Abstract
Developing the skills and knowledge to teach and promote information literacy (IL) to diverse audiences is recognised as a core component of librarianship courses (QAA 2025). In this presentation, firstly tutors on the "Information Literacy" module, core in the MA Librarianship and MA Library and Services Management programmes at the University of Sheffield, will summarise activities and assessments that support the development of teaching practice. Secondly, students from these programmes will share their reflections on IL teaching practices, the process of their development as teachers of IL and how they envisage applying IL in their future careers.
The IL module aims to develop: 1) students’ personal information literacy competencies, 2) understanding of the theory and practice of IL, and 3) understanding and applying theories of teaching and learning. For one of the module assignments, students work in teams to design and deliver a small piece of asynchronous, online IL teaching. This is reminiscent of the type of online IL tutorials that are commonly offered at university and college libraries. Students choose a “learning need” proposed by previous students e.g. how to search specific databases, how to engineer AI prompts, or how to use a variety of sources in their work. The teaching that students produce is not assessed: the aim is to provide a low-stakes opportunity for students to experiment with teaching practices and engage with digital tools. Students then take part in a peer feedback process, giving them valuable insights into how their teaching has been received and how it could be improved.
The actual assessment is for students to write an individual reflection on the group work process, the practice of teaching, and their development as teachers. Reflection is an important aspect of professional development and practice (Corrall, 2017; Schon, 1983). Developing skills in reflective writing supports students in professional learning e.g. for CILIP Chartership or the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Students are encouraged to draw on their own beliefs about teaching and learning to inform their reflective writing, surfaced through module reflective activities using the Revised Approaches to Study Inventory (Entwistle & Tait, 1995) and the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (Trigwell & Prosser, 2004). The module introduces students to theories of learning, the literature on student group work, and the literature on librarian professional development in information literacy education, and students also draw on this to support their reflective writing. Crucially, students are encouraged to relate the assessment to their future career aspirations within the library and information profession.
This paper will feature the voices of current students on the two programmes in a variety of media, chosen by the students themselves. Students will be invited to contribute to the presentation following the completion of the module, so as not to influence the assessment process. Due to this, we are not able to include a more detailed description of the student contribution.
This paper will be of interest to delegates who want to understand current education for new IL professionals.
References
Corrall, S. (2017). Crossing the threshold: reflective practice in information literacy development. Journal of Information Literacy, 11(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.11645/11.1.2241
Entwistle, N. J., & Tait, H. (1995). The revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (Edinburgh, Centre for Research into Learning and Instruction, University of Edinburgh).
Trigwell, K., & Prosser, M. (2004). Development and use of the approaches to teaching inventory. Educational Psychology Review, 16(4), 409-424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-004-0007-9
QAA (2025) Librarianship, Information, Knowledge, Records and Archives Management Subject Benchmark Statement. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements/subject-benchmark-statement-librarianship-information-knowledge-records-and-archives-management
Schon, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner : How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
