Integrating STEM Information Competencies into an Undergraduate Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Students in science disciplines often arrive at college without experience using primary science literature and lacking in skills required to manipulate information. A cohesive, curriculum-integrated information literacy program is crucial in teaching science majors how to determine information needs and to locate, evaluate, synthesize, and use information. Described are the best practices, challenges, and assessment tools as applied in the implementation of a four-year science information literacy program at a large state university.

KEYWORDS:

• best practices
• curriculum
• scaffolding
• science information literacy

Notes

1. The best practices listed above were very loosely adapted from ACRL's (2003) 9 Categories of Information Literacy Best Practices.