Michael D. Eisner College of Education
Department
of Educational Psychology and Counseling
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8265
"Future Step in Counselor Education:
Information Competence"
A presentation for the
American Counselor Educators and Supervisors National Conference
Park City, Utah
October 17, 2002
Rie Rogers Mitchell, Ph.D.,
ABPP, Merril Simon, Ph.D., and Greg Jackson, Ed.D.
in consultation with Lynn
Lampert, M.L.S.
Download Printable Version of this web page as a PDF file or Word File
Electronic report located at: http://www.csun.edu/edpsy/resources.html
A
research grant was obtained from the California State University Information
Competency Project to assess our departmentıs current status and needs in terms
of Information Competence skills of students and faculty. After forming an IC
committee (ICC) of four faculty members from our department, we prepared an
agenda and conducted a department-wide retreat. Pre-matriculated (students
completing pre-requisite and research methods courses) and faculty were
surveyed as to their reported level of Information Competenceincluding both
computer and research skills. The
results were reported out for each survey and recommendations were made for future
training and other IC needs for incoming and outgoing graduate students in the
Educational Psychology and Counseling department.
Purpose of Proposal
The purpose of the proposal was to
incorporate the skills of information competence in the departmentsı student
learning outcomes, so that information competence is a required learning
outcome for the degree program (Document #1). This enables students to successfully conduct the type of
research necessary for a thesis of masterıs degree quality and fulfills one of
the requirements for graduation, as well as provides life‑long
professional skills in dealing competently with information, plus thinking and
reasoning.
Two core
processes were identified to ensure information competence in EPC graduate
students:
1. The
first core process involved an initial assessment of computer skills and basic
information competence of students enrolled in a required prerequisite class (Document
#12), followed by
access to appropriate referrals and developmental resources for those who need
additional support and course assignments to enhance skills, with a final
assessment of skills before movement into the graduate program.
2.
The
second core process involved infusing ACRL competency standards into specific
core classes (including EPC 602, Research Principles). A survey was designed to
measure the desirable skills (Document #10 EPC) followed by an assessment of
studentsı demonstrated ability of information competence before moving to the
final phase of graduate study
the masterıs thesis/project.
Project Activities
March
2001: Identification of ICC members
The following three faculty members were identified to work
with the chair (and primary investigator) to carry out the purpose of this
proposal and to become members of the departmental Information Competence Committee
(ICC): Gregory Jackson, Bernard
Nisenholz, Rie Rogers Mitchell (chair), and Merril Simon. These members were selected because of
an expressed interest and expertise in the subject and, synchronistically,
represented all faculty ranks: assistant, associate, ³full,² and Faculty
Early-Retirement Program (FERP).
March to June 2001: Meetings of ICC Committee
The ICC selected the date and site of the faculty retreat
(August 20-21, 2001 at the Casa Serena Hotel, Oxnard, CA) and developed the
agenda (#2-Retreat Agenda & #6 Scripted Agenda).
After studying information competence skills developed by
several sources (e.g., ACES Technology Interest Group, 1999; Florida
International University IL, CSU-Monterey Bay), and other existing IC models (Document
#3; Document #4),
the ICC decided to propose a model to the faculty that infused IC skills into
the curriculum paired with three draft lists of competencies: Basic IC Skills,
Research Skills, and Professional Skills.
The proposed model included:
1. A plan for ensuring that students would enter the masterıs degree programs with basic skills.
2. Research skills infused into the Educational Research course (EPC 602), a course required of all students. Students would use these skills in preparation for their comprehensive examination and/or thesis.
3. Professional skills covered in courses within each of the seven masterıs degree specialties (i.e., career counseling, college counseling/student services, early childhood education, educational psychology, marriage and family therapy, school counseling, and school psychology).
The ICC also identified goals for the retreat and developed
a survey for faculty members to determine their IC needs (Document #5).
August 20-21, 2001: EPC
Faculty Retreat
All full-time faculty members (including five FERP faculty) attended the retreat, except for two faculty members who were out of the country (one was on a Fulbright scholarship in Africa; the other had not as yet returned from a trip abroad). In addition five part-time faculty members were included who were scheduled to teach the Educational Research course (EPC 605) in the Fall 2001
The goals of the retreat (as determined by the ICC) were:
1.
To
feel stimulated and excited about starting the new school year.
2.
To come
together as colleagues and friends
3.
To
identify information competencies for departmental masterıs students
4.
To
plan how IC skills can be infused throughout the curriculum
5.
To
discuss what types of assignments might be incorporated to increase IC
6.
To
discuss how our studentsı IC skills can be assessed
7.
To
examine how we can further develop our own IC skills
Each faculty member was given a packet that included the following
materials: Agenda, Fact Sheet on Information Literacy (Document #3), RFP for IC Grants (from Susan C,
Curzon), departmental IC Grant Proposal (Document #1), IC Assessment Methods by Learning
Domains with examples (Document #4), Faculty Technology Survey (Document #5), and draft documents of criteria for Basic IC
Skills, Research IC Skills, and Professional IC skills. The ICC members also had a ³scripted²
agenda of activities (Document #6).
Faculty members were enthusiastic about this subject and lively
discussions ensued regarding: (a) what skills are basic, research, or
professional competencies; (2) how should IC be infused in the curriculum; (3)
what types of assignments would increase IC; (4) how can IC be assessed, and
(5) how can faculty members improve their skills.
By the end of the retreat, all goals had been met:
1.
Faculty
members agreed that they would join together to support the goal that EPC
students would become information competent learners by graduation (Goal 2
above).
2.
Criteria
lists of Basic (Document #7), Research (Document #8), and Professional (Document #9) competencies were refined (Goal 3
above).
3.
The
ICC model was tentatively adopted with identified modifications (Document
#21) to be
discussed at the September faculty meeting (Goal 4 above).
4.
Ideas
were discussed regarding types of assignments that might be incorporated into
the curriculum. (Goal 5 above).
a. Beverly Cabello, EPC 602 Course
Mentor, will design a course prototype that includes model assignments (Document
#11).
b. More discussion will take place at
future faculty meetings
5.
It was
decided to use a basic skills survey (Document #12) to assess students in the
prerequisite class (EPC 451). It
was recognized that a sophisticated assessment method would have to be
developed in order to assess if, in fact, applicants had mastered the basic skills. The faculty agreed that, until this was
accomplished, mastery of basic skills could not be used as a criterion for
admission. However, 2002
applicants will be given a list of basic skills and learning resources and
asked to master these skills before classes begin in the fall (Goal 6 above) (Document
#21).
6. Faculty identified their desired
areas of growth, using the Faculty Technology Survey (Goal 7 above) (Document
#5).
September
5, 2001: Faculty Meeting
From the department retreat, a
series of recommendations were drafted based on the ICC model (Document #21); these were discussed and revised
at the faculty meeting. In
addition, information competence was included as a performance outcome in the
department mission statement (Document #15). We
recognize that additional recommendations concerning assignments and assessment
also needed to be developed.
September
December, 2001: IC Assessment of Students in Prerequisite Classes
In two sections of a required prerequisite course (i.e., EPC
451- Introduction to Counseling), basic skills of 56 students were assessed (Document
#13). It was found that:
1.
Fifty-two
students had a computer at home; one did not.
2.
Forty-nine
students had a printer at home; two did not.
3.
Forty-nine
students used e-mail often or very often; 3 rarely; 4 did not respond.
4.
Overall
the mean of 32 skills in five technology categories (M = 2.6) were higher than
the mean of 19 skills in six library information categories (M = 2.130, with
the mean of 19 skills in information resource awareness was mid-way between the
previous two categories (M = 2.46).
The results of the study were shared
with students, and appropriate referral resources (Documents #14 and #17) were provided. In addition, EPC 451 instructors arranged for a library
lecture for their class.
November
2001: Proposal to Present IC Competencies at the National Conference for
Counselor Educators.
Three members of the departmental
ICC submitted a proposal to present a program on Information Competence at the
national conference of the Association of Counselor Educators and Supervisors
(ACES) in Park City, Utah in October 2002. A copy of the proposal is included (Document #16). In May 2002, the proposal was accepted and will
be presented on October 17, 2002 by Rie Rogers Mitchell, Greg Jackson, and
Merril Simon.
January 2002: Department Web Pages
Department web pages www.csun.edu/edpsy/resources.html includes the
proposal, activities, and deliverables (as listed as numbered documents below).
February
2002: Faculty Workshop
Based on faculty needs (Document #5) surveyed at the fall retreat, a SPSS
workshop was given for interested faculty by Beverly Cabello. Most of the faculty attended.
February May 2002:
Discussions regarding assessment of information competency skills.
Three information competency skill sets had been identified
by the faculty, i.e., Basic (Document #7), Research (Document #8), and Professional (Document #9) Competencies. Each of these skill sets need to be
acquired and assessed at different times in the studentıs journey towards a
masterıs degree.
v Basic Competencies Prerequisite skills, i.e., skills that students should acquire before admittance into a departmental masterıs degree program.
Students applying to the department for admittance in fall 2002 (465 applicants for 180 spaces) were apprised of this requirement and a self-assessment handout was distributed, along with a list of resources (Document #17). Acquisition of these prerequisite skills was not used as one of the admittance criteria, because an assessment approach had not been developed.
During spring 2002 semester, CSUNıs Executive Director of Distance learning, Tyler Blake, was contacted to discuss the possibility of offering all prerequisite courses on-line, including modules that would help students master basic competencies and assess performance. Tyler explained how this could be done and proposed that we meet with interested EPC faculty.
Several faculty members expressed interest in developing on-line courses (including basic competencies). Tentatively this work will begin during fall 2002 for spring 2003 enrollment. Although, not all students will take prerequisites courses on-line, on-line basic competencies modules could be required of all applicants.
v Research Competencies skills that should be acquired during a studentıs first year in the masterıs program by successfully completing EPC 602 Research Principles and through research requirements in other courses.
All EPC 602 faculty members (including part-time faculty) scheduled to teach the course in fall 2001 attended the retreat and helped develop the research competencies. They agreed to include these competencies in their course outline and to arrange for a library presentation at least once during the semester to help students meet these competencies. However, no formal assessment measure was developed.
During the spring 2002 semester, Lynn Lampert, Senior Assistant Librarian, was contacted to discuss the assessment problem. Lynn suggested that two to three modules be developed by the librarians for the five sections of EPC 602 scheduled for fall 2002 that would include: (1) an on-line assessment of basic skills; results would be shared with the faculty; (2) training modules that would help students meet both basic and research competencies, and (3) a post-test assessment to determine if students acquired the required basic and research skills.
v Professional Competencies skills necessary for students to learn before graduation.
These competencies will be learned in several classes: EPC 602, courses within specific options, and during the thesis/project process (EPC 698C). We, as a faculty, need to identify in which classes the competencies are (or can be) covered and determine an assessment approach. One approach is to provide each student with a sign-off sheet (Document 20). When a student masters a professional goal, it is signed-off by a faculty member. When all goals have been obtained, an Information Competence Mastery Certificate (Document 19), detailing the studentıs skills, could be awarded to the student (and included on his/her resume).
Conclusion:
The grant has been very helpful in supporting the first step
of our ultimate goal: to develop information competence in order to enhance
life-long learning and professional skills for all masterıs degree graduates.
To move towards this goal, we have developed three information competency skill
sets and have begun to include these in the curricula. We are sharing the process we used to
develop these competencies with our colleagues at other universities through a
presentation at a conference for counselor educators. Also, we have started to develop methods for assessing
student mastery of the competencies, and we have completed the deliverables
promised in the grant proposal (see below).
Yet, I believe that we are just at the beginning of what I
hope will be a model program. We
still need to: (1) further identify in which classes information competency
goals will be reached especially professional competencies; (2) develop
doable assessment approaches for each of the three skill sets; (3) infuse
information competence through out the curriculum; that is, consistently apply
learned skills in all courses; and (4) increase faculty skills in information
competence to such an extent that it becomes natural to utilize and teach these
skills.
Deliverables:
1.
Assessment
instrument used to assess basic computer skills (Document #7)
2.
List
of appropriate referral sources (Document
#17)
3.
Determination
regarding how students will be assessed after use of referrals (See description
above: February May 2002: Discussions regarding assessment of information competency skills.)
4.
Syllabi
for required courses in department that specifically identify assignments that
promote information competence (Document #11)
5.
Department
mission statement that includes information competence as an
objective (Document #15)
6. Representative
assignments in which students are being asked to demonstrate the various skills
of information competence (Document
#11)
7. Web
pages that provide the proposal, the activities, and the deliverables.
www.csun.edu/edpsy/resources.html
Complete Document List:
- IC Grant Proposal (Document
#1)
- Faculty Retreat Agenda (Document
#2)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Fact Sheet for IC (Document
#3)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Assessment Methods (Document
#4)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Faculty IC Survey Results (Document
#5)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Scripted Retreat Agenda (Document
#6)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Basic Skills (Document #7)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Research Skills (Intermediate
and Advanced) (Document #8)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Professional Competencies
(Document #9)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- EPC 602 IC Survey (Document
#10)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- EPC 602 Research Principles
Syllabus (Document #11)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- EPC 451 IC Survey (Document
#12)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Basic Skills Survey Data (from
EPC 451) (Document #13)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- EPC Survey Results (Document
#14)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Department Mission and
Performance (Document #15)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- ACES Proposal (Document #16)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- CSUN Resources (Document
#17)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Final Report Information
Competency (Document #18)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- Information Competency
Certificate (Document #19)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file
- List of Information
Competencies for Students (Document #20)
Download PDF file | Excel Spreadsheet
- Recommendations for Information
Competence (Document #21)
Download PDF file | Word file | Word 95 file