Any plans for summer? While many Lions are on summer break, librarians use this time to work on projects that are difficult to improve during the busy academic year. One such project is the revamping of the “Starting Your Assignment” tutorial for first-year students.
“Starting Your Assignment” is the first of four information literacy tutorials implemented in the First Year Seminar (FYS) courses, along with “Types of Information,” “Finding Books,” and “Finding Articles.” Faculty teaching FYS courses are required to assign at least 10% of the course grade based on assessed information literacy, and these tutorials count toward that 10%. Although we typically implement updates each semester, this summer we are working on a complete redesign to incorporate specific intellectual virtues (i.e., attributes of thoughtful thinkers and learners).
This redesign is part of a grant project, “Intellectual Character Initiative: Cultivating the Virtues of the Lion Mind,” led by Jason Baehr and Daniel Speak (LMU Department of Philosophy). Loyola Marymount University received a $943,668 Institutional Impact Grant through Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative, which will be used to embed intellectual virtues in undergraduate instruction. As a Jesuit institution, we aim to cultivate the formation of good moral character, and intellectual character is an extension of that.
Intellectual character refers to the way one might approach tasks related to knowledge and understanding. We hope to support good intellectual character in LMU students by teaching them the intellectual virtues they should practice when completing research assignments. Our modifications to the FYS tutorials will help students learn how to apply intellectual humility, curiosity, attentiveness, open-mindedness, and perseverance throughout the research process.
“When it comes to our thinking, we can be intellectually courageous or cowardly. We can be intellectually humble or arrogant. We can be curious or indifferent toward learning.” (King, 2021, p.4)
Many of the intellectual virtues go hand in hand with the dispositions recommended by the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. For example, the framework highlights the need for learners to explore multiple perspectives on a topic and keep an open mind. Additionally, intellectual humility is needed to recognize our own limitations and to ask for assistance when needed. The framework also mentions intellectual curiosity and the need to value it when developing research questions. It is a natural fit for the intellectual virtues to be taught alongside information literacy.
Redesigning the “Starting Your Assignment” module requires heaps of work and collaboration. In addition to working with Baehr and Speak, the library is working with LMU’s ITS team. The development phase begins this summer, but the planning and designing phases have already begun. For example, library staff convened a book group to read and discuss Baehr’s book Deep in Thought: A practical guide to teaching for intellectual virtues (available as an e-book in the library), with Baehr guiding our discussions. These meetings helped us better understand the virtues and their roles in fostering lifelong learners.
We hope students are enriched by this instruction in both their personal and academic lives. Information literacy and careful, reasonable, and thorough thinking are crucial skills, especially in today’s world.
References
Association of College and Research Libraries. (2016). Framework for information literacy for higher education. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework
King, N. L. (2021). The excellent mind: Intellectual virtues for everyday living. Oxford University Press.
Loyola Marymount University. (2026). Intellectual Virtues and Ignatian Pedagogy at LMU – Loyola Marymount University. https://academics.lmu.edu/ici/intellectualvirtuesandignatianpedagogyatlmu/