Literature Review and Best Practices When reviewing the topic of critical thinking, many connections to specific courses of study can be made. Robert Barr and John Tagg (1995) discuss a shift from instruction-centered teaching to learner-centered education. The learner is at the heart of all conversations concentrating on critical thinking, information literacy, and the combination of the two processes. That is because an instructor cannot make a student use information literacy skills or critical thinking skills. As Wade and Tavris (2008) discussed, the learner must first be willing to open their mind to the processes that are involved in both information literacy and critical thinking. Along the same lines, Barr and Tagg (1995) made the following statement about moving from an instruction-centered paradigm to a learning-centered paradigm: In the learning Paradigm, a college's purpose is not to transfer knowledge but to create environments and experiences that bring students to discover and construct knowledge for themselves, to make students members of communities of learners that make discoveries and solve problems. The college aims, in fact, to create a series of ever more powerful learning environments. The Learning Paradigm does not limit institutions to a single means for empowering students to learn; within its framework, effective learning technologies are continually identified, developed, tested, implemented, and assessed against one another. The aim in the Learning Paradigm is not so much to improve the quality of instruction although that is not irrelevant - as it is to improve continuously the quality of learning for students individually and in the aggregate. (p.15) This QEP, focusing on improving critical thinking abilities through information literacy training, serves as a perfect opportunity to create a better environment to foster students learning instead of instructors teaching. Further, the promotion of critical thinking through information literacy skills supports Howard Gardner s (1991) education for understanding
where a learner attains a sufficient grasp of concepts, principles, or skills so that one can bring them to bear on new problems and situations, deciding in which ways one s present competencies can suffice and in which ways one may require new skills or knowledge. (p.18) Bodi (1998) claims that information literacy instruction in higher education can be used to encourage and reinforce the following critical thinking skills: finding information, identifying and disassociating biases when differing points of view are encountered and evaluating scholarly work. McCormick and Lubans (1983) stated that information literacy instruction contributed to the teaching of critical thinking skills in that information literate students would be able to make informed decisions, to evaluate applications of knowledge, to find truth (p.339). Joan Bechtel (1986) mentions that the task of information literacy instruction is to teach critical thinking and inspire intellectual inquiry. Bodi (1992) indicates that Librarians who participate in information literacy training aid in providing critical thinking skills. Maryellen Allen (1998) uses the following (Figure 2) to highlight the relationship between information literacy and critical thinking:
Figure 1: Side-by-Side Comparison of the Defining Characteristics of Information Literacy vs. Critical Thinking Skills (Allen, M., 1998, p.27) Information Literacy Defined by ACRL Defining Features of Critical Thinking Skills Determine the extent of information needed Conceptualizes/analyzes information Access the efficiently needed information effectively and Synthesizes Evaluate information and its sources critically Analyzes/evaluates Incorporate selected knowledge base Use information effectively specific purpose information into one s to accomplish a Applies Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally Formulates Judgments/conclusions/answers A further call for the necessity of training students to become information literate critical thinkers is made by Whitmire (1998): The combination of a new generation of computer-literate undergraduates and the vast amount of information available by way of computers and electronic resources has increased the necessity for the development of critical thinking skills (266). Spackman (2007) and Scott and Simmons (2006) found that student bibliographies often mostly open-web sources or informational sources that are not suited for the assignment. Too many students are using secondary sources instead of seeking out primary, scholarly sources to complete academic assignments. Furthermore, Scott and Simmons (2006) state that undergraduate student literature reviews lack critical evaluation of sources and rigor based on
inappropriate literature source. Spackman (2007), Sult & Mills (2006), and D Angelo & Maid (2004) found that the best way to implement information literacy instruction is to have an extensive conversation between the faculty member and the librarian in constructing the information literacy training. Brown, Murphy, and Nanny (2003) found that the greatest impact of information literacy instruction occurs when the students are able to find an importance of information literacy in their lives. Borrelli, Johnson, and Cummings (2009) showed that students performed better on assignments aimed at improving information literacy skills when the assignment was sectioned into staggered portions as they could focus on smaller aspects of the work. In addition, Borrelli, et. al. (2009) found that although students are comfortable performing web searches, they are unable to use local tools (eg. search engines and catalogs) is minimal. The presented literature calls for a need to focus on improving student s critical thinking skills through information literacy training. CVCC s QEP allows for an examination of a process by which information literacy training is used to create an environment that not only fosters student learning, but also critical thinking. This will provide students with an ongoing ability to evaluate and use information in everyday life.
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