Faculty Support:
Shaping of an Information Literacy Learning Activity Handbook
Jesus Lau,
Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz-Boca del Río, Instituto de Ingeniería/CIDIE, Juan Pablo II y Ruíz Cortines, 94294 Boca
del Río, Veracruz, México.
PIMSA- Catedra Distinguida, CETYS Universidad, jlau@uv.mx
José Luis Bonilla, Alberto Gárate,
CETYS Universidad, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico,
69121 Heidelberg, Germany
{joseluis, albertogarate, }@cetys.mx
The aims and process of creating an information literacy learning activity handbook for a Spanish-speaking
faculty community is described in this paper, assuming that a set of information literacy standards-based
exercises will help faculty to foster information skills in higher education students. The manual was
conceptualized under the constructivist paradigm that focuses on the learner, as an active person who is
responsible of his/her own learning, and places the professor, as a facilitator of the learner´s needs to
achieve the learning goals (Alarcon Leiva, J., Hill, B. & Frites, C., 2014). Similarly, the handbook was
also created as a tool to develop competencies that is the IL complex skills of thinking and acting in
real information life scenarios.
Universities need to suggest and provide tools such classroom models of IL learning and teaching.
This manual was writer at CETYS University, a Mexican institution located in Baja California, that
embraced the task of crafting a set of information-related handbooks that offer flexible instruction
exercises for faculty, who can adopt, adapt or create their own ones after mastering the IL activity
principles. After the first two handbooks on paper style (APA) and on how to write essays, CETYS
joined forces with Universidad Veracruzana (UV, Veracruz, México) to craft the workbook. In the
English IL literature some similar manuals have been published (Burkhardt, J. M., & MacDonald, M. C., 2010),
but there has been none in the Spanish-speaking world, where there are some specific information sources and
IL skills challenges to tackle.
The learning activities were based on the Mexican information literacy standards and on an eight-year old
six-credit online course for undergraduates IL learning activities. The course learning activities were
the spin off of the project that nearly doubled the number of exercises. Each IL learning activity was
screened in terms of neutral discipline relevance to reach 75 of them, covering a) core IL skills
development of search, evaluation, use, and communication of information, using international resources,
and Spanish language information repertories. The exercises follow a template with two sections, the first
for general information that includes, among other items, title and type of competence to develop, according
to the Mexican IL standards; followed by the exercise elements´ section: Learning objective of the activity,
instructions, and an example or a template do the IL activity. The workbook is nearly ready to go to press
and to a website. The handbook will benefit CETYS and UV faculty, and certainly the Ibero American higher
education community. Librarians who teach IL are also part of the potential users of this workbook that can
be used as a model to create discipline and specific course-related IL learning activities.
References
Alarcon Leiva, J., Hill, B. & Frites, C. (2014). Educación basada en competencias: hacia una pedagogía sin
dicotomías. (Portuguese).Educacao & Sociedades, 35(127), 569-586. Retrieved from:
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/es/v35n127/v35n127a13.pdf
Burkhardt, J. M., & MacDonald, M. C. (2010). Teaching information literacy: 50 standards-based exercises for college students. American Library Association.
Keywords: Information Literacy Learning Activities, learning exercises, Spanish-Language information learning activities.
