Types of Assignments

One way to include Information Literacy skills in your teaching is through assignments. Modifying current practices creates opportunities for students to gain the needed abilities while at the same time learning the academic content of a course. Be flexible and include clear guidelines with assignments. Any given assignment can include several standards and learning outcomes.
These sites help faculty learn ideas to integrate Information Literacy concepts into assignments. Promoting Information Literacy through Class Assignments http://www.louisville.edu/infoliteracy/promotinginformationliteracy.htm Types of Assignments http://www.louisville.edu/infoliteracy/good_research_assignments.htm Alternative Assignments http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us/Library/facultyservices/alternatives.htm Critical Thinking and Information Literacy Assignments -- Across the Curriculum *http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/lmc/ilac/Curric/prindef.htm*
Tips on Giving Assignments Have students do assignments for "real world" employers Give students field experience assignments Assign students to analyze an essay or journal article Give assignments which put the student in the role of another to get a different viewpoint Give assignments which require students to visualize problems and make approximations Integration of Information Literacy Concepts
1.	Students are asked to write papers on an activity in which an individual knowingly breaks a societal, religious, or institutional law. A list of possible actions such as shoplifting, copyright abuse, plagiarism, pre-marital sex, speeding, employee theft as examples would be helpful to get students started on the assignment. As a first step, students conduct a literature search for information on prevalence, arguments for and against, and consequences of the action they have chosen to study. With this preparation, students plan and carry out a piece of original research--a survey, interview, observation, etc. The results must be included in their final paper. Make it clear to students that although their research is not strictly scientific, their findings do have a valuable place in their papers. In a brainstorming activity, students are encouraged to consider their topics from different perspectives by writing in-class profiles titled "I am a _______________," in which they pretend they are the law-breaker, the law-enforcer, the victim, and so on. Sample Assignment for Criminal Justice - Standard I Sample Assignment for Criminal Justice - Standard II Sample Assignment for Criminal Justice - Standard III
2.	Have students develop a logical plan to retrieve information in a variety of formats, retrieve the information, evaluate the information, cite the information resources appropriately, and present their findings to the class. Sample Assignment for Paralegal Technology - Standard I Sample Assignment for Paralegal Technology - Standard II Sample Assignment for Paralegal Technology - Standard III
	Sample Sociology Assignment
*Preventing Plagiarism through Assignments* The assignments on the link below are designed to help student not plagiarize. Assignments to Prevent Plagiarism
Alternatives to the Traditional Research Paper
	If you want to give your students a meaningful library assignment but don't want to make them write a traditional term paper, consider these alternatives. Ask students to: Develop an annotated bibliography. Compare and contrast discussions of the same topic in a scholarly journal and popular magazine. Identify key issues or scholars in a discipline. Compare the way two different disciplines handle the same topic. Analyze a key publication in discipline.
Assignments for Information Literacy Standards I, II, and III
	The links below represent examples of assignments for each of the three information literacy standards. Assignments for Standard I: Identify a Topic Assignments for Standard II: Locate, retrieve, and evaluate information Assignments for Standard III: Use Information effectively and ethically.

For additional information, please contact:
(336) 224-4727 or librarystaff@davidsonccc.edu