General Education Program

1801 N. Broad Street

500 Conwell Hall (040-07) Philadelphia, PA 19122-6095

Tel.: 215-204-2855

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The Information Literacy Cross Team (ILCT)

As the 21st century advances, the amount of information available to us and the speed with which we can access information continues to expand at a tremendous rate. GenEd is responding to this reality—in a world where no one can hope to know it all, the best way to prepare for the future is to learn how information is linked and how pieces of information are interrelated.

What is Information Literacy?

Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Information Literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. An information literate individual is able to:

  • Determine the extent of information needed
  • Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
  • Evaluate information and its sources critically
  • Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
  • Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
  • Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally

(From: Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Ed., ALA, 2000)

The Specifics:

The goal of the Information Literacy Cross Team (ILCT) will be to design, implement and assess a new Information Literacy assignment for an existing GenEd course in any of the GenEd areas. In 500 words or less, please describe your proposed ILCT assignment on a separate sheet. In your description, please indicate how the new ILCT assignment will enhance your course’s learning goals, how the assignment will be integrated into the course, and finally how the new assignment will be assessed for its effectiveness. Each team consisting of three (3) members: a GenEd faculty instructor, a student, and a librarian will constitute a unique community of learners working collaboratively to create a course-embedded assignment. The work should be completed over the Spring 2017 term and implemented for the next offering of the course. Participant should also be willing to present their work in a colloquium to be scheduled in November 2017.

For students the ILCT developed assignments will help to establish early on a solid working relationship with library resources, which will greatly benefit them as they move through their undergraduate studies. We hope that the assignments from the ILCT projects will also serve as models and inspiration for other faculty contemplating the inclusion of an information literacy component into their exiting courses.

There is a $1,000 stipend for each faculty instructor and a $500 stipend for each student for each of the teams. Temple University Libraries and the GenEd Program will sponsor up to four (4) teams.

Please send application to: Istvan Varkonyi ()

Deadline: December 14, 2016.

Please complete the information below and attach to application:

CourseTitle/Number______

Instructor’s Name______Email______

Student’s Name:______Email:______