Glossary
Academic conversations
Students learn to participate in "academic conversations" where they state propositions, support arguments with evidence, and learn to use more formal language. Differentiated from the "scholarly conversation", where researchers challenge and communicate with each other over time and through peer-reviewed articles.
Accuracy
Being factual, replicable, provable, measurable; factors such as corroborating sources, replicable testing, thoroughness.
Indicators of accuracy include:
Indicators of accuracy include:
- editorial oversight
- timing or currency
- triangulation among sources
- quality of writing
- versions (version control)
Active listening (in a digital environment)
Indicators of active listening include:
- contribute to threaded discussions
- use chat
- co-editing of documents with consideration of others' ideas
Advanced search strategies (in increasing complexity)
Subject headings:
- boolean searching
- limiters for source type (blog, newspaper, journal)
- limiters for source features (graphics; length)
- limiters for document type (Review or literature review, peer-reviewed)
- limiters for methodology
- limiters for populations
- limiters for classification codes such as NAICS industry codes from the North American Industry Classification (formerly SIC codes), human or animal classifications
Look for objectivity, validity, and currency; view author credentials as in affiliation or recognition of work within a discipline. Consider:
- scope of information
- primary or secondary
- intent
- reliability
- legitimacy
- whether the information is from a person or an organization
- use sources with balanced information (fair, objective, includes pros and cons, beyond predilection)
- use a variety of sources (database, encyclopedia, dictionary, nonfiction print, web, digital audio and video) and viewpoints
Bias
As it applies to information, bias could be indicated by features, such as:
- bandwagon or celebrity endorsement
- confirmation bias: echo chambers, filter bubble
- discourse community
- discipline-specific or professional/technical focus
- editorial point of view
- emotional appeal but lacking facts or accuracy
- labeling
- lack of objectivity
- language
- objectivity (level of, or, lack of)
- one-sidedness
- opinion
- persuasive tactics
- point of view
- professionals' and others' perspectives
- propaganda
- self-curation
- voice or tone
- word choice
Context (proper)
Understanding that:
- information could be foundational, thus useful, even when dated
- new discoveries may require further testing
- redacted sources have false information
- relevance is based on particular group
Conventions
Conventions refer to the general structure of a source, e.g., placement of the table of contents, glossary, index, etc. Conventions may also refer to the structure of a journal articles, e.g., IMRAD or PICO.
Discipline
Discipline specific or lower division transfer refers to focus on a branch of knowledge within higher education, related to college majors.
Professional/technical refers to one- or two-year certificates or degrees for specific jobs.
A field of study refers to coursework to improve job skills, employment prospects, and understandings in the liberal arts or sciences.
Professional/technical refers to one- or two-year certificates or degrees for specific jobs.
A field of study refers to coursework to improve job skills, employment prospects, and understandings in the liberal arts or sciences.
Discourse community
The vocabulary, diction, and jargon used by a specialized group. Examples include terminology specific to various kinds of study, such as:
- cultural
- literary
- historical
- mathematical
- scientific
EIDPA
Explore Introduce Develop Proficient Advanced (EIDPA) refers to a K-14 articulation indicating at which grade level learners will/are:
- Explore concepts related to the indicator but not formally introduced
- Introduced to the indicator
- Develop skills related to the indicator
- Proficient in skills level for the indicator
- Advancing competency of the indicator
Evaluate (for quality)
Where the information comes from, and what type of source it is.
How a source is produced, and where it is located can include:
Types of sources include:
Use a framework to check off attributes of sources. Frameworks include:
Use a methodology to analyze accuracy, completeness, and purpose of sources. Methodologies include:
How a source is produced, and where it is located can include:
- authority of author(s) (including affiliation, credentials, expertise)
- author(s) frame of reference (including academia, professional, experience)
- container (book, magazine or journal, report, collated data set)
- domain or URL
- organization which created it
- publisher, company name
- self-published, author's name
Types of sources include:
- aggregated sources, such as from a library database
- blogs and comments
- crowdsourced datasets or results
- curated collections, such as from a library catalog
- datasets
- government publications
- interviews
- journalistic (long-form news articles, investigative journalism)
- open journals (electronically published)
- peer reviewed sources
- primary sources (artifacts)
- scholarly articles
- social media
Use a framework to check off attributes of sources. Frameworks include:
- CARS checklist: Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, Support
- CRAAP test: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose
- RADCAB: Relevancy, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority, Bias
- TRAAP: Timeliness, Relevance, Accuracy, Authority, Purpose
Use a methodology to analyze accuracy, completeness, and purpose of sources. Methodologies include:
- SMELL: Source, Motivation, Evidence, Logic, Left Out
- Four Moves for fact checking: Check for previous work; go upstream to the source; read laterally; circle back (Mike Caulfield).
Evaluate (for usefulness, scope)
Determine if enough sources of various types (print, digital) are identified for a research project. Qualities could include:
- availability
- context of the source
- position within the publication cycle
- perspective
- project timeframe
- provides valid answers to a problem or question
- relevance to purpose of research project
- suited to the level of inquiry
- timeliness (current or historical) of the sources
Evaluate (for validity)
That which is logical, factual and justifiable. It is based on purpose, audience, applicability, currency or timeliness, soundness and quality of the claim. A valid answer would avoid mistakes in logic, and be adequate for fulfilling a research need.
Indicators of validity include:
Indicators of validity include:
- accurate citations
- applicability
- audience
- informal vs. scientific surveys
- logical fallacies
- purpose
- timeliness
Evaluate (for significance)
- worth or influence of something or someone
- consequence of probable or possible effect
- weight of the influence
- qualities of importance
Explore
In K-12, "explore" implies "exposure to" for the first time, overview, try out, as compared to "introduce" which implies definite instruction.
Field of study
(see Discipline)
Frameworks
Use to outline thought or spark brainstorming. Examples include Venn diagrams, character growth charts, reading logs, margin notes.
Importance
A source that is better, more useful, and with some specific significance (including foundational; primary, secondary or tertiary; historical, cultural, or political impact, or within a field of study). Aspects of importance for sources include:
- authority (reputation of the author, organization, or publisher)
- author's professional affiliation
- depth of coverage
- place of the source in the information cycle and within scholarly conversations
- relevance to the task at hand
- use of sources by others including peer review
IMRAD (see also Conventions)
The acronym stands for the standard sections of scientific journal articles:
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- And (or Abstract)
- Discussion (and Conclusion)
Intellectual Freedom
A natural, and inalienable right, protected by First Amendment and governed by ground rules such as:
To demonstrate understanding of intellectual freedom, a student would:
- abiding by norms that govern how to treat others
- acting on one's beliefs, principles, and inclinations of mind, (dogma, bias, preconceived ideas) can potentially have significant implications for the harm, injury, or suffering of others
- allowing others to access materials that conflict with one's own beliefs, values, or feelings
- preventing the censoring materials for others
- recognizing information may intentionally distort or slant the truth such as propaganda
To demonstrate understanding of intellectual freedom, a student would:
- advocate for and consistently hold one's self to the same rigorous standards of evidence and proof to which one holds others (especially those with whom there is disagreement)
- acknowledge that one's judgments can be based on limited or misinformation
- champion the actions of others to form rational viewpoints, draw supportable conclusions, and to think coherently and logically
- learn to be socially critical which may involve challenges to the status quo as well as possible action(s)
- participate in social interchange within information ecosystems
- publicly support a healthy exchange of ideas avoiding hostility
- recognize that information may intentionally distort or slant the truth such as propaganda, zealotry and xenophobia
- recognize that diverse ideas and worldviews which challenge a researcher are valuable
- recognize the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period to achieve deeper demonstrate an understanding or insight
- recognize the role of libraries, their protection of access and privacy, and wide range of information including those which are valued for their controversial nature
- uphold the rights of others
- uphold standards of an intellectual community
- view one's own thoughts as one dimension that should be critically analyzed and assessed
Metaliteracy
As defined by the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, "metaliteracy expands the scope of traditional information skills (determine, access, locate, understand, produce, and use information) to include the collaborative production and sharing of information in participatory digital environments (collaborate, produce, and share). This approach requires an ongoing adaptation to emerging technologies and an understanding of the critical thinking and reflection required to engage in these spaces as producers, collaborators, and distributors."
Online body language
How the level of engagement is communicated in an online forum. Examples include:
- affirmation of content e.g. forwarding, reposting, retweeting
- amplification of expression through typography, emoticons or "likes"
- immediacy or delay of response
- inclusion or exclusion of others
- symbolic content (e.g. emoticons or likes)
Online participation
Basic guidelines for participating in online forums for research projects include:
- build an awareness that communication, research, inquiry are part of an academic conversation
- see the connection between rights and responsibilities
- demonstrate thoughtful participation (sharing confusions as well as understandings)
- find a good match
- identify the purpose of group
- identify the parameters of participation
- observe expected etiquette for communications
- set goals
PICO (see also Conventions)
Used in evidence-based models for research questions, the acronym stands for:
- Problem, Patient, or Population
- Intervention or Indicator
- Comparison
- Outcome
- Optional: Time element or Type of Study
Professional/Technical
(see Discipline)
Prompting, guidance, support sequence
Model of most-to-least leading by a teacher with a "gradual release in responsibility," that is, increasing students' responsibility for their own understanding, with students working towards mastery of concept or skill:
The prompting sequence is used in lower grades to show the developmental progression towards mastery, but only up to a particular level for a particular learning goal. Then, a whole new jump in learning would start the sequence over again.
- Prompting
- starting the learning
- teacher-led introduction
- lots of scaffolds of different types
- Guidance
- beyond introduction
- providing guidance for students to self lead
- some scaffolds
- Support
- students working on their own
- support when needed
- a few scaffolds
The prompting sequence is used in lower grades to show the developmental progression towards mastery, but only up to a particular level for a particular learning goal. Then, a whole new jump in learning would start the sequence over again.
Reader identity
The attitudes and practices which develop one's identify as a reader, over time and through practice, including the reading:
- habits
- insider and outsider status
- strengths
- weaknesses
Reading literacy agenda
Increase range of selection of reading materials, self-challenge to stretch reading abilities.
Reading processes
Particular examples of reading processes include:
- preview text that is long or appears to be challenging
- set up a plan of selected strategies to successfully manage the reading of the source
- use context to alleviate confusions by reading on and rereading
- visualize in one's own mind what the author is describing to correctly identify evidence for an informed opinion or to draw supportable conclusions
Resiliency (in reading)
Habits of mind which foster resilience in reading include:
- avoiding intellectual pretense; respectfully and fairly address ideas, beliefs or viewpoints (self and others)
- analyzing and evaluating beliefs based on reason and evidence
- being conscious of our egocentric tendency to identify truth with our immediate perceptions of long-standing thoughts or beliefs
- building a relationship between personal background knowledge and experiences and the content included in the text selections
- constructing (personal) lists of habits or strategies that help conquer difficult tasks
- critically assessing ideas considered dangerous and absurd, and the distortion or falsity in some ideas strongly held in a social group, recognizing that such ideas are sometimes rationally justified (in whole or in part)
- establishing a reading routine (time-duration-place [free of distractions])
- participating in social and intellectual communities
- "recasting" a story (what they heard or read) and distinguishing important from unimportant information
- thinking for oneself, to gain command over thought processes
- thinking out loud (when asked) to make thoughts public
- using rational control over one's own assumptions
Resource
In K-12, resource could refer to a database (directory, website, search engine), and the tool within it would be the search box. In college, ‘resource' refers to what makes the database possible (paying a subscription price); ‘tool' refers to what contains sources, such as a database; ‘source' refers to the articles or items contained within a database (directory, website, search engine). Also, tools within a database for college students would be the search and format limiters.
Scholarly conversation
Existing research and scholarship, available through published sources, including:
- research studies
- peer-reviewed journal articles
- literature reviews and bibliographies
- conference proceedings
Select
"Select" in the Learning Goals implies to use as opposed to "self-select" (as in the Interdisciplinary Practices).
Source tools
Features within information sources such as:
- footnotes
- citations
- digital text to speech
- internal linking
Threshold concept
As defined by the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: "Threshold concepts are core or foundational concepts that, once grasped by the learner, create new perspectives and ways of understanding a discipline or challenging knowledge domain. Such concepts produce transformation within the learner; without them, the learner does not acquire expertise in that field of knowledge. Threshold concepts can be thought of as portals through which the learner must pass in order to develop new perspectives and wider understanding."
Use
(see: Select)