ACTIVITY 3: ASSESSING
INFORMATION LITERACY (Preliminary Task)
An assignment was given in 2010 to students who
were doing Stats 151. It was to choose a topic related to their field of study.
Students were expected to come up with a topic, write a report and present it
in a group.
a. Description of the task / what are
students required to do?
Students were required to choose an
interesting topic in relation to their major course. Then they were required to
come up with the data whether in Excel or Medcalc. They were also required to
analyse the data and come up with some descriptive statistics. statistical measures for
a set of data such as the mean, standard deviation, median and/or other
measures of spread and location. Also to be included in your assignment is at
least one plot of a Histogram, Ogive and/or Box-and-whisker plot to assist in
the data analysis. You may use Confidence Intervals, Hypothesis Testing, and
Chi-Square distribution, One-Way ANOVA and/or Linear Regression as well.
b. What are the primary learning
outcomes that are assessed through this assignment?
The primary learning outcomes which are assed in
this assignment was to be able to identify a research question of
investigation. In a scientific research, a topic and a research question should
be feasible, and answer the objectives. Students learnt how to put what they
learnt statistically in theory and put it into practice by analysing the data
by means of software of their choice, be it Medcalc or Excel. Moreover, students
were expected to learn how to present in groups within a time as short as 10
minutes.
c. Consider whether students are given clear guidance in respect of
information sources.
The guidance provided in
assignment should be sufficient. They knew where and how to get the data, since
they used those data during practical sessions. They were advised to use any text editor for writing
up the report. For the data analysis they were required to use MedCalc or Excel The data was whether in Excel or Medcalc formats. More
than that, students had computer lab whereby they practice data analysis,
guided by a Teaching Assistant of Stats 151.
d. Is there any recognition of the underpinning information tasks
and skills that may be necessary to fulfil the assignment? Is provision
made for supporting students in these?
For the students,
knowledge of how to identify an
appropriate title that captures the essence of the study was crucial. The
capability of sorting the data, produce some descriptive outputs including graphs
and tables was expected from the students. Moreover, students were informed about the formats which are
three parts. With regards to the report, a report of no more than three
pages including graphs, tables and/or charts was required to students. The
report should include
e. Is this specified as part of the criteria for performing the
task, and awarded credit?
Yes
it is specified in a way that the assignment had to replace one test in which
students did not perform well.
f. How could this assignment be re-designed to explicitly build and recognize students’ information literacy competencies?
For the assignment to be
re-designed, students should be referred to the Science faculty librarian for
more information regarding the topics they choose. They should be helped to use
the databases for them to get more information on the topics. This means
searching for books, journal articles, and other relevant resources. In
addition, they should be informed about writing center facility so that they
could get more guidance on how to write scientifically with a good writing
style. It involves how to summarise information, to paraphrase, and to reference
properly in order to avoid the plagiarism. Unfortunately, I am not sure if the
writing center helps students with quantitative analysis. Students were rather
advised to ask
the lecturer in their field of interest, to speak to the practical demonstrator
or even postgraduate students. However, students
should have been reminded about statistics coaching which is done at level 13
in the library where statistics coaches are helping post-graduate students who
need statistical help in order to analyse their data.
