Everything but the kitchen sink! A guide to information literacy (IL) assessment  

This approach means using a variety of assessment tools to build a more holistic picture of student learning & effective teaching.

The “kitchen sink” approach is based on the theory that, because learners are diverse in their learning styles, a diverse array of assessment techniques are needed to understand how an undergraduate student population experiences research. The data collected to test this theory is in the form of pre- and post-surveys, a student research journal, faculty and student feedback, library instruction worksheets, a librarian self-reflection and citation analysis of bibliographies from students’ final research papers.

For examples of some of these tools, see the 'Assessment Tools & Methods' tab on this guide.

 Image: Chris Riebschlager, “Kitchen Sink”. 2007. Flickr Creative Commons. Accessed 2 Oct2010.

This project and guide were developed by:

• Jackie Belanger (Reference & Instruction Librarian, UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College Campus Library)
• Rebecca Bliquez (Reference & Instruction Librarian, UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College Campus Library)
• Dr Sharleen Mondal (Faculty, Center for University Studies & Programs, University of Washington Bothell)

Articles/Book chapters:

• Gilchrist, D. & Zald, A. (2008). Instruction & program design through assessment. In Cox, C. & Lindsay, E. (Eds.), Information literacy instruction handbook (pp. 164-192). Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries
• Mackey, T. & Jacobson, T. (2010). Collaborative information literacy assessments: Strategies for evaluating teaching and learning. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
• Oakleaf, M. (2008). Dangers and opportunities:A conceptual map of information literacy assessment approaches, Libraries and the Academy 8(3), pp. 233–253.
• Oakleaf, M. & Kaske, N. (2009). Guiding questions for assessing information literacy in higher education. Libraries and the Academy 9(2), pp. 273–286.

Websites

• Assessments of Information Literacy: A list of links to information literacy assessment tools compiled by Jon Mueller, Professor of Psychology at North Central College.
• Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy (RAILS): A three-year IMLS-funded project run by Megan Oakleaf (Syracuse University) designed to explore the use of rubrics for information literacy assessment.