Building on Strengths - A Collaborative, Asset-Focused Approach to Teaching Critical Information Literacy Skills

Oct 15, 2026

An instructor–librarian collaborative model teaches critical information literacy (CIL) in higher education through interactive workshops embedded in required course assignments. Using an asset-focused design, students first demonstrate existing research strategies and then critically evaluate those strategies during workshop activities, applying CIL principles as they learn. The approach explicitly leverages students’ strengths, with built-in self-reflection and an intentional research emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation, supported by one-year study results.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Innovative Practice Overview

Instructor–librarian Collaborations in Higher Education

Collaboration Models for Information Literacy Instruction

Background

ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

Asset-Focused Assignment Sequence

Teaching Alliances and Workshop-Based Instruction

Study Results and Adaptability

Communications in Information Literacy | Volume 18 Issue 2 | Article 6 | | --- | --- | | 12-2024
Building on Strengths: A Collaborative, Asset-Focused Approach to Teaching Critical Information Literacy Skills
Rebecca B. Penrose
California State University, Bakersfield, [rpenrose@csub.edu](rpenrose@csub.edu)
Kristi J. Chavez
California State University, Bakersfield, [kchavez4@csub.edu](kchavez4@csub.edu)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit](https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit)
Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the Information Literacy Commons
Let us know how access to this document benefits you. | | Recommended Citation Penrose, R. B., & Chavez, K. J. (2024) . Building on Strengths: A Collaborative, Asset-Focused Approach to Teaching Critical Information Literacy Skills. Communications in Information Literacy, 18 (2), 218–243. [https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2024.18.2.6](https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2024.18.2.6) This open access Innovative Practice is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4 .0) . All documents in PDXScholar should meet accessibility standards. If we can make this document more accessible to you, contact our team. Building on Strengths: A Collaborative, Asset-Focused Approach to Teaching Critical Information Literacy Skills Rebecca B. Penrose, California State University, Bakersfield Kristi J. Chavez, California State University, Bakersfield Abstract This article showcases an instructor–librarian collaborative model for teaching critical information literacy (CIL) skills in a higher education course by incorporating interactive workshops into a sequence of required course assignments. Using an asset-focused design, this assignment sequence allows students to first demonstrate their existing research strategies and then evaluate those strategies during workshop activities, applying the CIL principles they are learning. In this way, the approach recognizes students’existing strengths and builds upon them, while emphasizing self-reflection opportunities and an intentional research focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation. Results from our one-year study are also highlighted. The suggested instructional strategies could be adapted to any course with research-related projects. Keywords: collaborative instruction, critical information literacy, asset-focused approach, infographics, higher education Innovative Practices edited by Andrea Baer, Carrieann Cahall, Robert Detmering, Carolyn Gamtso, and Merinda McLure Penrose, R. B., & Chavez, K. J. (2024). Building on strengths: A collaborative, asset-focused approach to teaching critical information literacy skills. Communications in Information Literacy, 18(2), 218–243. Building on Strengths: A Collaborative, Asset-Focused Approach to Teaching Critical Information Literacy Skills It is not about just finding any sources and using them. It’s about finding a source that goes with the topic and being able to verify the information you found. —Student CG23 Instructor–librarian collaborations are increasingly being promoted in higher education. Recent studies have explored the potential opportunities for librarian contribution to research topics and themes, assignment design, instructional delivery, and class discussions, arguing that the degree of librarian involvement in a course has a direct positive impact on students’engagement and information literacy (IL) skill development (Belzowski & Robison, 2019; Chisholm & Spencer, 2019; Mounce, 2010; Smith & Dailey, 2013) . In defining collaboration for IL instruction, Mackey and Jacobson (2005) presented two models: 1. Teaching alliances: a librarian and a course instructor work together through the planning stages ofa specific course (e.g., designing and scaffolding assignments, cur

FAQs

How does the assignment sequence use an asset-focused approach?

Students first demonstrate their existing research strategies, then evaluate those strategies during interactive workshop activities while applying CIL principles.

What role does instructor–librarian collaboration play in the model?

The librarian is positioned as an academic professional equal to the instructor, contributing unique expertise through planning and workshop-based instructional support.

What themes and outcomes does the approach emphasize?

The approach centers self-reflection and intentional research focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation, and it highlights results from a one-year study.

Oct 15, 2026

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