Supporting digital, information and AI Literacies across the student journey

The Library's learning and teaching program supports the development of students’ digital, information, and AI literacies through sustainable, scalable, and contextualised learning experiences. We take a strategic, course-aware approach, collaborating with teaching staff to align support with subject learning outcomes, assessment design, and graduate learning expectations.

Guiding principles

• Contextualised support: Instruction and resources are tailored to the subject's discipline, assessment design, and student level.
• Course-aware scaffolding: We map and build support across a course - so students build skills progressively over time. Where possible, we support this through course-level Research Skills Guides and modular learning objects like InfoQuest.
• Avoiding duplication: We minimise repeated content within a course and instead link back to earlier learning (e.g., InfoQuest, recorded content, or RSGs) to reinforce prior knowledge and avoid cognitive overload.
• Promoting prior learning: We explicitly acknowledge and build on skills developed in earlier subjects - supporting continuity and confidence.
• Discipline-specific development: We help students build unique subject-specific skills in research, digital tool use, and AI literacy, while reinforcing foundational literacies.
• Sustainable and impactful delivery: We recommend delivery formats (e.g., InfoQuest, recorded content, live sessions) based on what is most effective for students and sustainable for the teaching team and Library staff.

When is a subject right for Library-supported digital, information or AI literacies instruction?

To ensure the program remains sustainable and effective, we assess the subject based on the following:

Subject content and learning design

• Are digital, information or AI literacies explicitly or implicitly part of the learning outcomes?
• Do the assessments require students to:
  • Locate and evaluate sources?
  • Use digital or AI tools critically and ethically?
• Does the subject require instruction beyond what's available in existing resources (e.g., InfoQuest or course-level guide)?

Course context

• Is the subject a core or foundation-level subject within the course?
• Is it a high-risk or high-enrolment subject where additional support may improve retention or engagement?
• Does it introduce new literacies not already scaffolded earlier in the course?
• Is this subject a more strategic entry point than others already supported in the course?

Sustainability considerations

• Can existing resources (e.g., InfoQuest, course-level RSG, recorded content) meet the need?
• Will this format and level of support be manageable in future sessions?
• Is teaching staff interest and engagement present to support effective integration?