Email: jeri.resto@gcccd.edu

Phone: (619) 660-4423
Fax:    (619) 660- 4493  

Library Instruction Program at Cuyamaca College:
 Infusing information competency across the curriculum

Summary

Cuyamaca College is using an infusion model.  In 1997-1998, the College undertook rigorous “general education reform”.  After these two years, Cuyamaca College adopted a set of six required components to all General Education courses.  One of these components is Information Competency.  Effective 1999, all General Education courses must show evidence of all six components in order to meet certification standards by the Cuyamaca Curriculum Committee.

Cuyamaca infusion model

Cuyamaca College Library is one of the frontrunners at the Community College level.  Even though we have the best technology tools (Webcat, E-databases, Ask and Librarian,  and Remote access capability) our students do not have the basic skills or critical thinking skills to be successful in college.  New freshmen don’t know the difference between a journal and a magazine. New freshmen need us librarians to “personalize” the entire research process for them. 

Cuyamaca College selected to implement the infusion model.  In 1997-1998, the College undertook rigorous “general education reform”.  After these two years, Cuyamaca College adopted a set of six required components to all General Education courses.  One of these components is Information Competency.  The other five components are Writing Across the Curriculum, Linkages, General Education Outcomes, Workplace Skills Outcomes and Diversity Outcomes.  Effective 1999, all General Education courses and new course additions to the General Education package must show evidence of all six components in order to meet certification standards by the Cuyamaca Curriculum Committee.

 The Information Competency component is simply stated:

 “Courses shall motivate students to develop information competency skills to improve the quality of education and everyday life though the selective use of information technology and information resources.  Students will be able to identify information resources, apply appropriate tools to acquire information, formulate a search strategy, evaluate acquired information, and recognize alternative information sources (note: these could be considered as the primary elements of information competency).  This can be achieved through various activities including but not limited to: using computers, periodical/journal research, internet research, Web home-page projects, and library research orientations.”

This infusion model approach is based on the understanding that each discipline has its own conventions of language use and style and that these conventions, supplemented by information competency, must be taught to students so that they might successfully participate in academic discourse.

 The primary mission is to help faculty implement and shape a course that makes information competency an essential and integral component in the learning process.

Advantages: 

• Infusion model approach is never prescriptive.  It is based on the understanding that each discipline has its own conventions of language use and style and that information competency can easily be adapted to these conventions.
• Infusion model allows students to develop information competency skills at their own pace as they work through each General Education course.
• Infusion model make students aware that information competency is a necessary and frequently used skill in all courses and in the workplace.
• Infusion model reaches a greater number of students compared to a traditional unit course of 30 students.
• Infusion model easily implemented into online courses and traditional courses.
• Infusion model is embraced by faculty who do not have the time to develop information competency modules.
• Infusion model requires minimum cost to implement.

Disadvantages:   Infusion models using Web-based delivery systems need web-design and technical support. For the years of 1999- present, Cuyamaca Library has committed to infusing information competency via the Web. The advantage to publishing the infusion model to the Web is that the use of the Web has dramatically increased access to information competency research for students and faculty. The disadvantage is that, unlike some pages on the college site, the library information competency infusion model will always be undergoing structural change.

Infusion models requires librarians to develop expertise in building the web content pages.  If an instructor decides to change his course content, the librarian has to update all information competency modules by continuing to add new points of access, reformatting web layout, and re-designing appropriate visuals. Many students are more computer savvy than most of the staff and faculty here at Cuyamaca.  These students will gravitate toward web pages that reflect state-of-the-art awareness.   If a college chooses to publish to the Web, an expert web-designer and librarian content-builder are both critical to the success of an infusion model.

This infusion model approach is based on the understanding that each discipline has its own conventions of language use and style and that these conventions, supplemented by information competency, must be taught to students so that they might successfully participate in academic discourse.

 The primary mission is to help faculty implement and shape a course that makes information competency an essential and integral component in the learning process.

 Advantages: 

• Infusion model approach is never prescriptive.  It is based on the understanding that each discipline has its own conventions of language use and style and that information competency can easily be adapted to these conventions.
• Infusion model allows students to develop information competency skills at their own pace as they work through each General Education course.
• Infusion model make students aware that information competency is a necessary and frequently used skill in all courses and in the workplace.
• Infusion model reaches a greater number of students compared to a traditional unit course of 30 students.
• Infusion model easily implemented into online courses and traditional courses.
• Infusion model is embraced by faculty who do not have the time to develop information competency modules.

Disadvantages:  Although infusion models does not require a Web-based delivery system, using the Web as the delivery tool, however, is highly recommended. If a college opts for using the Web the College must have web-design and technical support. For the years of 1999- present, Cuyamaca Library has committed to infusing information competency via the Web. The advantage to publishing the infusion model to the Web is that the use of the Web has dramatically increased access to information competency research for students and faculty. The disadvantage is that, unlike some pages on the college site, the library information competency infusion model will always be undergoing structural change.

Infusion models requires librarians to develop expertise in building the web content pages.  If an instructor decides to change his course content, the librarian has to update all information competency modules by continuing to add new points of access, reformatting web layout, and re-designing appropriate visuals. Many students are more computer savvy than most of the staff and faculty here at Cuyamaca.  These students will gravitate toward web pages that reflect state-of-the-art awareness.  An unprofessional library page could easily harm a library’s reputation with the ones who matter the most.  If a college chooses to publish to the Web, an expert web-designer and librarian content-builder are both critical to the success of an infusion model.

Revised:  26 September 2007
for: http://www.cuyamaca.edu/jeri.resto/

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