Volume 8 - Issue 1 - Integrating an Information Literacy Quiz into the Learning Management System

Oct 15, 2026

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The Claremont Colleges Library Instruction Services Department created an information literacy quiz integrated into the Sakai consortial learning management system alongside a local online open-source tutorial. The quiz was embedded in individual course pages so students could earn completion credit and receive grades while librarians gained structured assessment data. Piloted in nine first-year classes in Fall 2012 and revised for Spring 2013 launch, it supported stronger faculty and student adoption and enabled tailored instruction based on performance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background

Literature Review

Volume 8, Issue 1, 2014 [ARTICLE] INTEGRATING AN INFORMATION LITERACY QUIZ INTO THE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM M. Sara Lowe Claremont Colleges Library Char Booth Claremont Colleges Library Natalie Tagge Claremont Colleges Library Sean Stone Claremont Colleges Library ABSTRACT The Claremont Colleges Library Instruction Services Department developed a quiz that could be integrated into the consortial learning management software to accompany a local online, open-source information literacy tutorial. The quiz is integrated into individual course pages, allowing students to receive a grade for completion and improving faculty and student buy-in. Piloted in nine first-year classes in Fall 2012 then revised and launched in Spring 2013, the quiz has given the library valuable assessment data on first-year student information literacy skills and enhanced the ability of teaching librarians to tailor their instruction to student performance. Lowe, et al, Integrating an Information Literacy Quiz Communications in Information Literacy 8(1), 2014 INTRODUCTION Information literacy (IL) instruction at Claremont Colleges Library (CCL) has evolved to include online components for students to be completed outside of class time to enhance and economize traditional, in-class instruction in a “blended” model. In order to enhance pedagogical effectiveness of a local web-based IL tutorial and to assess student IL skills in first-year seminar courses, in Summer 2012 the CCL Instruction Services Department developed a quiz module within Sakai, the consortial learning management system (LMS), that could be integrated into individual course sites (see Appendix) . The quiz was built on work begun in the Summer of 2011, when the Library’s Instruction Services team adapted an open-source “Start Your Research” (SYR) tutorial, originally developed by the University of California Irvine Libraries (Palmer, Booth, & Friedman, 2012), for use by the CCL. Although the tutorial contained mini selfassessments, it did not provide the ability to record scores, provide proof of completion, or feed into a student’s course grade, and was therefore difficult to assign within formal class settings. Developing a quiz in which students could receive credit for completion was vitally important to enhance both the utility and adoption of the tutorial within course settings. By providing an LMS-connected means of assessing student IL skills, a number of pedagogical, learning, and assessment goals have been achieved through courseintegration of the tutorial and quiz module: faculty are able to gain insight into student research skills, librarians are able to determine a baseline of students’ abilities in order to tailor instruction to their needs, and students receive a self-paced online learning opportunity that reinforces in-class IL instruction. In addition, because the quiz module is managed by librarians within individual LMS course sites, it provides a valuable basis for IL assessment by allowing for the collection of data on student competencies at an entry level. BACKGROUND The Claremont Colleges consist of seven contiguous institutions: five undergraduate colleges (Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, and Scripps College) and two graduate schools (Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute) . The combined FTE of the seven colleges is approximately 7,000 . Over the past two years, CCL has expanded its base of programmatic IL instruction from three to five of the undergraduate institutions’ firstyear seminars (specifically: FHS/FWS at Claremont McKenna; HSA 10 at Harvey Mudd; FYS at Pitzer; ID1 at Pomona; Writing 50 at Scripps) . Syllabi and learning outcomes are unique within the first-year programs, making it difficult for librarians to uniformly assess student competencies. The ongoing increase in instruction load and depth of customized instruction required each seminar reg

FAQs

What problem did the Claremont Colleges Library address with the quiz module?

The tutorial included mini self-assessments but could not record scores, provide proof of completion, or contribute to course grades, making it difficult to use in formal settings.

How does the integrated quiz support teaching and assessment goals?

It provides LMS-connected means to assess students’ information literacy skills, giving faculty insight, enabling librarians to establish entry-level baselines, and helping librarians tailor instruction to student performance.

How was the quiz developed and implemented over time?

Work began with an adapted open-source “Start Your Research” tutorial in Summer 2011, then a quiz module within Sakai was developed in Summer 2012, piloted in Fall 2012, and revised for launch in Spring 2013.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa