Gavilan College Library 408 848 4806

Integrating Information Competencies into the Allied Health Curriculum

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Gavilan College

 

Don Hausrath, MLIS; Shuk-chun Auyeung, MSIS; Jo Anne Howell, MLIS, &

Kaye Bedell, MSN, FNP, RN, Gavilan College, Gilroy, California

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract and Project Summary
Context/Background
Project Development Summary
Assessing the Project
Conclusions, Implications and Lessons Learned
Project Evaluation
References
Appendix A
Attachment B

Abstract and Project Summary

 

Information competency is increasingly important to the learning process at Gavilan College.  Supported by a $35,000 grant from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, a team of Allied Health (AH) and Library faculty developed new components and revised courses supporting the Allied Health curriculum. The main objective was to introduce Allied Health students and faculty to a wide array of information technologies, computer applications and information competency concepts. Our goal was to reconfigure the Allied Health curriculum to reflect the impact of information technology on the health professions by inserting information competency components into AH courses. These changes in the curriculum impact each year about 450 students enrolled in the Allied Health curriculum, 475 students enrolled in Biology course co-offered with Allied Health, and 150 students enrolled in Library courses. Three new one-unit Library/Allied Health courses were developed and five three-unit Allied Health courses were extensively revised with AH instructors and librarians working in tandem.  All modules were web-based.

 

Student scores on an Information Competency (IC) test administered at the beginning and end of each class showed an average gain of 23.8 points. Outcomes include an enlarged cadre of faculty and administrators knowledgeable and enthusiastic about IC as an effective instructional method, more effective use of our technology infrastructure, and more effective working relationships between library and discipline faculty. Students struggled at first through the IC assignments, but came out demonstrating not only better health and medical research skills, but, according to their instructors, improved basic research, report writing, and computer skills. Allied Health faculty reported that integrating IC components helped to maintain currency in their own courses, and enhance the overall quality of their courses.  After IC training, students were better able to differentiate the quality of sources, and have a broader understanding of course content. The process effectively institutionalized IC in the Allied Health department. Some “lessons learned,” a planning template and our test instruments are provided. Class websites may be found at http://www.gavilan.edu/library/nursing.

 

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CONTEXT/BACKGROUND

 

This project, to integrate information competency skills into the Allied Health curriculum of Gavilan College, evolved from a 1997 California Community College Chancellor’s Office Fund for Instructional Improvement grant to Gavilan to review the current and projected roles of information competency instruction within the California community colleges and to develop a plan for implementation: Information Competency Plan for the California Community Colleges (Auyeung and Hausrath, 1998)

 

In 1998, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s office provided funding ($35,000 per college) in the Student Success Institutionalization Fund for Information Competency.  The projects were expected to have a statewide impact on “the institutionalization of college-based information competency models and or practices which improve student success and constitute student outcomes.” 

 

Why is Information Competency Important?

 

This Information Competency Plan noted “over a million students enter California's 106 community colleges each year. Their learning landscape is strikingly different from that experienced by yesterday's undergraduates in yesterday's classrooms. Students must learn how to acquire, manage, and analyze large quantities of information. Information and knowledge is expanding rapidly and the ability to quickly review and use relevant information through the appropriate technologies has become a valued skill. The problem is that most students arrive on campus without information competency skills.  They lack information retrieval skills necessary for a successful collegiate or vocational experience, or to support lifelong learning. This problem is exacerbated by the changing nature of work in the 21st century, which will demand highly skilled and well-educated workers who will need to continuously update their skills and knowledge” (Auyeung & Hausrath, 1998).

 

Partnering for Change

 

Gavilan Library faculty’s initial involvement in information competency (IC) was through a grant administered by the Chancellor’s Office for researching and drafting an IC plan to be submitted to the State Board of Governors. The completed plan called for the integration of information competency components in the curriculum of all California Community Colleges. (Auyeung & Hausrath, 1998) Paralleling this report was a position paper commissioned by California State Community College Academic Senate, which plays a major role, through its local chapters, in specifically changing and developing the curriculum in each of California’s community colleges.

 

What is Information Competency?

 

The State Academic Senate’s definition of information competency (IC)  “ is the ability to:

 

+     Recognize the need for information.

+     State a research question, problem or issue.

+     Determine information requirements in various disciplines for research questions, problems, or issues.

+     Use information technology tools to locate and retrieve information.

+     Organize information.

+     Analyze and evaluate information.

+     Communicate using a variety of information resources and technologies.

+     Understand the ethical and legal issues surrounding information and information technology.

+     Apply the skills gained in information competency to enable lifelong learning.”

(Auyeung & Hausrath, 1998)

 

For future planning, however, we suggest using the similar Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries, issued on January 18, 2000. The ACRL study provides specific indicators and outcomes for each standard, useful in designing and assessing changes in the curriculum. (ACRL, 2000)

 

An information literate individual, as defined by the ACRL board, is able to:

 

+     “Determine the extent of information needed.

+     Access the needed information effectively and efficiently

+     Evaluate information and its sources critically

+     Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base

+     Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

+     Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.” (ACRL, 2000)

The Need for IC in Allied Health

 

We attempted the integration of information competency skills into the Allied Health curriculum for several reasons. One was to enhance student learning, particularly at Gavilan where student success rates needed improvement and secondly, to make changes due to the rapidly changing nature of the health care professions. Our plan was to address IC issues in the health curriculum at Gavilan, and then take the process to other disciplines, making use of what we had learned in the process.

 

Since the early 1990s, The American Nurses Association and the National Student Nurses Association have recognized that technology is changing health care and that health care issues are transforming health care occupations; thus requiring changes in nursing education. Of particular importance was the challenge of not only delivering material of a technical nature to health professionals, but also providing health information to audiences unfamiliar with the topic or vocabulary.  (ANA, 1993 & Barger, 1994) There are, as well, the changing demographics of the population, an increased focus on health promotion and a sea change in health care reimbursement. Increasingly, nurses must be prepared to work autonomously outside institutional settings. “ It appears,” Mawn and Reece suggest “that an essential change in nursing education, must, at the very least, involve a switch from the skills/content approach to learning to an outcome/competency-based learning environment.”  (Mawn & Reece, 2000).

 

Gavilan College Statistics in Context

 

+     Local schools approach a 70% Latino student population

+     San Benito County has more than double the national unemployment rate

+     Almost half (46%) of elementary school children come from low-income families using school-lunch funds

+     For one in three Gavilan students English is a second language

+     Student persistence– only 12% of Gavilan students reached sophomore status during 1995-99

+     Student retention and completion rates at Gavilan ranged from 45% to 63% across most disciplines 

+     In a national study less than 10 percent of Hispanic families have home access to the Internet. (Santos, 2000)

 

Addressing These Issues at Gavilan

 

To address these issues a series of solutions were proposed in 1999 by an internal Gavilan study. These included the following proposals that seemingly underscored the need for IC components. 

 

+     Revise courses overly dependent on traditional “chalk and talk” instructional methodologies

+     Implement curriculum changes incorporating interactive learning experiences

+     Assure that students develop computing and information competency skills for both success in higher education and the technology-driven workplace

+     Establish engaging learning environments that encourage students to develop lifelong learning skills

+     Provide faculty development training and resources to enhance their knowledge of instructional technology, learning styles and curriculum design.

+     Enlarge student access to information sources, faculty e-mail contact, and Internet resources

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PROJECT DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY

 

Several planning sessions were held since August 1999 to identify and prioritize specific activities, resulting in a training plan and an evaluation process.  A project team was established consisting of the Project Director, Project Consultant, Reference/Technology Librarian and the Allied Health Program Coordinator.  Three of these members attended a seminar on Internet for Health Professionals, which provided first-hand knowledge of training topics and important health issues. Outlines of three new courses were developed. The College Curriculum Committee approved these early in the Fall Semester of 1999. These new courses were included in the College’s spring schedule and one course was taught during the spring 2000 semester.

 

After consultation with Allied Health Program Coordinator and faculty, Reference/Technology Librarian Jo Anne Howell completed research on how best to link information competency activities with key concepts in the first two courses in Allied Health. Then, prototype courses were developed. Developing these prototypes proved useful for the development, not only of other Allied Health courses, but courses throughout the college. Class assignments were carefully selected and updated on each class website. Examples may be viewed at http://www.gavilan.edu/library/nursing [2000, July 19]. An instrument to measure student success was completed.

 

A core nursing instructor group was introduced to the exercises designed for the first of two courses. Working with the librarians, they each designed an information component for their own classes. These components became part of their spring 2000 classes. Two library staff members were also enrolled in these courses to better their ability to help students in the future.

 

Activities Using IC

 

Students were introduced to the application and use of information technology through a combination of learning modules, hands-on computer laboratories, in and out-of-class assignments and self selected learning opportunities. Assignments focused on the fundamentals of information competency: applications, electronic mail, library databases, and the Internet. The IC components were directed at both the fundamentals of computer applications as well as applying information competency to Allied Health related assignments and projects. This process involves: formulating sound research questions and search strategies, developing an understanding of how databases work, knowing the range of information resources available, and identifying and evaluating specific information resources.

 

Outline of Objectives

 

A.     The first objective was to further student success in Gavilan’s Allied Health programs by providing instructional models that use alternative approaches to integrate information competency skills into Allied Health curriculum.  Towards that end:

 

+     A curriculum development team was established in August 1999 from Allied Health (AH) and Library faculty and selected students. They identified needed areas of development.

+     The curriculum development team developed course outlines for new integrated courses in Allied Health  (as stand-alone or add-on), which would provide an information competency component. These new course outlines and related logistics needs were submitted in Gavilan’s curriculum committee during the August-September 1999 period. The curriculum development team established information-competency instruction models for 22 of the existing AH courses during the last quarter of 1999. Participants included the project team, curriculum development team, and research assistants.

+     The curriculum development committee began the research and development of sample materials for new courses or components during the last quarter of 1999. Participants included the project team, curriculum development team and research assistants. This process took place from September 1999 until the end of spring semester in April of 2000.

+     Three new integrated Library/Allied Health courses were developed and offered in the spring semester 2000. (See Appendix B for details) This was overseen by the Reference/Technology librarian and appointed AH faculty. Developing these prototypes is proving useful for the development, not only of other Allied Health courses, but courses throughout the college. Class assignments were carefully selected and updated in each class website. (Examples may be viewed at: http://www.gavilan.edu/library/nursing [2000, July 6]

+     Substantial time was invested in reviewing nursing texts and other materials to identify the most appropriate instructional activities that make use of information competency exercises. This activity actually involved twice the estimated time. One difficulty was finding appropriate meeting times, particularly in the case of adjunct nursing faculty. 

 

B.     The second objective was to evaluate these new course models by developing criteria and indicators of student success.

 

+     During the period October 1999 to April 2000 the project team and the development team set the criteria to measure student success. Two instruments to measure student success were completed. Another instrument was developed to assess student success from the instructor’s viewpoint. After surveying the literature and reviewing various measurement tools, we developed an IC measurement tool adapted from one used, revised and studied for testing first and second year students at New Century College at George Mason University. In the process, we revised some questions to relate more specifically to the Allied Health curriculum. A discussion of the literature survey is found in Appendix A.

+     In May 2000, the project team and the curriculum development team designed the tracking, monitoring and reporting of student success and collected data sets towards that end.

+     In May through June of 2000, the project team and the curriculum development team compared and analyzed data from existing and revised courses and revised, as needed, core information competencies in Allied Health.

 

C.     The third objective was to provide faculty training and institutionalize the process at Gavilan.

 

+     The project team developed print and electronic training resources and prototype training materials during the 1999-2000 school year since a trained faculty would contribute to student proficiency in information competency.

+     The project team developed, during the March-May 2000 period, a more detailed staff development program for Gavilan College to provide more campus-wide awareness of the concepts of information competency. A core nursing instructor group was introduced to the exercises designed for the first of two courses. Working with the librarians, they each

designed an information component for their own classes. These components are now part of their spring 2000 classes. Two library staff members are also enrolled in these courses to better their ability to help students in the future.  The Reference/Technology Librarian planned the training activities. A training workshop was held on December 22, 1998 for eight Allied Health faculty members, assisted by three library adjunct faculty members. A pretest and posttest was administered to them as well as to the students.

+     The AH and Library faculty planned to submit the new and revised courses to the Curriculum Committee for approval, thus institutionalizing information competency models. Allied Health faculty in tandem with Library faculty submitted course proposals for three courses, through the Dean of Liberal Arts and the Dean of Vocational Education. The Curriculum Committee, a Faculty Senate committee, consists of representatives from all college departments, various deans, and the Dean of Instruction. All three courses were approved and co-listed in the college catalog under Allied Health and the Library.

+     All Allied Health students were advised to take two of the new courses in Allied Health. Thus, these courses impact all Nursing students. Since all three courses are co-listed as library courses, it has the potential of impacting students enrolled in Library courses as well. Allied Health is co-listed as Biology 11, and thus could impact all Biology students as well. Each year, approximately 450 students are enrolled in nursing courses, 475 in Biology courses and 150 students are enrolled in Library courses.

 

D.   The fourth objective was to evaluate the project.

 

+     The project consultant and project director identified evaluation elements and monitored progress and began project evaluation in September- November 1999.

+     The project consultant in consultation with the project director began developing an implementation plan, a facilities plan, a training plan and a project evaluation plan in March-June 2000.

+     The project consultant in consultation with the project director drafted a final report in June- July 2000.

+     The project consultant in consultation with the project director drafted an article on the project to be submitted to a professional journal by August 2000.

 

What the Students were exposed to: Concepts and Activities

 

1.      Allied Health 3. The Person in the Life Cycle. This is a 3-unit course outlining the development and realization of human potential across the life span. Because this is one of the core courses required for all nursing students, we decided to include several information competency components. The class syllabus, case study assignments, extra credit assignments, a list of print and online reference sources, and the weekly schedule are all posted on the class homepage. From the weekly schedule, students access six separate information competency assignments, spread over a period of four months. These assignments cover basic search skills (Boolean strategies, truncation, phrase and field searching), plus basic formats and their differences: books, journal articles, reference sources, and online articles. In addition, students had a basic introduction to accessing their assignments from their homepage (Library Internet Introduction, an online introduction to the library homepage) at the beginning of the semester.

 

2.      Allied Health 11. Nutrition. This three-unit course is designed to meet the needs of the Allied Health and the general education student alike in acquiring relevant information about nutrition, which they can use professionally and or personally. Because this class is co-listed as a biology course (BIO11) and many students outside the nursing program take it, we tailored several IC components specifically for it. From the weekly schedule homepage, students accessed eight separate information competency components covering basic search skills plus the various formats. In the final components, students could take a self-quiz on information competency skills, to test how well they understood the principles. The components were spread out over the entire semester, giving students the opportunity to build their skills and practice them for several months.

 

3.      Allied Health 44. Compensatory Nursing Practice. This ten-unit course (5.5 lecture, 13.5 laboratory) provides concepts and principles of the nursing process applied to preventive, supportive, rehabilitative, and teaching aspects in meeting the health needs of the patients requiring compensatory nursing interventions. It incorporates nursing concepts and experiences with all age groups, including senior adults. For this class, we posted the syllabus, weekly schedule and one information competency assignment online. Because this is one of the more advanced classes, we felt that students would have already have gone through the basics with AH3 and AH11, and therefore needed only a review of the concepts. The one assignment was an extensive virtual tour of the library from a nursing student’s perspective. It could be accessed of course, at any time, and the responses submitted online. Included were online encyclopedias, a subject-specific web directory, an online library catalog, an online index for general and popular magazines, and an Internet search engine for medical websites. Search strategies of truncation, Boolean logic and phrase searching were included. Methods of evaluating websites at various Internet sites were explored. Students were introduced to selected print and electronic reference tools.

 

4.      Allied Health 62. Medical Surgical Nursing. This eleven-unit course (6 lecture, 15 laboratory) provides theoretical and clinical experience in the care of adult, medical-surgical clients, introduces more complicated nursing situations, including pre-operative and post-operative care. Again, because this is one of the more advanced classes, we included only one information competency component. The assignment covered online encyclopedias, online book catalogs, nursing-specific subject directories on the Internet, and Internet search engines. We also covered evaluation criteria and APA citation formats. The course syllabus and weekly schedule were posted to the class website for the students’ convenience.

 

5.      Allied Health 64. Surgical and Pediatric Nursing. This eleven-unit course (6 lecture, 15 laboratory) provides theoretical and clinical experience in medical and surgical pediatric nursing, and includes the care of clients with disorders of the endocrine and neurosensory systems, mental illness, emergency nursing and care of the child. This is another advanced class, but the instructor wanted more components added to the schedule. A total of three assignments were designed and spread out over the semester, so that students had the opportunity to practice searching skills, evaluation criteria and writing APA-style citations. The assignments used topics students were currently covering in their classes, so that students had exposure to more information than what was provided in their textbook. The first assignment covered theories of human development, and led students to encyclopedia articles, specialized nursing directories and search engines on the Internet. The second assignment looked at sources of information on children’s perceptions of death and their expressions of grief. The third assignment concentrated on adolescents and risk-taking behavior.

 

6.      Allied Health 140 or Library 140. Internet & Information Competency for Health Professionals. This one-unit goes into much more detail on how to find reliable, current information in the medical field. It examines the organization of health related literature in traditional print and electronic formats including MEDLINE and other NIH resources. Standard resources such as The Physicians’ Desk Reference and The Merck Manuals were examined in print and online versions. Internet subject directories with medical information in Spanish were introduced. Information resources were evaluated in several assignments. Citation formats for various resources were covered. Students came away from the class with a thorough understanding of the organization and availability of health information; how to find it and how to evaluate its usefulness. Lectures, visual demonstrations, in-class practices, group work, individual research project, worksheets, and a final examination were used. Meeting in the library electronic classroom, students worked interactively on assignments found on their website. They submitted their results to the instructor online. There were as well, outside assignments submitted on paper. Class activities often involved student teams who provided brief reports of their findings. We experimented with a condensed version of this course at a weekend workshop in the Hollister Public Library, training patrons and staff, useful to this largely Hispanic community with very limited health information available.

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ASSESSING THE PROJECT

 

We used various measures to assess information competency among students in Allied Health. These included (1) an assessment tool developed for nursing faculty response: (2) informal feedback from students and faculty, (3) formal sessions with the project team and (4) a test instrument. This instrument was used as both the pretest and posttest. It was adapted from a similar instrument developed at New Century College at George Mason University. This experimental college was designed to integrate information competencies in all first year students. The New Century College assessment instrument was tested by Jim Young on two classes of first year students – about 90 students per semester. Given the expertise that went into the design and the available results of this study, as well as the personal assistance of Jim Young, we adapted this instrument rather than attempting to develop our own. We used 91 pretests of Gavilan students. Posttests represent a 30% sampling of those 91 students.

 

Results of the Test Instruments

 

The mean score for the pretest was 51.5 % with a standard deviation of 17.95. The mean score for the posttest was 75.33, an increase of 23.83 points. Standard deviation of the posttest was 14.41. Where questions were adapted from the George Mason instrument, both test questions are provided in this report. Results are provided from the fall 1998 class at George Mason and the fall and spring of 1999-2000 at Gavilan.  All Allied health classes asked their students to take this exam, thus some students took the exam more than once; however we used only one pretest per student. Questions without George Mason data were added for the Gavilan study.

 

Demographic Data

 

 In assessing the comparative statistics, there are several variables to consider. Students in Northern Virginia come to George Mason from high schools with better high school libraries and better library training than in California. GM= George Mason University, New Century College student, GA= Gavilan College student. Keep in mind we are comparing 1998 statistics from New Century College vs. 1999-2000 statistics at Gavilan.

 

  1. I own or have regular access to a personal computer.

 

GM: 90%

GA:  83%

 

  1. The computer is connected to a modem or network.

 

GM: 76%

GA:  79%

 

  1. I have a disability, which requires special computer equipment.

 

GA: 4. %

 

  1. I am technologically competent.

 

GM: 74%

GA:  64%

 

Assessment Data

 

GP= Gavilan Post Test

GM= George Mason Post Test

 

(Percentage selecting the correct response is indicated)

 

  1. To know if a library owns a certain book, you should surf the web, search periodical databases and indexes, check the online catalog or read the table of contents of magazines and newspapers?

 

GM: 93%

GA:  53 %

GP:  88 % (Gavilan Post Test)

Gav. Gain: 35 %

 

  1. When looking for articles on a certain topic, the best route to take is: surf the web, search periodical databases and indexes, check the online catalog, read the table of contents of magazines and newspapers.

 

GM: 91%

GA:  42%

GP:  76%

Gav. Gain: 34%

 

  1. The address of a World Wide Web site is called: URL, Domain, or TCP/IP? (GM spelled out Uniform Resource Locator rather than use URL.)  

 

GM: 80%

GA:  67%

GP:   88%

Gav. Gain: 21%

 

8. This is a valid format for a World Wide Web page address: http://walters@ctu.org/, http://www.walters.org/, http://wwc.walters.org/

 

GM: 78%

GA:  77%

GP:   88%

Gav. Gain: 11%

 

9. Material found on the World Wide Web does not have to follow copyright rules. (True/False) George Mason used the word restrictions rather than rules. Another version of the test at Gavilan states, “Most of the material you’ll find on the World Wide Web is protected by copyright laws. “

 

GM: 88%

GA: 40%

GP:  64%

Gav. Gain: 24%

 

10. All search engines on the World Wide Web follow the same procedures. (True/False)

GM: 52%

GA: 58%

GP: 76%

Gav. Gai