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Contemplative Information and Visual Literacy (CIVL)

Basic information about contemplative information and visual literacy (CIVL)

Framework and Context

The contemplative information and visual literacy (CIVL) activities on this guide -- all of which could be adapted for discipline courses or library information and visual literacy sessions -- are provided as a starting point for developing your own contemplative information and visual literacy (CIVL) activities. Email refhelp@highline.edu with questions or activities to add to this guide.

These activities are organized by tabs using the The Mindfulness Framework for Implementing Mindfulness into Information Literacy Instruction, proposed by Selenay Aytac and Diane Mizrachi (2022). Aytac and Mizrachi adapted Jon Kabat-Zinn's 2003 definition of mindfulness as "the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally [sic] to the unfolding of experience moment by moment" (p. 145).

References

Aytac, S., & Mizrachi, D. (2022). The mindfulness framework for implementing mindfulness into information literacy instruction. The Reference Librarian, 6(1-2), 46-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2022.2030273

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 145. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bpg016

Paying Attention on Purpose

  • Concentration/focus
  • Openness to new experience in the context where the attitude of mindfulness was set
  • Letting go of anger and achieving a clear mind

Goose Flying past full moon

Goose Flying in Moonlight - Ohara Koson (Shoson)

Note. From Goose Flying in Moonlight by Ohara Koson (Shoson), Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Goose_Flying_in_Moonlight_-_Ohara_Koson (Shoson).jpg). In the public domain.

Noticing Your Information Source

ACRL Framework:  Information Has Value

Highline IL Rubric: 

  • Choose appropriate sources for the topic or purpose in order to find the needed information

Benefits:

  • Can help students expand their "capacity to retain and make sense of information learned while mindfully paying attention" (Barbezat & Bush, 2014, p. 96)

Encourage student noticing by asking students to take 2-3 minutes to write down what they "notice" about an information resource such as a website or article before reading the source or applying the Claims, Credentials, Objectives, and Worldview (CCOW) rubric to evaluate it. For a contemplative sensory experience, Lang (2022) recommends using print academic journals, physical books, or printed out copies of articles or websites for students to annotate.

 Possible questions to consider:

  • Without reading the entire source, what do you notice about this information source? Is it long? Short? Are images or graphics included?
  • What emotions do you notice when you look at this source? (It's totally fine if you don't notice any emotions, too!)

To practice this as a class, select an information source for students in advance (such as an article like this one), ask students to write down what they "notice" about this source, then discuss as a group, or have students discuss in pairs or small groups.

Noticing Emotions and Lateral Reading

ACRL Framework:  Information Has Value

Highline IL Rubric: 

  • Choose appropriate sources for the topic or purpose in order to find the needed information

  • Apply standard evaluation criteria in order to identify the most appropriate sources for the topic

Benefits:

  • Research indicates that the ability to develop more selective attention is connected with emotional regulation (Wadlinger & Isaacson, 2011)

As students are applying the Claims, Credentials, Objectives, and Worldview (CCOW) rubric to evaluate information sources, encourage them to notice any emotions provoked by the sources - positive or negative. Rather than acting on these emotions, ask students to practice lateral reading skills by locating more information about the claim.

Lateral reading can be a valuable information evaluation strategy, especially when we're dealing with content that might provoke emotions. Lateral reading is "leaving the webpage and opening a new browser tab to see what trusted websites say about the unknown source [and its facts claims, and evidence]" (Stanford SHEG's COR curriculum). Lateral reading should be used to answer both of the following questions:

For more details, Highline College librarians have developed an online guide to help students Navigate Online News and Information (NONI).

Learn More

Barbezat, D., & Bush, M. (2014). Contemplative practices in higher education: Powerful methods to transform teaching and learning. John Wiley & Sons.

Lang, K. S. (2021, June 25). Staying grounded in & out of the library classroom: Practical applications of contemplative practices for instruction librarians. YouTube; Georgia Library Instruction, Teaching, and Reference Conference (GLITR Conference). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NekOTTOpfW8 

Wadlinger, H. A., & Isaacowitz, D. M. (2010). Fixing our focus: Training attention to regulate emotion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15(1), 75–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868310365565 

Being in the Present Moment

  • Mindful moment
  • Deep breathing 
  • Mindful stretching

Being in the Present Moment . . . in Class

ACRL Framework:  Information Creation as a Process

Highline IL Rubric: 

  • Determine what information [the student] needs in order to complete the assignment/answer the question

Benefits:

  • As poet and educator Mary Rose Reilly notes, "[a]t the beginning of class, these exercises can help students find their center; in the middle, to brainstorm; and at the end, to reflect" (Barbezat & Bush, 2014, p. 124).

To support students' awareness of the present moment, try beginning the class with 1-3 minutes of silence, a brief guided meditation, or seated yoga practice to allow students to fully arrive in the classroom learning space. You could also incorporate mindfulness practices into the beginning of new assignments, or as mindful breaks during longer class sessions.

For students who prefer not to participate, consider offering students participation options, such as using headphones to create an individualized mindful experience or allowing students to opt out.

Making Space For...

ACRL Framework: Information Creation as a Process

Highline IL Rubric: 

  • Determine what information [the student] needs in order to complete the assignment/answer the question

Happiness Break: Making Space for You, with Alex Elle: Consider what you want to make space for in your life in this 6-minute contemplation guided by Alex Elle. 

  1.  Take several deep belly breaths
  2. Silently repeat these example sentences to yourself:
    • “In the presence of fear, I will make space for courage.”
    • “In the presence of self-doubt, I will make space for self-belief.”
    • “In the presence of hurriedness, I will make space for slowing down.”
    • “In the presence of overwhelm, I will make space for rest.”
    • “In the presence of overthinking, I will make space for letting go.”
    • “In the presence of chaos, I will make space for inner peace.”
    • “In the presence of confusion, I will make space for clarity.”
    • “In the presence of pain, I will make space for self-compassion.”
  3. Identify which line from this practice "resonates" with you. Consider: how can you make space in your life to cultivate this practice?
  4. Highline Physics Faculty: The way I modified it is to ask students to write at least three of their own statements based on the example and then we go around so that each person in the class shares one of the statements they wrote down. Sharing helps ensure that everyone engages in their activity and people get to hear ideas from others which tends to have a really positive impact

 

Guided Practices

Being Non-judgmental

  • Laying the ground for learning
  • Establishing a judgment-free zone where you connect
  • Accept with gratitude

Open-Ended Reflection Questions

ACRL Framework: Scholarship as Conversation

Highline IL Rubric:

  • Determine what information [the student] needs in order to complete the assignment/answer the question

Strategies for establishing a judgment-free learning environment include beginning classes with open-ended questions such as:

  • "How do you feel about doing research?"
  • "Why do we do research?"
  • "What challenges have you found in doing library research?"
  • "What do you see as your biggest challenge with this project?" (Galoozis & Klipfel, 2019, p. 111; Duffy et al., 2021; Reale, 2017, p. 101).

For students who have already selected research topics, reflection questions can be tailored towards the topic and students' background knowledge:

  • "Why are you interested in this topic?"
  • "How did you select this topic?"
  • "What do you want to discover about this topic?"
  • "What do you already know about this topic?" (It's fine if you are just getting started!) (adapted from Reale, 2017, p. 97)

These questions can prompt class discussions, or be used as written reflection prompts, and then discussed in pairs or small groups.

Encourage students to identify and to name the emotions they experience during the research process. Consider normalizing the emotions of research -- and the very real frustrations of academic research -- by sharing your personal research challenges or experiences. 

For more student reflection prompts, Highline College librarians have developed a question bank of potential reflection questions for information and visual literacy sessions.

Evaluating Search Engine AI Overviews . . . Mindfully

ACRL Framework: Authority is Constructed & Contextual

Highline IL Rubric:

  • Identify the characteristics of scholarly and non-scholarly sources in order to determine the most appropriate sources for their needs

  • Apply standard evaluation criteria in order to identify the most appropriate sources for the topic

As a class, discuss the potential uses, limitations, and ethical concerns around using generative AI for the course and discipline, emphasizing the course instructor's expectations for ethical use of generative AI. Define AI fabrications - what they are, how they have come to exist. (For more details, see the Highline Library's Generative AI Resource Guide.)

As a class, talk through an example of a Google search result with AI Overview using the Claims, Credentials, Objectives, Worldview (CCOW) Framework.

Google search results for the query "how to do a social media detox" with AI results

Possible questions to discuss:

  • Is the AI Overview relevant to your question? Why or why not?
  • What sources does the AI Overview list as evidence?
  • Click through and look at the sources. Evaluate these sources using the Claims, Credentials, Objectives, Worldview (CCOW) Framework. Are the sources reliable? Why or why not?
  • Could you trust this AI result for your academic research? Why or why not?

Then, divide the class into small groups of 3 students. In each group, assign roles: 1 researcher, 1 writer, 1 speaker. You could assign search topics to each group, or ask each group to choose their own topics relevant to the course/discipline. In groups, students evaluate an AI Overview for their selected search topic. The student speaker (this could be the student who was born the furthest away from the college, or the student who has the next upcoming birthday) will share group results with the class. Discuss findings as a class, mentioning strategies to remove AI overviews from Google search results (add "-AI" to search terms: how to do a social media detox -AI).

 

Learn More

Barbezat, D., & Bush, M. (2014). Contemplative practices in higher education: Powerful methods to transform teaching and learning. John Wiley & Sons. 

Duffy, B., Rose-Wiles, L. M., & Loesch, M. M. (2021). Contemplating library instruction: Integrating contemplative practices in a mid-sized academic library. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(3), 102329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102329

Galoozis, E., & Klipfel, K. M. (2019). Overcoming Research Anxiety: A Mindful Approach to Literature Review Searching. In M. Charney, J. Colvin, & R. Moniz (Eds.), Recipes for Mindfulness in Your Library: Supporting Resilience and Community Engagement (pp. 105–111). American Library Association.

Reale, M. (2017). Becoming a reflective librarian and teacher: Strategies for mindful academic practice. ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association.