About the program
This program provides students with contextualised information literacy skills, aligning with the curriculum.
Each faculty has a team of librarians who work with you to create appropriate resources for your subject. This will help your students develop and refine their Information & Research Literacy skills.
We take a strategic and scaffolded approach, connecting with students at key points in their degree. This develops their skills throughout their studies.
Our content is flexible in delivery, connecting with students regardless of enrolment patterns. We develop interventions with your input, targeting the study and employability needs of your students.
Strategic focus
Guiding principles
The Library strives to keep the program relevant to students. We collaborate with you to develop the resources for your subject.
When we design the experience for your students, we follow these guiding principles:
- delivering contextualised content to a subject
- scaffolding learning outcomes across a course
- reducing class duplication and linking students back to previous resources when required
- promoting students’ prior learning from other subjects
- developing the unique skills of a subject alongside the Information & Research Literacy skills.
When is a subject a good fit for the Embedded program?
We look at several elements to assess whether a subject is a good candidate for the program. This ensures it is sustainable for the Library and relevant to students.
- Do the subject’s learning outcomes include Information & Research Literacy?
- Do the subject’s assessment tasks involve any elements of Information & Research Literacy?
- Is the subject a core subject?
- Does the subject have high attrition rates or low SE levels?
- What level is the subject in the course?
- Do the subject’s assessments require specific skills or knowledge not covered in other subjects?
- What is our existing involvement in the course?
- Is this subject a better fit for the program than another?
Scaffolded learning and engagement
We align our resources and teaching with the different needs students have throughout their degree. The subject and its assessments inform our involvement along with the background and level of the students.
Below are some examples of how we scaffold our teaching and resources across a degree.
Foundation
Students need help to:
- familiarise themselves with Primo Search
- find their readings
- evaluate the information they find
- understand peer review.
Framework competency:
- Demonstrate the skills required to locate, access and critically evaluate existing information and data.
- Effectively selects and uses appropriate digital tools to locate, filter, retrieve, store, and manage information.
- Critically evaluates the appropriateness information and data.
Proficient
Students need help to:
- search for specialised resources
- search in journal databases
- develop complicated search techniques
- use EndNote.
Framework competency:
- Demonstrate that disciplinary knowledge is developed through research and evidence.
- Effectively uses search strategies and appropriate digital tools to find relevant information.
- Identifies and defines the extent and scope of discipline-specific information needed to answer a research question.
- Critically evaluates the appropriateness information and data.
- Gathers, manages, and disseminates information and data ethically, legally, and safely.
- Interprets and understands information delivered in a range of formats.
Advanced
Students need help to:
- use and combine complicated searches.
- use subject headings and thesauri.
- understand the key discipline specific sources in their fields.
- understand the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary sources.
Framework competency:
- Synthesise and apply information and data to different contexts to facilitate planning, problem solving and decision making.
- Effectively uses search strategies and appropriate digital tools to find relevant information.
- Locates primary and secondary sources that are authoritative and relevant to the discipline.
- Critically evaluates the appropriateness information and data.
- Gathers, manages, and disseminates information and data ethically, legally, and safely.
- Interprets and understands information delivered in a range of formats.
Interventions
We can tailor a range of options to the requirements of your subject and your students’ needs.
Research Skills Guides
The guides present students with a self-paced resource that demonstrates the skills and resources specific to their subject. You can link to them from your subject site and customise them to fit the needs of your students.
Why a Research Skills Guide?
- Guides provide students with a resource that steps them through locating and evaluating the information they need.
- Collating the resources in one location allows ease of access for students.
Information Literacy classes
Classes are tailored to suit the requirements of the assessment task and cohort in consultation with you. They are presented via a variety of platforms including face to face, online and recordings. They are delivered in a variety of formats including lectures and hands on workshops.
Why an Information Literacy class?
- Classes provide students with the opportunity to ask questions of the Librarian.
- Students can then make the connection the Library is available to them throughout their studies.
- Pre-recorded sessions provide students with the opportunity to go over the content of the class at their own pace.
Librarian moderated forums
- A Library discussion forum in your subject gives students direct contact to a librarian.
- The Librarian has an understanding of their subject.
- Librarians can answer questions and post relevant information for students throughout the session.
Why a Library discussion forum?
- Students can learn from others' library questions.
- The Librarian will notify students of known issues and disruptions in Library services.
- You can see the types of questions students are asking the Library.
