FYS Faculty

The Evaluating Information Activities support students in achieving the following FYS outcomes:

• Career Development-Developing an Academic and Career Plan
  • Meet with an advisor, explore career and/or major opportunities within an Area of Interest, and create an educational plan which includes academic and career goals and explores pathways for completion.
• Information Literacy and Source Documentation
  • Research print and electronic sources, assess their credibility, and support a position using appropriate documentation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
  • Identify and evaluate issues, problems, positions, and supporting evidence through an objective critical thinking process

Evaluating information is a critical information literacy skill and one that all people need in today's era of disinformation and information overload. There are 2 existing versions of this assignment, or a librarian can work with you to design an assignment that meets your own goals.

Learning outcomes:

• Students will be able to articulate how to access library help and ask their question in a way that matches their needs.
• Students will be able to assess the timeliness, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose (TRAAP) of sources in order to evaluate information on social media or in an article

Description:

There are 2 existing versions of the assignment, and faculty can choose either option. For both, students will either receive a live lesson from a librarian or do a reading and watch videos that explain the TRAAP method of evaluating information and why evaluation is important. There are also examples created by librarians that demonstrate the evaluation process, which students can read on their own time to help them complete the assignment.

Then, students will either select a social media post OR an article from a library database and apply the TRAAP guidelines to evaluating the source. Students will write up their evaluation, which can be turned in as a document or posted on the discussion board. (Both assignments are in the "Start Smart" Blackboard shell, or ask a librarian.)

Time needed:

For on campus or synchronous online: about 45-90 minutes (20 minutes for a lesson with a librarian, plus 30-60 minutes for students to complete the assignment on their own)

For asynchronous online: 40-70 minutes (20 minutes for students to watch videos and do reading, plus 30-60 minutes for students to complete the assignment on their own)