At the moment, "Information Management" is assessed by Milne Library in freshman INTD 105 classes as a part of the end-of-semester assessment.  INTD 105 faculty are asked to bring their students into the library to administer this computer based assessment.

Closing the loop on these learning outcomes is especially difficult.  Four of the five learning outcomes that Geneseo assesses are not taught by Milne Library, who is responsible for assessing the outcomes.  Although Milne Librarians generally work with most INTD 105 classes, their sessions are more focused on research skills (Information Management outcome #4), and the INTD 105 course itself focuses on writing skills rather than computer skills.

Learning Outcomes in Information Management

Students will demonstrate the ability to

  1. Identify, access, and use the basic operating system features of a personal computer.
  2. Identify, access, and operate the appropriate software for a given task.
  3. Access and navigate the Intranet.
  4. Access, navigate, and evaluate information and resources on the Internet.
  5. Use a computer to communicate with others.

Because Milne Library's in-class efforts are focused on outcome #4, our closing the loop efforts have also been aimed at this goal.  To this end, Milne Librarians have taken the following actions:

  • Developed goals and objectives for the one-shot session the librarians teach in INTD 105 classes
  • Conducted a pre- and post-assessment during the 2008-2009 school year, in order to determine the skill level of our entering students
  • Revised our goals and objectives based on the 2008-2009 assessment to better meet the needs of students regarding their skills with accessing, navigating and evaluating information resources.

In addition, we also encourage INTD 105 faculty to include more than one library session, allowing us to reinforce certain skills and introduce additional skills to students.

There is some need for a discussion about how the campus teaches and assesses the information management learning outcomes.  For example, outcome #3 asks students to navigate the Intranet.  Does this refer to the Geneseo wiki?  Does this refer to in and out boxes?  And who is responsible for teaching students these skills?

Also, we may want to evaluate whether or not the freshman level (INTD 105) is the right place to evaluate these skills.

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