Information Fluency Expectations for Students at Macalester

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DeWitt Wallace Library

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library@macalester.edu

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Information Fluency expecations for entering students - see Orientation pages

Information Fluency Expectations for Students at the End of their First Year

Technical/Productivity Tools

Knows how to:

  • navigate and use the campus network - email, course folders, personal server space.
  • find and use lab resources.
  • print from the labs and dorm rooms.
  • get help on campus with technical issues.
  • use CLICnet, including accessing their own patron file

Research/Critical Thinking/Ethical Use

Is able to:

  • distinguish between scholarly and recreational information needs.
  • identify basic scholarly resources.
  • describe what a peer-reviewed source is.
  • evaluate a resource for content and scope.
  • distinguish publicly available resources from those provided by the college.
  • exhibit an understanding of academic dishonesty.
  • live appropriately in a community of shared resources
    (overlaps with Interpersonal)
    • Has an awareness of responsible use
    • Understands information citizenship
    • Understands ethical issues associated with peer-to-peer file sharing
  • identify relevant staff on campus to go too for help with research/library issues.
  • use interlibrary borrowing services for materials available outside of Macalester.
  • extend research capablities to non-digital resources (e.g. printed indices, journals).

Communication/Presentation/Interpersonal/Team

Is able to:

  • determine what Media Services offers and how to access those resources.
  • show development of skills for living in a community of shared resources.
  • comfortably request help from roommates/peers before accessing staff.
  • determine when appropriate to access staff for help.
  • listen to and outline a lecture into salient sections, points, etc.
  • organize own thoughts into an oral presentation, including OHP slides or digital visuals when appropriate.

Information Fluency Expectations for Students in a Major

Technical/Productivity Tools

Knows how to:

  • use the major software tools for the discipline, such as statistical packages, spreadsheets etc.
  • access and retrieve information for the major scholarly research tools in the discipline
  • save files to the network
  • share and comment on shared files on the network
  • accepted publication citation format for the discipline

Research/Critical Thinking/Ethical Use

Is able to:

  • understand the value of major authorities, theories and classic works in the discipline
  • effectively use the major scholarly databases for the discipline and related disciplines
  • identify the major scholarly journals in the discipline
  • outline the publication sequence within the discipline
  • effectively evaluate arguments in the discipline based on the relevance of the evidence presented
  • understand the ethical importance of crediting scholars' works
  • apply discipline based skills across disciplines

Communication/Presentation/Interpersonal/Team

Is able to:

  • understand the conversation and collaborative nature of scholarship within the disciplinary culture
  • effectively present arguments based on evidence in appropriate formats, whether they are print, visual or oral presentations
  • recognize and understand that students have a voice and can make contributions within the disciplinary conversations

An Information Fluent Student Upon Graduating from Macalester


Technical/Productivity Tools

  • Knows and is proficient in computer applications relating to their major area of study
  • Is proficient in the use of networked communication technologies (e-mail, web, networks)
  • Knows available presentation technologies
  • Knows and can use available database, spreadsheet, and word-processing technologies

Research/Critical Thinking/Ethical Use

  • Knows how to contribute to their chosen scholarly field
  • Is proficient in using information gathering and processing skills to find information within their chosen field
  • Knows how use information gathering and processing skills to find information relating to other disciplines and for life long learning
  • Understands legal and ethical uses of information as contained in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and other appropriate laws

Communication/Presentation/Interpersonal/Team Skills

  • Knows how to present complex ideas succinctly and effectively
  • Knows which presentation technologies are most appropriate for a given need
  • Understands issues of multiculturalism, diversity, and internationalism
  • Is able to work cooperatively in a team environment


return to Information Fluency

Information Fluency Task Force, Feburary 2003