The ASE Process Model: An Evidence-based Approach to Information Literacy Instruction

Don Latham and Melissa GrossThe Florida State University

Attaining Information Literacy Project

• IMLS-funded, three-year collaborative project focusing on IL skills among first-year community college students

• Partners: FSU and two Florida community colleges• Purpose: to identify students with below-proficient

IL skills, gather data about their conceptions of and experiences with IL, and develop an IL intervention that will address their needs.

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Innovating IL Instruction:Guiding Principles

1. Use an evidence-based approach2. Focus on issues of perception3. Develop learner-centered instruction4. Develop reality-based instruction

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1. Use an evidence-based approach• Information Literacy Test (JMU, n.d.) was administered in

order to identify students with below-proficient IL skills.• Brief surveys were administered to collect demographic

information, IL training history, and self-perceptions of ability in this domain.

• Interviews were conducted with below-proficient students in order to identify their perceptions of IL and their own IL skills.

• Focus groups were conducted with below-proficient students in order to identify their experiences with and preferences related to instruction.

• Goals and criteria for instruction were developed.• Instruction was developed and pilot tested through an

iterative process.4

2. Focus on issues of perception• Students’ perceptions of IL

– Relational model of IL (Bruce, 1997)– The students in our study did not think of IL as a discrete

set of skills (Gross & Latham, 2009, in press).• Students’ perceptions of their own IL skills

– Dunning-Kruger Effect and IL (Kruger & Dunning, 1999; Gross & Latham, 2007)

– The below-proficient students in our study greatly over-estimated their performance on the ILT.

– When asked about their IL skills, they described them as “good” or “above average.”

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3. Develop learner-centered instruction

• Use the Informed Learning Approach (Bruce, 2008), which emphasizes learner experiences and perceptions and the need for a personal relevance framework.– Focus on self-generated rather than imposed (Gross, 1995)

information seeking.– Focus on web rather than database searching (in other words, begin

with the familiar).– Provide an incentive (in our case, payment; but other incentives could

include making instruction required and/or offering college credit).

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Develop learner-centered instruction (cont.)

• Instructional design based on data collected from students.– Use a combination of demonstration and hands-on practice.– Provide face-to-face rather than online instruction.– Keep class size relatively small.– Have students work in pairs.– Provide ample opportunities for questions and feedback.– Provide handouts (takeaways). – Encourage self-reflection through pre- and post-surveys; encourage

students to think about what they have learned.

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4. Develop reality-based instruction

• We recognized that IL cannot be achieved in a one-hour session.

• Yet this is often the limit imposed on librarians and students.

• We wanted to develop a flexible instructional model that could be – Used as a standalone module– adapted to a variety of settings and content-specific

goals.

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Research Goals

1. Change learners’ conception of skills required to find, evaluate, and use information.

2. Change learners’ conception of their personal ability to find, evaluate, and use information.

3. Teach one skill that learners can readily use that will improve both self-generated and imposed information task outcomes.

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Instructional Goals

By the end of the workshop participants should be able to:1. List the three steps of the information skills process.

2. Use keywords to search for information.

3. Evaluate internet search results.

4. Develop reality-based instruction

• We recognized that IL cannot be achieved in a one-hour session.

• Yet this is often the limit imposed on librarians and students.

• We wanted to develop a flexible instructional model that could be – Used as a standalone module– adapted to a variety of settings and content-specific

goals.

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4. Develop reality-based instruction

• We recognized that IL cannot be achieved in a one-hour session.

• Yet this is often the limit imposed on librarians and students.

• We wanted to develop a flexible instructional model that could be – Used as a standalone module– adapted to a variety of settings and content-specific

goals.

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Iterative Design Process• Criteria for intervention were developed based on data collected from

student interviews and focus groups.• Intervention (instruction) was designed and developed.• Feedback was solicited from our advisory group (four academic librarians

from community and university libraries)• Formative evaluation was used; intervention was pilot tested:

– With several students one on one– In small groups (3-4 students each)– In two pilots with a group of 12 students in one workshop and 7 in the

other.– During a pilot of instructor training with a group of academic librarians

• Modifications were made after each iteration.

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Summative Evaluation

• Intervention and control groups – 46 participants in each group– Pre and post intervention surveys focused on workshop

content– Review of workshop materials– Pre and post ILT scores – Pre and post self estimates of skill

• In-depth interviews with 30 workshop participants• Debriefing with workshop leader

Intervention

• One hour workshop format• Small groups• Students work in pairs• Interactive• Internet Searching• ASE model• Focus on self-generated questions• Includes structured worksheets and handouts

Information Skills: How to Find the Information You Need

Workshop structure• Session objectives

– List three steps of the information process

– Use keywords to search– Evaluate Internet search results

• What’s on your mind?• ASE process model

– Analyze– Search– evaluate

• Reflection and wrap up• More information and help

Keeping instruction relevant• Use of self generated

questions• Focus on Internet searching• Hands-on work in pairs• Interactive. At each step

– Worksheets– Reports to class– Feedback

The ASE Process ModelAnalyze, Search , Evaluate

1. What do you want to find out?

Analyze need.

2. How do you find the information?

Search for information.

Analyze the kind of information you need.

•What is the goal?•What information helps you reach your goal?

Search for information.

•Key words•Synonyms•Truncation •Exact words phrases

3. Which information will you use?

Evaluate results.

Determine the best information to use.

•Relevant•Credible•Current

Analyze, Search, Evaluate

How to Find the Information You Need

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

1.Analyze the kind of information you need

2.Search for information using keywords

3.Evaluate search results in relation to your information need

ASE Process Model

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

• Example: What is happening in Tallahassee?

• Analyze the kind of information you need.

–What is the goal of the search?We want to find something to do with our friends to this weekend.

–What questions do we want to answer?What kind of events are happening, where, what times, and how much does it cost?

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Step 1: A is for Analyze

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

• Example:What is happening in Tallahassee this weekend?

• Using the internet, how will we search for the information we need?

–Keywords–Truncation–Exact Words or Phrase

Step 2: S is for Search

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

What are the main ideas in your topic?Use the main ideas as key words.•Example: What is happening in Tallahassee this weekend?•Keywords: Tallahassee, happening, weekend

Consider using synonyms for key words.•Synonyms: Leon County, events, November 21

Keywords

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

• Get more results by using all forms of a word

• (Note: this does not apply to all words. Example: sheep).

–Write keywords that could have multiple forms with an asterisk (*) immediately following them

• Example:• We decide we want musical events occurring on November

21 and all of December.–Tallahassee, music* event*, November 21, December*

Truncation

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

• Get more specific results by using quotation marks around the phrase or words or use the advance search option on the search engine.

• (Note: this is not useful for single words. Example: “girl”)

• Example:• We hear about a country western singer

bringing a new show to Tallahassee.• “Wide Open 2010: Jason Aldean”

Exact Words or Phrase

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

• Advanced Search Tips–Exclude certain words–Specify domains or sites•Within a domain: .edu (or .org, .gov, etc.)•Within a site: youtube.com (or npr.org, etc.)–Date (how recent a page is)•Anytime or past day to past year• Check out the Advanced Search Tips–www.google.com

Additional Search Tips

Project Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, National Leadership Grant LG-06-08-0049

• ASE Process Model–Analyze – Determine your goal and what information you need–Search – Use keyword search strategies–Evaluate – Determine if the information is•Relevant•Credible•Current

Summary

Using the ASE Model

• Orientation and First Year Experience• As a stand alone workshop• Return to model in developing workshops on

other topics– Academic databases– Library catalog– Searching social network sites– Using print resources

ATTAINING INFORMATION LITERACY PROJECTHTTP://WWW.ATTAININFOLIT.ORG

All workshop materials will be made available on the project website. Includes instructor guide, PowerPoint slides, handouts, and assessment tools.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank:– IMLS for providing funding for the AIL Project.– Bonnie Armstrong for assisting with the instructional

design.– The librarians at the participating community colleges.– Our graduate research assistants, Debi Carruth and

Meredith Mills. – Our advisory board: Rebecca Bichel, Kenneth Burhanna,

Sarah McDaniel, and Bianca Rodriguez.

Latham & Gross / CAIS 2010 29

Thank you!

Attaining Information Literacy Projecthttp://www.attaininfolit.org

Don Latham Melissa Grossdlatham@fsu.edu mgross@fsu.edu

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