Funded Projects

Teaching and Scholarship

SCIL funded the following research projects, learning programming, and resources spearheaded by Simmons University Faculty:

Advancing Information Literacy in an Urban Public Library System

Support a study to investigate how the library staff in the Worcester, MA public library system describe the information literacy needs of their patrons, incorporate information literacy into their service interactions with patrons, and articulate their own needs for information literacy training.

IS&T Lab and Information

Hire graduate student assistants to support research of new members of the IS&T faculty, build out the IS&T Lab's website to highlight research related to information literacy, and host 2 events in Fall 2025 highlighting cutting-edge research on how information literacy is a key component in the fight against disinformation.

Bridging the Gap: Faculty Guidance on AI and Its Impact on Student Information Literacy

Using an Action Research methodology, this project is both qualitative and collaborative, designed to generate meaningful interventions to improve practice. It includes semi-structured interviews with faculty members to explore how they are currently addressing topics of AI and digital literacy in their classrooms and design of an intervention to help faculty integrate conversations about AI and information literacy into their teaching.

Information Literacy Consultants

A new academic support initiative designed to strengthen undergraduate students' research skills and provides Library and Information Science (LIS) graduate students with valuable teaching experience. The program will hire 4–5 LIS graduate students as Information Literacy Consultants (ILCs) trained in tutoring, facilitation, and presentation skills, with a focus on current research trends, technology, and generative AI. ILCs will visit SIM 200 courses to deliver presentations and Q&A sessions on information literacy. ILCs will also invite students to meet individually or in small-groups and serve as moderators in the Simmons Study Group Discord Server to answer information literacy questions and share additional resources.

Currents of Inquiry: Embedding Information Literacy Across Disciplines Learning Community

Support the Center for Faculty Excellence in running a STAR Scholars program in Fall 2025 focused on information literacy. Through a series of synchronous meetings, asynchronous videos with facilitated discussions, and scholarly and popular readings, participating faculty members will: 1) explore conceptualizations of information literacy (and related literacies: e.g, health literacy, news/media literacy, civic literacy, etc.); 2) learn about research-based approaches to teaching information literacy skills; and 3) discuss the implications of information literacy for combatting mis/disinformation. They will also explore learning theory and instructional design principles to enable them to integrate information literacy outcomes effectively into their curricula.

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Student Projects

SCIL funded the following research and content production projects developed by Simmons University students:

AI & Information Literacy: Research Reimagined

The centerpiece of the project is a Fall 2025 workshop series held through the Simmons Center for Student Success (CSS). The series will consist of two one-hour workshops per month, each designed to introduce undergraduate students to AI-powered research tools such as Elicit, Research Rabbit, Consensus, and others. These tools can help students brainstorm topics, find peer-reviewed sources, synthesize information, and generate research questions. Each workshop will also include a discussion on information literacy, covering topics such as source evaluation, the importance of verifying AI-generated results, and responsible incorporation of AI into academic work.

Learning to Look Closely: Visual Literacy in Library and Information Science Graduate Programs

A research project that will explore the degree to which visual literacy instruction is incorporated into American Library Association (ALA) accredited programs. I will be using the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education as a framework for defining both visual literacy and its instruction. I will be contacting every ALA-accredited program with a survey that asks about if they include visual literacy in its instruction, if so in what course(s), how do they define visual literacy, do their students get a chance to practice or implement visual literacy standards in their coursework, and whether or not there are any course syllabi that they would be willing to share that reflect visual literacy instruction at their institution/program.

Social Media Literacy Tutorial

A project to develop a web-based module tutorial on the topic of social media literacy using Moodle and following best practices for web-based tutorials to promote student-centered, active learning. To create the curriculum, 8-10 interviews with GenEd faculty at Simmons University were conducted; specifically, those who have taught either Writing Boston or SIM 200 (or both) in the previous year and those who are teaching either course in Fall 2025.

Unfiltered: Rethinking Health, Tech, and Truth in the Digital Age

Unfiltered: Rethinking Health, Tech, and Truth in the Digital Age is a multimedia initiative designed to educate and empower college students to critically engage with social media and digital health content. Through a three-pronged approach — a social media campaign, a digital toolkit, and an interactive workshop — the project challenges online health misinformation, promotes digital wellness, and unpacks the hidden mechanics of algorithms and the attention economy.

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Professional Development

SCIL supported the professional development of Simmons University faculty by funding their participation in the following programs:

2025 Open Education Conference

Faculty: Jen Awwad

Focus on developing, implementing, and assessing open educational resources and pedagogical practices including "AI in Education: Critical and Open Perspectives."

Teaching & Learning with AI Conference

Faculty: Ritamarie Hensley

Workshop designed for instructors and staff who support faculty, librarians, researchers, and policymakers interested in exploring the potential of AI.

Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA) Health Literacy Specialist Certificate

Faculty: Sharon Gallagher

An online, self-paced course that culminates in a digital badge and a certificate of completion on health literacy topics.

ALA Conference

Faculty: Donnie Simmons Jr.

Support participation on a panel titled "AI on the Mind: A Cross-Disciplinary Librarian Panel on AI Applications."

POD Conference

Faculty: Tim Darby

Hosted by the leading national organization that supports professional development for educational developers, instructional designers, and professionals who advance institutional organizational development.

ASIS&T Conference

Faculty: Brian Arrigo

Annual Association for Information Science and Technology meeting with an overall theme Difficult Conversations: The Role of Information Science in the Age of Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence with several seminars, workshops, and poster presentations of varying information science topics.