Metaliteracy in Practice

Metaliteracy in Practice will provide inspiration for librarians and educators in need of up-to-date and thought-provoking information literacy curricula and instructional approaches. Editors Trudi E. Jacobson and Thomas P. Mackey, respected leaders in distance education and library instruction, reframed information literacy in their acclaimed previous book, Metaliteracy: Reinventing information literacy to empower learners, which provided an inclusive framework that encompasses all the newer literacies such as digital, visual, cyber and media literacy. Metaliteracy in Practice follows on from this book, placing its concepts firmly in real-world practice and delivering a compilation of innovative and practical teaching ideas from some of the leading thinkers in library and information literacy instruction today. Each chapter takes readers through the process of using the metaliteracy framework in new and exciting ways that easily transfer to the classroom and to work with students. These ideas are grounded in teaching traditional information literacy competencies but brought up-to-date with the addition of methods for teaching and learning about metacognition, information creation and participation in learning communities. The case studies contained in this collection detail the hows and whys of curricular design for metaliteracy, suitable for both beginners and seasoned professionals. Readers will also benefit from the book’s practical ideas for: • teaching students about the importance of format choice • assessing user feedback • creating information as teachers • evaluating dynamic content critically and effectively • sharing information in collaborative environments. The collection has some of the most innovative teaching ideas for inspiring librarians and educators to revise lessons on critical thinking and information literacy, so that their students will graduate with the ability to formulate and ask their own questions.

Table of Contents:
Foreword - Alison Head 1. Revising for Metaliteracy: Flexible Course Design to Support Social Media Pedagogy - Donna Witek and Teresa Grettano 2. The Politics of Information: Students as Creators in a Metaliteracy Context - Lauren Wallis and Andrew Battista 3. Metaliteracy Learning of RN to BSN Students: A Fusion of Disciplinary Values and Discourses - Barbara J. D’Angelo and Barry M. Maid 4. Where Collections and Metaliteracy Meet: Incorporating Library-Owned Platforms into Open and Collaborative Library Instruction - Amanda Scull 5.Empowering Learners to Become Metaliterate in a Digital and Multimodal Age - Sandra K. Cimbricz and Logan Rath 6. Metacognition Meets Research-based Learning in the Undergraduate Renaissance Drama Classroom, Michele R. Santamaria and Kathryn M. Moncrief 7.Promoting Empowerment through Metaliteracy: A Case Study of Undergraduate Learning Outcomes - Kristine N. Stewart and David M. Broussard 8. Developing Agency in Metaliterate Learners: Empowerment Through Digital Identity and Participation - Irene McGarrity 9. Metaliteracy, Networks, Agency and Praxis: An Exploration - Paul Prinsloo

About the Author :
Trudi E. Jacobson, Distinguished Librarian, is Head of the Information Literacy Department at the University Libraries, University at Albany. Her professional interests focus on team-based and other forms of active learning, learner motivation, digital badging, and, of course, metaliteracy, a concept Tom Mackey and she developed in response to inadequate conceptions of information literacy in a rapidly changing information environment. Her website is www.trudijacobson.com. Thomas P. Mackey is Vice Provost for Academic Programs at SUNY Empire State College. His professional interests include open learning in innovative social spaces and critical engagement with emerging technologies. His collaborative work with Trudi Jacobson to originate the metaliteracy framework emphasizes the reflective learner as producer and participant in dynamic information environments. He appreciates all of their work together, especially the metaliteracy research, writing, editing, teaching, grant projects, and design of innovative learning spaces using competency-based digital badging and massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Review :
These essays offer ideas on equipping students to be agents, and this book is recommended to academic librarians. Metaliteracy in Practice is a valuable contribution to the literature of library and information science and explores many of the salient questions and concerns of instruction librarians and other educators, including how we may help students explore the more complex, conceptual dimensions of information literacy, such as the social, political, and ethical dimensions of information creation, distribution, and use. The book’s collected chapters may serve as catalysts for librarians to reexamine their work with students and to consider ways in which they may partner with other educators to integrate information literacy (including metaliteracy) into academic programs and curricula. Metaliteracy in Practice is a welcome addition to Jacobson and Mackey’s body of work on metaliteracy. Faculty in many disciplines are likely to find the case studies useful, but academic instruction librarians who have the opportunities to teach or co-teach semester-long courses will get the most out of this collection. Instruction librarians with limited opportunities beyond oneshot research workshops will not find anything directly applicable here, but may find the case studies useful in engaging with faculty around ideas related to metaliteracy. The concept of metaliteracy forces us to wrestle with what it means to exist in a time in which technology continues to alter the way we use and communicate information. Metaliteracy in Practice offers a solid foundation to do just that while at the same time also providing some thought provoking ideas about how to incorporate metaliteracy in a wide variety of pedagogical environments.