed by Robert Farrell, provides students with a practical analogy for scholarly inquiry using an example they are all familiar with, crime scene investigation.

This recipe from The First-Year Experience Cookbook, edited by Raymond Pun and Meggan Houlihan and written by Jacalyn Bryan and Elana Karshmer, describes a three-part orientation activity designed to introduce new students to library resources and services.