Information Literacy Instruction at the University of Macau: Challenges, Outcomes, and Lessons Learned

• Published in: Portal (Baltimore, Md.) Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 255 - 268
• Main Author: Xie, Jingzhen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.04.2020
• Subjects: 21st century; Academic Libraries; Cognitive style; Collaboration; College students; Education; Educational Environment; Educational Objectives; Foreign Countries; Higher education; Honors Curriculum; Information Literacy; Information Skills; Learning; Liaison work; Libraries; Library catalogs; Library Instruction; Library resources; Literacy Education; Literacy programs; Program Evaluation; Research Skills; Skills; Student Attitudes; Students; Teaching Methods; Undergraduate Students; User training; Workshops; Macau; United States > US; China; Macao
• ISSN: 1531-2542; 1530-7131; 1530-7131
• DOI: 10.1353/pla.2020.0013

Academic libraries in Macao, China, began to use the term "information literacy" and to offer information literacy programs approximately three years ago. At the University of Macau, information literacy is considered important to help the honors students become junior researchers. Using the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education as the teaching guide, the University of Macau Library offered one-time research workshops to second-year honors students in 2017 and 2018. The challenges included the variety of subjects studied by the honors students, a lack of understanding of the students' information literacy skills prior to the workshop, and limited opportunities to examine the long-term learning impact. The workshop convinced the students of the importance of information literacy. Raising awareness of the importance of information literacy to the students and educators campus wide, offering workshops to one or two disciplines, and forming a university library team to create and implement a compulsory information literacy exam are recommended.