Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries 9819905214, 9789819905218

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Learning Sciences for Higher Education

Chao-Chen Chen · Mei-Ling Wang · Samuel Kai Wah Chu · Emi Ishita · Kulthida Tuamsuk · Mohamed Shuhidan Shamila   Editors

Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries

Learning Sciences for Higher Education Series Editors Chao-Chen Chen, Center for General Education, College of Humanities and Education, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, Taiwan Yao-Ting Sung, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan Tzu-Chien Liu, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan P. Karen Murphy, Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA Robert K. Kamei, Institute for Application of Learning Science and Educational Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Fred Paas, Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

The book series of Learning Sciences for Higher Education will be written from interdisciplinary perspectives of learning sciences by leading international scholars. The series aims to investigate the critical theoretical and applied issues of learning, teaching, assessment, and instructional/curriculum design in the higher education context. The book series will investigate the effects of innovations in the field of higher education that aims to enhance students’ learning quality in various subjects. More specifically, the book series will involve the following research topics: (1) the learning process, strategies, and outcomes on the student side; (2) the instructional process, strategies, and effects on the teacher side; (3) methods for evaluating students’ learning process and outcomes; (4) methods for evaluating teachers’ teaching process and outcomes; (5) evaluation of instructional and curriculum design; (6) policy analysis of the management of quality learning, teaching, and assessment.

Chao-Chen Chen · Mei-Ling Wang · Samuel Kai Wah Chu · Emi Ishita · Kulthida Tuamsuk · Mohamed Shuhidan Shamila Editors

Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries

Editors Chao-Chen Chen Center for General Education, College of Humanities and Education Chung Yuan Christian University Taoyuan, Taiwan Samuel Kai Wah Chu The University of Hong Kong Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Kulthida Tuamsuk Department of Information Science Khon Kaen University Khon Kaen, Thailand

Mei-Ling Wang Graduate Institute of Library, Information and Archival Studies National Cheng-chi University Taipei, Taiwan Emi Ishita Department of Library Science Kyushu University Fukuoka, Japan Mohamed Shuhidan Shamila School of Information Science, College of Computing, Informatics and Media Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia

ISSN 2662-7302 ISSN 2662-7310 (electronic) Learning Sciences for Higher Education ISBN 978-981-99-0521-8 ISBN 978-981-99-0522-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Contents

1 Information Literacy in the Digital Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chao-Chen Chen 2 Revisiting Information Literacy Education in Universities from the Perspective of the Information Literacy Framework for Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chao-Chen Chen 3 A Comparison of Research Trends in Information Literacy in Higher Education of Asian and Non-Asian Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . Yun-Fang Tu, Chao-Chen Chen, Ning-Chiao Wang, Nalatpa Hunsapun, and Yi-Chin Chen 4 Inquiry-Based Learning Integrated Information Literacy Instruction for the University Undergraduates: A Case Study Using Place Memory Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mei-Ling Wang, Yu-Rong Weng, and Hiu-Ki Cheung 5 Pedagogical Models for Plagiarism-Free Learning in Academia . . . . . Xiangning Li, Suen Wing Lam, Yin Zhang, and Samuel Kai Wah Chu 6 Information Literacy Education in Japanese Higher Education Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yukiko Watanabe and Emi Ishita

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7 Information Literacy Development at Higher Education in Thailand and Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Kulthida Tuamsuk, Lan Thi Nguyen, and Theeradej Manakul 8 Information Literacy Skills Among Higher Education Institution Students in Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Mohamed Shuhidan Shamila, Anwar Norizan, Mat Isa Azman, Mohd Nordin Nordiana, and Abidin Mohd Ismail

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Chapter 1

Information Literacy in the Digital Age Chao-Chen Chen

1.1 Introduction Information literacy is a fundamental literacy of contemporary people. Information literacy is more critical today than ever in the digital age, where everyone can publish information and share their views through social media. The COVID-19 pandemic started in the year 2020. As the infectious disease came on strong, the entire population lapsed in anxiety with much false information, profoundly impacting library services, librarians, and users. The 2021 State of America’s Libraries Report explicitly focused on the challenges and opportunities presented by COVID-19. The report highlighted that librarians combat disinformation by creating resources to address misinformation about vaccines, the census, and elections in 2020. In 2020, the American Library Association (ALA) also partnered with libraries and the media literacy field to publish Media Literacy in the Library: A Guide for Library Practitioners to help familiarize librarians with relevant practices. From June to July 2021, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) surveyed library leaders worldwide and asked them to identify the trends that would significantly impact the library industry in the next decade. IFLA then compiled 20 critical trends from these surveys and published the IFLA Trend Report 2021 Update in January 2022. Some of these 20 trends involve changes in the political and social landscape, while others are more focused on the library sector. Among them, the 18th trend says, “information literacy recognized.” Governments and other agencies fully recognized the importance of information literacy and considered it a long-term measure to combat misinformation (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions [IFLA], 2022). Since information literacy was introduced in 1974, messages and information have exploded with fast Internet and digital technology changes. Learning trends C.-C. Chen (B) Chung-Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_1

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have also changed as we need to solve more complex problems. In the past, we rely on publishers and librarians to filter available information, which no longer exists. Nowadays, learners must access and evaluate information. Hence, information literacy has been emphasized. However, the connotation, conceptual orientation, and teaching methods for information literacy have also changed in response to the needs of the times. Moreover, new literacy terms have been introduced. This article focuses on information literacy in the digital age from four perspectives: 1. learning trends in the digital age; 2. the rise of related literacy; 3. changes in the philosophy of information literacy education; and 4. the changes in information literacy standards and teaching.

1.2 Learning Trends in the Digital Age Information literacy education is closely related to learning trends; social development affects learning trends, and learning trends affect information literacy education. In the digital age, our world is changing rapidly. The half-life of skills is quickly reduced; hence, the days of career-long employment are gone. In the face of a rapidly changing society, students shall be equipped with open-minded, selfadjusting, continuous learning traits. Under such fast-paced momentum, we’ve seen the following significant changes in the learning trends. 1. Hybrid and online learning. Influenced by COVID-19, distance learning is now the norm. More people are discovering the benefits of doing and learning “anywhere.” The consumers’ desire for online and remote options continues. As university leaders plan to enhance resources and infrastructure to support new hybrid and online programs and courses, they must also develop robust hybrid and online teaching methods and invest in instructional design and faculty professional development. In addition, universities must be prepared to train and support students to effectively engage and take full advantage of the new learning environment (EDUCAUSE, 2022). 2. Changed roles in teaching and learning. Under the trend of literacy-oriented and student-centered learning, teachers are learning facilitators in addition to being content deliverers. Learning modes change from “teachers imparting knowledge to students” to “teachers guiding students to learn actively.” 3. The key to talent cultivation is competencies. Competencies are essential to the future and a trend in the world. Education in advanced countries was reformed in this direction, focusing more on cultivating students’ abilities rather than limiting them to little classroom knowledge. In response to the trends, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) outlined an education framework for 2030, covering three main domains, knowledge, skills, and attitudes & values, which appeared to be independent. However, they are intertwined into “competencies” and then translated into actions (OECD, 2018).

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4. Lifelong learning systems. Learners enter various fields that may or may not be related to their educational background after leaving school. Hence, learning should be a continuous process throughout our lives. Open learning resources, MOOCs, and distance learning have become popular. Adding Stanford’s vision of an Open Loop University, all of which suggest that future university will be a highly flexible lifelong learning environment where students can return to campus at any time to meet the needs of their careers, with no limits on where they can begin or end their studies. 5. Humanology and techquity: The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) presented two new concepts, humanology, and techquity, at its 2022 annual conference. While technology will shape the future, it is humanology that will determine how technology will change how we learn, work, and live. In addition to learning technology, we must also study and strengthen “human capacity” in education to bring out the unique skills of human beings. That is, we enable the next generation with judgment, vision, wisdom, resilience, and fortitude to make the world a better place for people, now and in the future. When discussing equality in education, we often mention the inequality of educational opportunities in urban and rural areas, among ethnicities, new immigrants, and the gap between the rich and the poor. But the distance learning brought up by COVID-19 has made people recognize the impact of the digital divide. Techquity is more of an issue that will affect the equity of educational opportunities in the future. Education in Asian countries has always been examination-based. The Education Commission in Hong Kong described education in Asian countries in 2020 as “School life is often extremely monotonous. Students are not provided with a comprehensive learning experience or opportunities to think, explore, and create.” The Chinese National Education Commission lamented in 1997 that examinationoriented education had undermined students’ (learning) motivation and enthusiasm, inhibited their creativity, and hindered their overall development. Therefore many countries have undertaken large-scale educational reforms (Zhao, 2018). These efforts have met with varying degrees of success, demonstrating that Asian countries actively try to change traditional education modes. In Taiwan, for example, the general guideline in the Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education takes on “achieving nurture by nature and continuous learning” as its vision, emphasizing the concept of spontaneous, interactive, and seeking the common good to cultivate core competencies, “independent action,” “communicating and interacting,” and “social participation.” There are basic presumptions for education, such as the learner is a subject who actively constructs knowledge; the contextualization of knowledge facilitates learning; implementation, experience, and integration can go deeper in understanding. (Ministry of Education, 2014). To allow students’ independent learning, Taiwan has lowered the credits for graduation at the high school level, reduced the required credits, and increased the elective credits. Students shall be learning “core competencies” and not be confined to a narrow range of dead knowledge.

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Future education focuses on competencies and student-centered learning and emphasizes independent development, problem-solving, and responsibility. Teachers mainly guide students on “how to read,” “how to learn,” and problem-solving-oriented 4C skills, namely critical thinking and problem-solving, effective communication, collaboration & building, and creativity & innovation.

1.3 The Rise of Related Literacy Information literacy was coined by Paul G. Zurkowski (1974) when he was president of the Information Industry Association. He presented a report, “The Information Service Environment Relationships and Priorities,” to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. In his statement, he referred to information literacy as new terminology, which creates a new method of understanding the demands in the Information Age. He also mentioned, “Information is not knowledge; it is a concept or idea that enters an individual’s perception and an ability to evaluate, assimilate, enhance, or change an individual’s reality and/or actions. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is information in the user’s mind.” In 1989, the ALA defined information literacy as “being able to recognize when information is needed and locate, evaluate, and use the needed information effectively” (ALA, 1989). In 1994, McClure considered dividing information literacy into four competencies due to the diversity of information and the different ways of application and emphasis: 1. traditional literacy, the ability to read, write, and calculate; 2. media literacy, the ability to understand non-print media; 3. computer literacy, the ability to use computer hardware and software; and 4. network literacy, the ability to apply and evaluate Internet resources. In response to the changing times, the 2015 Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) redefined information literacy as “Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in learning communities” (ACRL, 2015). The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education makes metaliteracy its core concept. In addition, other literacies have been proposed in different contexts, such as academic literacy, new literacy, digital literacy, media literacy, multiliteracy, metaliteracy, and media and information literacy (MIL). Secker and Coonan (2013) from the University of Cambridge, UK, explained the relationship between information literacy and other literacies by information literacy landscape where the literacies relevant to information literacy include information literacy, academic literacy, new literacy, digital literacy, and media literacy. In addition to the five relevant literacies mentioned by Secker and Coonan, the New London Group proposed multiliteracy in 2009, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proposed MIL in 2015. Though related to information literacy, each of these terms has its characteristics. The following is

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a detailed explanation of the meaning of these literacies and their relationship to information literacy.

1.3.1 Academic Literacy Academic literacy is the ability to handle academic language required at the higher education level. The reading and writing skills needed for academic literacy often vary according to context, culture, and genre. Lea and Street (2006) argued that academic literacy was initially developed for reading and writing skills in college. But the concept of academic literacy applies to K-12 education as well. Language for dealing with academics begins at an early age. Australian scientist Bill Green (1988) thought of academic literacy in three dimensions: 1. operational skills, the ability to speak (especially write); 2. cultural literacy, the understanding of discourse or culture (the ability to communicate in the specific language of the professionals); and 3. critical literacy, the understanding of how knowledge is created and interpreted (e.g., the ability to understand the meaning of a newspaper or scientific article). Daminova et al. (2017) identified more specific academic skills corresponding to the above three dimensions of academic literacy: academic reading, the ability to search, evaluate, and analyze information; academic listening, the ability to understand lectures and oral presentations and summarize the main ideas; academic speaking, the ability to give a structured and effective representation; and academic writing, the ability to promote hypotheses, draw conclusions, and organize and structure texts. These four competencies are interrelated and indispensable to academic literacy.

1.3.2 New Literacy New literacy is a new field of study that differs from traditional literacies to address the needs of the Internet and other information and communication technology developments. The emergence of new media and multimedia, such as text messaging, wikis, blogs, social networks, video sites, audio sites, and email, has expanded and changed our ability to communicate through the Internet, where people combine text, sound, and images. Thus, reading and learning online requires the ability to read, navigate, find, criticize, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate (Miners & Pascopella, 2007). The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) defines new literacy for the twenty-first century as (National Council of Teachers of English [NCTE], 2013) 1. Use technology tools proficiently and fluently. 2. Create meaningful cross-cultural connections to collaborate on problem proposing and solving and strengthen independent thinking. 3. Design and share global community information for a variety of purposes. 4. Manage, analyze, and integrate multiple simultaneous information flows.

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5. Create, criticize, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts. 6. Be aware of the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments. Since many of the skills in the new literacy are related to the proper use of information technology, it is essential to provide regular instruction and practice on how to use the technology platform. As for the ability to identify and construct questions, it is required to guide the following competencies, how to read online information, how to determine the knowledge necessary for the information, how to evaluate online information critically, how to read and integrate various sources of information and multimedia, and how to share information and communicate with others in a group (Nicholson & Galguera, 2013).

1.3.3 Digital Literacy Digital literacy refers to the knowledge and skills needed to live, learn, and work in a society where digital technologies such as online platforms, social media, and mobile devices are used to communicate and access more information. The ALA Digital Literacy Taskforce defined digital literacy as the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring cognitive and technological skills (ALA Digital Literacy Taskforce, 2011). Specifically, the context of digital literacy is the Internet, and the main competencies required for digital literacy are 1. Critical thinking skills. Developing critical thinking skills is essential when facing different forms of information. Searching, filtering, evaluating, applying, and producing information require critical thinking. 2. Ability to communicate in the virtual world. Another critical aspect of digital communication literacy is communicating in a virtual environment, expressing yourself clearly, asking relevant questions, maintaining respect, and building trust, which is just as important as speaking in person in the physical world. 3. Practical skills in using technology include accessing, managing, manipulating, and creating information ethically and sustainably. As new applications emerge and are updated, digital literacy becomes a continuous learning process.

1.3.4 Media Literacy and MIL Although McClure (1994) considered media literacy as one of the information literacy competencies, with all kinds of information flooding the Internet, false information has become a new problem. Hence, modern people must equip with media literacy. Media literacy emphasizes the understanding and use of audiovisual media, how images, text, and sound media are produced, and the ability to use media messages to convey and communicate, which are essential components

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of civic literacy and civic education in modern society. A media literacy-equipped citizen can use print and electronic media to interpret, evaluate, analyze, and produce information (McClure, 1994). In their book, Culture and Environment: the Training of Critical Awareness, the concept of “media literacy” was first introduced in the 1930s by British scholars F. R. Leavis and Denys Thompson. The most commonly cited definition in the English literature is the one proposed by the Aspen Media Literacy Leadership Institute (AML) in 1992: “Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in various forms.” In addition, the Center for Media Literacy (CML) also defined “media literacy” in 1992, referring to people’s ability to select, understand, question, evaluate, create and produce, and respond thoughtfully when confronted with various media information (Nkana, 2010). Canada was the first country in North America to teach media literacy in the required curriculum. According to the Ontario Ministry of Education, media literacy is defined as helping students understand the nature of mass media, the technologies used in media, and how media technologies influence and shape the informed and critical understanding of the public (Ministry of Education, 2006; Wilson & Duncan, 2009). Due to the proliferation of false information, UNESCO has introduced the term MIL to recognize the importance of choosing and evaluating media and news. MIL is an overarching concept that includes three competencies: information literacy, media literacy, and ICT/digital literacy. MIL is often confused with digital citizenship, which requires the ability to critically evaluate media, digital technology, tools, and information. MIL is how we think (critically) about all the media around us, while digital citizenship is how we live and interact with all the technology around us. Media, like technology, has many different forms and can be integrated into one form. Information literacy is understanding the need for information and finding, evaluating, and using it effectively to solve problems. In contrast, media literacy is the ability to access, evaluate, process, and produce media in all forms. Digital literacy refers to the skills needed to live, learn, and work in a society where digital technologies such as online platforms, social media, and mobile devices are used to communicate and access more information. Addressing disinformation and misinformation requires critical information, media, and digital competencies. UNESCO (2021) and partners have launched a new resource, “Media and Information Literate Citizens: Think critically, Click Wisely,” as a MIL demonstration course for educators and learners. In addition, UNESCO (2013) published the Global MIL Assessment Framework to assess whether countries have created an environment for MIL so that member countries can conduct comprehensive assessments of their information and media environments and test the level of MIL of their citizens, particularly in-service teachers and teacher trainees, at regional and national levels.

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1.3.5 Multiliteracy The term, Multiliteracy, refers to two aspects of language use. The first refers to the disparity of language meanings in different cultural, social, or domain-specific contexts (Cope & Kalantzis, 2020). This means that it is no longer sufficient to focus on linguistic rules alone in literacy education; nowadays, communication and expression of meaning increasingly require learners to understand the differences in the meaning of words in different contexts. These differences result from culture, gender, life experience, social or subject area, etc. There are cross-cultural attributes in every meaningful exchange. The second aspect originated from emerging information and communication technologies and the nature of media, which has led to increasing diversity in the way meaning is generated, and information is presented, namely the interaction of written language modes with verbal, visual, auditory, gestural, tactile, and spatial modes (Cope & Kalantzis, 2020). This means that we need to expand the scope of literacy education by introducing multimodal representations, especially digital media representations, into the classroom. Information technology changes the way people communicate. In addition to reading and writing skills, people must learn to use various information communication tools and online social media to perform their daily tasks. Such diverse information processing and communication skills include critical literacy, media literacy, internet literacy, visual literacy, digital literacy, and learning literacy.

1.3.6 Metaliteracy Metaliteracy is a new model of literacy proposed by Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson (2011). Metaliteracy refers to students’ reflections on their competencies. Metaliteracy, as defined by Mackey and Jacobson, is a term developed to understand the need for digital citizens to reflect on their literacy through the four domains of affective, behavioral, cognitive, and metacognitive in global network culture, providing a comprehensive framework for effective participation in social media and online communities (Mackey & Jacobson, 2014). Metaliteracy requires students to participate in the information ecosystem in terms of behavioral, affective, cognitive, and metacognitive. It opens up a new vision of information literacy by providing a comprehensive set of competencies that students need to participate successfully in a collaborative field as information consumers and creators. Based on the core concept of metaliteracy, ACRL’s Information Literacy Framework emphasizes metacognitive or critical self-reflection, as it is essential for greater autonomy in a rapidly changing ecosystem (ACRL, 2015). Metaliteracy is also empowerment because it encourages individuals to reflect on and take responsibility for their learning. As a metaliteracy learner, one needs to be able to use information in multiple formats, including print, audio, digital, virtual, or augmented resources, to think critically about the processes, concepts, production, and reception

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of information, to successfully adapt to new forms of technology, and to produce and share information in creative and ethical ways. The definitions and connotations of the literacies mentioned above are summarized in Table 1.1 to compare their relationship with information literacy. Table 1.1 Definition of related literacy and its relationship with information literacy Terminology

Definition

Relationship with information literacy

Information literacy

Information literacy is a comprehensive set of competencies that include finding information, understanding its value and how it is generated, having critical self-reflection, creating new knowledge, and applying the information to participate and learn in communities ethically

With the development of the times, the connotation and concept of information literacy are constantly expanding and deepening

Academic literacy

Academic literacy is considered to be the ability required to handle academic language

Academic literacy emphasizes the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills required in an educational environment and is a foundational skill of information literacy

New literacy

The ability required for reading and learning online, read, navigate, find, criticize, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate

New literacy is mainly for the online environment, while information literacy is for both the physical and online environments

Digital literacy

Digital literacy refers to the skills needed to live, learn, and work in a society where digital technologies such as online platforms, social media, and mobile devices are used to communicate and access more information

Digital literacy focuses on the online environment with an emphasis on the use of technology

Media literacy MIL

Media literacy refers to people’s ability to select, understand, question, evaluate, create, produce, and speculate when faced with various media information MIL, developed by UNESCO, refers to how we think critically about all the media around us. The three main areas of competence are information literacy, media literacy, and ICT/ digital literacy

While information literacy focuses on the peer-reviewed academic environment, media literacy focuses on the general information of mass communication. But there is an overlap in the competencies required MIL covers a broader range of topics, especially the ability to think critically about and evaluate online digital media messages and disinformation (continued)

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Table 1.1 (continued) Terminology

Definition

Relationship with information literacy

Multiliteracy

The term, Multiliteracy, refers to two aspects of language use. The first refers to the disparity of language meanings in different cultural, social, or domain-specific contexts. The second aspect originated from emerging information and communication technologies, and the nature of media has led to increasing diversity in how meaning is generated. Information is presented, namely the interaction of written language modes with verbal, visual, auditory, gestural, tactile, and spatial modes

The emphasis is placed on the diversity of information expressed in different cultures, social contexts, and technological media environments

Metaliteracy

It provides a comprehensive set of competencies students need to participate successfully in a collaborative field as information consumers and creators

The emphasis is on metacognitive and reflective evaluation, the core competencies in the 2015 Information Literacy Framework

1.4 Changes in the Philosophy of Information Literacy Education Several aspects influence the concept of information literacy education in universities: 1. the changes in philosophy of information literacy education; 2. the development of educational theories and digital technology. The idea of information literacy education in universities has also influenced information literacy education in primary and secondary schools.

1.4.1 Changes in the Philosophy of Information Literacy Education Addison and Meyers (2013) suggested that there are three different philosophies of information literacy in the past, which are: 1. information literacy as the acquisition of “information age” skills; 2. information literacy as the cultivation of habits of mind; and 3. information literacy as the engagement in information-rich social practices. In 2020, Sample reviewed the literature on information literacy taught in college entry or general education in the United States from 2000 to 2015 to explore the definition of information literacy. The review adopted Addison & Meyers’ classification and defined information literacy into three categories: 1. information literacy,

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defined as a set of skills adopted by the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education; 2. information literacy, defined as a way of thinking, adopted by Kuhlthau’s six-step Information Search Process, Devin’s Sense Making, and the PBL models; 3. information literacy defined as a social practice, where information literacy is considered as a general ability to live, learn, and work in an informationrich and technologically fast-changing society. Multiliteracy falls into this category, as do metaliteracy, threshold concepts, and the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education announced by ACRL in 2015. The concept of information literacy education has expanded in scope and increased in complexity and depth from a set of skills to social practice. Such changes have increased the impact and challenges for information literacy educators.

1.4.2 The Impact of Educational Theory and Digital Technology on Information Literacy As the definition changed from a set of skills to social practice, we can see that information literacy education is influenced by educational theory. Both the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries show that both standards are primarily based on cognitive development and constructivism from John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky, which is committed to student-centered learning (Armstrong, 2015; Montiel-Overall, 2005). The two standards echo each other theoretically and are based on social construction theory, emphasizing concepts such as developmental approach, inquiry-based learning, knowledge creation, affective domain, and cooperative learning. Such a concept also echoes the global trend of literacy-oriented education. In addition, the digital environment’s development also significantly impacts information literacy. From Table 1.1, we can see that new connotations in the carrier, content, and mode of information communication aroused from information literacy to new literacy, multiliteracy, digital literacy, media, information literacy, etc., mainly due to the technology development and the online environment. Each literacy has its emphasis on overlapped core concepts and complementary functions. In addition to the need to respond to the digital domain, information literacy emphasizes metaliteracy, with a socio-cultural concept that emphasizes the role of people and the ability of meta-reflection in the information ecology. This is different from information literacy in the past, which highlights “the ability to identify, locate one’s information needs, find the information needed, evaluate, judge and present information, and use the information for specific purposes, understand the economic, legal and social issues related to information use, and use information ethically and legally.” The connotation of information literacy was changed, which poses a new challenge for information literacy education.

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1.4.3 The Alignment of Information Literacy in Primary and Secondary Schools and Universities The development of information literacy skills is a continuum that needs to be developed from elementary school to college. Therefore, the philosophy of information literacy in the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) and ACRL must be aligned. The AASL published Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning in 1998, where the Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning was proposed and became a separate publication (AASL & AECT, 1998). The information literacy standards include three major aspects of information literacy education, independent learning and social responsibility, nine standards, and 29 indicators, which are applied with examples of proficiency, action plans, and subject standards to achieve the ideal of integrating information literacy into all subjects of learning. In Standards for the 21st-century learning, published in 2007, information literacy education comprises four standards, four learning domains, and 83 indicators, along with several benchmarks, behavioral examples, developmental stages, and self-questioning examples, to promote student learning and guide the development of school libraries. The standards advocate that librarians should guide students in their ability to inquire, think critically, and acquire knowledge; develop students’ ability to conclude from information, make decisions, and apply and create new knowledge in new contexts; promote students’ ability to share knowledge and participate in a democratic society ethically and productively; and encourage students to pursue personal and aesthetic growth and develop multiliteracy, including information literacy, digital literacy, media literacy, visual literacy, text literacy, and technological literacy. In the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (NSLS) published by AASL in 2018, there are six foundations, inquire, include, collaborate, curate, explore, and engage. These are the foundational concepts that learners, librarians, and libraries share. The sharing foundation continues the previous Information Literacy Education Standards, hoping to implement the ideas of think, create, share, and grow. The standards emphasize a collaborative process that will help learners face the complexities of society in the future. The 2018 Learner Standards feature the following: (AASL, 2018b). 1. Emphasis on a collaborative cognitive process. While the old standards emphasized the individual process of information inquiry, the new standards emphasized a collaborative approach to the entire process to facilitate learners in facing the complex society of the future. 2. Emphasis on design thinking. Learners solve problems through cycles of design, implementation, and reflection. 3. Incorporating a growth mindset. With the emphasis on self-motivation and automatic learning, school librarians should help students and educators become active lifelong learners in straightforward ways. 4. Emphasis on diversity in learning contexts. Diversity in the learning community should be respected with empathy and fairness.

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5. It is emphasized that critical thinking is more important in the process than in the final product. The final product should not just be scored and filed. Still, it should enter into an academic dialogue to have an open mind toward different opinions and exchange meaningful approaches with other learners. 6. Change from being IT savvy to wanting students to use IT in a personalized way. In addition, it also emphasizes information responsibility, academic ethics, and a Creative Commons license. AASL’s previous standards were primarily behaviorism. The AASL’s new Standards in 2018 move away from the practice of point-and-click skills and instead emphasize student engagement and self-directed learning that leads to higher-level thinking skills. This standard echoes the theory in ACRL Framework, which takes on social construction approach and emphasizes concepts such as developmental approach, inquiry-based knowledge creation, affective domain, and cooperative learning. Such a concept also echoes the global trend of literacy-oriented education.

1.5 The Revision of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education In line with the conceptual trend and the development of the times, ACRL announced the abolition of Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education in 2015 and officially implemented the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education on January 11, 2016. Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education takes metaliteracy as its core concept. It requires students to participate in the information ecosystem in terms of behavioral, affective, cognitive, and metacognitive. Based on the core concept of metaliteracy, the Information Literacy Framework emphasizes metacognitive or critical self-reflection, which is essential for greater autonomy in a rapidly changing ecosystem (ACRL, 2015). The Information Literacy Framework is based on interrelated core concepts emphasizing disciplinary threshold concepts, such as what specialized information skills students should develop in a given discipline, how to work with primary sources (history domain) or manage large data sets (science domain). In a complex information ecosystem, students have a role and responsibility to create new knowledge, understand the contours and dynamics of the information world, and use information and materials in an academically ethical manner; teachers are responsible for designing courses that engage and involve students in the core concept of disciplinary information and scholarship. Librarians are responsible for identifying how they can extend the core concepts of student learning in related subject areas, create a cohesive new information literacy education curriculum, and collaborate more broadly with teachers. This framework consists of six core concepts (ACRL, 2015): 1. Authority is Constructed and Contextual Each information source has different degrees of authority or credibility. Authority is related to the expertise of the information creator, and factors that

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shape their expertise include education, experience, and social status. Expertise in one field does not mean expertise in other areas. In addition, the need for information and the context the user applies also affect the perception of the authority of that information source. Information Creation as a Process Information products are created through different processes. Different types of information products have other information formats. Some may be appropriate for conveying certain types of information or meeting specific information needs. The process and structure of creating an information product affect that information source’s actual or perceived value. Information Has Value Information has different values, such as financial, personal, social, etc. Knowledge has value. Political, economic, and legal factors may affect information creation, acquisition, distribution, and use. It can be difficult for new learners to understand the value of information, especially when almost all communication is accessible on the Internet. However, as consumers and creators of information, we are responsible for making careful choices about how we access and share information and object if current laws and society restrict the intake. Research as Inquiry Research is a process that focuses on problems or questions within or between disciplines and whether these problems or questions have been resolved. Research cannot be reduced to a straightforward search for a perfect answer or source; instead, it is an iterative, open, and confusing process in which finding a solution often leads to new questions, so accepting ambiguity as part of the research process also requires adaptability and flexibility in the search for information. Scholarship as Conversation Scholars, researchers, and professionals constantly discuss and debate new ideas and findings. In most cases, there are often multiple competing perspectives on a single topic. It is also an obligation to participate in this dialogue by referring to previous relevant studies and providing sources. Students should learn to see themselves as contributors to these dialogues. Hence, they first need to know the “language” of the discipline, such as publicly accepted research methods, standards of evidence, and forms, to participate in the dialogue fully. Searching as Strategic Exploration Information search is often non-linear and iterative, requiring evaluating various information sources and the flexibility to pursue other directions. The information search process is influenced by cognitive, affective, and social factors. Novice learners may use only a limited number of search tools and strategies. At the same time, experts understand the characteristics of various information search systems and make informed choices when determining search strategies and search terms.

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In addition to explaining the meaning of each concept, there are also 1. knowledge practices, which enumerate ways for learners to understand the concept of information literacy; and 2. dispositions, which mainly describe the affection, attitudes, and values that learners should have about the framework.

1.6 Conclusion Due to the advancement of information and communication technology and the rapid changes in society, in the recent decades, in addition to information literacy, there are also related literacies such as media literacy, new literacy, digital literacy, multiliteracy, metaliteracy, and MIL. These literacy terms are similar to the concept of information literacy but each has its own emphasis. In addition, the ACRL has adopted the idea of metaliteracy in the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education due to a change in philosophy, emphasizing that students should be equipped with information literacy to be successful as information consumers and creators. It opens up a new vision for information literacy. Metaliteracy requires students to participate in the information ecosystem in terms of behavioral, affective, cognitive, and metacognitive. The Information Literacy Framework emphasizes metacognitive or critical self-reflection, essential for greater autonomy in a rapidly changing ecosystem. ACRL’s Framework is aligned with the philosophy in AASL’s NSLS, which emphasizes inquiry-based learning, collaborative cognitive processes, design thinking, growth mindset, diversity of learning situations, critical thinking over a generation, and personalized use of information technology, and in lines with contemporary educational concepts. These concepts coincide with the spontaneous, interactive, and communal spirit of Taiwan’s Master Framework for the 12-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines (2019 Curriculum). Information literacy education is now becoming the essential teaching content in Taiwan’s schools at all levels to implement the 2019 Curriculum, with particular emphasis on media literacy and ethical use of information. Moreover, project-based inquiry teaching models are gradually being emphasized. However, in the university part, information literacy education is generally considered IT education. Under the higher education policy, the government comprehensively promotes programming courses instead of information literacy courses, which is where Taiwan’s higher education information literacy education should be reviewed. Incorporating the threshold concept and the new connotation of digital literacy, media literacy, and multiliteracy to design the ACRL Framework-oriented information literacy curriculum is a new challenge.

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References Addison, C., & Meyers, E. (2013). Perspectives on information literacy: A framework for conceptual understanding. Information Research, 18(3), 1–14. American Association of School Librarians. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning. American Library Association. American Association of School Librarians. (2007). Standards for 21st-century learning. American Library Association. American Association of School Librarians. (2018a). National school library standards crosswalk with ISTE standards for students and educators. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2018/08/180828-aasl-standards-crosswalk-iste.pdf American Association of School Librarians. (2018b). National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. American Association of School Librarians. American Association of School Librarians., & Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (1998). Information literacy standards for student learning. American Library Association. American Library Association. (1989). American Library Association: Presidential committee on information literacy: Final report. https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presid ential American Library Association. (2020). Media literacy in the library: A guide for library practitioners. https://www.ala.org/tools/sites/ala.org.tools/files/content/%21%20MediaLit_Prac-Guide_FINALWEB_112020_0.pdf American Library Association. (2021). State of America’s libraries special report: COVID19. https://www.ala.org/news/sites/ala.org.news/files/content/State-of-Americas-Libraries-Rep ort-2021-4-21.pdf American Library Association Digital Literacy Taskforce. (2011). What is digital literacy? https:// alair.ala.org/bitstream/handle/11213/16260/Digilit%20definition_one%20pager_Marijke%20V isser.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Armstrong, M. (2015). Armstrong’s handbook of reward management practice: Improving performance through reward. Kogan Page Publishers. Association of College and Research Libraries. (2015). Framework for information literacy for higher education. The Association of College and Research Libraries. http://www.ala.org/acrl/ standards/ilframework Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2020). Multiliteracies—New learning online. https://newlearningonline. com/multiliteracies Daminova, E. R., Tarasova, V. V., & Kirpichnikova, A. A. (2017). Academic writing as a key component of academic literacy. Turkish Online Journal of Design, Art and Communication, 7, 698–703. EDUCAUSE. (2022). 2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report® Teaching and Learning Edition. EDUCAUSE Publishing. https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2022/4/2022hrteachi nglearning.pdf?la=en&hash=6F6B51DFF485A06DF6BDA8F88A0894EF9938D50B Green, B. (1988). Subject-specific literacy and school learning: A focus on writing. Australian Journal Education., 32(2), 156–179. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2022). IFLA Trend Report 2021 update. https://www.ifla.org/news/ifla-trend-report-2021-update-released/ Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (2006). The “academic literacies” model: Theory and applications. Theory into Practice, 45(4), 368–377. Mackey, T. P., & Jacobson, T. E. (2011). Reframing information literacy as a metaliteracy. College and Research Libraries, 72(1), 62–78. Mackey, T. P., & Jacobson, T. E. (2014). Metaliteracy: Reinventing information literacy to empower learners. ALA Neal-Schuman. McClure, C. (1994). Network literacy: A role for libraries? Information Technology and Libraries, 13(2), 115–125.

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Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The NEW literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34. Ministry of Education. (2014). Curriculum guidelines of 12-year basic education general guidelines. Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education (Ed.). (2006). The Ontario curriculum, grades 1–8, language. Queen’s Printer for Ontario. Montiel-Overall P. (2005). Toward a theory of collaboration for teachers and librarians. School Library Media Research, 8. https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandj ournals/slr/vol8/SLMR_TheoryofCollaboration_V8.pdf National Council of Teachers of English. (2013). The NCTE definition of 21st century literacies. http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/21stcentdefinition Nicholson, J., & Galguera, T. (2013). Integrating new literacies in higher education: A self-study of the use of twitter in an education course. Teacher Education Quarterly, 40(3), 7–26. Nkana, S. (2010). Media literacy education: A case study of the New Mexico media literacy project. Andrews University. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2018). The future of education and skills: Education 2030. https://www.oecd.org/education/2030/E2030%20Position%20Paper% 20(05.04.2018).pdf Sample, A. (2020). Historical development of definitions of information literacy: A literature review of selected resources. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.acalib.2010.102116 Secker, J., & Coonan, E. (2013). I am rethinking information literacy: A practical framework for supporting learning (1st ed., p. XXII). Facet Publishing. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2013). Global media and information literacy assessment framework: Country readiness and competencies. https://unesdoc.une sco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000224655 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2021). Media and information literate citizens: Think critically, click wisely! https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0 000377068 Wilson, C., & Duncan, B. (2009). Implementing mandates in media education: The Ontario experience. Comunicar, 16(32), 127–140. Zhao, Y. (2018). Education doesn’t work just because you “look to the West”! The education systems that the East and the West imitate each other are all making the same mistake. Digest translation and paraphrase by Li, Ming-Yang. https://opinion.cw.com.tw/blog/profile/364/article/6501 Zurkowski, P. G. (1974). The information service environment relationships and priorities. https:// files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED100391.pdf

Chapter 2

Revisiting Information Literacy Education in Universities from the Perspective of the Information Literacy Framework for Higher Education Chao-Chen Chen

2.1 Fundamental Concepts of the ACRL Information Literacy Framework: Threshold Concepts and Metaliteracy The ACRL (2015) Information Literacy Framework (hereinafter the “ACRL Framework”) has two key theoretical foundations, namely threshold concepts and metaliteracy. Yang (2016) stated that “If metaliteracy is the worldview of the new ‘Framework,’ then the superstructure is constructed from the perspective of threshold concepts.” The connotations of these two theories are explained in detail as follows:

2.1.1 Threshold Concepts Proposed by Jan Meyer and Ray Land (2003) in “Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practising Within the Disciplines,” threshold concepts are framed within the threshold through which learners must pass to develop new perspectives and broad understanding. Before threshold concepts were applied to information literacy, they were already influential in the field of education. According to Meyer and Land, threshold concepts encourage students to think and act like subject experts and professionals; when students understand a topic, a threshold concept shifts to connecting with and adding to new knowledge. Meyer and Land refer to thresholds as metaphorical marginal space, a concept borrowed from anthropology (“limen” is Latin for “threshold;” Meyer & Land, 2005, 2006). This space is perceived by the learner, but C.-C. Chen (B) Chung-Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_2

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they have not yet passed through. Each learner passes through this marginal space in a different manner and at a different speed. Two changes occur after they leave the space. The first is an epistemological change, which refers to a change of cognition, that is, learners understanding new concepts. The second is an ontological change, whereby learners perceive that they can view the problem from the perspective of the relevant discipline. When threshold concepts are applied in teaching, students are asked to view the world from the teacher’s disciplinary perspective. Threshold concepts have the following characteristics (Meyer & Land, 2003): 1. Transformative—Enable student to view classroom materials, the subject, themselves, and the world through thinking modes and practices common to the subject. For example, when students internalize the ACRL Framework idea of “Scholarship as Conversation,” they do not view an academic article as a standalone text in a repository, but as a voice in an ongoing, dynamic conversation. This perspective changes the manner in which students will conduct research in the future. 2. Integrative—Mastering threshold concepts supports students in connecting factual and procedural information and making associations and enables them to view the broad picture of a concept and apply it to other fields. 3. Irreversible—Threshold concepts are difficult to unlearn. This explains why teachers often encounter difficulty when attempting to connect with students, because teachers have been on the other side of the threshold for a long time. 4. Bounded—Threshold concepts can assist in defining the boundaries of a discipline or knowledge domain. Although information literacy is not a discipline, sharing common thinking modes and practices is possible through crossing the threshold of “information science.” 5. Troublesome—For students, new concepts or new knowledge may be difficult to grasp, may not be intuitive, or may contradict views they already hold.

2.1.2 Metaliteracy Metaliteracy is a literacy model proposed by Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson in their article “Reframing Information Literacy as a Metaliteracy.” Mackey and Jacobson argued that traditional literacy focuses on reading and writing, whereas information literacy emphasizes information query and retrieval. Metaliteracy focuses on the cocreation and sharing of information and extends the role of information literacy beyond simply comprising a set of skills to a means for the production and dissemination of knowledge in collaborative online communities (Mackey & Jacobson, 2011). Metaliteracy promotes critical thinking and collaboration in the digital age, providing a comprehensive framework for effective participation in online collaboration and communities. It challenges and expands the scope of traditional skills-based information literacy in locating, identifying, acquiring, understanding, producing, and using information; incorporates other related literacy concepts, such as visual,

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media, digital literacies; combines emerging technologies; and provides a holistic approach to learning that encourages the production, sharing and reuse of information in a participatory environment. Behavioral, cognitive, affective, and metacognitive areas are four crucial areas that support the learning goals of metaliteracy, ensuring that learners have the ability to reflect on their own literacy ability, specifically the ability to use information in multiple formats (including information from printed, audio, digital, virtual, or augmented sources) to critically reflect on the processing, conceptualization, production, and reception of information.

2.2 The Usage Condition of the ACRL Framework in Teaching The ACRL Framework, which is based on threshold concepts and metaliteracy, differs dramatically from the clearly structured ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards (2000; hereinafter referred to as “ACRL Standards”). For university librarians, how to implement the ACRL Framework in courses and learning activities represents a challenge. Although the ACRL Framework provides teachers with freedom in their teaching, it also increases the level of burden in teaching design. McClure et al. (2015) argued that the ACRL Framework provides librarians with methods for engaging students using core ideas, rather than step-by-step instructional demonstrations. They also maintained that, in higher education environments, professional instructors in academic departments and institutes are often faced with the challenge of pedagogical change and must identify appropriate methods for promoting students’ competencies such as critical thinking, problem solving, digital skills, lifelong learning, and other abilities. They claimed that the lack of formal teaching training leads to university librarians’ increased reliance on standard information literacy standards and fails to promote students’ understanding of the concept of information. Threshold concepts provide such a basis. Burkhardt argued, however, that basic content must be learned before threshold concepts can be fully grasped; therefore, instruction designed according to ACTL Standards is still applicable within the ACRL Framework. Taking the framework concept of “Information Creation as a Process” as an example, information is generated in different formats according to different purposes. The speed of publication, depth of coverage, size and organization, style of editing, formal or informal nature, the amount of information available, and the technology used all have an impact on the process that creates information in various formats. However, unless directed by teachers, students tend to perceive all sources of information as equal. Information literacy instructors recommend that beginner students use information sources provided through libraries and selected by librarians and advise that librarians teach students how to use these sources; this strategy provides students with a safe starting point. When students learn about types of information sources, they also learn how the format of the material affects the content. Therefore, students can learn how to distinguish a newspaper article

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from an academic article. Providing a checklist for searching online publications when identifying types of information would be helpful, as would explaining types of publications and how their content meets a specific information need (Burkhardt, 2016). After 2016, teaching practice research on the ACRL Framework has gradually increased. These studies have revealed the following points about the situation and challenges of providing information literacy education using the ACRL Framework (Gross et al., 2022; Latham et al., 2019; Mohamed, 2019):

2.2.1 Teaching Methods Integrating the ACRL Framework According to Latham et al. (2019), the following pedagogical methods adopted the ACRL Framework: 1. Methods wherein only a part of the framework was adopted: The most frequently adopted parts of the framework were, in order, “Information Creation as a Process,” “Scholarship as Conversation,” “Authority is Constructed and Contextual,” “Information has Value,” “Searching as Strategic Exploration,” and “Research is Inquiry.” 2. Methods in which literacy is taught as an implicit concept, with the focus remaining on teaching stills: For example, when teachers teach students how to track documents through citations and understand the instances in which articles are cited, they introduce the concept of “Scholarship as Conversation” to inform the students of their role in knowledge creation, and that the knowledge the students create may also be referenced in the future. 3. Methods wherein dialogue, interactions, and hands-on activities are integrated: The traditional teaching method focuses mainly on introducing types of databases that are currently available and how to use them. In contrast to traditional teaching, these methods emphasize communication and dialogue, increased peer cooperation and interaction, and group work such as designing posters, sourcing texts and pictures on the internet, and learning how to use these materials in compliance with academic ethics and peer evaluation. 4. Methods based on the flipped classroom concept: Some librarians provide information literacy online teaching videos to students, enabling students to become involved in activities and discussions during their face-to-face classroom time.

2.2.2 Information Literacy Education Curriculum Design Model Time is a crucial consideration in curriculum design. The advantage of collaborating with subject teachers is that information literacy can be integrated into various subject areas, but time is often limited. An independent information literacy curriculum can

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facilitate the teaching of relevant content. Currently, two main teaching methods are used to implement information courses in a time-efficient manner (Gross et al., 2022; Latham et al., 2019). 1. The discussion of information literacy is conducted for approximately 30 min in the subject teacher’s course. However, because the time is limited, the development of learning scaffolding and establishment of high-level critical thinking are difficult. 2. Credit-based curriculums for information literacy in the spirit of the ACRL Framework are implemented.

2.2.3 Challenges Encountered in Teaching Using the ACRL Framework The major challenges encountered in teaching using the ACRL Framework are as follows: 1. Insufficient teaching time: To manage the problem of insufficient time, some librarians use subject teachers’ classroom time to introduce information literacy, usually in just one lesson. As mentioned, teaching using credit-based courses can assist in developing scaffolding and higher-order critical thinking skills in cases where time is limited. 2. The ACRL Framework is concept-oriented and unspecific: The concept of the literacy framework is relatively vague and not as specific as the ACRL Standards. Librarians may also encounter difficulty when attempting to explain this abstract framework. 3. Evaluating students’ learning effectiveness is difficult: Some librarians face difficulty when evaluating students’ learning effectiveness using the ACRL Framework, mainly because the framework contains multiple parts and concepts, and because educating the whole school population on different subject areas on a large scale is challenging. 4. Resistance from teachers and other librarians: Some teachers want librarians to teach using highly specific, skill-based standards, arguing frameworks like the ACRL Framework are philosophical models rather than practical research tools that can assist students in acquiring skills in research courses (Gross et al., 2022; Latham et al., 2019).

2.2.4 Assessment of Student Learning Effectiveness in ACRL Framework–Teaching Learning effectiveness evaluation is a crucial part of teaching and learning. The following situations reflect the current implementation of learning effectiveness evaluation for information literacy:

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1. Because the ACRL Framework is conceptually oriented, most librarians have not yet used the ACRL Framework to design student learning effectiveness assessments. 2. Some librarians assess student learning through student classwork, teacher teaching evaluations, and student pretests and posttests, quizzes, or formative assessments. 3. Some librarians still use the ACRL Standards to teach and assess students, only introducing the ACRL Framework as a basic concept. 4. Librarians may use interviews or students’ feedback to understand students’ learning. Some librarians maintain that learning effectiveness in the ACRL Framework cannot be assessed using small-scale individual assessments. They believe that evidence representing a broader picture and long-term changes must be collected (Latham et al., 2019). 5. Gammons and Inge (2017) used Twitter to collect data, adopted a multilayered evaluation method that included qualitative feedback and work evaluation, and developed an evaluation standard (i.e., the “a-ha moment” assessment).

2.2.5 Librarian Views on the ACRL Framework Some scholars argued that the traditional standards of information literacy have become obsolete in the context of information and communication technology (ICT), media, and transmedia (Gross et al., 2018). In addition, because of the rapid development of technology and related skills, the content and scope of information literacy varies by discipline and work practice (Forster, 2017). However, the ACRL Standards have not been updated to integrate the new concept of information literacy, and the ACRL Framework represents a dynamic direction for information literacy. However, the ACRL Framework has not been accepted by all academic librarians and their institutions. Many instructional librarians have embraced this change, but others have reservations about abandoning the traditional model (Julien et al., 2018).

2.3 Information Literacy Curriculum Design Case The number of books and websites designed on the basis of the ACRL Framework is increasing. One such example includes Teaching Information Literacy Reframed: 50+ Framework-Based Exercises for Creating Information-Literate Learners by Joanna Burkhardt (2016). In addition to providing a variety of learning activities for classroom teaching, Burkhardt provided an overview of the six information literacy concepts in her work. Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts: Lesson Plans for Librarians edited by Patricia Bravender, Hazel McClure, and Gayle Schaub (2015) also provides a brief background on threshold concepts in instructional

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theory and includes sample lesson plans for classroom instruction. In the multivolume Framing Information Literacy: Teaching Grounded in Theory, Pedagogy, and Practice by Mary Oberlies and Janna Mattson, each volume details a framework and provides lesson plans related to that framework. In addition, the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox website contains ACRL Framework teaching-related materials. Referring to the aforementioned materials, I integrated the ACRL Framework and digital literacy knowledge into the course “Integrating Information Literacy into Inquiry Teaching.” The course content is described as follows: • Course name: Integrating Information Literacy into Inquiry Teaching • Learning objectives: 1. Understand the meaning of inquiry-based learning. 2. Understand the relationship between information literacy education and inquiry-based learning. 3. Understand the theories, concepts, and teaching models of information literacy. 4. Understand how to enhance students’ information literacy and learning ability through inquiry-based teaching. • Student background: Undergraduate students enrolled in a preservice teacher course. • Teaching methods: Project-based learning Mixed-model teaching: face-to-face and online learning. • Teaching content: 1. Inquiry-based teaching of theories and models. 2. Information literacy theories and models. 3. Big6 teaching model, introduced to support students in conducting projectbased inquiry. 4. Six core concepts of the ACRL Framework. • Integrating core concepts of the ACRL Framework: 1. Scholarship as Conversation (a) Students read two articles, one of which is a response to the other. This task familiarizes students with academic dialogue and its interaction effect. (b) Students communicate their own views on a certain topic and then read two articles of authors with different viewpoints. The students must then explain why they have maintained or changed their original views, which enables them to become part of an academic dialogue. (c) Groups of students use the iMap application to draw a concept map of a given theme; the theme of inquiry is established through discussion.

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This task encourages dialogue among students and between students and teachers on the theme of inquiry. Research as Inquiry (a) Researchers are invited to share their inquiry processes. When students are introduced to researchers’ processes based on the spirit of inquiry, their learning attitude can change, and they can adopt a more proactive approach in acquiring knowledge and skills. (b) Theme-related research literature is used to explain how research motivation, research questions and hypotheses, and research methods are generated, how investigations and analyses are conducted, how final conclusions are reached, and how suggestions are proposed. Authority is Constructed and Contextual (a) To identify a reliable source of information in an academic discipline, an understanding of the problems and the main mode of communication between researchers in the discipline is essential. Scholars and experienced researchers are aware of this mode of communication, but students are likely unfamiliar with the disciplinary discourse. Therefore, teaching students about the main journals of each discipline, the impact factor of these journals, and the types of academic communities for each discipline provides them with a basis for judgment. Information Creation as a Process (a) The convenience of digital publishing enables an increasing number of people to participate in academic research through self-publishing, such as in the form of blogs and personal websites. Although information on such platforms has not been subjected to rigorous peer review, self-published information can still contribute to the scholarly dialogue following its critical evaluation. To ensure that students understand that information creation is a process (e.g., the peer review process), each group of students uses a Google worksheet to record the process of inquiry in the cloud and produces a final thematic report. (b) Students must understand the process of publishing in an academic journal, from submission to review, revision, and publication, and can compare it to the process of publishing a blog article. Searching as Strategic Exploration (a) Students are given a topic and are directed to use different search tools inside and outside the school to learn about keywords, access rights, retrieval rates, and the accuracy of different resources. (b) Students use different keywords to search in relevant databases, gaining an understanding of how to use different keywords in their inquiries. Information has Value (a) During the searching process, students will realize that some articles can be obtained directly, whereas others require payment to access or download them. At this time, the concept and development of open access, as well as the library funds allocated to order journals, can be explained to the students to ensure that they know the price of such materials.

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(b) Information has value. This concept has economic, legal, and moral aspects. These are reflected in the price of materials, intellectual property laws, and academic norms; in addition to the price of materials, students must be informed of the consequences of plagiarism and inappropriate citation. • Integrating digital literacy: In addition to the concept of metaliteracy, information literacy includes digital literacy. In the digital age, all learning and activities can be conducted through the cloud. Therefore, using ICT to explore, communicate, and create is also a critical goal of information literacy teaching. During the course, the following methods are incorporated to strengthen students’ ICT capabilities. With reference to the ICT framework in the Information and Communication Technology Capability (version 8.4) of the Australian Curriculum (2010), the ICT teaching design in the information literacy course employed in the present study is as follows: 1. Investigating using ICT (a) Students use software such as iMind in the cloud to analyze and define the problem. (b) Students use cloud video platforms such as Google Meet and Zoom to conduct group discussions. (c) Students gain an understanding of the differences between using Google, Google Scholar, and the library’s integrated discovery system for inquiries. (d) Students gain an understanding of the mechanism of virtual private networks and how to use them. 2. Communication using ICT (a) Students use cloud software, such as Google Jamboard, Google Sheets, Padlet, Slido, and other software for compiling and reporting information. (b) Students share files using cloud drives and cloud platforms. (c) Students use social media such as LINE or Facebook to create social networking groups. 3. Creating using ICT (a) Students use EndNote to format a bibliography. (b) Students learn about plagiarism detection using Turnitin. (c) Students use Google Docs to write special reports. • Learning assessment: This course uses multiple assessment methods, including 1. Personal assignments (e.g., creating mind maps of the project-based inquiry teaching method and reading articles related to information literacy education). 2. Groups participate in online and face-to-face discussions.

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3. Students provide oral and written reports on the topic “Integrating Information Literacy into the Design of a Project-Based Inquiry Curriculum.” 4. Students use Rubric to self-assess their learning process and determine whether the learning objectives have been achieved. • Student feedback: End-of-term qualitative feedback from the students revealed that the students understood the concepts of “Information Creation as a Process,” “Searching as Strategic Exploration,” “Research as Inquiry,” and “Scholarship as Conversation.” However, in the process of project-based inquiry, students did not hold strong opinions about the concepts of “Authority is Constructed and Contextual” and “Information has Value.” Some examples of students’ learning experience are detailed as follows: Student A: “After this class, I have a better understanding of the process of conducting research, and I am confident that I can lead students to conduct research in the future.” (Information Creation as a Process) Student B: “From defining the topic through to using the information, integrating information, and writing a report, my information literacy has improved considerably. I have learned to obtain data using various channels such as the library resource discovery system, online journal databases, the Google Scholar academic search engine, and doctoral and master theses. I have also learned how to conduct a literature review and how to use CRAAP to verify the information collected. I learned to apply the KWL strategy, 5W1H method, Focused Conversation (ORID) method, and mind mapping method (using Jamboard and XMind) to focus my thoughts and generate ideas. In addition, I learned to integrate Padlet and Slido into the classroom. The interactive platform (and software) enables us to have immediate interaction and feedback with students, which can increase teaching effectiveness and add an interactive element and a sense of, novelty, liveliness, and fun to the classroom.” (Searching as Strategic Exploration, Scholarship as Conversation) Student C: “Thanks to previous failures and the problems with our previous topic raised by the teacher, we were able to avoid a lot of unnecessary mistakes when starting over…” (Research as Inquiry) Student D: “In this class, I learned that there are many platforms that I can use to interact with my classmates. Before, I didn’t even know about basic platforms such as Jamboard and Slide. But after the whole semester, in addition to the academic knowledge gained, I gained many skills through using these platforms.” (Scholarship as Conversation) Student E:

“At the beginning of the course, I noticed that I was very stubborn during discussions, and I often could not accept others’ arguments. I was able to slowly change my stubborn reactions by the middle of the course. In addition, I think the most crucial aspect of the Big6 model is the definition, because no matter what you want to do, the direction is the most important thing. If you are going in the wrong direction, you cannot reach where you want to be, no matter how far you travel. Defining a problem provides the direction for exploring the problem, so it doesn’t matter if defining the problem takes a long time, because the direction we choose is the most important thing.” (Scholarship as Conversation)

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2.4 Conclusions New concepts or new knowledge must be integrated into the old knowledge system to be fully understood; this is the cognitive model for constructing a knowledge base. Instructional design is both a science and an art. Acquiring expert knowledge through the integration of all relevant knowledge, explaining profound theories in simple terms, and applying concepts in practice all requires a holistic curriculum design to ensure that students can learn effectively. The ACRL Framework may be a new conceptual framework but is not a new concept. This conceptual framework was not emphasized when learners were taught about information literacy in the past. Teaching using a new conceptual framework can improve learning effectiveness, enabling students to not only understand how to access, select, and evaluate information but also to gain a fuller understanding of the academic ecology and environment of information. Many resources are available for reference on how to design courses on the basis of the ACRL Framework. As long as university information literacy teachers and university librarians promote the concept of metaliteracy and the attitude of collaboration and sharing in the digital world, they can become increasingly proficient in implementing the ACRL Framework in their teaching.

References Association of College and Research Libraries. (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. The Association of College and Research Libraries. https://alair.ala.org/ bitstream/handle/11213/7668/ACRL%20Information%20Literacy%20Competency%20Stan dards%20for%20Higher%20Education.pdf?sequence=1 Association of College and Research Libraries. (2015). Framework for information literacy for higher education. The Association of College and Research Libraries. http://www.ala.org/acrl/ standards/ilframework Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2010). Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability (Version 8.4). https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f10-curriculum/general-capabilities/information-and-communication-technology-ict-capability/ Bravender, P., McClure, H. & Schaub, G. (2015). Teaching information literacy threshold concepts: Lesson plans for librarians. ACRL. Burkhardt, J. M. (2016). Teaching information literacy reframed: 50+ framework-based exercises for creating information-literate learners. American Library Association. Forster, M. (Ed.). (2017). Information literacy in the workplace. Facet Publishing. Gammons, R. W., & Inge, L. T. (2017). Using the ACRL framework to develop a student-centered model for program-level assessment. Communications in Information Literacy, 11(1), 167–184. Gross, M., Julien, H., & Latham, D. (2022). Librarian views of the ACRL Framework and the impact of covid-19 on information literacy instruction in community colleges. Library & Information Science Research, 44(2), 101151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2022.101151 Gross, M., Latham, D., & Julien, H. (2018). What the framework means to me: Attitudes of academic librarians toward the ACRL framework for information literacy for higher education. Library & Information Science Research, 40(3–4), 262–268. Julien H., Gross M., & Latham D. (2018). Survey of information literacy instructional practices in U.S. academic libraries. College & Research Libraries, 79(2), 179–199. https://crl.acrl.org/ index.php/crl/article/view/16606/18052

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Latham, D., Gross, M., & Julien, H. (2019). Implementing the ACRL framework: Reflections from the field. College & Research Libraries News, 80(3), 386–400. Mackey, T. P., & Jacobson, T. E. (2011). Reframing information literacy as a metaliteracy. College and Research Libraries, 72(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl-76r1 McClure H., Bravender P., & Schaub G. (2015). Teaching information literacy threshold concepts: Lesson plans for librarians. Association of College & Research Libraries. Meyer J. H. F., & Land R. (2003). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Linkages to ways of thinking and practising within the disciplines. In C. Rust (Ed.), ISL10 improving student learning: Theory and practice ten years on. Oxford Brookes University Meyer, J., & Land, R. (2005). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning. Higher Education, 49, 373–388. Meyer, J., & Land, R. (2006). Overcoming barriers to student understanding: Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. Routledge. Mohamed, S. (2019). A critical praxis in the information literacy education classroom using the ACRL framework for information literacy for higher education. In D. Mizrachi et al. (Eds.), Information Literacy in Everyday Life. ECIL 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science (Vol. 989). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13472-3_48 Oberlies, M., & Mattson, J. (2018). Framing information literacy: Teaching grounded in theory, pedagogy, and practice. American Library Association. Yang, H. L. (2016). Threshold concepts: constructing the framework for information literacy for higher education in the United States. Library Journal, 35(5), 68. http://www.libraryjournal.com. cn/CN/Y2016/V35/I5/68

Chapter 3

A Comparison of Research Trends in Information Literacy in Higher Education of Asian and Non-Asian Countries Yun-Fang Tu, Chao-Chen Chen, Ning-Chiao Wang, Nalatpa Hunsapun, and Yi-Chin Chen

3.1 Introduction Information literacy (IL) has always been a core research topic in the library and information science (Albitz, 2007; Pinto, 2015; Pinto et al., 2010), and a long-term literature analysis reveals the developmental context of this field. A major portion of library and information science research worldwide is devoted to bibliometric studies on information literacy and the areas that are related to it. Also, including literature on information literacy research in higher education has seen a significant increase. As can be seen, several studies are interested in this topic. The study conducted by Nazim and Ahmad (2007) provided an overview of research trends in this field and characterizes its most significant aspects and their evolution over the last quarter of the twentieth century. It does this by presenting a bibliometric analysis of scientific output in “Information Literacy (IL).” What was discovered during the latter quarter Y.-F. Tu (B) Department of Library and Information Science, Research and Development Center for Physical Education, Health, and Information Technology, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] C.-C. Chen Center for General Education, College of Humanities and Education, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] N. Hunsapun · Y.-C. Chen Graduate Institute of Library & Information Studies, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] N.-C. Wang School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_3

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of the twentieth century, interest in the topic of IL significantly increased, especially between the 1980s and the start of the twenty-first century. Bhardwaj (2017) examined the range and distribution of information literacy research papers in the humanities and social sciences published between 2001 and 2012. The findings unmistakably show that recent years have seen a significant acceleration in the field of information literacy study. The 1,990 publications included in the study came from 79 different nations. Out of 15 nations that produced information literacy research, the top five nations were European. To identify the important elements of information literacy publication trends, Kolle (2017) analyzed global information literacy research through the analysis of the information literacy literature. By analyzing publications over time and using data from the Web of Science (WoS), the author evaluated publication types, language, and trends. He also identified the most productive authors, institutions, nations, and journals, as well as the most popular keywords and features of the top 10 most cited articles. The author noted an increase in the amount of information literacy literature between 2005 and 2014; the majority of the papers came from the USA, and the most frequently researched “current” topics in the information literacy field were the digital divide, media literacy, pedagogy, higher education, and critical thinking. Also, Onyancha (2020) used knowledge visualization and mapping of the literature to investigate the information literacy literature from 1975 to 2018 as it was indexed in the Scopus database. According to the research, information literacy is still a popular term among information literacy scholars. Pinto et al. (2020) found that there was an increase in the number of scientific publications on mobile information literacy between 2006 and 2019, according to their analysis of research publications on the trends of mobile information literacy in higher education that were indexed in the five databases, namely ERIC, LISA, LISTA, Scopus, and WoS. Chen et al. (2021) evaluated information literacy research in higher education published between 2011 and 2020 using articles from the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database on WoS. They used bibliographic mapping and the VOSviewer visualization tool to perform analysis and comprehend orientations and developmental patterns in information literacy research over the past decade. According to their research, ILHE research has grown in volume between 2016 and 2020 compared to 2011 to 2015, and terms associated with literacy, such as “digital literacy” and “multiliteracies,” have been receiving a lot of attention. This study demonstrates that research on information literacy in higher education is still dominated by Europe and North America. From the retrospective studies mentioned above using bibliometrics, it is clear that there is a lack of studies that have conducted long-term literature analysis on information literacy in higher education in Asian countries, and there are no studies that have used bibliometrics to compare information literacy in Asian countries with other non-Asian countries. The purpose of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of Information Literacy for Higher Education (ILHE) in Asian and nonAsian countries using bibliometric mapping analysis and content analysis to provide a bird’s eye view of regional characteristics and differences and serve as a reference for Asian countries to promote information literacy for higher education.

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3.2 Research Methods 3.2.1 Process of Data Searching and Collection On July 15, 2022, according to Pinto et al. (2020) and Chen et al. (2021), we used the initial search string (see Table 3.1) to search for topics (containing title, abstract, and keywords plus) in the WoS database in all SSCI articles from 2011 to the present and related to ILHE. Initially, 1,346 records were identified. By excluding non-article publications and articles published in languages other than English, 1,129 records were retained. Subsequently, the content of each article (including paper titles and abstracts) was manually reviewed to eliminate duplicate and irrelevant publications on ILHE to ensure that the selected articles addressed topics relevant to ILHE. 485 articles are reserved at this stage. To understand the situation of information literacy studies in Asian countries and the differences in ILHE compared with other countries, this study divided the literature into Asian countries and non-Asian countries. If the first author is from an Asian country, the paper is classified as research literature from Asian countries. Otherwise, it is classified as research literature from non-Asian countries. The ACRL framework was completed in 2015 and officially announced in 2016. To facilitate a comparison of changes in information literacy education before and after the release of the ACRL framework, the year 2016 was used as a breakpoint, the period 2011– 2016 was considered as the first stage, and 2017–2022 was regarded as the second stage for a comparison of keywords and other dimensions. In this study, we referred to the studies of Chen et al. (2021), Cheng et al. (2020), and Lai (2020), as well as the criteria (see Table 3.2), and selected evidence-based research after manual review. We confirmed that 77 and 100 articles were chosen for Asian and non-Asian countries, respectively (see Fig. 3.1). Finally, selected papers from Asian countries and non-Asian countries will be analyzed by bibliometric mapping analysis and content analysis. Table 3.1 Initial search string Topic

Search terms

Information literacy “information literac*” or “metaliteracy” or “digital literac*” or “computer literac*” or “internet literac*” or “Big6” or “I-LEARN” or “SCONUL” or “media literac*” or “multiliterac*” or “new literac*” AND Higher education

“university” or “college” or “higher education”

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Table 3.2 Final inclusion and exclusion criteria Inclusion

Exclusion

Must involve information literacy in higher education as a primary research topic Must have been published in English Must have been published between 2011 and 2022 Must be a publicly available or archived periodical article

Not involving information literacy in higher education as a primary research topic Being an editorial, review, compilation of correction notes, or early access article The article was not cited and was not in the top 100 papers cited in Asian and non-Asian countries

Fig. 3.1 Process and methods of data searching and collection

3.2.2 Data Distribution Figure 3.2 shows the distribution of ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries from 2011 to July 2022. Referring to Tu and Hwang (2020) and Zheng et al. (2016), this study explores the ILHE studies from 2011 to 2022 in 2 stages: 2011 to 2016 (160 articles) and 2017 to 2022 (325 articles). This shows the continuous growth of ILHE research. From Fig. 3.2, we found that the number of literature on ILHE is growing. Furthermore, the number of ILHE articles in which the first author was from Asian

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Fig. 3.2 Distribution of the articles on information literacy in higher education in Asian and nonAsian countries

or non-Asian countries was 111 and 374, respectively. Compared to authors from Asian countries, authors from non-Asian countries were devoted to ILHE research earlier. Figure 3.3 shows the distribution of the top 77 and top 100 ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries from 2011 to July 2022. Figure 3.3 shows that the highly cited literature in Asian countries suddenly increased from 2020–2021 and exceeds that of non-Asian countries by a large margin.

3.2.3 Theoretical Model, Data Coding, and Analysis Bibliometric mapping analysis and content analysis are performed concerning the literature review theoretical model and coding approach from Chen et al. (2021), Lai (2020), and Tu and Hwang (2020). The breakdown is as follows: (1) Bibliometric mapping analysis: In this study, we used the analysis tool VOSviewer software (version 1.6.18) and applied co-keyword analysis (a type of co-occurrence analysis, i.e., keyword co-occurrence relation) to explore the topic relation between different ILHE articles (González-Zamar et al., 2020). (2) Content analysis: We performed a systematic review of the literature review theoretical model and coding approaches concerning the literature of Chen et al. (2021), Tu and Hwang (2020), and Lai (2020). There are five dimensions in the dimensional analysis, participants and sample sizes, research methods, application domains, information literacy standards, and research issues.

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Fig. 3.3 Distribution of the most highly cited articles on information literacy in higher education in Asian and non-Asian countries

Table 3.3 lists the coding scheme of this study. Based on this scheme, two researchers followed the same coding procedure to independently code all the articles for content analysis and categorize the articles accordingly. In this stage, the consistency between coders was 86%. The inconsistent coding results were then discussed between the two coders to resolve the inconsistencies.

3.3 Research Results 3.3.1 Bibliometric Mapping Analysis Findings 3.3.1.1

Most Used Keywords in the Articles Related to ILHE

To understand the relevant research topics in the field of ILHE from 2011 to July 2022, this study used VOSViewer to perform a cluster analysis of keywords by authors. The dynamics of the keywords by authors in these studies are used to explore the issues of concern in the field. From the analysis, we know that in Asian countries, there are 272 keywords in the field of ILHE studied from 2011 to July 2022, and 17 of them occur together more than 3 times (inclusive). Figure 3.4 shows the visualization network of keywords in ILHE research of Asian countries from 2011 to July 2022. In Fig. 3.4, the areas of research on ILHE from 2011 to July 2022 can be divided into two major clusters.

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Table 3.3 Coding scheme for studies on information literacy in higher education Dimensions

Coding Items

Participants

Undergraduate students, graduate students, teachers, librarians, adults, others, mixed, and no participants

Sample sizes

small (150), and unspecified

Research methods

Quantitative methods, qualitative methods, and mixed methods

Application domains

Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), Arts, Language, Social studies (including History), Engineering (including Computer courses), Health, Medical, and Physical education, Business and Management, Library and Information science, mixed disciplines, and unspecified

Information literacy standards

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, courses with other reference standards, mixed, and no reference standards

Research issues

Cognition (including learning achievement, higher-order thinking skills, and collaboration or communication), affection (including technology acceptance, attitudes or effort, self-efficacy or beliefs, satisfaction or interest, and learners’ opinions or learning experiences), learning (skill) performance, learning behavior, correlation or causal analysis, information literacy assessment, literature reviews and trend analyses, and others

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

information literacy skills

ehealth literacies

Fig. 3.4 Mapping the structure of research on ILHE for Asian countries

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Cluster 1 presents a cluster of keywords related to information literacy, including library instructions, college students, academic libraries, assessment, quantitative analysis, critical thinking, flipped classroom, medical students, e-learning, and university libraries. This cluster focuses on discussing topics related to information literacy and library instructions; for example, Stark et al. (2018) noted that having students develop, administer, and interpret courses that assess college students’ research skills can engage students in an effective way of learning. Web-savvy is provided to college students through curricular intervention (see, e.g., McGrew et al., 2019). Some scholars have implemented ACRL’s assessment in an action program to assess transfer students’ information literacy (Grigg & Dale, 2017; Tong & Moran, 2017). In addition, there are several issues related to library instructions that have been discussed, such as critical thinking (e.g., Kocak et al., 2021; Krutkowski et al., 2020), flipped classroom (e.g., Bendriss et al., 2015; Valantinait˙e & Sedereviˇci¯ut˙e-Paˇciauskien˙e, 2020), and e-learning (e.g., Chang & Chen, 2014; Kratochvíl, 2013). Cluster 2 presents keyword clusters with keywords related to information literacy, including higher education, digital literacy, e-health literacy, lifelong learning, and information literacy skills, etc. In contrast to the red cluster, this cluster was formed relatively late and focused on issues related to information literacy skills and lifelong learning that can affect learning outcomes in higher education settings, such as information-seeking behavior (e.g., Weber et al., 2019), multiliteracies framework (e.g., Menke & Paesani, 2019), and student, librarian, and faculty perceptions of information literacy instruction and skills (e.g., Kim & Shumaker, 2015). Figure 3.5 shows the results of the co-word analysis of keywords in ILHE research of Asian countries from 2011 to July 2022. And Fig. 3.5 shows that the keywords most frequently used by authors in Asian countries are e-health literacy, digital literacy, lifelong learning, quantitative analysis, critical thinking, flipped classroom, higher education, medical students, and library instructions. In recent years, Asian scholars have focused on issues related to library instruction in higher education (Bendriss et al., 2015; Brady, 2021; Kirker & Stonebraker, 2019; Tong & Moran, 2017). For example, Bendriss et al. (2015) explored the design, implementation, and evaluation of information literacy programs and emphasized the importance of collaboration between teachers and librarians. Anthonysamy et al. (2020) investigated how self-regulated learning strategies can enhance digital literacy in digital learning to improve human capital’s efficiency and promote sustainable development of lifelong learning. The findings of De la Hoz et al. (2021) suggest that university training programs are used to improve students’ digital and scientific knowledge of health and confidence. Lee and Tak (2022) investigated the relationship between eHealth literacy and digital literacy among 320 Korean participants. Furthermore, Kocak et al. (2021) investigated whether 714 university students’ collaboration and critical thinking would mediate the relationship between other skills (including algorithmic thinking, creativity, digital literacy, and effective communication) and problem-solving. Bicen and Beheshti (2022) combined information literacy and second language learning activities by collecting questionnaires from 130 students and conducting focus group interviews to explore “students’

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Fig. 3.5 The analysis of keyword co-occurrence on ILHE studies between 1992 and 2022 for Asian countries

perceptions of infographics,” “students’ perceptions of the flipped classroom Instructional infographics learning environment” and “students’ academic achievements level.” From the analysis, we learned that in non-Asian countries, there are 851 keywords in the field of ILHE studied from 2011 to July 2022, of which 84 keywords occur together more than 3 times (inclusive). Figure 3.6 shows the visualization network of keywords in ILHE studies in non-Asian countries from 2011 to July 2022. From Fig. 3.6, we learned that the research fields of ILHE from 2011 to July 2022 could be divided into three major clusters. Cluster 1 presents a keyword cluster related to information literacy, including academic libraries, library instructions, self-efficacy, information literacy instruction, pedagogy, academic librarians, education, phenomenography, structural equation modeling, competencies, first-year students, information skills, faculty, and the ACRL framework. This cluster focuses on topics related to information literacy and library instructions, such as the ACRL Framework (e.g., Jarson & Hamelers, 2021; Korber & Shepherd, 2019) and pedagogy (e.g., Barefoot, 2018; Chang et al., 2020; Humrickhouse, 2021). Cluster 2 presents a cluster of keywords related to information literacy, including higher education, digital literacy, media literacy, college, assessment, libraries, health information literacy, university libraries, information-seeking behavior, academic literacy, and the internet. This cluster focuses on literacy issues related to information literacy, such as media literacy (e.g., Latini & Bråten, 2022; Stadtler et al., 2020), health information literacy (e.g., Boadi et al., 2021; Fu et al., 2021), academic literacy (e.g., Ford-Baxter et al., 2022; Marshall et al., 2012), social media literacy (e.g.,

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Cluster 3

teaching

health information literacies

academic libraries

flipped classroom

information needs

online learning

Cluster 1

Fig. 3.6 Mapping the structure of research on ILHE for non-Asian countries

Vanwynsberghe et al., 2015; Yuan et al., 2021), and new media literacy (e.g., Koc & Barut, 2016). Cluster 3 presents a keyword cluster related to information literacy, including college students, e-learning, curriculum, covid-19, graduate students, digital competencies, and information-seeking. This cluster was formed later and focused on issues related to e-learning, digital competencies, teaching and learning strategies, and Covid-19 in higher education (e.g., Sales et al., 2020; Vod˘a et al., 2022; Zheng et al., 2021). Figure 3.7 shows the results of the co-word analysis of keywords in ILHE studies in non-Asian countries from 2011 to July 2022. and Fig. 3.7 shows that keywords more frequently used by authors in non-Asian countries recently are covid-19, online learning, digital skills, teaching, ACRL framework, information searching, flipped classroom, academic librarians, structural equation modeling, Wikipedia, health information literacy, competency, fake news, information needs, digital literacy, first-year experience, Pakistan, scientific literacy, attitudes, postgraduate students, graduate students, digital competency, adults, and informed learning. In Fig. 3.7, it is also clear that in recent years, teaching and learning activities in higher education have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have received attention from non-Asian scholars, such as exploring university students’ and faculty’s perspectives on information and digital competence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Sales et al., 2020) and university students’ views on the use

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Fig. 3.7 The analysis of keyword co-occurrence on ILHE studies between 1992 and 2022 for non-Asian countries

of information literacy and mobile technologies (Pinto et al., 2022). Some scholars have also explored the views of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic (Hoss et al., 2022) and university students’ digital literacy skills (Vod˘a et al., 2022), as well as the effectiveness of blended learning for students in physical education classes when discussing learning needs regarding infection prevention (Zheng et al., 2021). In addition, Gross et al. (2022) noted that the full Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework is rarely used in teaching. They interviewed 30 university librarians with teaching responsibilities to understand the implementation of the framework in community colleges and the impact of the recent pandemic on information literacy instruction. The newly popularized term “fake news” has also been a topic of interest to librarians and ILHE researchers in recent years, and Hanz and Kingsland (2020) provided an in-depth overview of a series of Fake News Information Literacy Library Seminars and explored how these seminars adapted into the ACRL information literacy framework.

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3.3.2 Content Analysis Findings 3.3.2.1

Participants and Sample Sizes

Figure 3.8 shows that from 2011 to 2022, the most significant number of participants in ILHE studies of Asian countries was undergraduate students (55 articles), followed by mixed (10 articles), teachers (5 articles), graduate students (4 articles) and librarians (3 articles). Furthermore, in the first stage, undergraduate students (16 articles) were the most, followed by teachers (4 articles) and mixed (3 articles). In the second stage, undergraduate students (39 articles) were the most, followed by mixed (7 articles) and graduate students (4 articles). And from Fig. 3.8, graduate students started to be addressed in the second stage; for example, Peled (2021) and Keshavarz et al. (2017) mainly explored the self-efficacy of graduate students in information literacy and assessed the extent of their level of digital literacy. In 2011–2022, for the ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, undergraduate students (65 articles) were discussed the most, followed by teachers (11 articles), librarians (9 articles) graduate students (8 articles), and mixed (7 articles). Furthermore, in the first phase, undergraduate students (51 articles) were the most, followed by teachers (7 articles), librarians (6 articles), graduate students (6 articles), and mixed (6 articles). In the second phase, undergraduate students (14 articles) were the most, followed by teachers (4 articles) and librarians (4 articles). In contrast, for the ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, undergraduate students, teachers, and librarians have discussed the most information literacy-related topics. In addition, most ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries have explored undergraduate students the most; for example, Ting (2015) suggested linking students’

Fig. 3.8 Participants

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digital literacy to the school curriculum and teaching students using co-teaching can increase students’ learning autonomy. From the perspective of information literacy education programs, Diehm and Lupton (2012) suggested that designing different information literacy education programs through librarians and teachers together can help enhance student learning. Additionally, Kim and Shumaker (2015) noted that different types of information literacy programs influence the perceptions of information literacy instruction and the skills students have to become information literate. Furthermore, for ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, some ILHE researchers also focused on participants in teachers and librarians other than undergraduate students; for example, Saunders (2012) and Julien et al. (2018) pointed out that the study aimed to provide librarians with information literacy recommendations that will enable them to understand the importance of students’ information literacy skills and to promote them in their disciplines. Of course, Smith (2013) and Dawes (2019) believed that teachers greatly influence students’ development of information literacy skills. In addition to exploring teachers’ views on information literacy teaching, they also hope teachers can impart skills to students by teaching information literacy courses. Figure 3.9 shows that from 2011 to 2022, the sample size of the ILHE studies in Asian countries was large (>150) (48 articles), followed by medium (30–150) (20 articles) and small (150) were discussed (52 articles), followed by medium (30 ~ 150) (25 articles) and small (150) was discussed the most, followed by medium (30 ~ 150) and small (150) is the most common size in most ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries. This result is consistent with the study of Chen et al. (2021). In addition, information literacy studies in higher education with sample sizes greater than 150

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mainly investigate students’ information literacy skills, their assessment of selfcompetence, and how they assess the information they choose (e.g., Gross & Latham, 2012; Kingsley et al., 2011). Several studies have discussed how university students perceive themselves as digitally competent and academically literate (e.g., Guzmán-Simón et al., 2017). In addition to exploring the impact of information literacy competencies on college students, the Information Literacy in Higher Education study attempts to determine how college students relate to information competencies and whether they are affected by gender and students’ personalities (e.g., Taylor & Dalal, 2017). 3. In terms of research methods, the quantitative method is the most used in ILHE studies in Asian countries, followed by mixed methods and the qualitative method. In ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, the quantitative method is the most used, followed by the qualitative method and the mixed method. This result is consistent with the study of Chen et al. (2021). The quantitative method is the most common research method used in ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries and is mainly used to investigate the affective (including questionnaire development, factors, and relationships affecting information literacy) and cognitive (learning achievement) aspects of the participants. 4. Regarding application domains, most ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries do not address specific domains or mixed disciplines. For ILHE studies in Asian countries, mixed disciplines had the most applications, followed by unspecified and Library and Information Science. Moreover, in the second stage, the growth of ILHE research applied in unspecified areas and Health, Medical, and Physical Education is the most significant. For the ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, the unspecified areas were explored the most, followed by Library and Information Science and mixed disciplines. In addition, the ILHE studies in non-Asian countries in the first stage focused on discussing applications in Library and Information Science and unspecified areas, while more researchers discussed information literacy issues in different fields in the second stage. It is suggested that future ILHE studies could explore the effectiveness of information literacy as applied to other subject fields. Chen et al.’s (2021) findings pointed out that unspecified fields were discussed the most in the top 100 highly cited ILHE studies from 2011–2020, followed by Library and Information Science and mixed courses. They also indicated that lesser applied areas could be explored, such as Business or Management, Engineering (including Computer courses), and Mathematics. 5. Regarding information literacy standards, in most ILHE studies in Asian and nonAsian countries, the course design is based mainly on no reference standards. This result is consistent with the study of Chen et al. (2021). Furthermore, for ILHE studies in Asian countries, the course design is based primarily on no reference standards, followed by Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education and courses with other reference standards. For the ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, the course design is based mainly on no reference standards, followed by Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, and Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Furthermore,

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ILHE researchers are also concerned about the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, and relevant discussion topics are beginning to emerge in the second stage (e.g., Aharony et al., 2020; Gross et al., 2018). For example, Gross et al. (2018) pointed out that using this framework can improve teachers’ teaching in addition to the competencies of the professional information role. This framework incorporates metaliteracy or critical self-reflection as a key concept, highlighting the importance of becoming more autonomous in a rapidly changing ecosystem (ACRL, 2015). For example, Korber and Shepherd (2019) explored the use of choose-your-own-adventure style flipbooks as a teaching tool to implement the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. In addition, they pointed out that university libraries can build students’ knowledge and experience through student-centered teaching and bibliographic instruction via lectures combined with a hands-on learning strategy. 6. Regarding research issues, the affect dimension was explored the most in ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries. This is consistent with the findings of Chen et al. (2021). They also suggested that future ILHE studies could explore the least discussed topics, such as posterior cognition, higher-level thinking skills, and threshold concepts and skills. The ILHE studies in Asian countries also explored some other dimensions (including information-seeking anxiety, attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) and correlation. For ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, they also discussed cognition and information literacy apart from the affect dimension. In general, most ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries have focused on the affect dimension to explore the attitude, motivation, and opinion of the learner or learning perception. Regarding cognition-related topics, most ILHE studies in Asian and non-Asian countries have explored learning performance the most. In addition, the analysis of research issues and research methods revealed that most research on information literacy in higher education focuses on understanding university students’ perceptions of information literacy or their academic motivation through questionnaires or experiments; for example, Ross et al. For example, Ross et al. (2016) explore the relationship between internal and external academic motivation and information literacy self-performance and discuss the need for higher education institutions to identify academically motivated students and promote internal academic motivation actively. Shao and Purpur (2016) and Salisbury and Karasmanis (2011) also explored the information literacy skills of freshmen, along with students’ writing skills and their overall performance in the classroom. Zou et al. (2021) pointed out the importance of learning strategies using a digital role-playing game to enhance students’ learning of information literacy. Digital role-playing games provide rich discussion, collaboration, and interaction opportunities to assess learners’ performance, motivation, and self-efficacy. Digital technology has changed the way we live and behave. Accessing and understanding information through these new technologies is becoming increasingly important. In the higher education environment and our daily life, the issues arising from the advancement of digital technology have become increasingly complex in

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terms of information, media, computer, and network literacy. In addition, due to the continuous advancement and changes in technology, words related to information literacy have emerged, and The connotation of information literacy has become rich and diverse, such as new literacy, multi-literacy, meta literacy, mobile information literacy, visual literacy, financial literacy, data literacy, critical digital literacy, health information literacy, academic literacy, social media literacy, new media literacy, and infocommunicative literacy (including operational skill, information literacy, and communication literacy). Based on the findings of this study, we made the following recommendations for future ILHE research. 1. From this study, it is clear that there are more studies on information literacy in higher education in non-Asian countries. There is still a lack of research on the current status of information literacy education in different learning contexts in higher education, its problems, and related and disciplinary collaborations. In addition, information literacy is non-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary in nature. It is the responsibility of university librarians and teachers to design relevant curricula (incorporating various learning contexts) that allow learners to acquire subject knowledge and literacy skills. In terms of applying information literacy to disciplinary learning activities, in addition to integrating it with interdisciplinary courses, ILHE studies in Asian countries can consider less commonly used areas such as Science (physics, chemistry, biology), Arts, Language, Social studies (including history), Engineering (including computer courses), Mathematics, and Business and Management. History), Engineering (including computer courses), Mathematics, and Business and Management. For the ILHE studies in non-Asian countries, it is recommended to consider more the areas such as Engineering (including computer courses), Mathematics, and Arts. 2. It is recommended that librarians, teachers, and institutes consider how to design curricula and instructional strategies that incorporate experiential and constructive learning experiences for learners based on several standards. In addition, developing learners’ knowledge and skills to internalize and transform information literacy and promoting their thinking skills, lifelong learning abilities, and attitudes are essential core concepts of education and learning. It is recommended that the curriculum design of information literacy integrated subjects can refer to the relevant standards. For example, the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education redesigns training, assignments, courses, and even lesson plans for librarians, teachers, and other institutional partners focusing on the connection between information literacy and successful student learning. In addition, it is recommended that ILHE research integrate different learning strategies (e.g., process-oriented learning, inquiry-based game-based learning, problem-based learning, and resource-based learning) in the design of curriculum activities with a learner-centered approach. In addition, learners are integrated into their daily life situations through various hands-on opportunities to become self-directed learners or self-learners so that they can move from learning what they know today to understanding what they need tomorrow.

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3. University libraries should re-examine their role in integrating information literacy into disciplinary learning activities in the higher education environment. In addition, the promotion of information literacy in higher education suggests that we could explore the views or experiences of different roles (i.e., institutions, university librarians, teachers, and learners) in ILHE research regarding information literacy education. The design of activities that integrate information literacy into disciplinary inquiry can be combined with experiential learning, as well as observing, recording, analyzing, and understanding learners’ learning experiences to provide more specific guidance further to promote learners’ learning achievements and higher-level thinking skills. In addition, the effectiveness of collaboration between institutions, university librarians, and teachers in developing courses or their experiences in the process of collaboration can be further discussed to further promote the effectiveness of the development of related courses. 4. The ILHE studies in Asian countries still focus on the relationship between the perceptions of the subjects and the related affective issues and influences. Therefore, it is suggested that future studies could investigate the effectiveness of the application of information literacy programs or the impact and effectiveness of learners’ participation in information literacy training on their higherlevel thinking skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem-solving), collaboration, and communication skills. 5. The use of e-learning and digital reading has become a significant mode of learning for higher education students due to technological advances, and digital technology has changed and expanded the ability of learners to communicate. It is recommended that ILHE researchers design courses that require the ability to navigate the Internet, find and evaluate information, and read, critically evaluate, synthesize, and communicate. Furthermore, the issues related to the affective, learning behavior, cognitive, metacognitive, critical self-reflection of learners, threshold concepts, and implementation frustrations (both the learner and the teacher) in learning activities are also worth exploring. In summary, ILHE research is gaining importance, as well as the application of information literacy in the classroom to changes in student learning and the setting of new and old information literacy standards. There are still some limitations in this study. Firstly, this study reviewed the literature on ILHE, which is limited to the SSCI literature published in WoS from 2011 to July 2022; secondly, this study only used bibliometric mapping analysis and content analysis from the perspective of keywords by the author and only used content analysis and discussion comparing Asian and non-Asian differences in terms of dimensions, such as participants and sample sizes, research methods, application domains, information literacy standards, and research issues. Therefore, the study’s results are also affected by the dimension of analysis.

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Chapter 4

Inquiry-Based Learning Integrated Information Literacy Instruction for the University Undergraduates: A Case Study Using Place Memory Topic Mei-Ling Wang, Yu-Rong Weng, and Hiu-Ki Cheung Abstract Information literacy can help undergraduates acquire knowledge and critical thinking ability, master the progress of self-learning, and become lifelong learners. University information literacy education has become an important topic in higher education. The article aims to study the integration of inquiry-based learning into information literacy instruction. The objectives of the study are: (a) explore the curriculum model of university information search teaching; (b) explore the integration of place memory inquiry-based learning into the information literacy curriculum model; (c) explore the student learning outcomes of inquiry-based learning integrating into information literacy instruction; (d) explore whether information literacy instruction can improve the information search competence, research ability and place cognition of undergraduates. The article adopts the action research method and takes the general education course Information Literacy and Information Application taught by the researchers at National Chengchi University in 2021 as the research site to discuss the 18-week course of 42 undergraduates and their learning outcomes. Researchers applied information literacy competency indicators to plan curriculum teaching objectives, curriculum content, pedagogy, assessment of assignments, and formative and summative assessments. As the content of the information literacy curriculum covers information search learning and place memory projectbased learning, it was divided into two stages. First, it taught undergraduates information search skills and then, conducted research activities and finalized project-based learning reports. Through action research, the study confirmed that the model of place memory inquiry-based learning integrated into information literacy instruction can work and improves undergraduates’ competences in information search, research inquiry, and place cognition. The article finally puts forward conclusions and suggestions. Keywords Information Literacy Instruction · Inquiry-based learning · Place Memory · Learning Outcomes · Information Search M.-L. Wang (B) · Y.-R. Weng · H.-K. Cheung Graduate Institute of Library, Information and Archival Studies, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_4

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4.1 Introduction Facing rapid changes in technology and information society, information literacy has become a key ability for individuals to learn how to learn. In recent years, information literacy instruction has become an important element of university general education and library instruction. Information literacy is the foundation of undergraduates’ learning, applicable to various disciplines and various learning environments. The American Library Association (1989) promoted the concept of information literacy, which defined an information literate person as “To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information”. Information literacy helps undergraduates not only master textbook knowledge but also apply and create for self-learning. Therefore, cultivating the information literacy of undergraduates has become an important issue for higher education. American universities attach great importance to information literacy education, and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) (2000) developed the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, which is an international information literacy standard. The basis of information literacy instruction, is defined that an information literate individual is able to: (a) determine the extent of information needed; (b) access the needed information effectively and efficiently; (c) evaluate information and its sources critically; (d) incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base; (e) use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose; (f) understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally. The standard lists the core competencies of information awareness, information search, information evaluation, information organization and application, and ethical use of information that undergraduates should possess. In view of the reform of higher education and the evolution of the information ecology in the Internet society, ACRL (2015) revised the” Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education”, expanding the definition of information literacy, emphasizing dynamics, flexibility, personal growth, and group learning and put forward the concept of six axes. The new information literacy education emphasizes cultivating undergraduates’ information cognition, search, evaluation, and application creation ability in the digital information ecology, which are the basic abilities required for personal study, life and work in today’s digital Internet society. In Taiwan, Professor Lee, Lucy Te-Chu of National Taiwan University started information literacy research in 1993. After 2000, many Taiwanese universities began to offer information literacy courses in general education. After 2010, online teaching and digital learning were introduced into information literacy courses in Taiwan (Wang, 2017). Information literacy instruction for undergraduates is popularized, and there are many teaching methods. Effective teaching methods can improve the effectiveness of information literacy curricula and cultivate the competitiveness of

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college students. In recent years, universities have attached great importance to pedagogical research, and Inquiry Learning has received attention. They use authentic projects, authenticity assessments, and learner-oriented learning activities to provide learners with thematic projects to help them plan and guide problem exploration and resolution. Place memory represents the accumulation of impressions of people’s past activities, feelings, and experiences of a place. The theme of place memory in inquiry-based learning hoping to promote place care and place identity of undergraduates. The purpose of the article is to explore the integration of inquiry-based learning into information literacy instruction through place memory projects. The researchers took the Information Literacy and Application course offered by National Chengchi University’s general education as the research site, applied the project-based learning approach integrated into the information literacy curriculum, and explored the new model of information literacy instruction and students’ learning outcomes.

4.2 Literature Review As several authors have studied information literacy instruction, the article reviews related literature, which is divided into two aspects: information literacy instruction and inquiry-based learning.

4.2.1 Information Literacy Instruction Information literacy instruction is education to teach people how to research, evaluate, and use information effectively and responsibly. At its core, information literacy instruction empowers individuals and helps them to become self-reliant, effective, efficient, and ethical users of information. Information literacy instruction first defines the information literacy competency as the learning goal of the curriculum. ACRL (2000) developed the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, the main purpose of which is to lay the foundation for lifelong learning of college students in the future, to cultivate metacognitive learning so that they can use their own awareness and learn how to collect, analyze, and use information. This competency standard includes five standards, 22 performance indicators, and 87 outcomes. It serves as a standard for cultivating and evaluating college students’ information literacy competency and also provides a basis for universities to test students’ information literacy ability and offer information literacy courses. The information literacy indicators listed in this standard can be developed into the teaching objectives of information literacy courses and used as a reference for evaluation. ACRL (2015) revised the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and updated the original information literacy competency standards. The new standard puts forward the concept of “metaliteracy”, which refers to the ability that

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college students need to have as information users and information creators. The Framework offered an expanded definition of information literacy as follows: “Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning”. The six concepts that anchor the frames are presented alphabetically: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process; Information Has Value; Research as Inquiry; Scholarship as Conversation; and Searching as Strategic Exploration. Eisenberg et al. (2004) observed that information literacy instruction in universities is diverse, including individual information literacy courses, online tutorials, information literacy teaching in related courses, and integrated teaching of subjectthemed courses. The teaching of information literacy courses pays attention to motivating students to learn, and adopts a variety of active teaching methods, such as: supporting diverse teaching methods, integrating appropriate information technology and multimedia resources, active and collaborative activities, critical thinking, multiple learning models, supporting students center for Learning. Therefore, the information literacy curriculum needs to develop pedagogical methods and matching teaching strategies. Teachers should plan pedagogical methods and know how to use teaching materials, procedures, and strategies.

4.2.2 Inquiry-Based Learning The teaching of information literacy courses is different from ordinary courses, focusing on arousing students’ learning motivation, and adopting diversified and active teaching methods. Inquiry-based learning and project-based learning are suitable for application in information literacy instruction in universities. Inquiry refers to the process by which students actively explore problems and seek solutions. Inquiry-based teaching is a systematic and organized teaching strategy that uses step-by-step problem-solving skills and a well-designed teaching process to cultivate students’ cognitive concepts, objective attitudes, independent thinking skills, and correct values (Li, December 2000). Inquiry-based learning is applied in information literacy instruction, through the practice of inquiry or problem-solving, to cultivate students’ competency in information literacy. Students develop their information literacy competency by experiencing the process of defining real problems and searching for information in inquiry-based learning. Kuhlthau and Caspari (2015) proposed guided inquiry theory and practice, which is a way of teaching and learning that changes the culture of a school into that of a collaborative Inquiry Community. It is a framework for guiding students through the eight phases of guided inquiry design: open, immerse, explore, identify, gather, create, share, and evaluate. Lin (2008) took the course Introduction to Information Literacy and Learning as the teaching situation, set library and computer network literacy as the research scope, and used the Big 6 model as the inquiry-based learning

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framework to explore college students’ cognition of the concept of information literacy. and learning performance in the information literacy process. The author collected data by means of participant observation, interviews, questionnaires, tests, and document analysis. The results of the study found that through the process of inquiry-based learning, college students’ cognition of the concept of information literacy changed. In the performance of finding strategies and information acquisition, college students found that there are multiple channels for information acquisition. Project-based learning(PBL) is a learning method based on the concept of constructivism. It arranges complex and real tasks through projects to integrate the learning of knowledge in different subject areas. PBL uses high-authenticity content, authenticity assessment, and learner-oriented learning activities to provide learners with realistic project plans and guiding questions. Learners not only cooperate in inquiry and problem-solving but also present their learning results with specific works, cultivate the ability of project management, research, information organization, presentation and communication, self-reflection, group cooperation, etc., as well as active participation in learning (Lin, October 2012). Place memory is a topic suitable for guiding students to conduct project-based learning. Creswell (2006) explored Place and defined it: “was a meaningful space created by human beings, a space that people attach to it in a certain way, and a meaningful location, including three aspects: location, place, and sense of place. Every place has its place”. Every place has its place, refers to the material environment of social relations, has material visual forms, and has a relationship with people. Sense of place refers to human beings’ subjective and emotional attachment to place. Places can be spaces, cities, countries, or regions. Memories represent the accumulation of an individual’s impressions of past activities, feelings, and experiences. Place memory represents the accumulation of impressions of people’s past activities, feelings, and experiences of a place. Feng & Zhang (2012) believed that urban memory is the recognition and reconstruction of the overall image of the city in the past, and its materialized carrier is the historical record of urban memory, that is, the historical record formed in the process of urban construction, management, change, and development. Whether information literacy courses help students to learn effectively needs to be checked through the assessment of students’ learning outcomes, so it is very important. There are various ways to assess students’ learning outcomes, often including assignments, tests, teaching logs, study diaries, learning history files, etc., as well as collocation questionnaires, interviews, and participation in observation. On the other hand, the assessment of students’ learning outcomes can provide an understanding of students’ perceptions of satisfaction with course content, instructional design, and assessment methods (Avery, 2003). In addition, the digital learning management platform is a source of data for the teaching of information literacy courses and the evaluation of students’ learning outcomes. Collecting students’ discussions, statistics on the hours of viewing digital teaching materials, and online questionnaires, etc., helps teachers to grasp the learning situation of students. Based on the literature reviewed above, the study mainly uses the Framework for Information Literacy for

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Higher Education standards (ACRL, 2015), as well as theories such as Inquiry-based learning and Project-based learning.

4.3 Research Methods 4.3.1 Study Design The article aims to explore information literacy instruction in universities, using inquiry-based learning on place memory. The objectives of the study were: (a) explore the curriculum model of university information search teaching; (b) explore the integration of place memory inquiry-based learning into the information literacy curriculum model; (c) explore the student learning outcomes of inquiry-based learning integrating into information literacy instruction; (d) explore whether the information literacy instruction can improve the information search competence, research ability and place cognition of undergraduates. The study took a general course in Information Literacy and Libraries offered by the researchers at the National Chengchi University in 2021 as the research field. It mainly teaches undergraduates to learn information search skills and creative research, and integrates place memory inquiry-based learning into information literacy instruction; the final project design allows students to apply information search ability to the theme exploration of place memory in the process of course study and practice assignments, and complete the project learning report. The curriculum of this research first cultivates undergraduates’ information literacy cognition and information search ability, and then integrates exploratory learning into information search courses. Through inquiry-based teaching design, it cultivates undergraduates’ information literacy skills, such as problem-solving, independent thinking, and lifelong learning. The theme of this research is “place memory” in the final project, hoping to promote place care and place identity of undergraduates so that they can become competitive future talents. This study used multiple assignment designs and multiple assessment methods to evaluate student learning outcomes. It explored whether the integration of place memory theme research in the basis of an information search curriculum can effectively improve undergraduates’ information search ability and place caring cognition. National Chengchi University is implementing the USR program, with the core goals of “talent cultivation” and “place connection”. The course is expected to cooperate with the USR program of National Chengchi University to explore the place memory inquiry-based learning integration into the information literacy curriculum model and to study whether it can help improve the information search ability and place cognition of undergraduates. The research framework of the study is shown in Fig. 4.1.

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Information search learning Undergraduates

1.information literacy concepts

background: gender,

2.information search skills

college, grade

3.database searching & application

1.assignment and report

Information literacy Curriculum

Students learning outcomes 2. formative assessment

Inquiry Based Learning on

3. summative assessment

Place memory 4.research methods

圖 1 memory 研究架構圖 5.place final project 6.report and presentation

Fig. 4.1 Research framework

4.3.2 Action Research The study adopted the action research method, which is often used in educational research. It is a research method that combines action and research and attaches great importance to practical work. On the one hand, action, and research on the other hand, and is also a research process of finding problems, discovering problems, and solving problems from actions (Cai, 2000). The study conducted action research, plans and developed place memory inquiry-based learning integration into information literacy curriculum, and designed a curriculum based on information search ability indicators and project-based learning pedagogy. After understanding the learning situation and problems of students’ learning process, the action plan was adjusted and revised, and the action plan was finally evaluated to complete the study. This research was divided into two stages: session I was information search learning, and session II the inquiry-based learning on place memory. In the first stage of information search learning, the curriculum objectives and teaching content were set, and the three indicators of “defining the problem”, “information search” and “information evaluation” were used to cultivate students’ information literacy competency. In the second stage of inquiry-based learning, “inquiry-based learning on place memory”, “place care”, “place identity” and “information presentation and evaluation” were used as the learning ability indicators of students’ place memory inquirybased learning. Through the two-session curriculum implementation of “Information Search Learning” and “Inquiry-based Learning on Place Memory”, the learning outcomes were explored and evaluated. The Information search learning session was implemented in the first week to the eighth week of the course, carried out the learning objectives of “information literacy concepts”, “information search skills”, “database search application”, design

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information literacy-related courses and homework assessments to analyze and assess the information literacy competencies of undergraduates. The Inquiry-based learning on place memory session was implemented from the 9th week to the 18th week of the course. It guided students to find the topic of place memory through the final project using information search skills learned in the first 8 weeks of the course to explore the topic, and through the theme, select and define, organize fieldwork interviews, present briefings, and compile written reports, etc., and complete the final report on local memory through group cooperation. On the one hand, it provided students with practical application of information search skills, and on the other hand, it stimulated students to care for the place area. A sense of identity with the locality, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the University’s Social Responsibility Program, and the spirit of sustainable development for cultivating future talents in society. This action research procedure was as follows: Session I: Information Search Learning (Week 1-Week 8) (1) Planning and design courses. The researcher and the collaborative action research expert team planned and discussed the course together, and formulated a feasible plan for the course objectives, course units, teaching methods, etc (2) Implementation of information search courses. The researcher drew up a course action plan and cooperated with the students, implemented the information search course, and provided a pre-test to evaluate the students’ prior knowledge (3) Formative assessment. After completing the teaching of the information search course, conducted a formative assessment of the information literacy course to evaluate the students’ learning of the course, as a reference for subsequent course adjustment and revision Session II: Inquiry-based learning on Place Memory (Week 9-Week 18) (1) Revising curriculum plan. The results of the formative assessment of the information literacy curriculum were analyzed, and the researchers and the collaborative action research expert team revised or adjusted the curriculum problems to make the curriculum closer to the needs of students (2) Deciding the topic of place memory final project. Thematic exploration of place memory was carried out through group cooperative learning and discussion (3) Exploring and implementing the topic of place memory final project. Thematic exploration of place memory through group cooperative learning and discussion (4) Summative evaluation. After completing the 18-week course, a summative evaluation was conducted to evaluate the implementation effect of the information literacy course and the place memory final report, and to understand the students’ learning outcomes and course performance

4.3.3 Data Collecting and Analyzing In response to the diversity and flexibility of the information literacy curriculum, this study used multiple assessments to assess student learning outcomes, including pre-test and post-test, formative assessment, summative assessment, 4 assignments for information search learning, and the end-of-the-place memory project-based learning, and discussions on topics.

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The research is based on the course Information Literacy and Application taught by the researchers at National Chengchi University, including the computer classroom and the WM5 digital learning platform. The course participants were 42 students, faculty Professor Wang and two teaching assistants. During the course of this action research, formative assessment was conducted in the 9th week of the Information Search Learning session, and summative assessment was conducted in the 18th week after the Place Memory Inquiry-based learning session. The subjects of the survey were all students taking the course. The two research assessment was conducted through questionnaires. The online questionnaires were distributed through the WM5 digital learning management platform of the National Chengchi University.

4.4 Session I Findings: Information Search Learning and Learning Effectiveness 4.4.1 Curriculum Design The study took the 18-week 2 credits course of Information Literacy and Application offered by researchers at the National Chengchi University in 2021 as the research field and 42 undergraduates from 9 colleges of the University studying the course. This course is mainly based on classroom lectures, supplemented by the WM5 digital learning platform which provides weekly lecture materials, interaction to guide students to discuss topics on the digital course platform, assignment submission, and quizzes. The curriculum design student learning outcomes included: (a) Learning the meaning and function of information literacy in the digital age; (b) Learning by doing, cultivating undergraduates’ information literacy competencies, including exploring problems, finding information, evaluating information, reading and integrating information, creating information and communication skills; (c) Learning databases and Internet information search and application; (d) Learning research methods and essay format writing; (e) Learning place care and inquiry-based learning on place memory; (f) Research creation and practice briefing. The curriculum of the research was divided into two sessions: Information Search Learning session and Inquiry Leaning on Place Memory. The Information Search Learning session includes 5 units: Information power and information cycle, Information Searching Skills, Book Resource Search, Journal Article Search, and Internet Resource Search. It is matched with four search assignments designed with the curriculum to find related resources. In order to cultivate the sense of place and information literacy competency of undergraduates, it was hoped that this would inspire undergraduates to care for and identify with the place, so as to echo the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the University’s Social Responsibility

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Program, cultivate the spirit of sustainable development of undergraduates. Table 4.1 shows the information literacy 8-week curriculum structure. Table 4.1 Information literacy curriculum structure Unit

Student earning outcomes

Information power and Recognize the types information cycle and characteristics of library functions and resources, and effectively use the characteristics of resources to solve problems

Teaching activities

Assessment of assignments

video viewing, lecture

Discussion

Information Search Skills

Define problems and Lecture, exercises information needs, use resources and tools to search, describe research and information search process

Assignment 1: information search skills

Book Resource Search

Use learned retrieval strategies and tools to select appropriate book resources for evaluation and analysis

Assignment 2: Book resource search

Journal Article Search

Use scientific retrieval Lecture, exercises strategies and tool resources to select appropriate journal literature resources for evaluation and analysis

Assignment 3: Journal article search

Internet Resource Search

Use the learned Lecture, exercises retrieval strategies and tools to select appropriate Internet and dissertation resources for evaluation and analysis

Assignment 4: Internet resource search

Lecture, exercises

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4.4.2 Assignment and Grading Policy Coursework included pre-test and post-test before and after the course implementation, four assignments with course content, and topic discussion. Regarding the grading policy of the course, course grade was calculated on the accumulation of percentages. The total 100 points include Assignment 1 information search skills 10 points, Assignment 2 Book resource search 10 points, Assignment 3 Journal article search 10 points, Assignment 4 Internet resource search 10 points, Place Memory final project 30 points, Class attendance and discussion 30 points. Students taking Pass/No Pass need at least 60% of class points which is required. Table 4.2 shows information literacy and application course assignments and grading policy.

4.4.3 Basic Student Information There were 42 undergraduates taking the course, Table 4.3 lists basic student information. Students came from 8 colleges, the Commerce College having the most with 11 (26.2%), followed by the Social Sciences College with 7 (16.7%), the Science College, the Foreign Languages College, and Communication College with 6 each (14.3%), and Education College, the Liberal Arts College, and the International Affairs College fewer. In terms of grades, 17 sophomores (40.5%) took the most courses, followed by freshmen, seniors, and juniors; in terms of gender, 25 were female (59.5%) and 17 male (40.5%).

4.4.4 Information Search Assignments Grading Regarding students’ performance in completing the four information search assignments, 100 points were rated as full marks, the average score of all students was 71.3 points, and the students’ information search performance was average. In the performance of Assignment 1, the average score of freshmen was 81.6, followed by seniors, sophomores, and juniors. Assignment 2 performed better with an average score of 81 for juniors, Assignment 3 performed better with an average score of 77.3 for seniors, and Assignment 4 performed better with an average score of 79.6 for seniors. The best performers were followed by freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Table 4.4 shows the grades of student information search assignments.

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Table 4.2 Assignments and grading policy Assignment

Content Description

Grading

Pre-test

Understand students’ prior knowledge and cognition of information literacy and local memory, as a reference for course content implementation and teaching

No grading

Assignment 1: information search skills According to the information search strategies and skills introduced in the class, design relevant situational practice questions

10%

Assignment 2: Book resource search

Based on the retrieval strategies and 10% book-related resource websites and tools introduced in the classroom, design situational practice questions for book resource search

Assignment 3: Journal article search

According to the retrieval strategies and 10% journal literature-related resource websites and tools introduced in the classroom, design practice questions for journal literature search situations

Assignment 4: Internet resource search

According to the retrieval strategies 10% introduced in the classroom and the network resources and related resource websites and tools, design the situational practice questions of network resources search

Place Memory final project

1. Taking the topic of place memory as the category, use the learned information search skills to explore the theme of place memory through topic selection, oral history interviews, and presentations and essays 2. The implementation of the PBL report is divided into four parts: report, oral history, and interview, briefing and written report according to the course content

30%

Class attendance and discussion

Scoring based on class attendance and participation in topic discussions

30%

4.4.5 Formative Assessment Regarding the formative assessment of the information literacy course session, the researcher conducted a “course satisfaction” questionnaire survey after the 8th week of the course, which was measured by the Likert five-point scale, with strongly disagree to strongly agree each representing 1 point to 5 points, to analyze students’

4 Inquiry-Based Learning Integrated Information Literacy Instruction … Table 4.3 Basic student information (N = 42)

Category College

Name Liberal Arts College

2

4.8

6

14.3

7

16.7

Commence College

11

26.2

Foreign Languages College

6

14.3

Communication College

6

14.3

International Affairs College

1

2.4

Education College

Gender

Percentage (%)

Science College Social Sciences

Grade

Number

75

3

7.1

Freshman

14

33.3

Sophomore

17

40.5

Junior year

3

7.1

Senior year

8

19

Male

17

40.5

Female

25

59.5

Table 4.4 Information search assignments grades (N = 42) Grade

Assighnment 1 Assighnment 2 Assighnment 3 Assighnment 4 Total average

Freshman

81.6

78.1

75.4

72.3

76.8

Sophomore 73.1

75.4

69.3

65.9

70.9

Junior year 54.0

81.0

54.0

48.3

59.3

Senior year 77.4

78.1

77.3

79.6

78.1

Average

77.2

71.7

69.4

71.3

75.4

opinions and feedback on the first-session courses, handouts, and assignments. Table 4.5 shows that among the 38 students who answered, the average overall satisfaction with the “Information Literacy Learning” session is 4.11, and all items have a satisfaction score of 3.5 or more. For the content and handouts of the five units of information literacy learning, the satisfaction of Unit 2 and Unit 5 is the highest; for course overall help, satisfaction also reached 4.26 points and 4.13 points, respectively. Overall, students were satisfied with the “Information Search” course.

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Table 4.5 Formative assessment student feedback (N = 38) Item

Mean Standard dev

Unit 1. The content and handouts of Information Power and Information 3.92 Cycle meet my needs and are helpful to my study

0.850

Unit 2. The content and handouts of Information Search skills meet my needs and are helpful to my study

4.13

0.844

Unit 3. The content and handouts of Book Resource Search meet my needs and are helpful to my study

4.05

0.868

Unit 4. The content and handouts of the Journal Article Search meet my needs and are helpful to my study

4.08

0.818

Unit 5. The content and handouts of the Internet Resource Search meet my needs and are helpful to my study

4.13

0.811

The information search assignment meets my needs and is helpful to my 4.18 study

0.652

I can apply the information search skills learned in the course to study, work, or life

4.26

0.685

Overall, the courses from week 1 to week 8 have been helpful in my study

4.13

0.623

Average

4.11

0.769

4.5 Session II Findings: Place Memory Final Project and Learning Outcomes 4.5.1 Inquiry-Based Learning on Place Memory Curriculum The course session of Inquiry-based learning into Place Memory was held from the 9th to the 18th week of the semester. Through the final project design, the course integrated the inquiry-based learning on place memory into the information literacy course. The course expects that, under the guidance of the course teaching, students can conduct inquiry learning and practical problem-solving through group cooperation on Place Memory final project, report on the place memory topic and present their learning outcomes. This course helped students achieve the following learning outcomes: (a) learning project research and management, (b) knowledge of information evaluation and research methods, (c) writing project reports and presentations, (d) experience in active participation and group collaboration, (e) acquire place care and place memory inquiry ability. Inquiry-based learning on Place Memory session includes 7 units: Oral history & fieldwork, Essay writing skills, APA paper format, Briefing & presentation, Information evaluation & fake news, Information ethics, and Place Memory final project report. Firstly, scholars were invited to talk about the concept of sustainable development and Place memory in Mucha, and secondly, the faculty of this course gave lectures including oral history and fieldwork, place memory and digital archives, paper writing skills, APA thesis format, presentation, information evaluation, fake

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news, and information ethics, etc., guide students to study place memory projects and complete final project reports and cultivate information literacy ability and awareness of place care and place memory. Table 4.6 shows the curriculum structure of inquiry-based learning into place memory. The coursework of Inquiry-based learning on Place Memory included four discussions on topics and a final project report at the end of the term. Using the WM5 digital learning platform of the University as a medium, discussion on topics, submission of Table 4.6 Inquiry-based learning on place memory curriculum structure Unit

Student learning outcomes

Teaching activities

Assignments assessment

Oral history & fieldwork

Learn the theories and methods of oral history, and cultivate local caring and humanistic qualities

Lecture

Discussion

Essay writing skills,

Can think, reorganize, and Lecture create information value, and summarize and describe

Discussion

APA paper format

Be able to use the information reasonably and legally, and thank the source of the information in a timely manner

Lecture

Discussion

Briefing & presentation

Able to collect and organize relevant information, and present and express it in the form of presentations

Lecture

Discussion

Information evaluation & Identify, select, and fake news evaluate resources, think independently, and have critical thinking skills

Lecture

Discussion

Information ethics

Understand the connotation, current situation, and development trend of information ethics, and reflect on the problems in the information society

Lecture

Discussion

Place memory project report

Through participating in Group presentation the theme exploration process, thinking, reorganizing, and creating information value, cultivate cooperative learning and oral and written expression skills

Group final report

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assignments, and grading was conducted. The topic discussion accounted for 20% of the grades, and the final report grades account for 30%.

4.5.2 Place Memory Final Project Report The final project report on place memory in this research focused on cultivating undergraduates to search for information, explore themes and care for places, and learn to apply information search ability to discuss and explore place memory projects. The faculty design requirements of the final project report were as follows: (a) The group selected a place as the theme of the project for place or hometown people, characteristic old shops and institutions, place industries, and cultural relics. (b) Applied information search skills, conducted oral history interviews, recorded place memories, and told place stories. (c) The group conducted place memory projects, using literature research, fieldwork, interviewing people or institutions, storytelling, and place history recording, writing interview reports, taking photos, and making digital records. (d) Finally, a final report was written and submitted, and each group gave a 10-min oral presentation. Faculty provided topic discussions in the course and guide students to conduct group discussions and final project reports. The four topic discussions included: (a) The topic decision of the place memory project, (b) the Outline of the place fieldwork interview. (c) Outline of the final report writing, (d) APA thesis format practice. The students took the course in groups of 3–4 people, with a total of 12 groups. The topics of group projects are shown in Table 4.7. The place topics were mostly counties and cities in northern Taiwan, as well as counties and cities in central and southern Taiwan.

4.5.3 Place Memory Final Project Report Grading Undertaking place memory report is an important learning outcome of the Information Literacy and Application course. Students work in groups to carry out thematic projects, from the idea of the theme, the selection of materials, collection, retrieval, and evaluation, to fieldwork interviews, and information collecting, applied to the presented process, to make a written report. The content of the final project report requested should include a preface, fieldwork and place stories, photos or pictures, a summary of place memory events, an interview postscript, and references in APA format. In this study, the evaluation criteria for the place memory final project report included: (a) 60% for rich written reports and good content quality, (b) 20% for APA thesis format, (c) 20% for oral presentations. Table 4.8 shows Place Memory final project report scoring. The scores of each group ranged from 83 to 95, showing good performance. When the topic of the final report came from place care and emotion,

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Table 4.7 Topics of place memory projects Group

Place

Project Report Topics

1

Taipei City

Taipei’s Kuling Street scholarly memory

2

Shenkeng

Shenkeng Old Street—the Kingdom of Stinky Tofu

3

Maokong

Maokong Teahouse

4

Mucha

Mucha Zoo and Pandas

5

Penghu

Penghu Lake Penghu Liao Community Development

6

Wanhua

Taipei Wanhua Bopiliao Historic Block

7

Mucha

Visiting Minghua Garden to talk about Producing Tieguanyin Tea

8

Dadaocheng

Tea Development in Dadaocheng—“Yu Ji Famous Tea”

9

Taipei City

Evolution of Taipei Songyan Cultural and Creative Park

10

Wenshan

Wenshan Tea Promotion Center and its Influence on Maokong Tourism

11

Chiayi

Chiayi County Zhuqi Township Baiqiliao Deyitang Martial Arts Development

12

Mucha

Jiying Temple Beliefs in Mucha Area and Detour

the group scored higher than 90 points, such as group 5 and group 11. Overall, the performance of the 12 groups of place memory groups on the final topic is worthy of recognition. Through the presentation of the final project, the learning outcomes in topic selection, interview outline design, database search, information selection and evaluation, and information utilization and presentation were displayed. In addition, during the oral presentation, cooperation between groups, as well as the ability of presentation design and oral presentation were seen. At the same time, it echoes course teaching objective five, the topic of learning place care and place memory and teaching objective six, the ability of research, creation, and presentation, all of which demonstrated the students’ good learning outcomes.

4.5.4 Summative Assessment The summative assessment of this study was in the last course session. The students were asked to fill out the questionnaire survey of Satisfaction with Inquiry-based Learning on Place Memory, which is measured by the Likert 5-point scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, representing 1, respectively. Scored to 5 points, students’ feedback on the course materials and assignments of Inquiry-based learning on place memory are shown in Table 4.9. Among the 36 students who answered the questions, the average overall satisfaction with the course Inquirybased learning on place memory was 4.01 points, and all items had a satisfaction score of 3.5 or more. Among them, APA bibliographic citation format has the highest satisfaction score of 4.14, followed by “topic selection of themes” and “field research

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Table 4.8 Place memory final project report scoring Group/Title

Report 60%

APA 20%

Brief 20%

Score

1. Taipei’s Kuling Street scholarly memory

58

16

19

93

2. Shenkeng Old Street -the Kingdom of Stinky Tofu

54

12

17

83

3. Maokong Teahouse

56

11

19

86

4. Mucha Zoo and Pandas

57

10

18

85

5. Penghu Lake Penghu Liao Community Development

56

17

19

92

6. Taipei Wanhua Bopiliao Historic Block

56

17

19

92

7. Visiting Minghua Garden to talk about producing Tieguanyin tea

56

10

20

86

8. Tea Development in Dadaocheng - “Yu Ji Famous Tea”

56

16

19

91

9. Evolution of Taipei Songyan Cultural and Creative Park

56

18

18

92

10. Wenshan Tea Promotion Center and its Influence on Maokong Tourism

50

17

17

84

11. Chiayi County Zhuqi Township Baiqiliao Deyitang Martial Arts Development

58

12

20

90

12. Jiying Temple Beliefs in Mucha Area and Detour

57

20

18

95

and interviews” with a satisfaction score of 4.11, while “information search and learning for place memory theme exploration and application”, “research methods”, “presentation and report writing” and other questions all scored above 4 points. Overall, students taking the course were satisfied with the Inquiry-based learning on place memory course session.

4.6 Conclusions Based on the results of the study, the following important findings are made: 1. The study constructed inquiry-based learning into the university information literacy curriculum model, covering the two elements of information search and inquiry-based learning. The information literacy curriculum of this study applied the competency indicators of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (ACRL, 2015) to cultivate college students’ information cognition, search, evaluation, application, and creation competencies. The study constructed an information search curriculum model based on two Framework criteria: Research as Inquiry; and Searching as Strategic Exploration. The first session

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Table 4.9 Summative assessment student feedback (N = 36) Item

Average

Standarddev

Content design of the topical inquiry course on place memory helped 3.81 me generate interest in place memory and meets my needs

0.710

Topic selection of the topical inquiry course on place memory helped 4.11 me to understand the place, and then to have an identity and concern for the place

0.523

Fieldwork and interview unit on the topic of place memory helped improve my fieldwork skills and experience, suits my needs, and is helpful for my studies

4.11

0.575

Research Methods course helped improve my knowledge of report writing and research methods

4.03

0.845

APA thesis Citation Formats course helped improve my understanding of citations and information ethics

4.14

0.639

Briefing and Written Reporting courses helped me organize and evaluate information

4.03

0.609

Overall, the first eight weeks of the information literacy course have helped me in the application of information collection, search and assessment in the topical inquiry of place memory

4.08

0.770

Overall, the inquiry-based learning on place memory course helps me 3.92 to understand place memory and improve place care

0.649

I can apply the skills learned in the course of “inquiry based learning 3.94 on place memory” to my study, work and life

0.630

Overall, the information literacy and application courses are helpful to my study, work and life

3.97

0.736

Total

4.01

0.669

of information search learning curriculum taught students information cognition and search skills, and the second session of inquiry-based learning taught students to learn information evaluation, application, and creation competencies. 2. The study constructed integrating inquiry-based learning on place memory into the information literacy curriculum model. Taking place memory as the theme, it guided students to focus on and choose the topic of place memory, begin to understand the application of information, select retrieval strategies, integrate relevant information, and finally present the place memory final project report. The teaching design of inquiry learning provides information literacy courses focused on the structure and direction of the subject, and guided students to conduct research and exploration under the subject area, to find a place topic of interest or related to themselves, and to connect the university’s social responsibility issues to further study and explore wonderful stories with places to know. In the process of integrating subject exploration into the curriculum, students experienced the process of defining problems, information search, information selection, information evaluation, information utilization, information creation, and information ethics, and actually participated in the story of place memory. Inquiry

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learning on place memory was integrated into the information literacy curriculum model to guide students from the collection of materials to the presentation of the topic. Through the teaching design of inquiry-based learning, they discovered and solved problems under the guidance of faculty, and cooperated with peers to discuss and stimulate ideas. It will help students apply and demonstrate information literacy skills and reflect on issues related to place memory. 3. The study confirmed that the integration of inquiry-based learning on place memory into information literacy instruction is feasible and demonstrated that students achieve good learning outcomes. The study integrated the inquirybased learning into place memory into the information literacy curriculum, and displayed the overall learning outcomes of students through the final report of students’ place memory. In the process of place memory project-based learning, students used topic exploration as the learning framework to design a place memory topic at the end of the term. Through the process of students searching for information, discussing with group members, writing written reports, and oral presentations, students finally demonstrated their information literacy learning. results. The students’ written reports were fruitful. The results confirmed that the final project report of place memory was helpful for students’ learning. The wonderful place stories collected from the students also showed their concern and reflection on the place. 4. Multiple assessments helped to demonstrate student learning outcomes of the information literacy curriculum. In the study, the course “Information Literacy and Application” adopted multiple assessment methods, such as information search assignments, tests, discussions, and final group project reports, etc., to evaluate students’ learning outcomes. Through the analysis of the relevant learning outcomes of the course and a variety of assessment methods, students’ information literacy learning was presented and assessed in a variety of ways, which helped to show students’ competencies in a more diverse way, such as information collection and search, information utilization, and creation; through discussion, demonstrated group communication, and mutual assistance, etc.; participation in the final group project report not only presented the learning results but also demonstrated student ability of presentation design, oral expression, solidarity, and cooperation. 5. The study confirmed that the integration of inquiry-based learning into information literacy courses can help improve undergraduates’ information search ability, research ability, and place cognition. Both the formative and summative assessments of this study showed that the overall satisfaction of the students was above 4 points, which clearly showed that the students gave affirmation to the course content, homework assessment, information literacy ability, place cognition, and learning and life skills. In the information search course in the first session of this study, the results of the research confirmed that students achieved information literacy skills in the three indicators of “defining the problem”, “information search” and “information evaluation”. The study results of the second session Inquiry-based learning into Place Memory course confirmed that the students achieved the learning outcomes in the three indicators of Place

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Care, Place Identity, and Information Use Presentation and Evaluation. Through the implementation of the courses “Information Search Learning” and “Inquirybased learning on place memory”, the study proved that the course improved undergraduates’ information search competency, research and exploration ability, and place cognition. For future research, the article makes the following recommendations: 1. The students in this study responded that the course workload was too heavy in the summative evaluation survey. In the future, it is suggested that the course can be expanded from two credits to three credits so that the rich courses can provide students with sufficient time to study, practice and feedback. 2. In the summative evaluation of the study, some students are not satisfied with inquiry-based learning into place memory to improve students’ learning outcomes. It is still necessary to review the study and improve the curriculum, such as: reviewing the curriculum content design strategy to enhance students’ interest in place memory, in line with the needs; designing a curriculum to help students’ awareness of place, enhancing their interest in participating places and caring for places; reviewing strategies for applying information literacy courses to learning and life.

References American Library Association (1989). Presidential committee on information literacy: Final report. http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential#importance Association of College and Research Libraries (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. https://alair.ala.org/bitstream/handle/11213/7668/ACRL%20Information% 20Literacy%20Competency%20Standards%20for%20Higher%20Education.pdf?sequence=1 Association of College and Research Libraries (2015). Framework for information literacy for higher education filed. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards Avery, E. (2003). Assessing information literacy instruction. Assessing student learning outcomes for information literacy instruction in academic institutions (pp. 1–5). Association of College and Research Libraries. Cai, Q. (2000). Educational action research. Wu nan. Cresswell, T. (2006). Place: Memory, imagination and identification place: Memory, imagination and identification place: A short introduction (translated by Xu Tailing and Wang Zhihong). Group studies. (Original book published in 2004) Eisenberg, M. B., Lowe, C. A., & Spitzer, K. L. (2004). Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age. Greenwood Publishing Group. Feng, H., & Zhang, Bin. etc. (2012). Archival memory views and Chinese memory. Research report on the construction of digital resource library. Academic committee of the basic theory of archives of China Archives Society. Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Guided inquiry learning in the 21st century (2nd ed.). Libraries Unlimited. Li, S. (2000, December). Inquiry pedagogy. The dictionary of education. https://terms.naer.edu.tw/ detail/1309716/ Lin, J. (2008). A study on the integration of information literacy into the thematic inquiry of college students. Educational Materials and Library Science, 46(2), 233–266.

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Lin, W. (2012, October). Inquiry-based learning. Dictionary of library and information science. https://terms.naer.edu.tw/detail/1678794/ Wang, M. (2017). Study on instructional models and strategies of information literacy online courses for higher education. Journal of InfoLib & Archives, 91, 20–46.

Chapter 5

Pedagogical Models for Plagiarism-Free Learning in Academia Xiangning Li, Suen Wing Lam, Yin Zhang, and Samuel Kai Wah Chu

Abstract Plagiarism is a common problem among students. If it is left untacked, it may lead to severe consequences for students’ academic integrity and education and even hamper their career advancement. It is therefore essential to incorporate comprehensive anti-plagiarism intervention at an early stage of education. Prior research has looked into various approaches of education to prevent plagiarism in academic writing. However, plagiarism stands as a focal problem in academia. This study introduces two pedagogical models of plagiarism-free learning which includes training modules for secondary school students and universities, respectively. The secondary one incorporates UPCC Model which is about “(U)understanding plagiarism, learning about (P)araphrasing and related skills and proper (C)itations with online citation tools and conducting originality (C)hecks with an online tool”. This model shows that the pedagogy methodology effectively enables students to avoid plagiarism in behavioural, cognitive, and affective areas. The university one is customised online scaffolding writing system (OSWS) which helps faculty members teach undergraduates to avoid plagiarism in academic writing. A quasi-experimental design is used in this university study for analysing the plagiarism-related perceptions and behavioural changes of undergraduate students. This study investigates the effects of new modules on students’ academic writing. As shown by Zhang et al. (Innov Educ Teach Int 1–14, 2022), the experimental group has a much better performance than the control group in reducing the extent of plagiarism involved as well as an improvement in their quality of writing, whereas student participants from Chu et al. (Libr Inf Sci Res 43:101073, 2021) study demonstrated a notable enhancement in anti-plagiarism perceptions and behaviours after UPCC model intervention. X. Li Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK S. W. Lam Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Y. Zhang Department of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China S. K. W. Chu (B) Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_5

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These two models may provide practical guidance for schools to implement the plagiarism-free pedagogical model in their teaching of avoiding plagiarism.

5.1 Introduction It is hard to define plagiarism but it generally means utilising someone’s intellectual or artistic creation without consent, permission, acknowledgement, and credit (Satija & Martínez-Ávila, 2019). All the definitions share a common feature that it points to using ideas or words by others as if they were their own (Leitão et al., 2019). The rising prevalence of plagiarism endangers academic integrity and poses a threat to the quality of higher education (Hopp & Speil, 2021). Institutions around the world have initiated policies to punish the act of plagiarism including informal/formal warnings, grade penalties, suspension, or expulsion (Tremayne & Curtis, 2021). Yet, plagiarism prevention in higher education is different from that in other fields, and it is insensible to punish plagiarists without any education on the topic (Mphahlele & McKenna, 2019). Furthermore, studies have shown that punitive policies are implemented by instilling the fear of being caught without trying to help students learn from their mistakes (Parks et al., 2018). Studies have shown with robust evidence that undergraduates typically commit plagiarism unintentionally and the expulsion of plagiarists could deprive them of an opportunity to learn about plagiarism prevention (Malmström et al., 2018; Zhang & Tang Kie Yi, 2021). Plagiarism avoidance can be regarded as a matter of information literacy where information literate students are unlikely to commit intended or unintended plagiarism (Satija & Martínez-Ávila, 2019). Insofar, most researchers agreed that all relevant stakeholders should participate in efforts to curb plagiarism (Uzun & Kilis, 2020). Empirical studies have produced rich evidence to support the design of instructional strategies for plagiarism prevention in higher education (Tindall & Curtis, 2020). However, the continued growth of reported plagiarism cases in institutions worldwide signifies that the issue of plagiarism has not been solved (Roller, 2018). Existent approaches have focused on the act of plagiarism and neglected students’ needs for anti-plagiarism instructions (Pàmies et al., 2020). This means students’ poor understanding towards plagiarism may affect their critical analysis and understanding of the literature and hence hamper their writing. In contrast, students’ rich understanding of plagiarism enables a transformative understanding of academic writing and helps students to construct individual knowledge on and skills in plagiarismfree academic writing. Therefore, teaching plagiarism prevention is an essential component of teaching academic writing.

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5.2 Literature Review Plagiarism is a serious issue across academia worldwide (Roller, 2018). Researchers from various disciplines have investigated this phenomenon and recommended different approaches to cope with it (de Maio et al., 2020). One common plagiarism intervention is the punitive approach of using plagiarism detection software. This approach puts teachers in the position of enforcement agencies rather than educational practitioners (Sun & Hu, 2022). Moreover, bare reliance on automated software (e.g. Turnitin, 2022) as a plagiarism deterrent has been seriously criticised (Brown & Hammond, 2022). As shown in Kakti¸nš (2019), Turnitin stands as a threat rather than an assurance of compliance. Many students have already figured out Turnitin’s systematic flaws and would use alternative ways to beat the system. While the educational approach, which incorporates interactive teaching and training in plagiarism checking software, coupled with plagiarism policies and penalties, has been found to be more effective than the pure punitive approach (Sutherland-Smith, 2018). This research starts from home with observations in China. The study of Kam et al. (2018) has examined the issue of academic plagiarism worldwide and conducted an experimental research in Hong Kong. In their literature review, they have discovered that universities in Western countries are concerned that Chinese students may not be familiar with academic plagiarism. Their study found that Hong Kong secondary students are unsure of what constitutes plagiarism in general. There have been cases of school students who had their entrance exam scores invalidated in Mainland China (Cheng, 2020). In higher education, historically offenders have been expelled from the university (Sun & Hu, 2022), hence the effect of plagiarism goes from being preempted from tertiary education to disqualification after spending years in university studies. The main reason for the plagiarism was identified in the research of Williamson et al. (2007) that it is hard for secondary students to resist the lure of plagiarising and those student offenders may remain defensive, given that they did not understand the fault of plagiarism, even after their assignments being penalised by a loss of marks because of their plagiarism. Aftermath of plagiarism may manifest years after graduation from high school. Germany’s education minister had to resign for having plagiarised in her doctoral thesis written 31 years ago (Tudoroiu, 2017). Education institutions were suggested to provide more opportunities for students to learn the elements of plagiarism and cope with it effectively. There are also concerns that plagiarism cases may continue to rise if students do not receive timely and appropriate instructional support (Harris et al., 2020). The increasing incidence of plagiarism highlights the urgent need to teach students how to avoid committing plagiarism in academic writing (Yeung et al., 2016). Such instruction can usually be provided by writing instructors, other faculty members, or a collaboration of faculty members and librarians (Awasthi, 2019). The literature review provides key insights and research gaps as follows. First, students cannot easily gain practical knowledge about plagiarism if their faculty has a biased understanding of plagiarism that the punitive approach to plagiarism is correct.

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Second, this punitive approach towards plagiarism prevention is ineffective and nonsustainable. Third, previous instruction has not provided sufficient scaffolding for students to practise their anti-plagiarism skills in academic writing. The pedagogical model of plagiarism-free learning could be the solution to the long-lasting plagiarism issue in academia.

5.3 Methodology Table 5.1 schematises Zhang et al. (2022) and Chu et al. (2021)’s detailed methodological procedures. While both studies utilised a mixed-methods approach, those two research differ from each other in terms of their instructional, experimental procedures, participants, instruments, and data analysis.

5.4 Finding Both HTPP module and UPCC model are found to increase students’ awareness towards plagiarism as a serious academic misconduct and enhance students’ capabilities in tackling potential plagiarising issues. Furthermore, both articles commented on possible positive and negative factors that can impose an influence on the effectiveness of anti-plagiarising instructional tools like HTPP module and UPCC model.

5.4.1 Fostering Students’ Perceptions Towards Plagiarism To begin with, the instructional tools or models utilised to address plagiarism issues have been effective in fostering students’ perceptions that plagiarism is not a trivial matter. In terms of the HTPP module instructional intervention, the Mann–Whitney U test and independent samples t-test results displayed significant differences between experimental and control groups in terms of their pieces’ level of plagiarism and writing quality. To illustrate, the experimental group with HTPP module intervention revealed increasing awareness towards plagiarising issues and significant improvement in tackling them. For the UPCC model, descriptive statistics demonstrated that after instructional intervention, it is effective in assisting students to understand plagiarism in terms of conceptualising plagiarism and generalisable learning. Many students reported subjective gains and stated that UPCC helped them better understand plagiarism and apply the skills to avoid it.

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Table 5.1 Methodological table for comparative analysis Authors

Zhang et al. (2022)

Chu et al. (2021)

Instructional procedures Hybrid instructional procedure

UPCC model (Understanding, Paraphrasing, Citations, and Checks)

Experimental procedure The ability of the (Hybrid Training for Plagiarism Prevention) HTPP module to prevent students from committing plagiarism in their academic writing was examined by comparing the experimental group students’ perceptional and behavioural changes regarding plagiarism-free academic writing with those of the students in the control group. Moreover, the students’ and their instructor’s views on the HTPP module were assessed by analysing data from the feedback questionnaires and interviews

This study utilises a quantitative and qualitative mixed-methods to explain the phenomenon in a more convincing manner (Yin, 1994). Quantitative data was mainly collected by using the Plagiarism Assessment Scale, and a student survey on perceptions of UPCC for plagiarism. Qualitative data was mainly collected by using focus group interviews with students and teachers

Study participants

First-year undergraduates from two different classes

Junior secondary students from grades 7–9 aged between 11 and 13

Instruments

1. Perceptions of plagiarism questionnaire 2. Feedback questionnaire 3. Writing assignment in terms of its quality and level of plagiarism 4. Interviews

1. Plagiarism assessment scale 2. Student survey on perceptions of UPCC for plagiarism 3. Focus group interviews for students and teachers

Data Analysis

1. For data collected from perceptions of plagiarism questionnaire, descriptive statistics and Mann–Whitney U test were conducted and visualised 2. For the feedback questionnaire, descriptive statistics were conducted and visualised 3. For students’ post-interventional writing assignments, both independent samples t-test and Mann–Whitney U test were conducted 4. For interview data, content analysis was utilised to analyse the data

1. For the plagiarism assessment scale, descriptive statistics of pre-intervention and post-intervention (here intervention refers to UPCC model) were reported 2. For student surveys on perceptions of UPCC for plagiarism, descriptive statistics and t-test were calculated 3. For focus group interviews, thematic analysis were conducted to analyse potential factors affecting plagiarism

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5.4.2 Enhancing Students’ Anti-plagiarising Behaviours In addition, both research demonstrated how those instructional tools assist students in their enhanced competencies in avoiding plagiarism. The increased capability of anti-plagiarism from students’ perspective is demonstrated in four aspects. The first dimension is plagiarism identification. In light of the HTPP module, most of the students considered the module useful for improving their ability to identify plagiarism, avoid plagiarism, and become aware of the importance of avoiding plagiarism. The second dimension is students’ enhanced knowledge regarding paraphrasing, summarising, synthesising, and in making proper citations. For example, UPCC has been perceived by the student participants as an efficient means to create proper citations and help them conveniently complete the references accurately and in an appropriate format. The third dimension is students’ awareness in utilising digital tools to assist anti-plagiarism actions. This is evidenced as most of the students considered that the OSWS easy to use and were satisfied with the usefulness of the peer review process for facilitating communication between peers and decreasing plagiarism. The final dimension is self-checking, which usually occurred during the last stage of article submission when students checked for missing references and spaces for further paraphrasing. On the other hand, the introduction of the hybrid training module strengthened instructors’ confidence in delivering plagiarism-free academic writing instruction and understanding of students’ learning needs in relation to plagiarism prevention.

5.4.3 Factors Influencing Effectiveness of Instructional Tools Specific positive and negative factors influencing the effectiveness of antiplagiarising instructional tools have been revealed through the application of these tools into writing programmes. To specify, positive factors include (a) deterrents, which refers to guidelines including public examination standards and teachers’ marking criteria were recognised as deterrents to plagiarism; (b) motivators, which refers to a culture of feedback and support from teachers and fellow students; while negative factors include (a) gaps in understanding plagiarism, which indicates gaps among students and teachers in understanding the concept of plagiarism and the importance of avoiding plagiarism; (b) technical issues, which bugs in online tools for checking plagiarised content (e.g., Small SEO Tools) and for generating correct citations (e.g., Citation Machine); (c) other negative factors included limited session time, underdeveloped curriculum for student participants’ academic level, teachers’ failure in reminding students of anti-plagiarism, and low achievers’ need for extra support. Those above-mentioned negative factors are likely to impact the effectiveness of instructional tools.

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5.5 Discussion Both studies provide robust evidence of the benefits of the plagiarism instructional tools in facilitating students’ capability of writing from sources and avoiding plagiarism after the intervention than before.

5.5.1 Features on Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism In Zhang et al.’s (2022) research, although nearly all participants found it easy to identify the typical features of explicit plagiarism, many students from both groups struggled to distinguish implicit plagiarism in various contexts. Based on this phenomenon, both Zhang et al. (2022) and Chu et al. (2021) attributed characteristics of unevenness to students’ acquisition of knowledge about explicit and implicit plagiarism. However, despite revealing students’ mastery of explicit and implicit plagiarism, conceptualisations of these two typologies of plagiarism need further clarifications. To further differentiate between explicit and implicit plagiarism, Table 5.2 is presented for clarification. Moreover, different features of students’ perception towards plagiarism were revealed by Chu et al. (2021). The first notable feature lies in the cognitive learning outcomes, which were positively perceived by students rating all areas of the UPCC model as above average. Another indicator of students’ cognitive achievement was their understanding of the concept of UPCC. The second worthy-mentioning characteristic of students’ perceptions is the affective learning outcomes. To illustrate, even though anti-plagiarism instructions appeal to students’ moral conscience, there are varying levels of sophistication in students’ understanding of techniques to avoid committing plagiarism. The features of unevenness, cognitive learning, and affective learning, furthermore shed light on pedagogical implications. As students’ self-evaluations regarding plagiarism-free academic writing can be altered, we believe that students’ selfevaluation scores on their understanding of plagiarism will increase if they are given more opportunities to practise academic writing using the interventional module or the model.

5.5.2 Effectiveness of Anti-plagiarism Instructional Tools Both studies proved the effectiveness of anti-plagiarism instructional tools from the data analysis outcomes. In particular, Zhang et al. (2022) have pointed out that the experimental group students were more successful in reducing their writing’s level of plagiarism and improving its quality than the control group students after the

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Table 5.2 A comparative visualisation of characteristics between explicit plagiarism versus implicit plagiarism Explicit plagiarism

Implicit plagiarism

Cloning: submitting another’s work, word-for-word, as one’s own

Mosaic: an intentional and dishonest act as it incorporates someone else’s phrases or text within its own research

Ctrl C: contains significant portions of text from a single source without alterations Find—Replace: changing key words and phrase but retaining the essential content of the source Remix: paraphrases from multiple sources, made to fit together Recycle: borrows generously from the writer’s previous work without citation Hybrid: combines perfectly cited sources with copied passages without citation

Mashup: mixes copied material from multiple Accidental: plagiarists do not always recognise sources that they are plagiarising and sometimes face the same consequences as those who do recognise they are plagiarising 404 Error: includes citations to non-existent or inaccurate information about sources

Inaccurate authorship: when someone works on an article but does not receive credit or when someone does not work on it but receives credit for it

Aggregator: includes proper citation to sources but the paper contains almost no original work

Auto: the act of using a portion of work that you previously created in another project without citing yourself

Re-tweet: includes proper citation, but relies too closely on the text’s original wording and/or structure

Data falsification: the deliberate alteration or omission of data in order to achieve a specific outcome

Source Adapted from Explicit Examples of Plagiarism (n.d.) and Research Guides (n.d.)

introduction of HTPP module. Chu et al. (2021) reported a similar finding, referring to a pedagogical success in achieving behavioural outcomes—the percentage of students who were able to complete the group project without committing plagiarism increased from 30% in the baseline cohort to 40% in the first year of UPCC implementation and 47% in the second year. Due to the positive changes in participants’ anti-plagiarism efforts after the intervention of relevant module and model, it is sensible to indicate that although plagiarism remains as a hard-to-resolve issue, there is indeed a need for systematic and longitudinal instruction on academic writing to improve students’ comprehension of plagiarism prevention.

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5.5.3 Factors Affecting Plagiarism As indicated above, the specific positive factors include deterrents to plagiarism behaviour or motivators that prompted students to avoid plagiarism. The deterrents include guidelines, penalties, and teachers’ expectations, while the motivators include teaching by demonstration and examples, teachers’ support, group members’ support, and students’ own learning attitudes and morals. Based on those possible influencing factors, practical guidance for school administrators can be provided. To avoid potential plagiarising issues, school administrators should take into account the time and resources that the school is prepared to and have available to allocate to teacher’s knowledge, students’ capabilities, existing knowledge and skills, and, if applicable, the requirements of the local exam authority. This helps to create realistic expectations of learning outcomes and enables administrators and teachers to reach consensus on a teaching plan.

5.6 Conclusion The analysis of students’ work indicated that the pedagogy was generally effective in reducing plagiarism behaviour, and the pedagogy effectively enables students to avoid plagiarism in behavioural, cognitive, and affective areas. The UPCC pedagogical model implemented has developed academic integrity and anti-plagiarism skills in secondary schools. The analysis of students’ work indicated that the pedagogy effectively enables students to avoid plagiarism in behavioural, cognitive, and affective areas. It has also identified students’ learning needs. The study also has limitations like underdeveloped criteria and limited teachers’ knowledge in such a model. The HTPP pedagogical module was effective in improving the undergraduate students’ perceptions of plagiarism and their ability to generate plagiarismfree academic writing. Both students and instructors were satisfied with the use of the pedagogical module. These findings highlight the utility of the pedagogical module on how to avoid plagiarism and confirm the value of the module in helping undergraduates to generate plagiarism-free academic writing. These two studies should enhance instructors’ understanding of and confidence in adopting the pedagogical module in their course designs. Yet, both studies have several limitations that should be noted, including a limited number of participants and the short duration of the experiment. Thus, in future work, more students should be evaluated over a longer duration to determine their long-term developmental progress in learning about plagiarism prevention from the pedagogical modules. It would also be valuable to investigate the effects of the pedagogical module on the writing skills of participants of various ages. Moreover, the way of inquiry of plagiarism-free academic writing in different disciplines can greatly affect the results of a study. With a reduced level of plagiarism behaviour achieved and generally positive perceptions of the pedagogy’s effectiveness, and with challenges and advantages

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identified to enable smooth implementation of the pedagogy, this study may give some practical guidance for both secondary school and universities to implement the plagiarism-free training models in their teaching of avoiding plagiarism, it may also contribute to future research committed to students’ changes in behaviour, cognition, and emotion.

References Awasthi, S. (2019). Plagiarism and academic misconduct: A systematic review. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 39(2), 94–100. Brown, S., & Hammond, K. (2022). Plagiarism in higher education: Navigating a perfect storm. European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, 3(5), 100–103. Cheng, B. (2020). Sociocultural adaptation of “parachute kids” from mainland China. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 48(6), 826–843. Chu, S. K. W., Li, X., & Mok, S. (2021). UPCC: A model of plagiarism-free inquiry project-based learning. Library & Information Science Research, 43(1), 101073. De Maio, C., Dixon, K., & Yeo, S. (2020). Responding to student plagiarism in Western Australian universities: The disconnect between policy and academic staff. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 42(1), 102–116. Explicit examples of plagiarism. (n.d.). PRINTEGER. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https:// printeger.eu/upright/toc/plagiarism/explicit-examples-of-plagiarism/ Harris, L., Harrison, D., McNally, D., & Ford, C. (2020). Academic integrity in an online culture: Do McCabe’s findings hold true for online, adult learners? Journal of Academic Ethics, 18(4), 419–434. Hopp, C., & Speil, A. (2021). How prevalent is plagiarism among college students? Anonymity preserving evidence from Austrian undergraduates. Accountability in Research, 28(3), 133–148. Kakti¸nš, L. (2019). Does Turnitin support the development of international students’ academic integrity? Ethics and Education, 14, 430–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2019.1660946 Kam, C. C. S., Hue, M. T., & Cheung, H. Y. (2018). Plagiarism of Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong. Ethics & Behavior, 28, 316–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2017.1333909 Leitão, H. I. P., Simões, M. D. G. D. M., Almeida, P. D., & Martínez-Ávila, D. (2019). Ethical use of information: The contribution of the academic libraries in the prevention of plagiarism. In M. P. Satija, D. Martínez-Ávila, & N. K. Swain (Eds.), Plagiarism: An international reader (pp. 49–66). Ess Ess Publications. Malmström, H., Pecorari, D., & Shaw, P. (2018). Words for what? Contrasting university students’ receptive and productive academic vocabulary needs. English for Specific Purposes, 50, 28–39. Mphahlele, A., & McKenna, S. (2019). The use of Turnitin in the higher education sector: Decoding the myth. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(7), 1079–1089. Parks, R. F., Lowry, P. B., Wigand, R. T., Agarwal, N., & Williams, T. L. (2018). Why students engage in cyber-cheating through a collective movement: A case of deviance and collusion. Computers & Education, 125, 308–326. Pàmies, M. D. M., Valverde, M., & Cross, C. (2020). Organising research on university student plagiarism: A process approach. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(3), 401–418. Research guides: How to avoid plagiarism: Types of plagiarism. (n.d.). Lindsey Wilson College. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://libguides.lindsey.edu/plagiarism/types Roller, M. (2018, June 19). Oxford course tackles plagiarism. The Times. https://www.thetimes. co.uk/article/oxford-university-launches-anti-plagiarism-course-to-tackle-record-cheating-xtf m8z77l. Satija, M. P., & Martínez-Ávila, D. (2019). Plagiarism: An essay in terminology. Journal of Library & Information Technology, 39, 87–93. https://doi.org/10.14429/djlit.39.2.13937

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Sun, X., & Hu, G. (2022). Institutional policies on plagiarism management: A comparison of universities in mainland China and Hong Kong. Accountability in Research, 1–24. https://doi. org/10.1080/08989621.2022.2120390 Sutherland-Smith, W. (2018). Is student plagiarism still a serious problem in universities today? In Student plagiarism in higher education (pp. 47–61). Routledge. Tindall, I. K., & Curtis, G. J. (2020). Negative emotionality predicts attitudes toward plagiarism. Journal of Academic Ethics, 18(1), 89–102. Tremayne, K., & Curtis, G. J. (2021). Attitudes and understanding are only part of the story: Self-control, age and self-imposed pressure predict plagiarism over and above perceptions of seriousness and understanding. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46, 208–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1764907 Tudoroiu, T. (2017). No, Prime Minister: PhD plagiarism of high level public officials. European Review, 25(4), 623–641. Turnitin. (2022). Retrieved December 3, 2022 from: http://turnitin.com/ Uzun, A. M., & Kilis, S. (2020). Investigating antecedents of plagiarism using extended theory of planned behaviour. Computers & Education, 144, 103700. Williamson, K., McGregor, J., Archibald, A., & Sullivan, J. (2007). Information Seeking and Use by Secondary Students: The Link between Good Practice and the Avoidance of Plagiarism. School Library Media Research, 10. Yeung, A. H. W., Chu, C. B. L., Chu, S. K. W., & Fung, C. (2016). Exploring junior secondary students’ plagiarism behavior. Journal of Librarianship & Information Science, 50, 361–373. Zhang, N., & Tang Kie Yi, A. (2021, April). The reasons and countermeasures of Chinese college students’ unintentional plagiarism. 2021 7th International Conference on Education and Training Technologies, pp. 153–157. Zhang, Y., Chu, S. K. W., Qiu, X., Zainuddin, Z., & Li, X. (2022). Facilitating undergraduates’ plagiarism-free academic writing practices in a blended learning scenario. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2022.2102529

Chapter 6

Information Literacy Education in Japanese Higher Education Institutions The Case of Kyushu University Library Yukiko Watanabe and Emi Ishita

6.1 Status of Universities and Academic Libraries in Japan 6.1.1 University Reform and Its Impact on Academic Libraries in Japan In recent years, rapid changes in society as a result of the development of information technology and globalization have had a major impact on the environment surrounding universities. Furthermore, in Japan, the population of 18-year-olds, who are the main participants in higher education institutions, peaked in 1992 and continues to decline because of the declining birthrate and aging population. Conversely, the university enrollment rate is increasing, reaching a record high of 54.9% in the 2021 academic year (MEXT, 2021). As of 2021, there were 803 universities (schools and graduate schools) in Japan, consisting of 86 national, 98 public, and 619 private universities, with a total enrollment of about 2.92 million. The era in which university places outnumber university applicants is approaching, mainly in private universities, which account for more than 70% of both the number of universities and the number of enrollments. Japanese universities are responsible for the development of both human resources and academic research. These require various reforms, which also affect academic libraries. For example, as part of university education reform, requiring a transition to active learning in undergraduate education and ensuring time for study outside of class means that academic libraries, as a base for students’ independent study, are expected to enhance their functions. Y. Watanabe · E. Ishita (B) Kyushu University Library, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan e-mail: [email protected] Department of Library Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_6

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6.1.2 Changes in and Current Status of Academic Library Functions in Japan Even though they are not regulations, reports and proposals by the councils of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) have had a significant influence on the government’s academic library administration and the state of academic libraries in Japan. Takeuchi and Kunimoto (2020) summarized the changes in academic library functions related to the recommendations of these policy documents, for example, the automation of library operation and standardization of catalogs in the 1980s, the digitalization of primary source materials in the 1990s, changes in the concept of collections with the introduction of e-journals and the dissemination of scholarly information in the early 2000s, direct involvement in learning support and educational activities in the first half of the 2010s, and research data management and support for access and usage in the latter half of the 2010s. They also emphasized that the functions of academic libraries, which had been understood in the context of “improving research infrastructure” until the early 2000s, had undergone a major shift in the 2010s to support learning and research. Here, we present the current situation regarding academic libraries based on statistical data. Japan Library Association statistics for 2021 (JLA, 2021) revealed that there were a total of 1468 academic libraries (including central libraries and branches of four-year colleges). These included 288 national, 144 public, and 1036 private academic libraries. In terms of human resources, the total number of staff was 13,339, consisting of 4020 full-time staff and 9319 other types of staff including part-time and temporary staff. Thus, only 30% of all staff are full-time. Statistics published by the MEXT (2022) showed that total library operating expenditure and library materials expenditure in FY2020 were lower than those in FY2010, excluding expenditure on e-journals as a proportion of total materials expenditure. Conversely, comparing to FY2010 as 100, the index for the number of universities that had established institutional repositories almost quadrupled to 371 in FY2020. In addition, comparing to FY2011 as 100, the index for the number of active learning spaces that were installed increased dramatically with 977 in FY2020. This increase was the result of the abovementioned changes in academic library functions. Statistics regarding the number of colleges and universities providing information literacy education indicated that almost all universities provide information literacy education. However, it should be noted that in this survey, “information literacy” refers to “a basic understanding of computers and networks, the operation of computers and software, and information search skills.” In summary, the ongoing reductions in budgets and human resources, especially the number of full-time staff, means that academic libraries in Japan are under pressure to perform new functions such as providing educational and learning support and research support in addition to developing conventional research infrastructure. Thus, academic libraries are facing significant challenges.

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6.1.3 Information Literacy Education in Japanese University Libraries 6.1.3.1

From Library Use Education to Information Literacy Education

The concept of information literacy, first introduced in the United States in the 1980s, was eventually introduced into Japanese education, with the term “information utilization skills” being used in elementary and secondary education and the development of these skills becoming the main goal of information education. In the 1990s, the need for information literacy education began to be advocated in higher education. However, during this period, information literacy education was considered a part of information processing education, where the main focus was on computer operating skills, programming, and the use of application software. Japanese academic libraries have been providing library orientation and bibliographic instruction as part of library use education for a long time. For example, in academic libraries for specialized areas such as medicine and pharmacy, workshops on how to use databases have been provided since the 1980s. Several surveys have been conducted regarding library use education (Murakami et al., 1995, 1998; Oshiro et al., 1994), with the results indicating that numerous academic libraries had already recognized that library use education was one of their main services in the early 1990s. In 1996, the “Enhancement and Strengthening of Digital Library Functions in Academic Libraries (Proposal)” by the Science Council triggered the promotion of information literacy education by academic libraries. This proposal cited support for information literacy education as one of the ways to develop digital library functions and outlined the role of university libraries as follows: Academic libraries are expected to play a role in the creation of these digital learning materials, information literacy education, and support for student self-learning. In particular, it is necessary to improve the educational system so that user education for students, as a part of information literacy education, can be tackled throughout the university with the cooperation of an academic library.

In response to this proposal, the number of academic libraries expanding and diversifying their conventional library use education to information literacy education has increased significantly since the late 1990s.

6.1.3.2

Trends in Information Literacy Education Based on Review Studies

Since 2001, in addition to review studies focusing on foreign countries, review studies mainly focusing on Japanese cases have increased. This indicates that the importance of and necessity for instruction have been widely recognized both in practice and as a research topic, resulting in various achievements and outcomes. Here, we summarize

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the history of information literacy education in Japanese academic libraries with reference to various review studies. Akase (2001) conducted a review of studies published from 1993 to 2001 and found that interest among the Japanese library community in information literacy and user education increased during this period. She also pointed out that the most significant advances during that eight-year period were the publication of two sets of user support “guidelines” and the introduction of information literacy support workshops. One of the two sets of guidelines developed by the Committee on User Education of the Japan Library Association (JLA), “Library User Education Guidelines,” described the principles, content, methods of provision, and organizational procedures related to library use education. A comprehensive edition was published in 1995, based on which an academic, school, and special library edition was published in 1998, a public library edition was published in 1999, and a combined edition was published in 2001 (JLA-CUE, 1995, 1998a, 1998b, 1998c, 1999, 2001). The JLA’s guidelines divided the objectives and goals of library use education into five areas: (1) impressing, (2) service guide, (3) information retrieval instruction, (4) information management instruction, and (5) information presentation instruction. The definition of library use education in the academic library edition of the guidelines is “information education provided systematically and organizationally to all members of the university community for the purpose of developing independent information users.” This definition could be regarded as synonymous with information literacy education in academic libraries (Nozue, 2005). In 2003, the JLA published the “Library User Education Handbook: Academic Library Edition” as a practical guide for those in positions of responsibility to assist them in implementing the guidelines (JLA-CUE, 2003). The guidelines and handbook contributed to the standardization and dissemination of user education, or information literacy education, in the Japanese academic library community by presenting concrete content and implementation methods for user education. Jido (2010) conducted a review of studies from 2000 to the first half of 2009 and identified four key points related to the accumulated theoretical and practical research on information literacy education during this 10-year period. One was that significant progress had been made in terms of the practice of information literacy education. Jido also suggested that the next step was for academic libraries to become proactively involved in supporting research and education at universities. During this period, a nationwide training program was introduced. In 2004, the National Institute of Informatics (NII) formally launched the “Academic Information Literacy Training Course” for librarians in response to requests from academic libraries (this was terminated at the end of FY2015). The NII considered that six elements were necessary if academic libraries were to provide academic information literacy education: (1) instructional methods, (2) instructional content, (3) management, (4) marketing and public relations, (5) collaboration and sharing of responsibilities with faculty and the campus, and (6) staff skills (Kojin, 2009). This training program played a major role in the development of staff and the dissemination of information literacy education.

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Kawasaki (2018) conducted a review of studies from the latter half of 2009 to the first half of 2017 and found that academic libraries’ participation in information literacy education increased significantly during this period, suggesting that the reason for this increase was the significant shift of library functions from supporting research and education to supporting academic learning in the context of higher education policy. Two reports by the Central Council for Education prompted a significant shift in policy in relation to university education. “Toward the Development of Undergraduate Education” (Central Council for Education, 2008) stressed that students had adequate study time and promote proactive and active learning. In addition, “bachelor attributes” was presented as a guideline to learning outcomes in an effort to ensure that higher education was of adequate quality. The bachelor attributes consisted of 12 abilities divided into four categories, with information literacy being included in the “general skills” category. “Toward a Qualitative Transformation of University Education for Building a New Future” (Central Council for Education, 2012) pointed out that a qualitative transformation of undergraduate education to encourage independent learning was required to develop the necessary bachelor attributes, and promoted the introduction of active learning, the establishment of learning commons, and other measures. Further, Kawasaki (2018) cited the “Improvement of Science Information Infrastructure for the Enhancement of Learning Environments” (Council for Science and Technology, 2013) as a policy document that clarified the role of academic libraries in promoting such educational reforms. This document recommended that academic libraries should promote active learning, which the aforementioned reports and others had promoted as one of the necessary reforms of university education, by providing content, learning spaces, and human support. Another important policy document was the “Development of Academic Libraries” (Council for Science and Technology, 2010). This document listed direct involvement in learning support and educational activities as one of the functions and roles of academic libraries, stating that “academic libraries are expected to take the initiative in information literacy education, and should not only collaborate with faculty members in curriculum development and implementation, but should also consider the possibility that librarians can directly teach courses, for example, by serving as faculty members at the same time.” Academic libraries, which had traditionally played a role of “supporting” information literacy education, were now expected to become more directly involved in educational activities. In March 2015, the Special Committee on Education and Learning Support of the Japan Association of National University Libraries published the “Information Literacy Standards for Higher Education, 2015 Edition” (JANUL, 2015). This was developed with the aim of becoming a standard in relation to Japanese higher education, primarily with university bachelor’s and master’s programs in mind, while referring to domestic and international standards and guidelines, including the “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” established by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in 2000 (ACRL, 2000). The

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concept of information literacy had not been formalized in relation to Japanese universities, with textbooks on “information literacy” used in first-year education and other courses mainly focusing on “ICT literacy.” Therefore, this standard defined information literacy as “the information utilization skills as considered necessary in higher education learning,” that is, “the ability to recognize issues, search for and obtain the information necessary to solve them, analyze and evaluate the information obtained, organize and manage it, critically examine it, and reconstruct one’s own knowledge, and disseminate it.” Thus, information literacy was presented as a generalized ability independent of specific academic disciplines. The process of using the information to solve problems was divided into six steps, and the ideal state of a learner who had acquired information literacy in higher education was presented. It has been pointed out that the direction of the two standards differed significantly because the “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education” (ACRL, 2015), which was developed at the same time, was based on the concept of metacognition, whereas the JANUL standards were strongly biased toward measures applicable to academic libraries (Oda, 2016). Finally, Kawasaki (2018) summarized information literacy education in academic libraries since 2009 as follows. • Many practices were accumulated and incorporated into academic skills in firstyear education, such as academic writing, thereby positioning the effective use of the library as a basic general skill necessary for academic learning and research at the university level. • This has led to a trend in information literacy education in academic libraries, namely, collaboration with faculty, non-library organizations, undergraduate students, and graduate students. • Furthermore, with the introduction of active learning as a method of independent learning, it is now aimed at fostering a higher level of literacy, not only to obtain information, but also to transform it into knowledge and wisdom, and to create and disseminate new knowledge. An overview of the trends over the past 30 years shows that information literacy education, which developed from library use education, has become established as a major service provided by academic libraries with governmental policy support, and a great deal of practical and theoretical knowledge has been accumulated. Guidelines and standards have been developed and standardized by various library-related organizations, and nationwide training programs have been conducted for librarians in charge of information literacy education. As higher education undergoes a qualitative shift and universities are increasingly required to promote active learning, the methods and content of information literacy education in libraries are also expanding, and academic libraries are expected to take the initiative in working with faculty and students. If libraries are to play a role in university reform, it will be necessary to continue to strengthen the provision of information literacy education.

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6.2 Information Literacy Education: The Case of Kyushu University Library Information literacy education has been emphasized in higher education policy since the late 1990s, and library use education by academic libraries has been conducted with an awareness of the need to foster information literacy. As library use has come to be regarded as a basic and versatile skill required for learning and research at universities, there have been an increasing number of instances of librarians collaborating with faculty members and students to provide information literacy education. Kyushu University Library is particularly advanced in its activities in this area, having systematically and organizationally implemented information literacy education covering all five areas identified in the JLA guidelines for academic libraries (JLA-CUE, 1998a). In particular, learning support activities in collaboration with library teaching assistants (TAs), which extend the library’s information literacy education quantitatively and qualitatively, have received high acclaim. Therefore, in this chapter, we examine the case of Kyushu University Library in detail based on several previous studies (Hoshiko & Watanabe, 2020; Hyodo & Watanabe, 2017; Watanabe, 2022).

6.2.1 The Transition of Information Literacy Education Until 2013, information literacy education at Kyushu University Library was mainly conducted in the form of workshops held both within and outside of various courses. However, in recent years, following the educational reform of Kyushu University, the library has begun to focus on learning and educational support for the development of active learners. In this section, after reviewing the current status of Kyushu University and its library, we look at the transition of information literacy education at the library.

6.2.1.1

Current Status of Kyushu University and Kyushu University Library

Kyushu University is located in Fukuoka City on Kyushu Island, the southern part of Japan. Established in 1911, the university has been operating for more than a century. There are seven traditional national universities in Japan, including Kyushu University, which has achieved excellent outcomes in terms of research and education. In November 2021, Kyushu University was selected as one of only 10 “Designated National Universities” in Japan, and as such is expected to develop world-class education and research activities. Kyushu University has five campuses, 12 schools, and 19 graduate schools. As of 1 May 2022, 11,683 undergraduate students and 6877 graduate students including 2361 foreign students were enrolled. A total of 2143 faculty members and 2455

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administrative and technical staff are employed by the university (Kyushu University, 2021). Kyushu University currently has five libraries on four campuses. The Central Library houses the Research and Development Division, the Manuscript Library, and the Innovation Center for Educational Resource. As of 2022, this library contained 4.2 million books and 77,000 journal titles, with 439,000 accessible e-books and 135,000 accessible e-journals (including open access titles). Total expenditure on library materials in FY2021 was 1.235 billion yen. There are 10 faculty members and 120 staff (including 49 part-time staff) working in the library (KUL, 2022a). Under the slogan “Driving social change with integrative knowledge,” Kyushu University aims to become a research center of the highest standard while ensuring that the quality of education it provides is recognized internationally. The library supports the overall educational activities and academic research of the university by organically linking its abundant “content,” in the form of the “place” of the newly developed building with cyberspace, with the “human support” provided by the library staff. Table 6.1 shows the details of information literacy education workshops held by the library in FY2021 (KUL, 2022a). A total of 105 workshops were held involving 5405 participants. The “Library planning” program was a workshop in which the content, dates, and times were set in advance by the libraries, and invitations to participate were widely distributed. The library holds workshops on themes such as literature search, literature management, report writing, and presentations. On the other hand, the “On-demand” workshops are customized to the requirements of faculty members and others. It also provides an introduction to the use of the library as a compulsory course for first-year undergraduates, as well as instruction in the use of literature on specific subjects. Some of the workshops were also conducted in English, with 220 people participating in 10 sessions in FY2021. Two libraries that did not hold workshops provided online instruction. E-learning materials created based on the workshops are also provided separately. The library also reinforces its information literacy education through instruction provided at the reference desks and study consultation desks, as well as pathfinders on the Web and student exchange events. Table 6.1 Details of information literacy education workshops (FY2021) Campus

Library planning

On-demand

Total

#Workshops #Participants #Workshops #Participants #Workshops #Participants 7

74

12

3091

19

3165

Ito(SciTech) 6

60

15

402

21

462

8

32

6

199

14

231

Ito(Central) Hospital Ohashi

0

0

0

0

0

0

Chikushi

0

0

0

0

0

0

Online

51

1547

0

0

51

1547

Total

72

1713

33

3692

105

5405

6 Information Literacy Education in Japanese Higher Education Institutions

6.2.1.2

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Information Literacy Education Through Workshops

In 2001, the library began to provide university-wide information literacy education activities in cooperation with the Information Technology Center. Faculty members from the Research and Development Division took the lead in planning an “Information Retrieval Workshop” (Minami & Kida, 2002). However, because the number of participants in these regular seminars gradually declined, in 2006 the library started to hold seminars in conjunction with first-year courses. The librarians provided library orientation and bibliographic instruction for freshmen in one of the courses included in the university-wide subject “Core Seminar.” The decision on whether to include this “library guidance for freshmen” was left to the faculty members in charge of the various courses. The initial seminar attracted 401 participants, or less than 20% of freshmen. However, as a result of active publicity by the library and enhancement of the course content, the seminar gradually increased in popularity until 2011, when it was renamed the “University Library Utilization Seminar” and attracted 2631 participants, or more than 90% of freshmen. In response to this significant increase in the number of participants, the library decided to shift its focus to improving the quality of the course content. First, in an effort to determine whether the seminar was useful for students and whether what they learned was used in subsequent classes, a questionnaire survey was conducted in FY2010 to clarify the effectiveness of the seminar and areas that needed improvement (Hyodo, 2011). Since FY2012, the library has incorporated knowledge of instructional design into the design of courses to make them more effective, efficient, and attractive. In particular, in an effort to strengthen the motivational aspect, the library made use of student assistants and experimented with clickers (Hyodo et al., 2012). The library also held workshops on the use of specific databases, with lectures from the providers, as well as on-demand workshops designed to meet the needs of faculty members. From FY2013 onward, after developing targets based on the needs of students and faculty members, the library expanded the number of workshops for a wider range of purposes and target audiences, such as “How to search for literature (Humanities).” Meanwhile, in response to the increasing internationalization of the university, the library implemented library tours and orientation sessions for international students (Kudo, 2013).

6.2.1.3

Conversion to Active Learner Development

Kyushu University established the Faculty of Arts and Science in 2011. Within this faculty, a new educational curriculum, “KIKAN Education,” was developed and introduced in FY2014 with the goal of fostering active learners. This meant that the library had to rethink its information literacy education plan to support learning and education for active learners. The aforementioned “Core Seminar” was abolished, and from 2014 onward, with the exception of some faculties, it was no longer possible to provide freshmen with opportunities to learn how to use the library

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during their normal course hours, which had a significant impact on the operation of the library. This was a turning point for the library, which, under the on-campus program described below, had been moving toward supporting core education and fostering active learners by instructing students and faculty in how to use the library, bibliographic retrieval, and information expression through reports and presentations outside of normal class hours in collaboration with students and faculty.

6.2.2 Organization and Management of Information Literacy Education The library had a library-wide team that shared information and coordinated all activities related to information literacy education. A project team consisting of faculty members and librarians from both within and outside the library was organized as part of an on-campus program aimed at improving the quality of education. This section describes the organization and management of this program. Kyushu University implemented the Enhanced Education Program (EEP) in FY2009 in an effort to promote educational reform. The library was also selected to conduct an annual EEP project from FY2009 until FY2015. Librarians and faculty members collaborated to implement the project, and from FY2011 onward, the project was promoted through the joint efforts of the library, the Innovation Center for Educational Resource, and the Department of Library Science of the Graduate School of Integrated Frontier Sciences. Collaboration with students also commenced under the project. Furthermore, since FY2017, members from the Faculty of Arts and Science have joined the project, which has achieved significant results in terms of creating a learning support environment. The EEP has been a driving force in promoting information literacy education in collaboration with faculty and students.

6.2.3 Staff Development for Information Literacy Instructors If academic libraries are to provide effective information literacy education, it is essential to provide librarians with specialized knowledge and skills related to learning and education. In this section, we introduce the professional development methods used in Kyushu University Library.

6.2.3.1

Training Programs for Learning and Educational Support

The library has long regarded human resource development as an important issue and has developed training programs for librarians on a variety of themes. Since FY2011,

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the library has planned and conducted training sessions on learning and educational support directly related to information literacy education using the EEP framework. Each fiscal year, between two and four training sessions have been held, with outside lecturers and librarians presenting on topics such as instructional design, learning science, active learning, and trends in higher education. These training programs can be divided into two periods based on their content. The first period was from FY2011 to FY2012, when the library was mainly focusing on how to improve the library workshops in terms of information literacy education and trying to implement the instructional design method. During the second period, from FY2013 onward, the library sought ways in which it could contribute more broadly to higher education without limiting learning support activities to library workshops, and planned and conducted training sessions in an effort to foster basic concepts and skills. In addition to the acquisition of knowledge and skills in relation to instructional design, the training focused on understanding trends in higher education, the importance of collaboration with other departments throughout the university, and the mechanisms of active learning. Group work was incorporated into most of the training sessions to help participants understand the effectiveness of active learning methods. Recognizing that the topics covered in the training were not limited to issues specific to Kyushu University Library but were common to academic libraries nationwide, some of the training sessions were open to participants from outside the university, and many academic librarians participated. The results of the questionnaire survey showed that the participants were highly satisfied with the training, and that the training was useful for improving their expertise (Watanabe & Hyodo, 2015).

6.2.3.2

Direct Involvement in Educational Activities

The organizational structure of Japanese universities maintains a clear distinction between faculty and administrative staff, and librarians are generally treated as the latter. However, the Council for Science and Technology proposed a change in its “Development of University Libraries” proposal (Council for Science and Technology, 2010). In 2011, in an effort to implement their proposal, Kyushu University appointed one of its librarians as a faculty member in the newly established Department of Library Science. Other librarians were also invited to serve as lecturers and commentators, and through this department, librarians were able to be directly involved in the educational activities of the graduate school. Several librarians became part-time lecturers in the certified librarian course that was revived in 2012, enabling them to teach classes during their regular working hours as part of their ongoing library duties. Thus, unlike at other universities, librarians at Kyushu University Library are directly involved in the educational activities of undergraduate and graduate courses, transcending the boundaries between them and the faculty. As a result, it is possible

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to improve students’ information literacy through practice-based classes on information management and information services, as well as developing the librarians’ educational skills.

6.2.4 Information Literacy Education in Collaboration with Students One of the measures aimed at enhancing information literacy education in libraries is a collaboration with students. Here, we describe the collaborative activities with students at Kyushu University Library.

6.2.4.1

From Library Learning Supporter to Library Teaching Assistant

The library supports learning through collaboration with graduate student library TAs, who provide students with educational support services such as out-of-class learning. As of April 2022, 18 graduate students from various graduate schools were working as library TAs in the Central Library, Science and Technology Library, and Medical Library. In March 2012, in an effort to promote active learning, the library began a learning support project using graduate students. The main purpose of this collaboration with students was to incorporate students’ perspectives into the library services that provided the foundation for autonomous learning, to improve the motivation of undergraduate students to learn through peer support, and to create an atmosphere of autonomous learning in the library by having the graduate students serve as role models of active learners who utilized the library. In the EEP project, the library named the graduate students Cute. Supporters (Cuters), and assigned them tasks such as providing consultation at support desks in the library, providing assistance at library workshops, creating learning guides on the online platform (LibGuides), and planning exchange events for students. In these activities, Cuters served as a bridge between the library and the students and used their various experiences as training opportunities for their own future academic studies and employment. Since then, as a result of these activities, Cuters have been officially recognized as TAs in the university’s educational system. The library changed the Cuters’ official title from “Library Learning Supporter” to “Library Teaching Assistant (Cuter)” to promote their positioning as TAs, and with the cooperation of the Research and Development Division, has developed a student-collaborative management organization. In October 2019, Kyushu University revised the TA system, dividing TAs into three levels, BTA (Basic Teaching Assistant), ATA (Advanced Teaching Assistant),

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and TF (Teaching Fellow) based on their teaching abilities. Cuters, as ATAs, are assigned to provide educational support to all students outside of regular classes. This learning support activity involving organized collaboration between librarians and students was praised as “a particularly outstanding achievement, realizing a system, scope, and content of activities that exceed those of similar examples,” and received the 2021 National Association of University Libraries Award (JANUL, 2021).

6.2.4.2

Workshops for Freshmen

The library provides three types of workshops outside of class hours, mainly for freshmen (approximately 2700 students), for which Cuters prepare teaching materials and serve as instructors. These workshops are held in conjunction with the KIKAN Education curriculum in an effort to relieve the anxiety of freshmen, some of whom will be writing reports and giving presentations for the first time at university. The “Workshop on How to Write a Report for Beginners,” which began in the first semester of 2014, is a workshop on how to write mainly demonstrative reports, in which Cuters explain the structure of a report, how to develop an argument, and the process of writing clearly and persuasively. The “Workshop on Presentation for Beginners,” which also commenced in the first semester of FY2014, is a workshop in which librarians explain the basics of presentations and Cuters give a model presentation to support oral presentations in the “KIKAN Education Seminar,” a compulsory first-year course. The “Workshop on Experimental Report Writing for Beginners,” which began in the second semester of FY2017, is a workshop in which Cuters explain the structure of an experimental report and the process of scientific investigation using actual experiences in an effort to support students in all science departments taking the compulsory first-year course “Basic Laboratory Experiments in Natural Science.” In designing the “Workshop on Report Writing for Beginners,” the librarians and Cuters shared their understanding of the core elements of the course design, such as learning objectives and teaching materials, in a joint meeting. Based on this understanding, the Cuters added their own ideas to the basic teaching materials and served as instructors in the workshop. The librarians provided a design framework and advised the Cuters as appropriate, based on their knowledge of instructional design and learning science from the training programs. The “Workshop on Presentation” and “Workshop on Experimental Report Writing” were then developed by following the same design process. Figure 6.1 shows the numbers of participants in the workshops. All three workshops were conducted face-to-face, with annual improvements, and in FY2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, 539 students (about 20% of all freshmen) participated in eight report-writing workshops, 157 students participated in 11 experimental report-writing workshops, and 97 students participated in five presentation workshops. Thus, it can be seen that the workshops were popular.

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Fig. 6.1 Numbers of participants in workshops for freshmen

However, since FY2020, libraries have had to change the way in which they conduct workshops because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

6.2.5 Evolution of Workshops and Events During the COVID-19 Pandemic In FY2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the library provided e-learning materials and video distribution. The library also supported distance learning by creating library introduction materials and distributing videos through “on-demand” workshops in response to faculty requests. In FY2021, the library mainly held synchronous online workshops. Here, we report on workshops for freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

6.2.5.1

Creating and Providing e-Learning Materials

Regarding the workshops for freshmen, face-to-face sessions were canceled in FY2020 in response to the pandemic, and the library provided three sets of course materials they had created on Kyushu University’s learning support system. These course materials included the content of the face-to-face sessions reconstructed for the e-learning platform. The report-writing workshop had already been available through the library’s e-learning course on Moodle since 2016, the experimental report-writing workshop since 2017, and the presentation workshop since 2018. The initial report-writing workshop materials were presented in the form of a slide show with narration. Therefore, in April 2020, with the cooperation of the

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Innovation Center for Education Resource, videos of the Cuters’ lectures that had been recorded in a special studio were used to develop new teaching materials and released as the “New Report Writing Workshop” in May 2020. As a result, the library was able to standardize the format of the teaching materials for all three workshops to five or six short video lectures and accompanying slide materials combined with supplementary materials and questionnaires. In addition, a link to a question form was provided at the end of each workshop to enable students to consult the Cuters about their studies. The publicity for each workshop was arranged to coincide with times when freshmen were required to write reports and give presentations to their classes. The number of students who started e-learning programs in FY2020, excluding duplicate accesses from the same account, was 863 for the report-writing workshop, 260 for the experimental report-writing workshop, and 172 for the presentation workshop (see Fig. 6.1), all of which greatly exceeded the number of face-to-face participants in FY2019.

6.2.5.2

Conducting Synchronous Online Workshops

In the first semester of FY2021, three synchronous online workshops were conducted. At that time, the library amended the workshop names by including the words “for freshmen and sophomores” to make it clear that sophomores, who were only provided with e-learning materials the previous year, were also eligible to attend the workshops. All three workshops were delivered using online conferencing software (Zoom), with the instructors, librarians in charge of support, and Cuters gathered in either a Central Library or Science Library room. In addition, to ensure interactivity in the online workshops, which tend to be one-way, online audience-interaction software (Slido) was used to allow participants to ask questions freely and anonymously either during or after the workshops. As can be seen from Fig. 6.1, the number of participants decreased slightly in all three workshops in FY2021. However, the report-writing workshops and the experimental report-writing workshops, whose frequency was reduced by going online, both had the highest ever number of participants per workshop. All three workshops administered the same questionnaire as that used for the face-to-face workshops before and after the sessions. The participants’ responses to around 10 questions on whether they were satisfied with the content of the workshop and whether the content was useful awarded an average rating of four or higher on a five-point scale, which was equivalent to or higher than that for the face-to-face workshops in 2019. For face-to-face workshops, it is necessary to reserve a venue, set a limit on the number of participants, and have at least three Cuters present to assist the instructor. Conversely, online workshops can be conducted efficiently by a smaller number of Cuters and librarians, while the number of participants per workshop is increased. Because there was no significant difference between the two methods in terms of

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the level of participant satisfaction, the library should consider continuing the online workshops and e-learning, even if face-to-face workshops are able to be reintroduced.

6.2.5.3

Online Events Planned by Library TAs

Since FY2014, the library has been holding “Cuter Cafés,” a series of science café-style events planned and conducted by Cuters based on their own interests (KUL, 2022g). Some of these events include advanced content that complements the regular basic workshops, and they also serve to expand information literacy education because they often include topics and tools not covered by librarians. Table 6.2 shows details regarding the FY2020 and FY2021 events. In FY2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuter Café was held using Zoom for the first time. In FY2021, the online format was mainly used, with face-to-face sessions for small numbers of participants only being held when practical training using a computer was involved. Topics that were covered included debating, English presentations and essays, speaking, statistical analysis software R, job hunting for graduate students, and how to approach university life. Basically, Cuters supervised lecturers and assistant lecturers, with librarians providing administrative support. Table 6.2 Cuter Café events (FY2020 and FY2021) No.

Date

Place

Theme

#Participants

13

12/21/2020

Online (Zoom)

Communication through debate

8

14

01/13/2021

Online (Zoom)

Presentation & essay in English

47

15

03/10/2021

Online (Zoom)

Job hunting for graduate students

38

FY2020: 93 persons/3 times (31 persons/time) All were conducted online

Total: 93

16

92

06/12, 19/2021

Online (Zoom)

Student life at Kyushu University

17

07/21/2021

SciTech Library R for beginners

19

18

07/26/2021

Online (Zoom)

37

19

09/24/2021

SciTech Library R for beginners

How to speak clearly

17

20

11/10/2021

SciTech Library LaTeX for beginners

13

21

11/19/2021

Online (Zoom)

R for beginners

79

22

11/26/2021

Online (Zoom)

How to make attractive graphs

58 22

23

12/13/2021

Online (Zoom)

How to speak clearly: SEASON2

24

02/22/2022

Central Library

Reading circle: Orientalism by Said 10

25

02/28/2022

Central Library

Climate Fresk @ Kyushu Univ.

26

03/22 ~ 31/2022 Online (E-Mail) JSPS application consultation

FY2021: 362 persons/11 times (33 persons/time)

4 11 Total: 362

In person: 63 persons/5 times (13 persons/time) + Online: 299 persons/6 times (50 persons/time)

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The total number of participants was 93 in FY2020 and 362 in FY2021, as shown in Table 6.2, with the number of participants per workshop increasing from FY2020 to FY2021. Thus, it can be seen that the adoption of the online format has led to an increase in the number of participants and improved efficiency. In the first half of FY2021, face-to-face “R for Beginners” workshops were advertised with a maximum of 15 participants. There was strong demand, and the first two face-to-face workshops were filled immediately after the announcement. Therefore, an online workshop was held in the second half of the year. Because the number of participants in face-to-face events continues to be limited, it will be necessary to expand opportunities for participation by continuing these online events.

6.2.6 Learning Support Using Web-Based Study Guides Pathfinder, which grasps the needs of users and provides information, is a method of providing active information literacy education. Since March 2013, the library has been providing “Cute.Guides,” a web-based study guide utilizing LibGuides, a pathfinder management and provision service (KUL, 2022c). From July 2019, the library began registering Cute.Guides documents in the Collaborative Reference Database (NDL, 2022), which the National Diet Library is developing in cooperation with libraries and other institutions nationwide, and received a letter of appreciation from the Director of the National Diet Library in each of the following three years. Cute.Guides have received significant acclaim, including the Library Promotion Foundation Award at the 5th Library Reference Awards in 2019 for providing an excellent example of promoting the use of reference services (Library Fair & Forum, 2019). Cute.Guides are unique in that Cuters play a central role in their creation. About three-quarters (74.4%) of the 211 guides available as of 31 March 2021 were created by Cuters. Guides published in FY2020 covered a wide variety of topics such as particle physics, learning Arabic, building merchant ships, nematode C. elegans, and the story of my thesis. Each guide has links to library resources. In an effort to ensure the reliability of the content, each study guide clearly states the source of the information on which it is based. The sources include not only library resources, but also online information that the Cuters and librarians have determined to be reliable. To ensure the quality of the study guides, they are “peer-reviewed” by librarians and other Cuters before being published, and some study guides in the medical field are also checked by faculty members. A brief summary of some of the guides that were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic is presented below. “Available at home! Library TA (Cuter)-recommended ebooks” (KUL, 2022b) is a guide to e-books recommended by Cuters and librarians to support the use of ebooks for studying at home. The “We asked Library TAs (Cuters) how to read books” (KUL, 2022h) guide was created in response to a question about reading methods submitted by a freshman through the online study consultation service.

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“Let’s Use the Library!” (KUL, 2022f) is a guide created by a librarian that introduces a collection of short movies, library introduction videos, and online workshops to enable students to access library services from home. Eleven of these short movies were recorded by taking advantage of the remote working environment, edited into short videos of about five minutes each, and released on Kyushu University’s official YouTube site. Between the date of their release in November 2020 and the end of September 2021, they had been viewed 3483 times. The three most viewed items were “1. Overview of Kyushu University Library” (1099 views), “7. Find Japanese Articles: CiNii Articles” (624 views), and “2. Find Materials in Kyushu University: Kyushu University Collection (for Books)” (362 views). These results indicate a high level of interest in the library and the need for literature search methods, indicating that they were useful for information literacy education. Guides that had been available before the pandemic, such as “How to access ejournals and databases from off-campus: Remote Access Service” (KUL, 2022d) and “How to find e-books” (KUL, 2022e) could be linked to the special COVID-19 page on the library website or indicated as a reference when answering questions, which was very useful in providing instruction on information-seeking methods. Figure 6.2 shows the number of Cute.Guides and the number of accesses (page views). It can be seen that the number of guides increased by 2.6 times from 81 in FY2014, when they were first released, to 211 in FY2021, and the number of accesses increased by 10 times from 146,040 to 1,454,019 over the same period.

Fig. 6.2 Numbers of Cute.Guides and page views (FY2014–FY2021)

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6.2.7 Summary The results of our study confirm that collaboration with students and faculty members is an effective way for academic libraries to proactively develop information literacy education. If this method is to work effectively, it is important for libraries to establish an organizational management system that includes collaboration with students and faculty, and is positioned within the university’s educational system. To enable the establishment of such a system, librarians should be positioned at the hub. Developing the expertise of librarians who act as a hub in supporting learning and education requires specialized training and direct participation in educational activities. In the ever-changing world of higher education, it is increasingly important for librarians to serve as a hub in promoting information literacy education. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic from the beginning of 2020 has also had a significant impact on information literacy education in academic libraries. Under special circumstances such as library closures and restrictions on use, remote learning, and working from home by staff, Kyushu University Library, in collaboration with library TAs, expanded its services by evolving its existing question-andanswer services, online study guides, workshops for freshmen, and events planned by library TAs for remote library services. Even if the abnormal situation that arose as a result of the pandemic is overcome in the future, academic libraries will still be required to develop hybrid information literacy education by integrating new remote services with traditional on-site services.

6.3 Challenges to and Future Development of Information Literacy Education in Japan Section 6.2 introduced a case study of information literacy education through collaboration with faculty and students at Kyushu University Library. Although there are few similar cases in national university libraries, there are some that are similar to that at Kyushu University Library. For example, at Nagoya University Library, a team of librarians from the Central Library and each faculty library is engaged in the systematic and organized practice of information literacy education in collaboration with faculty members (Hori, 2021). At Osaka University Library, “Learning Supporters” consisting of graduate students (although they are not TAs) who provide learning support by offering study consultation, planning and conducting workshops, and creating PDF pathfinders (Yoshinaga & Pan, 2019). There are several academic libraries, not only at national but also at private universities, that have developed information literacy education for many years. For example, the library at International Christian University, which is famous for its liberal arts education, has provided user education since the 1970s. In recent years, it has prepared several programs for different target groups and provides multifaceted

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user education support through lectures and workshops conducted both face-to-face and online using resource guides and pathfinders (Kihira, 2015). The library at Keio University, one of Japan’s leading private universities, has also provided a variety of information literacy education. The library not only has librarians in charge of workshops and courses, but also continues to maintain and expand KITIE, a web tutorial for acquiring “information literacy” that was developed in 2004 (Ichiko & Ueoka, 2007). Furthermore, as of October 2022, 448 pathfinders had been published using LibGuides (LibGuides Community, 2022). These leading research universities in the Tokyo metropolitan area can play a lead role because they are relatively well-endowed with the necessary resources, especially librarians, to provide information literacy education through a combination of direct and indirect methods. Conversely, considering the challenging situation that Japanese universities are facing, as described in Sect. 6.1, including the storm of university reforms and reductions in budgets and personnel, it would be difficult for all university libraries to provide information literacy education equivalent to that provided by the abovementioned universities. For example, based on the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in November 2020 among 44 mostly small and medium-sized private university libraries in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, all 35 libraries that responded to the survey provided library instruction. In addition to library use guidance, 15 libraries (42.9%) held seminars and workshops, including workshops on how to write reports and papers, workshops for various certification examinations, and philosophy cafés. However, 25 libraries (more than 70%) provided instruction by “library staff only,” and only a small number of libraries had students, faculty members, or vendors in charge of instruction. Furthermore, while more than 85% of the libraries had their instructors conduct follow-up reviews and improvements, none of the libraries had their students reflect on the instruction they received following the session. These results suggest that (1) clarification of the intention of instruction, (2) publication of the level of understanding, and (3) reflection after the instruction are insufficient (Tamaoka, 2022). Therefore, it is possible that information literacy education, in which librarians are solely in charge, is occurring at small and medium-sized universities despite unclear effects on students’ learning. This may be because of the increase in the number of part-time staff as the outsourcing of academic libraries continues, and the lack of library staff with stable positions who can take charge of information literacy education on a continuing basis. In North America, the ACRL presented a framework for information literacy for higher education (ACRL, 2015) wherein the position of “teaching librarian,” which involves proficiencies in instructional design and teaching skills, became established in academic libraries (ACRL, 2017). However, academic librarians in Japan have few opportunities to gain such skills, and their educational programs are not organized systematically, even though the government has promoted educational reform and expects librarians to enhance information literacy education in universities.

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Furthermore, as Hori pointed out, since the National Institute of Informatics’ Academic Information Literacy Training Course ended in 2015, there have been very few opportunities for library staff to systematically learn the basics of information literacy education or to obtain the latest insights (Hori, 2021). In FY2015, Chiba University’s Academic Link Center introduced the “Academic Link Professional Staff Development Program for Educational and Learning Support” to train personnel with expertise in educational and learning support (Chiba University, 2022), but it appears that few librarians have participated in this program. To improve information literacy education in Japanese academic libraries and throughout Japan, it is desirable that nationwide training programs be reestablished at the field level to train librarians in charge of information literacy education. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the services provided by academic libraries. However, in response to these difficulties, many academic libraries have begun to provide online materials and workshops. Based on these experiences, it is clear that it is possible to build a system that provides information literacy education throughout Japanese academic libraries by utilizing online workshops and resources instead of various university libraries providing individual information literacy education. In the future, it will be necessary to promote collaboration among all academic libraries. Regarding the content of information literacy education, some people have pointed out that the current first-year education and information literacy education in libraries seems to be limited to the acquisition of skills necessary for adaptation to life and study at the university (Kawasaki, 2018). For example, there is room for the development of services by Japanese academic libraries related to copyright literacy, which is a growing international area of interest (Watanabe, 2020). In particular, considering that a hot topic in Japanese academic libraries in 2022 was research data management services, it will be necessary to develop information literacy education to provide research support in the future. If Japanese academic libraries are to provide support to researchers beyond the traditional support in the form of education of students, it is important to reposition information literacy education within the broader scholarly communication cycle.

References Akase, M. (2001). Information literacy and user instruction. The Library World, 53(3), 314–321. https://doi.org/10.20628/toshokankai.53.3_314 (in Japanese). Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. http://hdl.handle.net/11213/7668 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2015). Framework for information literacy for higher education. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2017). Roles and strengths of teaching librarians. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/teachinglibrarians

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Central Council for Education. (2008). Toward the development of undergraduate education (report). https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo0/toushin/1217067.htm (in Japanese). Central Council for Education. (2012). Toward a qualitative transformation of university education for building a new future: Towards universities that develop the ability to continue lifelong learning and to think independently (report). https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chu kyo0/toushin/1325047.htm (in Japanese). Chiba University, Academic Link Center. (2022). Academic Link professional staff development program for educational and learning support: ALPS Program. https://alc.chiba-u.jp/ALPS/ index.html (in Japanese). Council for Science and Technology, Scientific Information Committee. (2013). Improvement of science information infrastructure for the enhancement of learning environments. https://www. mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/gijyutu/gijyutu4/031/houkoku/1338888.htm (in Japanese). Council for Science and Technology, Scientific Information Infrastructure Working Group. (2010). Development of university libraries (summary of discussion): The vision of university libraries in changing universities. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/gijyutu/gijyutu4/toushin/130 1602.htm (in Japanese). Hori, T. (2021). Information literacy instruction in collaboration with faculty: Activities at Nagoya University Library. Current Awareness, 350, 6–9. https://doi.org/10.11501/11942242 (in Japanese). Hoshiko, N., & Watanabe, Y. (2020). Creating pathfinders in collaboration with library teaching assistants: From the case of “Cute.Guides”, a web-based study guide at Kyushu University Library. Kyushu University Library, Research and Development Division Annual Report, 2019/2020, 27– 36. https://doi.org/10.15017/4061015 (in Japanese). Hyodo, K. (2011). Library seminar worked with classes of the first year experience program inquiry survey for improvement in quality. Kyushu Journal of Higher Education, 16, 167–185 (in Japanese). Hyodo, K., Amano, E., & Nakazono, H. (2012). Redesigning the library seminar in Kyushu University: Applying some principles of instructional design to library guidance. Kyushu University Library, Research and Development Division Annual Report, 2011/2012, 24–31. https://doi.org/ 10.15017/24952 (in Japanese). Hyodo, K., & Watanabe, Y. (2017). Promoting information literacy education with academic librarian acting as a hub: Based on practice at Kyushu University. Journal of College and University Libraries, 105, 50–60. https://doi.org/10.20722/jcul.1469 (in Japanese). Ichiko, M., & Ueoka, M. (2007). The development of KITIE (Keio Interactive Tutorial on Information Education). Igaku Toshokan, 54(1), 37–41. https://doi.org/10.7142/igakutoshokan.54.37 (in Japanese). Japan Association of National University Libraries (JANUL), Special Committee on Education and Learning Support. (2015). Information literacy standards for higher education (2015 ed.). JANUL. https://www.janul.jp/sites/default/files/sftl_201503b.pdf (in Japanese). Japan Association of National University Libraries (JANUL). (2021). Report on the review results of the 2021 National Association of University Libraries Award. https://www.janul.jp/sites/def ault/files/2021-05/shinsa_2021_2.pdf (in Japanese). Japan Library Association. (2021). Library statistics in Japan: Academic libraries, 2021. https:// www.jla.or.jp/Portals/0/data/iinkai/chosa/2022uni_shukei.pdf (in Japanese). Japan Library Association, Committee on User Education (JLA-CUE) (Ed.). (1995). Library user education guidelines: Comprehensive edition. https://www.jla.or.jp/portals/0/html/cue/gl-c.html (in Japanese). Japan Library Association, Committee on User Education (JLA-CUE) (Ed.). (1998a). Library user education guidelines: Academic library edition. https://www.jla.or.jp/portals/0/html/cue/ gl-u.html (in Japanese).

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Japan Library Association, Committee on User Education (JLA-CUE) (Ed.). (1998b). Library user education guidelines: School library edition. https://www.jla.or.jp/portals/0/html/cue/gl-s.html (in Japanese). Japan Library Association, Committee on User Education (JLA-CUE) (Ed.). (1998c). Library user education guidelines: Special library edition. https://www.jla.or.jp/portals/0/html/cue/gl-sp.html (in Japanese). Japan Library Association, Committee on User Education (JLA-CUE) (Ed.). (1999). Library usage support guidelines: Public library edition. https://www.jla.or.jp/portals/0/html/cue/gl-p.html (in Japanese). Japan Library Association, Committee on User Education (JLA-CUE) (Ed.). (2001). Library user education guidelines: For information literacy support services in libraries, Combined edition. JLA, Tokyo (in Japanese). Japan Library Association, Committee on User Education (JLA-CUE) (Ed.). (2003). Library user education handbook: Academic library edition. JLA, Tokyo (in Japanese). Jido, S. (2010). Information literacy and user instruction in academic and public library. The Library World, 61(5), 495–510. https://doi.org/10.20628/toshokankai.61.5_495 (in Japanese). Kawasaki, C. (2018). Progress of information literacy education in ICT society. The Library World, 70(1), 182–196. https://doi.org/10.20628/toshokankai.70.1_182 (in Japanese). Kihira, H. (2015). The introduction of ICU library’s services focused on user education. Journal of Information Processing and Management, 58(9), 657–665. https://doi.org/10.1241/johokanri. 58.657 (in Japanese). Kojin, S. (2009). NII academic information literacy training course for librarian. The Journal of Information Science and Technology Association, 59(7), 348–352, https://doi.org/10.18919/jkg. 59.7_348 (in Japanese). Kudo, E. (2013). Support for international students at Kyushu University Library. Igaku Toshokan, 60(4), 418–423 (in Japanese). Kyushu University. (2021). Kyushu University fact book, 2021. https://www3.ir.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ data-info/public/datacollections/factbook_2021/#en2021 Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022a). Kyushu University Library Annual Report, 2021/2022. http://hdl.handle.net/2324/4796098 (in Japanese). Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022b). Available at home! Library TA (Cuter)-recommended ebooks. https://www.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ja/events/cuter_select_ebooks (in Japanese). Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022c). Cute.Guides. https://guides.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/cutegu ides/home Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022d). How to access e-journals and databases from offcampus: Remote access service. https://guides.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/remote-access (in Japanese). Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022e). How to find eBooks. https://guides.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ ebook (in Japanese). Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022f). Let’s use the library! https://guides.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ library_use/top (in Japanese). Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022g). Record of events held by Library TA (Cuter): Cuter Café. https://guides.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/cuterevent (in Japanese). Kyushu University Library (KUL). (2022h). We asked Library TA (Cuter) how to read books. https:// guides.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/cuters_reading_technique (in Japanese). LibGuides Community. (2022). https://community.libguides.com/?action=0&name=keio Library Fair & Forum. (2019). 5th Library Reference Awards: Final review and award announcement. https://2019.libraryfair.jp/forum/2019/8418 (in Japanese). Minami, T., & Kida, T. (2002). Information literacy education and information retrieval workshops in library. Bulletin of Information Technology Center, Kyushu University, 2(1), 25–29. https://doi. org/10.15017/1470495 (in Japanese). Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). (2021). School basic survey: Summary of FY2021 results. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/chousa01/kihon/ kekka/k_detail/1419591_00005.htm (in Japanese).

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Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). (2022). Survey on Science Information Infrastructure Statistics of Colleges and Universities: Summary of FY2021 results. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/chousa01/jouhoukiban/kekka/k_detail/ 1418394_00004.html (in Japanese). Murakami, Y., Oshiro, Z., & Ikushima, K. (1995). A survey of user education in main libraries of mid-sized universities in Japan. Annals of Japan Society of Library Science, 41(3–4), 145–156, https://doi.org/10.20651/ajsls.41.3-4_145 (in Japanese). Murakami, Y., Oshiro, Z., & Ikushima, K. (1998). A survey of user education in small-sized college libraries in Japan. Annals of Japan Society of Library Science, 44(1), 17–31, https://doi.org/10. 20651/ajsls.44.1_17 (in Japanese). National Diet Library. (2022). Collaborative Reference Database. https://crd.ndl.go.jp/reference/ Nozue, T. (2005). Academic libraries and information literacy education. In H. Itsumura, & H. Takeuchi (Eds.), The Changing University Libraries (pp. 43–57). Keiso Shobo, Tokyo (in Japanese). Oda, M. (2016). Nature and significance of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) “Framework” of Information Literacy for Higher Education: Toward a heated discussion. Current Awareness, 327, 24–27. http://doi.org/10.11501/9917292 (in Japanese). Oshiro, Z., Ikushima, K., & Murakami, Y. (1994). A survey of user education in the large academic libraries in Japan. Annals of Japan Society of Library Science, 40(4), 133–144, https://doi.org/ 10.20651/ajsls.40.4_133 (in Japanese). Science Council. (1996). Enhancement and strengthening of electronic library functions in University libraries (proposal). https://www.janul.jp/j/documents/mext/kengi.html (in japanese). Takeuchi, H., & Kunimoto, C. (2020). Considerations towards the training of new university librarians accommodating to the changing functions of university libraries. Journal of College and University Libraries, 114, 2062-1–2062-11. https://doi.org/10.20722/jcul.2062 (in Japanese). Tamaoka, K. (2022). Fact finding survey on library usage guidance: To target Japan Association of Private University Libraries West District, Chugoku-Shikoku District Council member’s university library (Nov. 2020). The Library Science (Toshokan-gaku), 121, 29–37 (in Japanese). Watanabe, Y. (2020). Academic libraries promoting copyright literacy. Current Awareness, 346, 2–4. https://doi.org/10.11501/11596732 (in Japanese). Watanabe, Y. (2022). Enhancing reference and information services in academic library during the COVID-19 pandemic: Based on the practice at Kyushu University Library. The Journal of Information Science and Technology Association, 72(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.18919/jkg.72. 1_12 (in Japanese). Watanabe, Y., & Hyodo, K. (2015). Staff development of academic librarians to improve information literacy education in the digital age. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 9469, 324–325. Yoshinaga, M., & Pan, Y. (2019). What do supporters learn through learning support?: The case of the graduate student supporters at Osaka University Library. Journal of Multicultural Education and Student Exchange, 23, 53–64. https://doi.org/10.18910/71587 (in Japanese).

Chapter 7

Information Literacy Development at Higher Education in Thailand and Vietnam Kulthida Tuamsuk, Lan Thi Nguyen, and Theeradej Manakul

Abstract This chapter presents the situations of information literacy (IL) development in the context of higher education in Thailand and Vietnam based on literature reviews and previous research of the authors and related scholars. The topics include: (1) policies of the nations and authority organizations for higher education in relation to IL; (2) employers and markets’ expectations for the IL competencies of university graduates; (3) universities’ strategies for students’ IL development; (4) the IL learning ecology model. Keywords Information literacy · Digital literacy · Higher education · University students · Thailand · Vietnam

7.1 Introduction The development and changes of digital technologies influence information behaviors, user habits, and information needs, as well as teaching and learning approaches; however, it cannot be denied that information literacy (IL) plays an indispensable role in developing the knowledge and skills of learners. Students especially must be equipped with IL to enhance learning performance, critical thinking skills, research achievement, preparation for the working environment, and lifelong learning (Fredy et al., 2020). Deja et al. (2021) argue that the readiness and improvement of information literacy have important implications for digital transformation. Therefore, libraries could use the technologies of digital transformation to provide literacy information and digital literacy services and programs to users. In addition, IL skills are considered cognitive skills for learners in searching for, evaluating, and using information effectively, as well as in learning, research, working, and daily life; it also influenced the students’ academic writing skills, learning experiences, and adaptation K. Tuamsuk (B) · L. T. Nguyen Department of Information Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand e-mail: [email protected] K. Tuamsuk · T. Manakul Smart Learning Innovation Research Center, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_7

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to the work environment (Fredy et al., 2020), enhanced critical thinking skills (White, 2019), and identified fake news (Guo & Huang, 2021; Igbinovia et al., 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, information literacy education was faced with challenges in designing online and onsite programs, solving the problem of fake news, updating contents according to the current situation, and applying technology platforms to improve the quality of online courses. Therefore, it is important for educational institutions to design appropriate courses and programs to enhance IL for learners in the development stage of digital technology and the changes in learners’ habits (Guo & Huang, 2021). This chapter reviews the situations of IL skills development in the context of higher education in Thailand and Vietnam based on the literature and research. The contents are divided into 4 topics: (1) policies of the nations and authority organizations for higher education in relation to IL; (2) employers and markets’ expectations for the IL competencies of university graduates; (3) universities’ strategies for students’ IL development; (4) the IL learning ecology model.

7.2 Policies of the Nations and Authority Organizations The drive for IL competencies in higher education in Thailand was initiated through policy formulation consistent with the National Education Act 1999 as a studentcentered reform (Office of National Education Commission, 1999). The heart of education reform was a concept of increasing the role of information literacy and valuing the information literate person by developing learners to be lovers of reading, curious, and self-directed learners. From the social aspect, communities were strengthened by continuously organized training for the pursuit of knowledge, information, news, and the selection of wisdom and various sciences that would lead to lifelong learning. Lecturers were also motivated to research and develop appropriate learning at each level of education. A learning environment was set up to provide learners anytime-anywhere access to various teaching and learning materials and resources (Japakiya et al., 2014). Later, in 2017, the Digital Development for Economic and Social Act 2017 stated in Sect. 6 that in order to expedite the development of citizens’ knowledge, the technology-related goals were set as follows: promotion of readiness and expertise in digital technology and utilization in a way that is suitable for contemporary times (Royal Thai Government Gazette, 2017). Following this, the Twelfth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017–2021) was launched to set multidimensional guidelines for human resources preparation and capacity enhancement of populations of all ages in order for them to become quality human capital. This included improving the quality of education at all levels, from the basics to school management; adjusting learning management systems; improving teacher quality; creating an environment conducive to lifelong learning; and using various learning materials and resources. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESRI) has issued ministerial regulations stipulating the Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education 2022 to

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determine higher education students’ qualifications according to the requirements for learners’ learning outcomes arising from the education system under higher education curriculum standards set by each level of education. Overall, it has covered diploma, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. The required outcomes for graduates at all levels must include at least four areas: knowledge, skills, ethics, and personality. It could also allow each profession to specify additional learning outcomes or to specify additional details of learning outcomes according to the academic or professional needs of each field of study by publishing it as a qualification standard (MHESRI, 2022). The “National digital transformation program by 2025 with orientations towards 2030” approved by the Vietnamese Prime Minister in 2020 aims to make Vietnam into a digital nation in managing government activities, production, business, and the lives and working style of citizens, and in developing safety, humanitarianism, and the widening of the digital environment. Human resources must have digital skills following international standards and have the ability to apply digital technology to their job adequately and creatively. It is important to update and add digital content in curricula to enhance learners’ knowledge and skills, build up programs to improve human resources’ digital skills in all fields, and apply technological solutions to training for the enhancement of training quality, as well as create an ecosystem to support lifelong learning to learners (Ministry of Information & Communications, 2019). Furthermore, the Prime Minister issued Decision 117/QD-TTg in approval of enhancing the information technology applications in teaching, learning, and research activities to improve the quality of education such that it indicated the specific contents of the management and support of teaching and research activities, the promotion of the quality of education and training, and improvement of the capacity of information technology application for managers, staff, and teachers through training courses (Prime Minister, Vietnam, 2017). According to the circular issued on July 4, 2017 on promulgating regulations on the accreditation of higher education institutions, teaching and learning approaches must promote lifelong learning in line with the expected learning outcomes (Ministry of Education & Training, 2017). A national project of “Strengthening the application of information technology and digital transformation in education and training in the period of 2022–2025, with a vision to 2030” indicated duties and solutions to boost creativity in teaching and learning and enhance the quality of education, as well as build up an open education on a digital platform to contribute to the development of digital governance. Regarding this, it is crucial to equip the necessary conditions to deploy the applications of IT in education; develop a digital transformation ecosystem in teaching, learning, research, testing, and evaluating; and design a management information system and educational databases (Prime Minister, Vietnam, 2022). According to the national policies and other documents issued by the authority organizations, it is interesting to see that most Vietnamese solutions focused on improving solutions for developing digital skills, creativity, the application of information technology in learning and teaching, research and assessing, especially to

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support lifelong learning. Meanwhile, Thai policies emphasized enhancing lifelong learning skills and learners’ competencies of knowledge, skills, ethics, and personalities. Therefore, to tackle these aims, universities must build up and issue strategic plans, as well as design curricula and programs to meet the national policies and boost the leaners’ competency. Thus, developing information literacy is one of the critical plans to enhance students’ learning, research, and lifelong learning abilities following the requirements of the Vietnamese and Thai governments.

7.3 Employers’ and Markets’ Expectations Most employer interviews show that driving the digital development of the new generation is a key contributor to the transformation and growth of the digital industry and the key to the expansion of Thailand’s digital economy and society. In light of this, information and communication technology personnel play a major role in pushing the transformation and growth of the digital industry. Factors reflecting the current state of the country’s digital human resources include estimating the proportion of personnel in the country’s labor market, focusing on enhancing skills or building the capacity of personnel, creating new generations of digital personnel for the labor market with digital development results suitable for the jobs dimension of the OECD indicators, which require people with information literacy and digital literacy skills (The Office of National Digital Economy and Social Commission, 2021). The Thailand Development Research Institute (2018) showed that the private sector reflects the problem of the lack of an effective workforce in information and digital literacy who are ready to change with the times. The root cause concerns graduates who are not equipped to meet the business sector’s demands in terms of skill and quality, affecting their practical ability negatively. The demand for a workforce with employability skills in the labor market is higher than in the past. At present, IL qualifications for Thai higher education students has been developed to prepare them for work readiness. Tuamsuk (2013)’s study mentions the required qualifications for information literate students at the undergraduate level: (1) the ability to search for facts, understand and evaluate data, analyze new information from multiple sources, and use the obtained information to solve problems and do other tasks on one’s own; (2) the ability to regularly use information technology to collect, compute, and interpret the latest data; (3) the ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written language to select a presentation style in line with different audiences; and (4) the ability to learn continuously for personal and professional development. In addition, entrepreneurs or employers have high expectations for workers with IL skills. Tamnanchit et al. (2019)’s findings show that learners who are information literate create great career opportunities. Information literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning. From the environmental and social context, 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 obtained information into

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existing knowledge, and use the information to achieve objectives such as keeping pace with events, further study, and professional development. It cannot be denied that higher education plays an important role in educating and training the workforce for the labor market. However, developing the quality of employees depends on educational strategy and policy, the design of curricula, teaching methods, and the integration of soft skills into courses (World Bank, 2013). In a survey concerning employers’ assessments of the ability of graduate students at Vietnam National University Hanoi City to think critically, reflectively, and creatively; use information and communication technology in a purposeful and responsible manner; and achieve lifelong learning and continuous professional development, 3 out of 13 abilities of students were valued as important by employers, administrators, lecturers, and students. However, the extent to which students achieved competency was lower than the expected outcomes (Mai et al., 2020). According to Le et al. (2020), critical thinking and problem-solving (Bilsland et al., 2014; World Bank, 2013), lifelong learning, and organizational and management abilities were the top three important skills which the Vietnamese labor market required from employees after graduation. Thus, employees must have the ability to know how to search for, think about, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and synthesize information systematically (critical thinking and problem-solving). Furthermore, they need to frequently learn and update their knowledge, self-study, and set up learning objectives effectively and proactively (lifelong learning); know how to organize and manage their work; and cooperate and use leadership skills effectively (organizational and management ability). These findings reflect that higher education institutions need to design and adjust their curriculum to develop students’ soft skills, how faculties prepare to enhance students’ learning outcomes and students’ preparation to take part in the learning process (Yao & Tuliao, 2019), and teaching methods to adapt to the labor market’s requirements (Le et al., 2020). Similarly, the World Bank (2013) emphasized that problem-solving and critical and creative thinking were skills appreciated by employers. In Phuong and Hua (2020)’s study on employers’ requirements for English students, computer literacy was attributed to the future job skills of students, for which students needed to have the ability to skillfully use office software such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They must know how to analyze and synthesize data and write reports concerning their work. There are indications from previous research that critical thinking, creative thinking, lifelong learning, problem-solving, use of information and communication technology, flexibility, adaptability, social responsibility, and ethics were highly appreciated by employers for graduate students in Thailand and Vietnam.

7.4 Universities’ Strategies Throughout the years, Thai higher education institutions have clearly emphasized promoting the development of students’ IL competencies. According to a study by

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Tuamsuk (2013) and Tuamsuk and Surabraniam (2017), 66.28% of Thai universities set information and digital literacy as a required skill for a bachelor’s degree, and 79.07% of Thai universities integrated IL instruction into their programs for both general education courses and elective courses. Higher education institutions place importance on information literacy and make efforts to create information literacy for learners to help them learn independently and become lifelong learners. Universities must be responsible for IL instruction and ensure that IL outcomes are achieved for higher education students (Sinnoi & Kathong, 2018). Presently, Khon Kaen University Library has a policy of using training programs to develop information literacy skills through 9 courses: (1) How to seek information on the library Web OPAC, (2) Using Turnitin for master’s and doctoral students, (3) Using Turnitin for teachers, (4) Managing citations using Zotero, (5) Managing citations using Mendeley, (6) Choosing a journal to publish academic papers, (7) Web of Science database search, (8) Scopus: The Database for research and Publications Development and new courses, (9) KKU Library information search with One Search (Summart, 2016). Afterward, many scholars in Thailand have discussed how information literacy skills are one of the most important twenty-first-century learning skills in higher education. Undergraduate students are required to have the skills of gathering information and accessing, evaluating, and using information ethically and legally (Maitaouthong, 2018) and be able to determine information needs using information resources, information inquiry, information evaluation and analysis, and synthesis and presentation (Sinnoi & Kathong, 2018). In addition, many universities have developed plans for students’ development. For example, Ubon Ratchathani University’s policy was to use standard of information literacy of The Association of American College and Research Libraries (ACRL), which has five standards: Students can (1) clearly define the nature and scope of the information they need; (2) access the information they need with efficiency and effectiveness; (3) critically assess information and sources of information production, as well as be able to integrate the selected information into its own knowledge-based system and values; (4) use information effectively to achieve the set objectives; (5) understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding information technology, including the ethical and legal consequences of using and accessing information (Kathong, 2014). Therefore, the development of the information literacy ecology model in Thailand is described as a set of abilities that enables graduates in many fields to acquire, evaluate, and use information integrated with technology. It is very important for the standard of information literacy, and the digital literacy model at present was also mentioned in many institutions such as the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL), and Council of Australian University Librarian (CAUL), PCI model (Ngernpoolsap & Sacchanand, 2020). Previous studies revealed some limitations of universities’ strategies for developing learners’ IL in Vietnam. The Vietnamese higher education institutions have not yet developed a policy to develop IL for students. They consider IL as a frequent training activity carried out by libraries, or several universities have programs of library and information science-designed IL courses in their curriculum through

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selective courses for undergraduate or graduate students (VNU HCMC-USSH, 2022; VNU Hanoi-USSH, 2022). Furthermore, a set information literacy standard or framework for higher education has not yet been issued to use as a basis for building IL program content and developing criteria to assess students’ IL capacity (Truong, 2015). Objectives of lifelong learning are not considered as one of the core goals of educational policy (Diep & Nahl, 2011; Pham, 2013). They reflect a practical situation where leaders and administrators have not completely perceived the important of IL for developing learning quality. There are some reasons for this, as follows: (1) The lack of communication, mutual understanding between stakeholders, and support in management and evaluation of learning outcomes; the language barriers; the library orientation for high school students before entering university (Diep, 2011; Pham, 2008); and the limited understanding of IL, leading to the constraint of the integration of IL into the curriculum (Diep & Nahl, 2011). (2) Most Vietnamese librarians graduated with a LIS degree and lack specialized knowledge, pedagogical skills, critical thinking, problem-solving and resource-based learning skills, and come up against language barriers (Diep, 2011; Truong, 2016), which impedes their participation in teaching and curriculum development. Moreover, the limited perception of library administrators (Truong, 2015) and the liaison librarian model at Vietnamese universities are not factors that influence the development of IL programs (Nguyen & Tuamsuk, 2021). (3) Collaboration is one of the critical factors in the development of IL and helps explore and meet the information needs of students; however, this activity has not been maintained regularly and was only conducted through personal relationships (Nguyen & Tuamsuk, 2021; Pham, 2013). However, in recent years some universities have designed competency frameworks to develop digital literacy for students, in which IL is considered an important component. For instance, VNU-HCMC (2020) issued a framework with five core competencies (i.e., professional competency, digital competency, interpersonal competency, leadership competency, and management competency). According to the research and inquiry competence, students need to have the ability to inquire, process, and utilize information flexibly. Besides, VNU Hanoi-USSH (2022) indicated seven core competencies of students, i.e., (1) operating equipment and software, (2) exploiting information and data, (3) communicating and collaborating in a digital environment, (4) safety and well-being, (5) digital content creation, (6) learning and developing digital skills, (7) using digital capabilities for a profession. Nevertheless, the requirements of IL for students in a framework have been used to integrate into designing courses (i.e., learning and teaching approaches, evaluation, and testing) without using IL courses, except for universities that have the library and information science major. In addition, universities do not mention any criteria or necessary standards to gain IL competency for students during and after learning. IL was not mentioned in the universities’ policies, nor has it been specified as a criteria for assessing expected learning outcomes, but its contents were commonly used and emphasized in a competency framework used to design courses. Therefore,

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IL needs to be integrated into the educational missions and strategic plans of universities. An IL policy should be issued to promote IL programs and initiatives and to enhance collaborative relationships to increase communication and mutual understanding. Furthermore, leaders and administrators have to commit to and support embedding IL contents into the curriculum at all levels. Following this, the core competency standards of IL should be designed in accordance with assignments, topics, and subjects to facilitate the interactions between students and information resources, librarians, and learning advisors (Pham, 2013).

7.5 IL Development Ecology Model In order to develop an information literacy ecology in higher education in Thailand and Vietnam, four main factors are discussed adapted from the essential components of online teaching and learning ecology in Thai higher education (Somabut & Tuamsuk, 2022): (1) Teaching and learning approaches, (2) Development modes, (3) Resources, and (4) Evaluation (Fig. 7.1).

7.5.1 Teaching and Learning Approaches The learning and teaching approaches of information literacy in Thailand and Vietnam have been conducted in the following four ways: problem-base, projectbase, inquiry-base, and active learning.

Fig. 7.1 IL development ecology model in higher education in Thailand and Vietnam

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Photeng (2015)’s study concluded that a higher level of IL competency could be developed through writing reports. IL skills based on project-based learning could support the IL development and academic achievement of undergraduate students and make them more efficient and effective. This accords with Wongchai (2021)’s study, which compared the IL skills of the 64 experimental group students in a language and teaching course in Wisdom through learning management using project-based learning. The findings revealed that the IL skills of the experimental group students after learning were higher than before learning.

Teaching and learning management encouraged learners to have the desirable characteristic of a bachelor’s degree. The Office of the Education Council (2018) specified teaching and learning approaches that promote ICT skills and could apply knowledge, skills, and information and communication technology to the academic and professional use of technology to plan and manage resources appropriately. As shown in professional standards for education, the Secretariat Office of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand (2013) has set desirable characteristics and quality in the educational profession, including teachership, philosophy of education, language and culture, psychology for teachers, learning management and classroom management, research for learning development, educational innovation and information technology, learning measurement and assessment, educational quality assurance, and morals and ethics. A person capable of practicing an educational profession was required to meet standards of expertise in the practice of the profession. Nguyen and Marquet (2019) conducted a study of the digital capacity of students based on studying four programs at Vietnamese universities assessed by ASEAN University Network Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) from 2009 to 2014. The findings highlighted that information searching and use were frequently centered on or became the main objectives of courses. During the teaching process, lecturers also integrated IL knowledge and skills into their courses to enhance IL skills for students, and used questioning and answering, problem-based learning, and active learning methods (i.e., presentation, discussions, and team-working, etc.) to help improve their students’ IL skills (Truong, 2015). However, other competencies (i.e., selflearning, communication, information processing, problem-solving, communicative relationships, and soft skills) have focused less on curricula. In addition, Nguyen (2016) expressed that IL instruction has been conducted since 2005 for undergraduate and postgraduate students with the integration of relevant contents into courses. Searching for health information on databases and basic information resources was embedded into a research methodology course in 2005, then built and deployed into an information presentation and access skills course (2007), and finally added to the content of reference management by using Endnote (2011) and plagiarism (2014) for master’s students. Meanwhile, basic informatics subjects have provided knowledge concerning library services, information resources, and information searching to freshman students.

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7.5.2 Development Modes 7.5.2.1

Types of courses

It should be noted that the teaching and learning approaches in Thailand and Vietnam include three ways, consisting of IL courses, course integration, and training. Maitaouthong (2015) claims that there are various methods of promoting information literacy depending on the policy implementation of each organization in Thailand. Academics have classified IL promotion methods, such as promoting IL through the library, which is a service that enhances students’ IL skills, as follows: IL on the library’s website, IL through virtual reference services, IL instruction at the service desk, and IL by using a guide to the use of library and information sources that are consistent with the subject fields or assignments. Saorayaviset (2019) expresses that the teaching model of information literacy for local knowledge, also known as the “TAEPE Model”, consists of five steps: (1) Task definition and identifying potential sources refers to the assignment of workloads/pieces shared between teachers and students or the assignment of tasks to students; (2) Access to information (Accessing) means setting a strategy for accessing information and knowing how to access, copy, and save the information received; (3) Evaluation and Synthesis means analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information using judgment; (4) Presentation of information (Presentation) means introducing new information to communicate with others appropriately and create a new format for dissemination; (5) Ethically and Legally to Use means requesting permission to tape and record, respecting and honoring community sages, citations, and auditing information. Similarly, Maitaouthong (2018) presents the teaching model of information literacy in five sections: (1) history, definition, and importance of information literacy; (2) characteristics of the information literate person; (3) information literacy standards; (4) information literacy instruction and assessment; and (5) dissemination of current knowledge on information literacy. In Vietnam, IL courses have been deployed by universities that have library and information science or information management programs; for instance, the “information literacy” course with three credits for the master’s program of the VNU-HCMC-USSH (2019); “introduction to information competency” (information management program) and “online information retrieval” (master’s program) by VNU Hanoi-USSH (2022); and “information literacy education” at CanTho University (2022). IL training has been conducted in two ways: it is compulsory for first-year students and acts as need-based training for postgraduate students through in-person training and integrated documents or videos on the library website. The main contents of these programs focus on instructing library services, identifying information needs, information searching strategies, information evaluation, searching on OPAC and databases, using references and citations, copyright and intellectual property, organizing and managing collected information, and developing research topics through

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lectures, library tours, or e-lectures (Diep & Nahl, 2011; Do, 2015; Hanoi University Library, 2021; H. M., 2018; Pham, 2013; Truong, 2015; Nguyen, Tran, 2019). Nevertheless, traditional method training (face-to-face) through presentations has been commonly used by library staff at academic libraries. It would also be worthwhile to note that most IL programs of universities in Vietnam mainly focus on library orientation (i.e., information resources, regulations, infrastructure); library services and products (planning strategy and searching information following specific topics); searching for, extracting, and evaluating information on the Internet, OPAC, traditional catalogs, digital collections, databases, and portals; referencing and citation through training programs for students conducted by university libraries; and the integration of IL into some courses or IL courses in the library and information curriculum. Diep and Nahl (2011) note that the decrease of credits following the standard of the Ministry of Education and Training hindered the integration of IL courses into the curriculum. The number of credits was overloaded if IL was aligned with the curriculum, although this did not affect the several universities with a library and information science program.

7.5.2.2

Teaching Niche

Digital transformation has been inevitable in all socio-economic fields, including higher education. Recently, under the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, all students have had to change their entire learning style from face-to-face to online learning. Meanwhile, many researchers revealed that instructors were key to making students information literate by encouraging them to search for knowledge independently and through the arrangement of instructional activities that acted as a basis for interaction with students and emphasized knowledge acquisition by using information technology to search for data from various sources on the Internet (Coosirirat & Kongmanus, 2015). Most IL courses and programs conducted at higher education institutions in Thailand and Vietnam were taught by faculty members and library staff for teaching and training contents based on different teaching approaches (Diep & Nahl, 2011; Do, 2015; H. M. 2018; Maitaouthong, 2015; Pham, 2013; Photeng, 2015, Truong, 2015; Nguyen, Tran, 2019; Wongchai, 2021).

7.5.3 Resources There are various resources used to support teaching and training information literacy at universities such as technologies, library resources, and Internet resources. Several factors influence the development of information literacy among higher education students. Bhornchareon et al. (2019)’s study identifies the factors that have an influence on information literacy among Thai undergraduate students by using the documentary research method with academic sources, libraries, and online databases,

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and by analyzing content to synthesize the factors of IL. The three major factors are personal characteristics, learning environment, and self-directed learning. The personal characteristics include gender, year of study, GPA, and field of study. The learning environment includes the IL course, library use, ICT facilities, and faculty staff. The aspect of self-directed learning comprises self-motivation, self-monitoring, and self-modification. Past research revealed that IL instruction at academic libraries is conducted through the presentation in classroom or library spaces (Pham, 2013; Truong, 2015). Nguyen, T. K. T. (2016)’s study examined the integration of IL through Web 2.0 tools into coursework for undergraduate students at Can Tho University for the development of students’ IL skills, and was considered a useful tool for librarians to enhance IL knowledge and skills for users. This study was conducted by designing Web 2.0 tools, then encouraging the participation of students by training them in technical knowledge and skills for them to understand how to use these tools. A prominent finding from the academic libraries surveyed by Diep and Nahl (2011) is that students preferred to use web 2.0 tools for learning activities and the development of learning outcomes, and understood the context of information used. Truong (2015) emphasizes that IL is one of the core competencies that has an influence on the lifelong learning skills of students. Therefore, IL training helps users search for information on the Internet, databases, and library resources; use information effectively; develop their self-study skills; know how to use research tools and materials; and access, evaluate, and apply information in daily life. Thus, university libraries should diversify contents and formats in IL programs and teaching methods, and provide online lectures on library websites. Regarding the resources that support IL teaching and learning, it is emphasized that universities adequately equip library staff with classrooms, Internet, equipment, and information resources for IL training programs (Diep, 2011). The university facilities were in good condition and equipped with high-quality computers, projectors, laptops, televisions, etc. Most academic libraries have various information resources with different and specialized formats. However, the limited budget impeded the acquisition and delivery of specialized databases and online resources for users (Diep, 2011; Nguyen & Tuamsuk, 2021; Truong, 2015).

7.5.4 Evaluation Different evaluation methods are used by lecturers and library staff to assess students’ IL competency, including observation, pre- and post-tests, questionnaires, interviews, and essays. Most studies examined information literacy assessments using the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Shopova (2014) highlighted the problem that learners were unable to use technology effectively. Particularly

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during the learning process, learners did not have enough skills to use the technology that supports learning more conveniently and quickly. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the necessary digital skills for a new society (i.e., critical thinking skills, media discrimination skills), use technology in a socially responsible manner, and promote the critical use of digital technology to develop competencies in various fields through the use of high-quality technology to support learning or the development of more digital literacy skills than information literacy skills. A lot of research in Thailand examined the role of instructors in improving students’ IL skills during each course. Addressing the study of the teaching process that promotes IL in students, Sirawong (2018) stated that instructors should provide information and advice and motivate students to be self-directed learners through assignments requiring research from multiple sources. Students were expected to have the following skills and competencies: (1) locating and accessing information; (2) finding methods for identifying information gaps in their knowledge and knowing what they do not know and how to fill it by searching in other sources such as journals, textbooks, websites, interviews, etc.; (3) constructing strategies for finding and locating information sources and being able to select appropriate search tools for different information sources; (4) comparing and evaluating information; (5) organizing, applying, and communicating information to professors to promote preservice teachers’ IL skills; and (6) synthesizing and creating information (Sirawong, 2018). In terms of the training programs, university libraries center on the observation of in-class exercises, practical behavior, activities, and students’ feedback after joining in programs without clarifying the specific evaluation criteria for courses, policies, or curricula (Diep, 2011), as well as questionnaires, the quality of assignments, students’ behavior in the classroom, tests, and interviews (Diep & Nahl, 2011; Truong, 2015). Some academic libraries designed the pre- and post-tests to evaluate the students’ capacities for using web 2.0 tools to find, share, assess, and store information resources (Nguyen, T. K. T., 2016). However, other libraries do not use any evaluation methods (Diep & Nahl, 2011; Truong, 2015; Wiorogórska, 2018), since a majority of administrators show that they do not completely care about the competency standards of IL (Pham, 2013). On the other hand, lecturers use various methods to assess the students’ learning outcomes through interviews, tests, and essays to understand the levels of their students during the learning process instead of centering on IL evaluation. The evaluative methods reflect students’ consciousness of and attitudes to learning, creative thinking, their practical ability, and the role of IL for their learning outcomes. If lecturers use learner-centered teaching methods and different evaluation approaches, it could stimulate students’ needs in information seeking, searching, processing, evaluating, and using during the learning process and enhance their creative and critical thinking (Truong, 2015). These results are considered as a basis for lecturers to design courses integrating IL into teaching contents to improve learners’ IL knowledge and skills. However, the use of traditional assessment methods of students’ learning outcomes (i.e., tests, oral examinations, essays) limited the students’ learning cognition, the enhancement of their learning potential, creative abilities, and critical academic thinking (Truong, 2015).

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Therefore, Pham (2013) suggests that IL must be evaluated during learning processes rather than be based on the final learning outcomes (Harrison & Rourke, 2006) and deployed to establish assessment criteria. In addition, IL programs should be developed to consolidate faculties’, librarians’, and learning advisors’ IL knowledge and skills and to share hands-on experience, for instance, through workshops, short-course training, conferences, seminars, meetings, so forth (Pham, 2013).

7.6 Conclusion The development of students’ IL skills at higher education effectively requires several components. At the national level, it is obvious that both Thai and Vietnamese authority organizations such as the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of ICT, and other government bodies have set policies on IL skills development at higher education. This is also because the needs of employers have clearly shown that IL and information technology skills are important for seeking jobs. Therefore, most universities in Thailand and Vietnam have set information and digital literacy skills as a requirement for graduates. IL skills development has been taught as a course that is part of the general subject of the curricula, integrated into other teaching courses, and made available at university libraries. The authors have proposed the IL development model at higher education in Thailand and Vietnam, which comprises four aspects: teaching and learning approaches, development modes, resources, and evaluation. The model can be useful for those who are responsible for IL development at higher education and can accommodate or apply it to their institutions.

7. References Bhornchareon, S., Prapingpongsakorn, S., & Techataweewan, W. (2019). Documentary analysis for identifying the factors influencing information literacy among Thai undergraduate students. ERPA International Congresses on Education, Sakarya, Turkey, 19–22 June, 99–103. Bilsland, C., Nagy, H., & Smith, P. (2014). Planning the journey to best practice in developing employability skills: Transnational university internships in Vietnam. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 15(2), 145–157. Coosirirat, K., & Kongmanus, K. (2015). Guidelines for developing learning-seeking lessons for the promotion of information literacy among higher education learners. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Nakhon Phanom University, 5(3), 97–103. Deja, M., Rak, D., & Bell, B. (2021). Digital transformation readiness: Perspectives on academia and library outcomes in information literacy. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(5), 102403. Diep, K. C. (2011). A conceptual framework for best practices in information literacy instruction based on stakeholders’ perceptions: A case study of four Vietnamese academic libraries. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Hawaii]. Diep, K. C., & Nahl, D. (2011). Information literacy instruction in four Vietnamese university libraries. The International Information & Library Review, 43(4), 198–206.

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approaches to accreditation, digitalization, and globalization in the age of Covid (pp. 231–244). IntechOpen. Summart, A. (2016). Training on information literacy skills at the university library. University Library. Tamnanchit, B., Aearmlam, N., Ployphunsang, J., & Tasang, N. (2019). Study of information literacy of students of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Suan Dusit University. Journal of Technical Education Development King Monkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, 114, 2–9. The World Bank. (2013). Skilling up Vietnam: Preparing the workforce for a modern market economy. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/18778/888950 PUB0Box30lso0829400June172014.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Tran, D. (2019). Training information literacy for university students in Vietnam: Current status and solutions. https://lib.vinhuni.edu.vn/thu-vien/seo/dao-tao-nang-luc-thong-tin-cho-sinh-viendai-hoc-o-viet-nam-thuc-trang-va-giai-phap-94430 Truong, D. L. (2015). Developing information literacy for university students in Vietnam. [Doctoral dissertation, Hanoi University of Culture, Vietnam]. Truong, D. L. (2016). An information literacy development model for university students in Vietnam. Journal of Information and Documentation, 1, 26–36. Tuamsuk, K. (2013). Information literacy instruction in Thai higher education. Procedia-Social and Bahavioral Sciences, 73, 145–150. Tuamsuk, K., & Subramaniam, M. (2017). The current state and influential factors in the development of digital literacy in Thailand’s higher education. Information and Learning Sciences, 118(5/6), 235–251. VNU-HCMC. (2020). The relationship between the core competencies of VNU-HCM graduates and the Vietnam national qualifications framework. https://vnuhcm.edu.vn/news_32346864/ moi-quan-he-giua-nang-luc-cot-loi-sinh-vien-tot-nghiep-dhqg-hcm-voi-khung-trinh-do-quocgia-viet-nam-vqf-/333431326864.html White, A. M. J. (2019). Information literacy and critical thinking in higher education: Some considerations. In Handbook of Research on Critical Thinking and Teacher Education Pedagogy (pp. 367–381). IGI Global. Wiorogórska, Z. (2018). Information literacy of undergraduate Vietnamese students viewed from the perspective of cultural context. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/2153/1/116-wiorogorska-en.pdf Wongchai, S. (2021). Effects of learning management using project-based learning on information literacy skills, academic writing report ability and learning achievement of undergraduate students. Journal of Graduate School Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, 18(81), 1–11. Yao, C. W., & Tuliao, M. D. (2019). Soft skill development for employability: A case study of stem graduate students at a Vietnamese transnational university. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 9(3), 250–263.

Chapter 8

Information Literacy Skills Among Higher Education Institution Students in Malaysia Mohamed Shuhidan Shamila, Anwar Norizan, Mat Isa Azman, Mohd Nordin Nordiana, and Abidin Mohd Ismail

8.1 Introduction The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of the year 2020 has affected people’s lives worldwide. Every nook and cranny must adapt to a new normal, which was unprecedented, including the education sector. In Malaysia, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is implemented in the education field, especially at the tertiary level. The Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia (MOHE) has instructed higher education institutions (HEIs) to adopt ODL since March 2020 for all academic programs. At present, for the second consecutive semester, ODL is being adopted. To incorporate successful teaching and learning methods, both academics and students must be highly adaptive to online learning. MOHE urged all universities management to plan ODL strategies and adopt this new normal of teaching and learning. The transformation from traditional learning to ODL requires both academics and students to equip themselves with digital literacy in order to manage information and digital devices. It requires considerable information literacy skills to enable them accessing relevant information sources that are crucial for their academic tasks. Therefore, HEIs with the support of their academic library need to gauge the level of information literacy skills among students to support their ODL process. ODL requires students to be self-determined or self-directed learners, where students have to motivate themselves and design their learning process at their own pace. In this regard, Shuhidan (2013) in her research on the Internet usage of primary school children found that the experiences, knowledge, familiarity, motivation, and

M. S. Shamila (B) · A. Norizan · M. I. Azman · M. N. Nordiana School of Information Science, College of Computing, Informatics and Media, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] A. Mohd Ismail Perpustakaan Tun Abdul Razak, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 C.-C Chen et al. (eds.), Information Literacy Education of Higher Education in Asian Countries, Learning Sciences for Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0522-5_8

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proper guidance in literacy skills will improve their learning experiences. Motivation is one factor to be considered in the learning process and it can boost the online learning achievement (Islam et al., 2018) and indirectly make changes in students’ behaviour such as being confident, satisfied, relevant, and giving more attention in the learning process (Keller, 2009). In order to boost student motivation in learning especially during ODL, besides academics, university librarians play an important role too. According to Rafiq et al. (2021) university librarians found that lack of digital literacy skills, digital divide, slow Internet speed, and less use of the library’s online resources were the major issues in the transition from physical to online mode. In addition, they claimed that all academic libraries should support the initiative of this transition and be part as individual and collective societal and educational roles during these uncertain times. Previous studies (Rafiq et al., 2021; Shuhidan et al., 2020) have shown that learning in digital age or for current state ODL requires a considerable level of information literacy among students in supporting their learning process.

8.2 Information Literacy in Higher Education Institutions Information literacy is the ability to critique and judge the efficacy of any retrieved information before putting it to use (CILIP Information Literacy Group, 2018). The Information Competency Standards for Higher Education produced by the Association of College and Research Libraries (2000), notes that “information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning, is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and all levels of education.” It is essential among HEIs as the venue where data, information, knowledge, and wisdom are their lifeblood. According to Zurkowski (1974), information literate individuals as people “trained in applying information resources to their work, who have learned techniques and skills for utilising the wide range of information tools and primary sources moulding information – solutions to their problem”. Indeed, information literacy has long been a main international agenda by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). They adopted two definitions of information literacy by the American Library Association (1989) which states that to be information literate, a person must recognise when information is needed and locate, evaluate, and use the required information effectively. Another definition is by Webber and Johnston (2003) who state that information literacy is the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, the information will be fitted to information needs, leading to the wise and ethical use of information in society. Despite the evolution of time and technology, these concepts remain relevant. They embraced fundamental information literacy elements, primarily to support the twenty-first-century teaching and learning and prepare students for future job demand in the 4th Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). However, it is more challenging now than ever living in the digital age. The advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) creates an abundance of information, making it difficult for

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students to differentiate between truths and hoax information (Kusumarani & Zo, 2018). Students seem to be competent in using digital devices but still lacking in information literacy skills (Shuhidan et al., 2019) and Damara (2018) claimed that students’ media literacy on fake information is still low. Therefore, it is important to investigate the level of information literacy skills among HEIs students. Recently, in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, the growing concern is about infodemic. Rothkopf (2003), a journalist and political scientist at Washington Post newspaper coined the word infodemic. He asserts that infodemic is a situation which blends information and epidemic. A few facts mixed with fear, speculation, and rumour, amplified and relayed worldwide by modern information technologies, have affected national and international economies, politics, and even security in ways that are utterly disproportionate with the root realities. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) explains that infodemics are an excessive amount of information about a problem, making it challenging to identify a solution. They can spread misinformation, disinformation, and rumours during a health emergency. Infodemics can hamper an effective public health response and create confusion and distrust among people (The United Nations Department of Global Communications, 2020). Arguably, infodemic has become a global concern with the advancement of digital technologies. For example, smartphones and other gadgets paired with social media applications facilitate information, disinformation, and mal-information. To this end, information literacy plays a crucial role in educating society about the importance of accurate information and the risk of disinformation and mal-information. Information literacy must be taught to HEI students, to facilitate efficient information seeking and their academic performance. Therefore, it is essential to investigate their information literacy level to prepare relevant information literacy courses. UNESCO (2020) urges the need for media and information literacy for students embedded in their curriculum to protect and guide them using a proper approach in seeking information for their academic purposes and indirectly to be a civilised society. With these students are expected to maximally utilise their academic libraries as one of their primary sources of information.

8.3 Role of Academic Libraries in Information Literacy During Covid-19 Pandemic The role of academic libraries becomes more crucial than ever, even though students are off-campus. Their role in providing support services for teaching, learning, and research activities must be adaptive as it is more imperative in the new normal. Besides, Chisita (2020) asserts that libraries can play an essential role by strengthening their capacity to disseminate information, enabling citizens to take precautionary measures against Covid-19. It applies to academic libraries and is part of the information literacy initiative by providing authoritative information to the HEIs’ students and staff.

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As for this study, it focuses on one academic library in a public HEI identified as AL, which responded dynamically to the drastic increase in demand for information services by students, researchers, and academics. The intense demand for information services is consistent with IFLA (2015), which insists that libraries as an enabler also have a significant role in universities and research centres, providing students and researchers with the resources necessary. Going beyond the simple provision of books and journals, they also offer valuable training and support to users on how to get the best out of the information available. This AL management works closely with the top management of the HEI to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from their services in supporting ODL. Considering the implementation of Movement Control Order by the government, all librarians also work from home. However, it does not dampen the AL from conducting a series of Training for Trainers sessions for all librarians involved in information literacy classes. As the need is imperative, all these librarians will then conduct information literacy modules for the relevant group of users among students, academics, and researchers. AL conducted and provided Information Skills Class (Information Literacy Class) offering this programme to their students which covers 11 modules intended for various users’ needs at all levels and modes of studies. These include undergraduates, postgraduates, full-time, offcampus, and distance learning as well as researchers and academics. To ensure the effectiveness of modules delivered to users, the library conducted online assessments to acquire participants’ feedback. It would enable the AL management to enhance their modules to serve the users better. To measure the effectiveness of offering library user education programs, the library has implemented two assessment methods for students namely; the Library Education Program (Information Literacy Skills Class) sessions and Comprehension Assessment for each module attended by students. The evaluation of the program is important in order to get feedback on the effectiveness of Information Literacy Skills Classes conducted by the library. AL always improves delivery learning quality of each module from time to time for its users’ needs.

8.4 Models of Information Literacy Previous studies of the Information Search Process (ISP) Model have been associated with and used to develop information literacy study. With this ISP, information literacy understanding is about the related activities, a way of thinking, and using information. A few ISP models have similarities and agreements such as Kuhlthau Information Search Process (1993) with six (6) stages; Empowering eight by NILIS; and The Big6 skills by Eisenberg and Berkowitz (1992). After careful consideration, this study adopted Eisenberg and Berkowitz (1990) Big6 Information Literacy model, which a six-step process required to solve information-based problems (Fig. 8.1). The six steps are task definition; information-seeking strategies; location access; use of information; synthesis; and evaluation.

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Task definition

Information seeking strategies

Location and access

Evaluation

Synthesis

Use of information

Fig. 8.1 The Big6 Information Literacy model (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990)

The Big6 model has been widely adopted for information literacy research regardless of conventional printed or digital form of information sources as the required skills are similar. The first step is the task definition. It is crucial for users to define the problem, task, or topic that requires information. Therefore, they would be able to identify the information needed. Second, users need to develop an informationseeking strategy. In this context, users must locate all types of resources available where they can get the information. They need to know where and who can help them acquire the information. Eventually, they have to choose the best sources to use. Third, users need to identify the location and access to information. It means that users need to know where they can find the resources and find the resources’ information. Fourth, the use of information means users must read and view the information to decide which part is relevant. Only relevant information will be used or cited. The fifth is a synthesis which is conceptually like putting a puzzle together. Users need to organise information resources and know-how to present the information depending on the topic or task. Lastly, the sixth is evaluation. Users need to judge the product as well as the process of completing their topic or task. It is about checking against the task’s requirements and whether users felt satisfied with accomplishing the task. Or perhaps, there is a better way that information seeking will be more effective in completing other future tasks. The users could enhance their information-seeking skills if they applied the six steps. They will gain more experience and knowledge in utilising appropriate information resources which are the core of information literacy. For this study, all the dimensions remained as they are in the instrument’s development except for steps four and five are combined as the researchers justify that students will use and synthesise it at the same process or phase.

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8.5 Methodology This study aims to identify information literacy skills level among public HEI students in the state of Selangor. The name of the public HEI remains unidentified as it has been coded as XYZ University while its academic library is known as AL. The study applied the quantitative approach as the research method and used online survey questionnaires as data collection method (Neuman, 2014) through Google form due to MCO. The survey is in English language. An explicit language statement is attached to the survey to explain the purpose of the study clearly. The questionnaire’s objectives are to achieve the research objectives which is to identify information literacy skills among the XYZ University students in Selangor. There are four (4) sections in the questionnaires. Section A is for demographic data. Section B is about Information Literacy Skills developed and adopted from the Big6 model. Section C is about the academic library’s role and Section D is open-ended questions regarding challenges and ways to improve ODL teaching and learning. The questionnaires used five (5) Likert scale from 1 for strongly disagree to 5 for strongly agree. A total of 35 items are measured. Convenience sampling is the most commonly used sampling method (Acharya et al., 2013). Convenience sampling is a type of nonprobability or non-random sampling. Members of the target population meet specific practical criteria such as easy accessibility, geographical proximity, availability at a given time, or the willingness to participate included in the study (Etikan et al., 2016). Respondents are usually selected because they are in the right place at the right time. A total number of 307 respondents have answered accordingly. However, only 277 respondents are reliable for further analysis, which covered three (3) fields of study, namely: Business and Management, Science and Technology, and Social Science and Humanities. The data collected analysed quantitatively using SPSS version 26 to analyse the descriptive analysis.

8.6 Findings This section discusses these findings, which cover demographic profile and descriptive analysis to investigate XYZ University students’ information literacy skills in Selangor. The researchers will carry out a further review of hypotheses in the next phase.

8.6.1 Demographic Profile The demographic profile of the respondents is in Table 8.1. Most of the respondents are from the Social Science and Humanities field of study, i.e. 122 and followed by Business and Management, which is 91 and the remaining, i.e. 64 are from Science

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Frequency

Percentage (%)

Business and Management

91

33

Science and Technology

64

23

Social Science and Humanities

122

44

Mode of study

Full time

256

92

Part-time

21

8

Age

18–22

161

58

23–27

94

34

28–32

3

1

33 and above

19

7

Female

235

85

Male

42

15

Very limited

4

1

Limited

16

6

Good

139

50

Very good

98

35

Excellent

20

7

Very limited

1

0

Limited

7

3

Good

93

34

Very good

121

44

Excellent

55

20

Beginner

25

9

Intermediate

222

80

Expert

30

11

Field of study

Gender Level of computer proficiency

Level of Internet proficiency

Ability to locate the information

and Technology. 92% are undergoing their study in full-time mode, and 8% are parttime students. The age of the respondents, majority, i.e. 161 of them were between 18 and 22 years old while the lowest, i.e. 3 of them were between 28 and 32 years old. Out of 277 respondents, 85% were female, and the remaining 15% were male. Most of the respondents admitted that they have an excellent English level, i.e. 160. The minority has minimal English level, i.e. 2. Concerning respondent’s computer and internet proficiency, the highest percentage, i.e. 50% and 44%, respectively, indicated that they are good and very good while the lowest were 1% and 3%, respectively, where they are constrained and limited in their computer and internet proficiency. 222 respondents claim that their ability to locate the information was intermediate and the minority 25 were beginners.

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Table 8.2 Type of resources use Responses N Types of resources you use to find information?a

Online library catalogue

Percent of cases Percent

124

15.9

44.8

Electronic database (e.g. 247 e-journal, e-book, e-magazine, e-dictionary, etc.)

31.7

89.2

Web resources (e.g. 259 organisation websites, wikis, blogs, YouTube, online job postings, shopping, travel services, etc.)

33.3

93.5

0.3

0.7

18.5

52.0

CD-ROM

2

Printed materials (e.g. books, periodicals, encyclopedia, etc.)

144

Other Total

2 778

0.3

0.7

100.0

280.9

Note a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 2 = Yes

Table 8.2 indicated the types of resources used to find information by the respondents. In this particular item, the respondents are allowed to choose more than one kind of resource. The most popular resource that the respondent uses are Web resources, i.e. 33% while the least popular is CR-ROM and other, i.e. 2%.

8.6.2 Descriptive Analysis Tables 8.3 and 8.4 show the total average of mean, standard deviation, skewness for students motivation, information literacy (consists of task identification, informationseeking strategies, location and access, use and synthesis of information, evaluation), and role of the academic library, respectively. Likert scale 1–5 is being used, where 1 is for strongly disagree, and 5 strongly agrees. The total average mean value for student’s motivation, i.e. 3.815, indicated that the respondents agree to all the 4 items. Each dimension in information literacy is reported, i.e. task identification, x 2 = 3.775, information-seeking strategies, x 2 = 3.887, location and access, x 2 = 3.785, use and synthesis of information, x 2 = 3.817, evaluation, x 2 = 4.003, and the overall mean value for all these 5 dimensions, x 2 = 3.845 which also indicated that the respondents agree to all the items measured. Meanwhile, the academic library’s total average mean for the role also reported the same information literacy, x 2 = 3.736.

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Table 8.3 Information literacy skills Mean

Std. deviation

Skewness

Task identification C1.1

3.730

0.687

−0.207

C1.2

3.820

0.694

−0.331

C1.3

3.770

0.709

−0.257

C1.4

3.780

0.654

−0.125

Total average

3.775

0.686

−0.230

Information-seeking strategies C2.1

4.190

0.808

−0.894

C2.2

4.230

0.709

−0.665

C2.4

3.240

0.957

−0.226

Total average

3.887

0.825

−0.595

3.510

0.858

−0.381

Location and access C3.1 C3.2

3.820

0.760

−0.773

C3.3

4.030

0.754

−0.706

C3.4

3.780

0.769

−0.091

Total average

3.785

0.785

−0.488

3.950

0.695

−0.780

Use and synthesis of information C4.2 C4.3

3.830

0.680

−0.188

C4.4

3.670

0.673

−0.142

Total average

3.817

0.683

−0.370

Evaluation C5.1

4.000

0.740

−0.590

C5.2

4.120

0.776

−0.718

C5.3

3.890

0.714

−0.260

Total average

4.003

0.743

−0.523

Overall total average

3.845

0.743

−0.431

Table 8.4 Role of the academic library

Mean

Std. deviation

Skewness

D1

3.760

0.694

−0.095

D3

3.580

0.850

−0.303

D4

3.890

0.765

−0.297

D5

3.850

0.787

−0.541

D6

3.600

0.839

−0.291

Total average

3.736

0.787

−0.305

Note Removed C5.5, C5.4, C2.3, C4.1, and D2

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8.7 Discussion This study provides valuable insight into the information literacy among XYZ University students for education setting as the academic library’s role to support their learning processes. The students are familiar with information literacy from the study, as the mean value results are 3.845. Majority of students claimed that they are good at computers (50%), are very good at using the Internet (44%), and as intermediate skills (80%) to locate information for the learning process. These findings demonstrate that students can search for information independently for academic purposes and this is consistent with Civilcharran et al. (2015) who indicate that higher education level students spend more time searching for information through the Internet independently. Meanwhile, the students chose the most popular resources: Web resources, i.e. 33%, while the least popular is CR-ROM and others, i.e. 2%. According to Shuhidan et al. (2019), students are highly involved with the Internet environment and normally use more than one search engine to locate information from various publication resources. Further descriptive analysis to investigate the information literacy skills level among the students which based on five indicators, namely: Task Identification, Information-Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use and Synthesis, and Evaluation. The findings found that the total average mean value of task identification is 3.775. The highest mean is from the item (C1.2) where students claimed that they use similar meaning to describe a concept or task identification. This finding was supported by Ali et al. (2009) in their research with Engineering diploma students who can recognise words with similar meaning and selected it as the best answer to the question given. Students can understand the task identification through the similar meaning of the questions as the key concept before moving to the next step of information-seeking strategies. For the information-seeking strategy, the average mean is 3.887 value, which shows that students claimed to search the information by themselves (C2.2) with a value of 4.230. They used more than one search engine to find information consistent with Shuhidan et al. (2019) in their study; students tend to seek information independently compared to others. In the meantime, from the location and access the average mean value is 3.785 where students claimed that despite fully utilising the search tools such as catalogue, index, and abstract, they still chose using the Internet environment to search for information. The top priority with the value of 4.030 (C3.3) as the Internet is the primary source and portal for various electronic and web knowledge services to support academic learning and research activities (Amour El-Maamiry, 2017; Shuhidan et al., 2019). Students seem to use the information effectively to solve the task given and synthesis of information simultaneously. Previous study by Lundstrom et al. (2015) reported that the most complex in research skills is synthesising the information, which needs a critical thinking skills and ability to use and analyse the information before the last step of evaluating it. Information synthesis strategies are crucial skills. The findings show that the mean average for this step is 3.817 value. The item of C4.2 refers to students who seem

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to use the information effectively to accomplish specific purposes with the value of 3.950. This shows that the XYZ University students well comprehend the use and are able to synthesise information accordingly. The final steps of evaluation information with the value of 4.003 mean average, which means students recheck, evaluate, and verify the quality of information. They know when to include a reference to avoid plagiarism. These findings show a positive indication of assessing the information and how to do reference management as taught in one of the AL Information Literacy Module. Students also claimed that Information Literacy Program provided by AL was beneficial and supported their teaching and learning process with the mean value of 3.760. Furthermore, students agreed that the role of AL in supplying materials and services during ODL meet their information needs and expectation with the average mean of 3.736, but again students still chose materials from Internet environments with high frequency compared to online resources provided by AL. These findings are consistent with Rafiq et al. (2021) where there is low frequency of using online resources during ODL from University Librarians’ perspectives.

8.8 Recommendations Based on the survey conducted, the students suggested several recommendations. Relevant parties must respond immediately to ensure the student’s needs are fulfilled. In the pandemic era, many students experience difficulties especially the reliability of Internet access, Wi-Fi capabilities, and even the basic needs such as laptops and reliable tools for online information seeking. The following are recommendations by the students, namely: i.

Free access to articles During the Covid-19 pandemic, when the students could not visit the library, they relied solely on available online databases and websites. The problem arose when they needed to pay to access the article. There is access restriction to the full article as only abstract of the article available. It hampers students from accomplishing their assignments. They hope that they can access all the articles without having to pay. Nevertheless, students may rest assured as they can get free of charge as the library provides interlibrary loan and document delivery service, which enables them to get the article from other academic libraries. AL has developed an Open Access Discovery portal containing more than six million articles to download without paying. From a different perspective, a high level of information literacy would help students to find and access similar articles if not the same. The least students should do is to communicate with librarians for their assistance in solving their information-seeking difficulties. ii. More databases related to the courses Not all electronic databases are available in AL. Since the subscription fees are costly, not all libraries can afford to subscribe to all relevant databases. In

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this context, it is useful if the students can access free databases as an option. Indeed, AL has developed its very own Open Access Discovery portal which is available online and can be accessed freely 24/7 anytime, anywhere, and by anyone. In addition, AL offers collections that developed based on a Local Content Portal according to studies such as Plantation and Agrotechnology, Malay heritage, Entrepreneurship, Music, etc. Meanwhile, at national level, the National Library of Malaysia developed U-Pustaka, which can be accessed at https://www.u-library.gov.my/portal/web/guest/home. Besides that, another free database is http://malcat.uum.edu.my/kip/ which provides links to books and loan of books through interlibrary loan services. Although there are not many e-books available related to their courses, it is still a good alternative for students. iii. Theses and dissertations online Online theses and dissertations are available in AL. However, there is still a constraint in accessing certain materials such as theses and dissertations. Understandably this is because digitisation of all theses and dissertations is still progressing. It will be made available for students and other users once accomplished. As an option, there are many overseas theses and dissertations on relevant websites, for example, https://oatd.org/, https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/sea rch.html and http://myto.upm.edu.my/find/. Also, there are many databases on theses and dissertations that are available online. Unfortunately, students with minimum knowledge in information literacy would struggle to find or access these websites. iv. Group consultant services The reference librarian online is available 24/7 to assist students when there are inquiries particularly after the 4th week of classes. By this week, academic tasks are already assigned to the students. Aside from reference services, librarians should take initiative to set up a group discussion to assist students in completing their assignment or academic tasks. Students, who need this consultant services will be guided intensively on how to seek information related to their assignment, and how to get the right articles to complete their assignments. With the group consultant services, students are free to consult librarians especially related with information resources that are available in the library. In this situation the presence of reference librarians would be very much helpful to them. v. Information literacy training, classes, and tutorial via the student portal The students need more information literacy training. It should not only be included in their course syllabus but also be available whenever they need it. A tutorial on information searching to assist them in completing their assignment should be made available 24/7 on their fingertips. Arguably, all information related to library services, information literacy, and related matters should be made available on the student portal. In this context, AL provides online library guide that can be accessed at anytime and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) whereby students can enrol to learn about the searching technique by themselves. The Student Affairs Department should work closely with the library

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in this matter requesting dedicated section in the student portal for library-related matters. In addition, information literacy class should be made compulsory to all first-year students. Meanwhile, other students can still attend any information literacy class whenever they need more information or learn information searching. vi. Information literacy mobile alert Taking advantage of the benefits of gadgets such as smartphones, tabs, and laptops in today’s life, AL should also provide information literacy mobile alerts. This service would be useful to update students about tips on information literacy. To this end, diversifying channels to reach students will improve their information literacy skills as they can explore the latest information provided through mobile alerts.

8.9 Conclusions Academic libraries worldwide are facing new challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, library services must be highly dynamic in order to support teaching and learning in the normal. It is evident that the academic library in the XYZ University has taken a great effort and reaction by offering the Information Literacy Program that is essential for ODL. The program embraces 11 modules intended for various users’ needs at all levels and modes of studies. This study identifies the level of information literacy skills among XYZ University students in line with the Big6 model approach. From the findings, XYZ University students in Selangor show a positive indication towards their information literacy skills with a total average of 3.845 mean value. Out of five (5) indicators of Information Literacy Skills, the most crucial is task identification. Most students claimed that they identify the task concept through similar meaning. Academics should collaborate with librarians to guide students in managing the task concept specifically related to their assignments. Students also should be encouraged to use more materials and collections provided by their academic library. As students chose using Internet environments as their primary resources in finding information, they also need to be informed to access, manage, organise, and share information ethically and responsibly. Indeed, all HEIs need to support academic libraries with National Information Literacy Agenda (NILA) together with the National Library of Malaysia to highlight the importance of Information Literacy in supporting teaching and learning process particularly in this new normal. It is hoped that information literacy will be proposed as one of the compulsory modules in the HEIs.

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