Integrating information literacy into a first year mass and energy balances course

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Abstract

As part of a curriculum-wide information literacy program in engineering, a second-semester first year course offers a substantive introduction to information literacy, building on firstsemester writing intensive courses and a college-wide online quiz-tutorial to offer disciplinespecific instruction in information literacy. This course lays the groundwork for additional information literacy instruction throughout the engineering core curriculum and in the capstone design clinic. Information literacy topics are integrated with course material in mass and energy balances using the organizing vehicle of a semester-long project on Life-Cycle Assessment. The engineering librarian taught a class that was tailored to the course and the LCA projects; developed a coursespecific web site to direct students to relevant library resources they would use in completing the project; and assisted student teams per request as they progressed with their projects. The course professor assigned reading on information literacy; conducted a class discussion on information literacy in the broader context of intentional learning and reflective judgment; developed a homework assignment designed to practice information retrieval and evaluation skills; reviewed these skills on a midterm exam; reinforced information literacy skills on assignments including problem sets and ethics case analyses; and incorporated information literacy throughout the LCA project and specifically through an LCA annotated bibliography assignment. Assessment data from student work as well as course surveys and focus groups provide feedback on student learning and indicate areas for future innovation. We discuss course-level innovations in the context of the larger curriculum-integrated information literacy program in engineering. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2009.

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APA

Riley, D., & Piccinino, R. (2009). Integrating information literacy into a first year mass and energy balances course. In ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings. American Society for Engineering Education. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--5347

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