A computer based tutorial will be developed to teach students in a First Year Writing Program (FYWP) basic information literacy skills.   Information literacy is defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) as the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.

The effectiveness of the tutorial will  be tested by administering pre-tests to students, having the students complete the tutorial, then take the same test.  Test scores will be evaluated by t-Test for paired (correlated) samples.

Hypothesis: Upon completion of the Information Literacy Tutorial, there will be a significant difference between pre-and post test scores

Determine Needs and Goals

The goal is to create a tutorial that teaches information literacy skills to students.  To determine what should be taught, examine the  ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/standards.pdf). These standards define what it means for a student to be information literate and include performance indicators, as well as outcomes.  Based on these, instructional objectives will be developed.

Tutorial creation software will need to be selected, and staff will need to be allocated to create the tutorial.  The tutorial software would need to include the ability for quizzes, hyperlinking to definitions, voice, and video.

Evaluation:

Stage 1: Program Definition:

Stage 2: Program Installation

1. Is the tutorial being administered to all the students
in the First Year Writing Program?

2. Where will the tutorial and testing be administered? Will this take place during a regularly scheduled class session?  If not, how will the tutorial and tests be administered?

3. What is the time frame for the testing process?

4. Are all five information literacy standards being
addressed in the tutorial?

5. What concerns do the  instructors have about using tutorial? This assessment would be done by a Likert scale.

Stage 3: Program Process

1. What were the pre-test scores of the students prior to
completing the tutorial?

2. Are students being tracked as they complete the tutorial?

3. What were the post-test scores of the students after completing the tutorial?

4. Was there a significant difference in test scores?

Stage 4: Program Product

Tutorial Content

1. Does the content of the tutorial cover all five of the
information literacy standards?

2. Are there discrete modules for the tutorial?

3. Is the content appropriate for a first year student?

4. Is content being explained clearly, with definitions and examples? Are there module quizzes to check knowledge along the way?

5. Can a student review tutorial module before proceeding
to the next module?

6. Does the tutorial use audio, video, and text
appropriately to explain different concepts and processes?

7. Was there a significant difference in test scores?

8.  If there is not a significant difference between pre-post test scores, are pre test scores high, suggesting that the students
are already information literate and the tutorial should be abandoned?

9. If there is not a significant difference between pre
and post test scores, are post test scores low, indicating the tutorial content should be modified?

10.  Were students able to synthesize what they learned from the tutorial into better papers?  This assessment would be
obtained by surveying the  instructors at the end of the semester.

Project Management

1. Are there other student populations on campus that
would benefit from this tutorial?

2. Was the tutorial software appropriate?

3. How much time was needed to develop the tutorial?

4. What were the associated costs?

5. Were the tests administered in within the allotted time
frame?

6. Where were the tests administered?

7. Was there discussion with the instructors as to
whether the tutorial would be used in the future?