Information Literacy in Subject-Specific Vocabularies: A Path to Critical Thinking

This article discusses the benefit of library instruction to increase critical thinking skills among business students in the form of a vocabulary skill-building workshop. This learning opportunity represents collaboration between business librarian and classroom faculty to improve students' ability to articulate a research problem and identify information needs in order to proficiently analyze business information and make sound business decisions. Business schools increasingly rely upon standards set forth by the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) to formulate curricula and embed learning outcomes to prepare students to meet workplace expectations. These standards were utilized during workshop planning stages to implement critical thinking learning outcomes into the educational experience. Workshop curricula also relied heavily on the Guidelines for Information Competency set forth by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to emphasize specific learning outcomes more commonly associated with the teaching of library instruction.