MacEwan University Library Information Literacy Learning Outcomes

In 2023, MacEwan University librarians undertook the development and endorsement of a set of information literacy learning outcomes. As a curricular framework, these outcomes guide our work as information literacy educators. We are committed to striving for these learning goals in our interactions with students as part of our dedication to fostering information literacy.

Terminology note: 
Research in this context refers to the work of collecting, analyzing, understanding, and using sources.
Sources in this context is used broadly; encompassing any pieces of information or data, whether text-based, audio, visual, or numerical, that are collected, analyzed and used in the context of research as defined above.

Sources consulted: The Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning, the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, Red Deer Polytechnic's Information Literacy Framework, and the WPA Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. 

Searching: 
•Seek information and sources using an exploratory, iterative process. 
•Thoughtfully and intentionally create and revise search strategies based on information needs.

Authority & Evaluation: 
•Differentiate among different kinds of authority and choose sources with relevant authority for the context.
•Identify bias in information, sources, and systems.

Knowledge Creation: 
•Recognize that knowledge creation is an iterative process of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating.
•Explain how our use of sources and the relative value we place on these sources are affected by knowledge creation processes and dissemination formats.

Power & Value: 
•Identify and examine the dimensions of power that affect knowledge creation, dissemination, access, value, and use. 
•Exemplify ethical choices in the use of knowledge and acknowledgment of sources.

Research & Writing Process: 
•Integrate writing practices within and throughout the research process.
•Conduct research as a dynamic, iterative process of asking questions and generating hypotheses, identifying and synthesizing sources, and asking further questions.

Scholarship as a Conversation: 
•Understand that scholarly work is a conversation between and among sources and creators, in which we all participate.
•Judiciously determine if, when, and how to respectfully participate in these conversations.

Developed by members of the Learning Outcomes Working Group, Martina King, Lori Walter, Jane Duffy, Hailey Siracky, Jody Nelson. Approved at Library Council on August 31, 2023.