Conference Agenda

As academic teaching librarians at the forefront of the Artificial Intelligence revolution, we are eager to engage in and teach academic information literacy and AI to students enrolled at Karlstad University. However, we quickly learned that not all students have the same experience as we envisioned when it comes to literacy in general. While we are busy talking about generative AI-tools that can be of help in their studies, students themselves find it hard to tell an academic article from an anthology (Haider & Sundin, 2022). We are aware of the gap between upper secondary school and university studies, but is it really that wide? In our teaching group, we started talking about our perceived reality and also, what does recent research say? Our findings were disheartening. Swedish students’ literacy has been in decline for years, and an individualized elementary school system seems to be setting students up for failure when embarking on an academic career (Skolverket, 2023).

What can we, as librarians, do to help students? Our first step was to make all our academic information literacy courses available as Open Educational Resources (OER). These courses are self-assessment courses that you, as a student or even the general public, can access as many times as you want and test your academic information literacy abilities. Our second step was to invite all upper secondary school librarians to meet and talk about how to work better together. Hopefully this can increase our professional stance and also empower both students and their teachers. There are examples of projects that have been carried out with this in mind (Walker & Allan, 2018).

AI literacy means more than just using AI tools; it involves understanding how AI works and making ethical decisions about its use. AI literacy includes skills to evaluate, communicate and collaborate with AI, aiming to help people understand AI better (Lérias et al., 2024). Assignments and thesis-writing aside, library instruction on academic literacy could help students to better understand these tools.

We already have knowledge about students’ use of AI, since we observe them daily in the library and they ask us questions that they maybe not ask their teachers (for example, “this is so difficult [searching a library database], why can’t I just ask ChatGPT”). It could be perceived as hopeless to try to explain the point of a thesaurus after a question like that, however, we choose to use questions like this as a way to connect with students, creating a bridge from their information sphere into the library.

As teaching librarians, we are a third adult to many students, a guide to academia who does not grade their work but are here to help. We need to start the conversation on generative AI when we meet students, and use our tacit knowledge about our library users. Librarians need to engage in understanding and guiding the use of generative AI, helping students critically evaluate AI outputs and integrate these tools into their research, as we do with other sources of information.

We are now eager to open up a conversation about bridging the gap in academic information literacy. This is of importance at Karlstad University, in Sweden and also internationally.

References

Deschenes, A., & McMahon, M. (2024). A Survey on Student Use of Generative AI Chatbots for Academic Research. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 19(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.18438/eblip30512

Haider, J., & Sundin, O. (2022). Paradoxes of Media and Information Literacy: The Crisis of Information. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003163237

Lérias, E., Guerra, C., & Ferreira, P. (2024). Literacy in Artificial Intelligence as a Challenge for Teaching in Higher Education: A Case Study at Portalegre Polytechnic University. Information, 15(4), 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15040205

Schei, O. M., Møgelvang, A., & Ludvigsen, K. (2024). Perceptions and Use of AI Chatbots among Students in Higher Education: A Scoping Review of Empirical Studies. Education Sciences, 14(8), 922. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080922

Skolverket. (2023). PISA 2022 (text No. SKOLV-R-2023:15-SE). https://www.skolverket.se/getFile?file=12177

Walker, T., 1961, & Allan, R., 1966. (2018). Bridging the gap between university and upper secondary school English studies: The ULE project. ICAME Journal/International Computer Archive of Modern English, 42(1), 191–212. https://doi.org/10.1515/icame-2018-0009

We will present how we use Wikipedia as a tool for information literacy (IL) instruction in our undergraduate IL course. After learning how people add content to the online encyclopedia, students make their first edit on the site. This assignment requires students to identify a fact from a library source and add it to their adopted Wikipedia article. The student must paraphrase their fact from the source, rather than copy and pasting or lightly changing the original text. In previous iterations of the course, this has been particularly challenging for students as they try to ensure their paraphrases are different enough from the original. In the last year, we have required students to use ChatGPT as a paraphrasing tool in this assignment, asking them to critically evaluate the resulting paraphrase. Once satisfied, they publish it to Wikipedia, making sure to cite the original source. We value this use of ChatGPT because we can focus more on the point of the assignment, which is to contribute to this public information resource, rather than teaching paraphrasing. Students seem better able to critically assess the quality of the paraphrase when it came from ChatGPT, often asking for multiple revisions from the tool. Some students refined the AI-generated text further, adding their own final touches before publishing the text in Wikipedia.

This assignment supports our students' understanding of authority, which is a concept key to IL. Students become Wikipedia creators rather than only consumers. Unlike the traditional research paper, which often stays within the confines of a class and may only be read by their instructor, Wikipedia articles are immediately accessible to anyone. As editors of Wikipedia, any edits students make are attributable to them via their username, so they also must evaluate whether they want the addition to be attached to their account. Finally, they are working within an already established community. While we grade them, their work also may be assessed by Wikipedia community members.

The Association of College & Research Libraries’ (2016) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education highlights authority as key in the development of information literacy: “Authority is constructed and contextual.” The Framework states: “Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.” Students do not need to be experts in the topic of their Wikipedia article. Instead, they develop their authority by identifying the information need for their Wikipedia article, improving the article, and becoming members of the Wikipedia contributor community. Using ChatGPT to paraphrase facts removes a significant barrier for students, allowing them to focus on the more impactful elements of the exercise.

References

Association of College & Research Libraries. (2016). Framework for information literacy for higher education. Retrieved January 31, 2025 from https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Struggling with lack of motivation

As information literacy (IL) instructors we strive to teach students the skills needed to be lifelong learners. Over the years, a recurring topic of discussion among colleagues has been the lack of student motivation to really comprehend the topics we teach in our IL courses. In our experience, this is not only an issue at our universities but a problem that IL instructors worldwide struggle with. Naturally, in order to become successful information searchers, we want our students to be more motivated to learn and realize the importance of IL skills. In the fall of 2024, we introduced self-assessment as a method to improve students' learning at our IL courses. Correctly implemented, student self-assessment, according to McMillan and Hearn (2008), can work as an effective motivator and promote more meaningful learning. Additionally, self-assessment impacts on student performance by giving students the opportunity to guide their own learning and by making the assessment criteria a part of their own evaluation process (McMillan & Hearn, 2008).

Self-assessment as a motivator

In an attempt to increase student motivation, we created a self-assessment assignment in order for students to reflect on their own learning during IL courses and to evaluate their skills as information searchers by answering a set of questions. The assignment was created to increase student motivation at IL courses by students evaluating their own strengths and weaknesses, this hopefully also leading to them getting more aware of the significance of IL. Self-assessment can furthermore be a way to strengthen self-efficacy regarding a specific subject, which can motivate learners and lead to more confidence in these skills (Folk, 2016; Kurbanoglu, 2010). This, for example, was something we could observe from the answers students gave in the assignment. Students who experience high self-efficacy are more likely to develop IL competencies that promote lifelong learning (Ross et al., 2016), which is what we aim for with this self-assessment assignment.

References

Folk, A. (2016). Academic Self-Efficacy, Information Literacy, and Undergraduate Course-Related Research: Expanding Gross’s Imposed Query Model. Journal of Library Administration, 56(5), 540–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2015.1105545

Kurbanoglu, S. (2010). Self-Efficacy: An Alternative Approach to the Evaluation of Information Literacy. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 323–328. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814299701_0040

McMillan, J. H., & Hearn, J. (2008). Student Self-Assessment: The Key to Stronger Student Motivation and Higher Achievement. Educational horizons, 87(1), 40-49.

Ross, M., Perkins, H., & Bodey, K. (2016). Academic motivation and information literacy self-efficacy: The importance of a simple desire to know. Library & Information Science Research, 38(1), 2–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2016.01.002

In an effort to bridge the information literacy gap between high school and college, we initiated a program called “Your Senior is my First-year” in 2018. Research Days was a concept derived from previous years of doing high school tours and library instruction. It has evolved to include information literacy instruction, hands-on research, searching the library, and critical thinking skills. WIthin this instruction, high-school learners are introduced to such skills through a progressive framework that focuses on building relational capacity between learners and facilitators. With the help of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) framework, Research Days empower learners to understand how information is valued, how they can find it, and how they can engage with it in ethical and responsible ways. With the future of information literacy involving things like artificial intelligence (AI), we are also looking to incorporate AI literacy skill building into Research Days to help learners understand they dynamics of mis and disinformation, how social media impacts the way we think, see, and use information, and what the future of information might be.

This best practices presentation looks at the advent of Research days, its progress, and its strengths and challenges. Participants will learn about the WICOR concept within the AVID Framework that allows facilitators and instructors to gradually build relational capacity with learners through scaffolded discovery and progressive risk-taking activities. They will also learn how a librarian attended faculty-led training AVID training from an award-winning AVID coach and incorporated it into library instruction for Research Days. We will also look at the specifics of this instruction and how information literacy is taught and learned in that transition from high school to college, and what it’s like working with the dual credit program. Lastly, we’ll talk about the future of the program, focusing on artificial intelligence and its impact on information literacy. How mis and disinformation have impacted information literacy, and how social media has impacted the way we see information. At the end of the presentation will be helpful tips, tricks, and links to use to incorporate Research Days and what we teach into your information literacy instruction.

Although Wikipedia aims to summarize all the world's knowledge, Wikipedia English skews towards white males for article topics and editors (Davis, 2023). Along with Wikipedia suffering from a deficit of knowledge, American college students have a deficit in information literacy and critical thinking skills. Teaching students to edit Wikipedia stands at the intersection of editing to fill in content gaps and editing to teach students information literacy, critical thinking skills, and research skills while making Wikipedia a more diverse and inclusive resource (McDowell & Vetter, 2022). With this in mind, we have worked with Tennessee State University (TSU), the University of South Florida (USF), and Wikimedia Foundation DC on a series of Wikipedia edit-a-thons.

TSU is a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in Nashville, while USF has a significant multi-ethnic student body. We encourage editing with underrepresented populations by hosting edit-a-thons with both universities. We aligned our events with Black History Month, Women's History Month, Native American History Month, and Latin American History Month. Our events cover three hours. During the first hour, Wikimedia Foundation DC teaches attendees how to edit Wikipedia and provides articles on these subjects that need creation or more information. The rest of the session is devoted to adding content to Wikipedia.

To recruit new editors, we have cooperated with professors, who agreed to give extra credit to students participating in the events. We have also partnered with departments, faculty, and librarians with whom we have built relationships of trust. We have taught dozens of students how to edit Wikipedia. The benefits besides improving Wikipedia are that editing helps to teach information literacy skills, critical thinking, and academic research (Murphy et al., 2021, p. 64). Wikipedia editing also instills a sense of advocacy and belonging in students (Ju & Stewart, 2019, p. 1486).

With the success of these edit-a-thons we're moving into the next phase of our project: encouraging faculty to assign Wikipedia editing projects instead of traditional research assignments. We are sharing the best practices we've learned from our edit-a-thons with the faculty and assist them in creating lesson plans, with support from Wiki Edu (https://wikiedu.org/), a branch of the Wikimedia Foundation that collaborates with educators to integrate Wikipedia editing into their curriculum. Through this process, we will build a culture of Wikipedia editing at our institutions, one where student research does not get filed, collects dust, and get shredded eventually. Instead, students will look to an article they created or improved with a sense of ownership and newfound confidence.

References

Davis, L. (2023, August 11). Diversifying Wikipedia’s U.S. editors. Wiki Education. https://wikiedu.org/blog/2023/08/11/diversifying-wikipedias-u-s-editors/

Ju, B., & Stewart, B. (2019). “The right information”: Perceptions of information bias among Black Wikipedians. Journal of Documentation, 75(6), 1486-1502. https://doi.org/10.1108/jd-02-2019-0031

McDowell, Z. J., & Vetter, M. A. (2022). Wikipedia as open educational practice: Experiential learning, critical information literacy, and social justice. Social Media + Society, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221078224

Murphy, M., Perrill, E., Gaal, A., Kelly, C., & Simmons, M. (2021). Editing Wikipedia, discovering inquiry. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, 40(1), 64-80. https://doi.org/10.1086/714390

Wiki Education. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2025, from https://wikiedu.org/