While information literacy skills are fostered in different ways throughout the UW-Whitewater, the Library has a unique role in honing these skills. One way the Library provides information literacy education is through its Library instruction program. The purpose of this program is to assist members of the University community with developing the skills necessary to identify, locate, evaluate, and ethically use those information resources appropriate for their research and scholarship. Library instruction takes a variety of forms, including, but not limited to: research assistance provided in person, by telephone (262-472-1032), and via AskaLibrarian email or chat; library instruction sessions and workshops; online course guides; LibWizard tutorials, and YouTube tutorials.
For more information, see our Library Instruction guide, Policy Statement: Use of Andersen Library's Library Instruction Laboratory and the Missions of the University Cluster, UW-Whitewater and Andersen Library.
Librarians at UW-Whitewater have designed and created two sets of information literacy tutorials based on the needs of students at various academic levels. Some samples are linked below.
Andersen Library instruction and reference librarians support flipped instruction by developing interactive online tutorials meant to introduce or reinforce information literacy skills essential to library research.
English 102 and other introductory level classes:
After completing the "Search Tips" information literacy tutorial module on their own, English 102 students do a small group activity in class that is a variant of this sample exercise, based on the course or assignment theme. It is designed to guide students through several steps at the beginning of the research process. Afterwards, some of the groups' searches are tried in the discovery tool, and students discuss how to modify the search for more relevant results. Students look through a result list to choose the best article citation, read that article's abstract, and re-evaluate their selection.
Research Apprenticeship Program and 200-300 level classes:
This in-class activity and discussion are undertaken after students have completed the "Identifying Source Types" Captivate tutorial. The librarian or course instructor provides groups of students with a variety of articles and/or book excerpts related to course content. Using this graphic organizer, student groups discuss and identify the various samples provided. This provides opportunities for more in-depth discussions regarding the selection of appropriate sources, reference and citation, and publication in the discipline.