A Framework for Flourishing with Information

I developed the Framework for Flourishing with Information last year because I needed an assessment tool that looked at college student relationships with information and if those relationships lead to flourishing.   It's primary purpose is to be used in the academic library setting academic libraries. The Framework for Flourishing with Information refers to the infosphere. This is a concept pulled from the philosophy of information. It is immeasurable universe that includes information artifacts, the systems, and the people. It is where we engage with information. There is a need for threshold concepts, dispositions and knowledge practices that provide a roadmap for librarians from a whole student theory approach. It is possible to connect engaging with information to the social and affective domain of teaching and learning. Outcomes related to student agency and personhood have a rightful place in our professional organizations and guiding documents. . 

The Framework for Flourishing with Information intended to be a companion to existing ACRL IL Frameworks, it is not an interpretation to the iIL Framework like several ACRL groups have created. I based it on the ACRL constructs of threshold concepts, knowledge practices, and dispositions. The frames are not attached to IL.Instead, the frames are grounded in our relationship with information: belonging, confidence, and connectedness. The virtues of belonging, confidence, and connectedness are the guideposts that indicate personal growth and serve as the frames for flourishing. They are presented first with a definition and then followed by knowledge practices and dispositions. They also serve the same purpose of self-assessment and performance indicators for outcomes, challenging the student to think about the process of flourishing. Knowledge practices demonstrate ways in which learners can increase their understanding of flourishing. The dispositions are the transitions, or the process of flourishing. The dispositions are the clusters of tendencies and attitudes students have when thinking about the process of flourishing set out in the knowledge practices.

The Framework for Flourishing with Information is meant to start a conversation in the field of library and information sciences, particularly for practitioners in academic libraries.