The Information Literacy Advisory Group of Oregon (ILAGO) board would like to share with the ACRL-OR library community about an exciting project they’re initiating in 2017. ILAGO is developing a shared metacognitive self-assessment tool of students’ research strategies that can be used in concert with institution-specific learning assessments. The overall goal is to work with instruction librarians to create and share a validated assessment tool that helps establish the baseline research strategies and conceptual knowledge that best support college level work.
The project will also enable ILAGO to:

• Sustain a discussion in our community of educators to articulate what we value in students’ Information Literacy skills and practices as they enter college.
• Engage regional IL stakeholders such as colleagues in the Oregon Association of School Libraries (OASL), Oregon Library Association Library Instruction Round Table (OLA-LIRT), the Oregon Writing Educational Advisory Committee (OWEAC), ACRL Oregon, and College Librarians and Media Specialists (CLAMS, Washington State).

To develop the assessment tool, ILAGO is using a model provided by The Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI). This inventory functions as both a teaching tool and an assessment of student’s self-reported reading and thinking strategies.

The MARSI was validated through a qualitative study (cited below) with an iterative design approach. The researchers took a large set of reading strategy statements generated by Reading faculty and, through a few rounds of student testing, pared them down to a manageable set of 30 statements in a one-page list. The strategy statements are also grouped by type so that areas of learning can be identified.

Model study:
Mokhtari, K., & Reichard, C. A. (2002). Assessing students’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Journal of educational psychology, 94(2), 249.

ILAGO will continue to provide updates on the project and solicit future participation as the work evolves. Please contact Sara Robertson (sara.robertson@pcc.edu) or Candice Watkins (cwatkins@tacomacc.edu), project leads for ILAGO, with any questions or input.