The Threshold Achievement Test for Information Literacy (TATIL) comes in four modules that provide depth of coverage of information literacy as a whole. Each module measures information literacy knowledge outcomes and information literacy dispositions, as developed by the TATIL Advisory Board.
In this post I will describe each module with an emphasis on dispositions because they are less familiar to most instructors. At the end of the post is a chart showing how much time students need to complete each module.
Module 1: Evaluating Process & Authority
This module combines concepts from two of the ACRL information literacy frames, Authority is Constructed and Contextual and Information Creation as a Process. It focuses on the process of information creation and the constructed and contextual nature of source authority. It tests students' ability to recall and apply their knowledge of evaluating sources and it tests their metacognition about core information literacy dispositions that underlie their behaviors.
Knowledge Outcome: Apply knowledge of source creation processes and context to evaluate the authority of a source.
Knowledge Outcome: Apply knowledge of authority to analyze others' claims and to support one's own claims.
See the performance indicators for each outcome.
Dispositions
Students who can evaluate sources based on the processes used to create them are more likely to critically examine the authority of information within a given context, rather than simply using a one-size-fits-all judgment of credibility. Since the credibility of a source is not absolute or stable, and varies, for example, by discourse community, students must be (1) mindful about the processes used to create the information, (2) comfortable with the fact that the same sources may be considered authoritative in one context but not in another, and (3) responsible to their academic community in looking beneath surface-level markers of authority. The test assesses how students understand and value authority, how they define their role in evaluating sources, and how they perceive the relative value of different types of sources for common academic needs.
Disposition 1: Mindful self-reflection
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate self-reflection when they are evaluating sources of information consistently question their assumptions about what makes a source authoritative. Example behaviors:
- Looking for features that challenge one's assumptions about the trustworthiness of one's preferred sources.
- Questioning one's own assumptions about the reliability of traditional forms of scholarly authority.
- Recognizing when there are good reasons to change one's position on an issue.
Disposition 2: Toleration of ambiguity
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate toleration for ambiguity when they are evaluating sources of information treat authority as subjective because it is based on the context of the information need. Example behaviors:
- Deciding what to do when authorities disagree.
- Flexibly using traditional and non-traditional information sources at appropriate points in the research process.
- Treating authority as a flexible concept when information needs can only be met with less traditional sources.
Disposition 3: Responsibility to community
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate a sense of responsibility to their community when they are evaluating sources of information are conscientious about how they invoke authority in order to gain credibility with their audiences. Example behaviors:
- Fulfilling one's responsibility to one's discourse community by using sources carefully.
- Recognizing that the sources one is permitted to use will depend on one's discourse community.
- Taking responsibility for critically evaluating and explaining sources' authority to one's audience when stating and standing by their claims.
Module 2: Strategic Searching
This module relates to the Searching as Strategic Exploration frame. It focuses on the process of planning, evaluating, and revising searches during strategic exploration. It tests students' ability to recall and apply their knowledge of searching and it tests their metacognition about a core information literacy disposition that underlies their behaviors.
Knowledge Outcome: Plan, conduct, evaluate, and revise searches to achieve relevant results.
Knowledge Outcome: Compare and contrast a range of search tools.
Performance indicators for each outcome
Disposition
Students who are strategic searchers are more likely to develop a broad repertoire of search techniques because they learn from trial and error and pick up strategies from observing their professors, librarians, and peers. Since searching involves exploration and uncertainty, students must be persistent in order to sustain their searches despite difficulties and frustrations. A disposition toward productive persistence means that students are more likely to satisfy their information needs and keep searching until they find high-quality sources. The test assesses how students understand and value exploration and how they define their role as a searcher.
Disposition 1: Productive persistence
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate productive persistence during their searches for information approach searching as iterative and not linear by employing alternative strategies and learning from mistakes. Example behaviors:
- Adapting and evolving new strategies rather than clinging to familiar search techniques.
- Handling feelings of frustration that commonly surface during the search process.
- Recovering from a failed search in order to continue searching until the information need is satisfied.
- Taking constructive assignment feedback from instructors as an impetus to continue searching for better sources.
Module 3: Research & Scholarship
This module combines elements from the Research as Inquiry and Scholarship as a Conversation frames. It focuses on the knowledge-building process and how scholars build knowledge. It tests students' ability to recall and apply their knowledge of the scholarly research process and it tests their metacognition about core information literacy dispositions that underlie their behaviors.
Knowledge Outcome: Understand the processes of scholarly communication and knowledge building.
Knowledge Outcome: Understand stages of the research process.
Performance indicators for each outcome
Dispositions
Students who value the role of the research process in building knowledge are more likely to embrace all challenges of the research process, particularly the difficulties of conflicting information and contingent answers because they see research as a process of asking new and better questions as their research progresses. Since research is an iterative process with uncertain outcomes, students must be (1) mindful about the temptation to have their biases confirmed, (2) persistent through the setbacks inherent within the research process, and (3) responsible to their academic community in honoring scholarly ways of knowing and communicating.. The test assesses how students understand and value their role within the scholarly community.
Disposition 1: Productive persistence
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate productive persistence throughout the research process approach inquiry as iterative, adjusting their research question as they learn more. Example behaviors:
- Applying appropriate methods/practices of inquiry regardless of their complexity or negative emotional associations (e.g., frustration).
- Committing to building a knowledge base through background research when exploring an unfamiliar topic.
Disposition 2: Mindful self-reflection
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate self-reflection in the context of research and scholarship consistently question their own assumptions as they are challenged by new knowledge. Example behaviors:
- Spending time exploring a topic with openness and curiosity before committing to a thesis or claim.
- Using critiques from professors, librarians, and peers to improve the quality of their inquiry.
Disposition 3: Responsibility to community
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate a sense of responsibility to the scholarly community recognize and conform to academic norms of knowledge building. Example behaviors:
- Identifying and pursuing appropriate ways to enter the scholarly conversation while still an undergraduate.
- Seeking out and following established models of scholarship and inquiry.
Module 4: The Value of Information
This module is inspired by the Information Has Value frame. It focuses on the norms of academic information creation and the factors that affect access to information. It tests students' ability to recall and apply their knowledge of information rights and responsibilities and it tests their metacognition about core information literacy dispositions that underlie their behaviors.
Knowledge Outcome: Recognize the rights and responsibilities of information creation.
Knowledge Outcome: Recognize social, legal, and economic factors affecting access to information
Performance indicators for each outcome
Dispositions
Students who value information in terms of its accessibility and its role in knowledge-building are more likely to recognize the rights of information creators and the effects of commodifying information, rather than taking the information they find for granted and using it irresponsibly. Since the Internet has made it seem that information is free to create, access and share, students who value information must be (1) mindful to spot and challenge the negative effects of inequitable distribution of information privilege and (2) responsible to their community by giving credit to intellectual work according to established standards. The test assesses how students understand and value their role within the information ecosystem.
Disposition 1: Mindful self-reflection
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate self-reflection in the context of the information ecosystem recognize and challenge information privilege. Example behaviors:
- Considering how to use existing intellectual property to spur creative work without violating the creators' rights.
- Participating in informal networks to reduce disparities caused by the commodification of information.
- Recognizing and suggesting ways to reduce the negative effects of the unequal distribution of information.
Disposition 2: Responsibility to community
Learners who are disposed to demonstrate a sense of responsibility to the scholarly community recognize and conform to academic norms of knowledge building. Example behaviors:
- Accessing scholarly sources through formal channels.
- Avoiding plagiarism in their own work and discouraging plagiarism by others.
- Recognizing the value of their own original contributions to the scholarly conversation.
Time Needed for Each Module
| Number of test items | Average time per module | 90% of students finish within | |
| Module 1 Evaluating Process & Authority | 30 | 32.3 minutes | 48.4 minutes |
| Module 2 Strategic Searching | 20 | 20.2 minutes | 32 minutes |
| Module 3 Research & Scholarship | 30 | 30.5 minutes | 46.5 minutes |
| Module 4 The Value of Information | 21 | 24.1 minutes | 34.6 minutes |