Research for the Humannequin Project: Information Literacy Assessment

The humannequin project connects academic research with political art on specific gender issues. Students must research their gender issues and provide information from credible, academic sources.  SOC 212 students participated in the Information Literacy Assessment in 2011 and then again in 2014. The four areas in the assessment were (1) framing the research question, (2) accessing sources, (3) evaluation of information, and (4) create original work. The rubric created by the SAAC committee is attached as well as the spreadsheet with results (created by Terry Meyer and James Waugh). The mean was higher for all four areas in 2014 in contrast to 2011. Furthermore, there was significant difference for “framing the research question.” So what was different in 2014? The two major changes were: (1) Kelly Loucy presented in class and provide resources for writing research papers and (2) Chris Zagar presented in class and created a website with specific academic resources on the gender issues. This assessment is an example of collaboration across disciplines improving student learning in information literacy.