Description:

This proposal is to support a series of activities to measure information competency among first-year students at CSUSM. We are requesting support to develop, implement and evaluate one method for assessing a General Education student learning outcome. The approach focuses on using the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Basic iSkills test as the backbone to accompany data gathered to assess students in the GEL 101 (General Education Lifelong Learning), a first-year experience college success course and compared with those from non-GEL first-year students. A total of 800 tests will be administered. The project will be carried out over the 2006-07 academic year. However the data will continue to be gathered and analyzed for another year ending in 2007-2008 to coincide with presentations made during the WASC accreditation visit to CSUSM.

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Goals:
 

Goal 1. To measure student information literacy learning within the GEL first year experience course by using the ICT Basic test as a pre/post test.

Goal 2. To compare GEL students with non-GEL students in terms of information literacy learning as measured by the ICT Basic test as a pre/post test.

Goal 3. To gather information for each student that would allow us to determine retention motivators to include ethnicity, socio-economic background as well as measure the impact of participation in campus programs such as service learning, faculty mentoring programs; athletics; residency in UVA, participation in EOP.

Goal 4. To generate campus discussions surrounding the role of the library faculty and more specifically the ILP in supporting first year student success.

Year 1:  Data Collection from Freshman GEL and non GEL students

General Design:  Freshman students who are enrolled in GEL in Fall 2006 will be tested on information literacy knowledge at the beginning of the semester.  These students will be tested again at the end of the semester.  Additionally, to serve as a comparison group, non-GEL students (those who have not enrolled for the course in Fall 2006) will be tested both at the beginning and end of the semester. 

Year 2: Longitudinal Data collection

Students who participated in the study in year one will be followed as additional data will be obtained from institutional research. 

• Data collection from Institutional Research

• Data analysis

• Final report to CSU

• Presentations to CSUSM community

 Deliverables

• Final report that addresses the two primary questions:  (1) Does GEL increase students’ knowledge of info competency?  (2) Does GEL experience relate to greater retention, higher GPAs and pass rates for the CCR?

• Submission of article to relevant periodical (Exchanges, the online journal of teaching and learning in the CSU)

• Submission of proposal for national conference (CARL, 2008)

Project Administrators:

Sharon Hamill – Professor and Chair of Psychology, has taught in the GE program for five years, served 3 ½ years on the General Education Committee (chairing it for 2 years), and has recently been named the GE Assessment Coordinator.  She has worked with Gabriela Sonntag on an information literacy project in the past in which we shared our experiences with other CSU faculty at CSU San Bernardino.  Additionally, as a Developmental Psychologist, Sharon has the requisite knowledge in methods and statistics to undertake the assessment project described in this proposal.

Joanne Pedersen-- Coordinator for the GEL course and the Associate Director of our new First-Year Programs Office.  Has been teaching at Cal State San Marcos since 1991.  She hires, and provides professional development/training for, the GEL instructors, has taught a wide array of lower-division courses with an emphasis on information competence and thus has establish a long term working relationship with the instructional librarians.

Gabriela Sonntag – Coordinator of Information Literacy Program and Reference Services has been instrumental in developing and implementing the information competency requirement within the General Education program. One of the originators of the GEL course, she continues to coordinate the librarians involved in GE instructional modules as well as teach the library module every semester.