ALA Editions Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts

Product Description The definition of threshold concepts has been expanded over the years based on the work of many educational scholars and practitioners, but are essentially described as a portal, transition, or threshold to additional learning and deeper understanding for a learner. Threshold concepts are transformative, integrative, irreversible, bounded, and troublesome, and can be a valuable tool in both facilitating students’ understanding of their subject and aiding in curriculum development within the disciplines. In 25 chapters divided into sections mirroring ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education―Authority is Constructed and Contextual, Information Creation as a Process, Information has Value, Research as Inquiry, Scholarship as Conversation, and Searching as Strategic Exploration―Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts explores threshold concepts as an idea and the specifics of what the concepts contained in the Framework look like in disciplinary contexts. The chapters cover many disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences, and a range of students, from first-year undergraduates to doctoral students.Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts provides a balance of theoretical and practical to help readers both conceptually and pragmatically with their work in supporting student learning, including chapters in which librarians have designed learning outcomes aligned with the frames of the Framework. These examples demonstrate different approaches to working with information literacy threshold concepts and how librarians are incorporating them within their disciplinary and institutional contexts. As Ray Land says in the Foreword, “This volume marks a significant new departure in the development of the threshold concepts analytic framework.” About the Author Samantha Godbey, education librarian and assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, earned her MLIS from San Jose State University and MA in education from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to becoming a librarian, Samantha was a high school English teacher in Berkeley, California, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Russian Far East. Her research focuses on information literacy instruction and assessment. She is also co-editor of Journal of Research in Technical Careers, an open-access journal.Susan Beth Wainscott is the engineering librarian, formerly the STEM librarian, for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from San Jose State University and a master of science in biological sciences from Illinois State University. Her current research interests include information literacy instruction and assessment, specifically the impact of student affect on learning.Xan Goodman is a health sciences librarian at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she supports the Schools of Allied Health, Community Health Sciences, and Nursing. She earned her master’s degree in library and information science from Wayne State University. Xan’s research agenda focuses on assessment, information literacy, teaching practice, and cultural competence.