From Panic to Joy: The Socio-emotional Side of Information Literacy for First-Generation College Students
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Conference Strand
Diversity and Inclusion
Target Audience
Higher Education
Second Target Audience
K-12
Location
Session 2
Relevance
My proposal is directly connected to teaching information literacy; it considers the challenges that a diverse group of students may face when learning to do academic research and suggests strategies for working with them.
Proposal
Experienced teachers of information literacy, particularly classroom instructors in writing studies who routinely teach research-based writing seminars, have an array of strategies to draw on to help advance students through the necessary stages of their information literacy journey. But instructors may need to add to and adapt their strategies when teaching diverse populations, especially students with two or more of the following marginalized identities: BIPOC students, multilingual writers, first-generation college students, and students who self-identify as low-income students. Working intensively with this population in college-level courses focusing on source-based writing, we have found that in addition to teaching the so-called hidden curriculum of writing courses and of information literacy, which were already part of many courses, we needed to introduce a focus explicitly on library use and habits and on the hidden curriculum of the university at large. Drawing on a robust metacognitive approach to the skills of information literacy, students supplemented classroom and library activities with skits, written reflections, and TikTok videos focusing on the emotional side of information literacy. Acknowledging and responding to students’ feelings of panic, overwhelm, surprise, and even joy helped students see themselves as researchers even if the identity may have felt foreign to them at first, and created a truly inclusive classroom. The presentation includes quotes from students’ reflections, many of which are striking in their emotional power.
Presentation Description
Teaching information literacy and research skills to a class of primarily first-generation college students—many with diverse racial, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds—can bring up the unexpected. This presentation highlights the benefits of an expanded metacognitive approach to teaching research, one that emphasizes socio-emotional learning alongside academic skills and strategies.
Keywords
hidden curriculum, writing studies, research writing, diversity
Publication Type and Release Option
Event
Recommended Citation
Michaud, Christina J., "From Panic to Joy: The Socio-emotional Side of Information Literacy for First-Generation College Students" (2022). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 35.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2022/2022/35
From Panic to Joy: The Socio-emotional Side of Information Literacy for First-Generation College Students
Session 2
Experienced teachers of information literacy, particularly classroom instructors in writing studies who routinely teach research-based writing seminars, have an array of strategies to draw on to help advance students through the necessary stages of their information literacy journey. But instructors may need to add to and adapt their strategies when teaching diverse populations, especially students with two or more of the following marginalized identities: BIPOC students, multilingual writers, first-generation college students, and students who self-identify as low-income students. Working intensively with this population in college-level courses focusing on source-based writing, we have found that in addition to teaching the so-called hidden curriculum of writing courses and of information literacy, which were already part of many courses, we needed to introduce a focus explicitly on library use and habits and on the hidden curriculum of the university at large. Drawing on a robust metacognitive approach to the skills of information literacy, students supplemented classroom and library activities with skits, written reflections, and TikTok videos focusing on the emotional side of information literacy. Acknowledging and responding to students’ feelings of panic, overwhelm, surprise, and even joy helped students see themselves as researchers even if the identity may have felt foreign to them at first, and created a truly inclusive classroom. The presentation includes quotes from students’ reflections, many of which are striking in their emotional power.
