The Evolution of Evaluation: Teaching Source Evaluation in a Transforming Information and Education Landscape

Abstract

As an MLIS candidate at the University of Maryland (UMD), I tailored my program toward academic librarianship with a focus on undergraduate information literacy. In my roles as a Research & Teaching Fellow at UMD and a Research & Teaching Intern at Montgomery College (MC), a common challenge was teaching source evaluation in a rapidly changing information and educational environment. Current evolutions and trends impacting this include: the influx of available information and changing source types, the shortening of attention spans and a growing preference for short-form content, and an educational shift toward active student participation in their own learning. To effectively respond to these changes, I incorporated several new instructional approaches across both roles from Fall 2025 through Spring 2026. This poster outlines three of these strategies for teaching source evaluation in 2026.