TATIL at UM
In 2019, Carmichael Library switched to a new information literacy assessment known as TATIL (the Threshold Achievement Test for Information Literacy). TATIL assesses students' information literacy skills based on the 2016 ACRL Framework that's used at colleges and universities. The frames are as follows:
Authority is constructed and contextual
Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.
Information creation as a process
Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.
Information has value
Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination.
Research as inquiry
Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.
Scholarship as conversation
Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.
Searching as strategic exploration
Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops.
The TATIL assessment consists of four modules that measure the six frames. In Fall 2019, 296 ENG 101 students from 14 sections completed the TATIL Assessment with roughly a quarter of the students assigned to each module. Sixty-one students in Capstone courses completed the Strategic Searching assessment (Module 2) in Fall 2019. Capstone assessments scheduled for Spring 2020 were unfortunately cancelled due to the need to move classes online during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Results of each assessment appear below, along with a document summarizing the process and the results, as well as an example of the results page that students see after completing their assessment.
