Blog Task # 3 Information Literacy is more than a set of skills

‘Information Literacy is more than a set of skills’

 There is an abundance of growing literature on Information Literacy (IL) (Abilock, 2004, Herring, 2006, Langford, 1998). The increasing interest in IL has broadened from the school context to higher education and the workplace (Herring & Bush, 2011). Education is constantly changing and the role of IL embedded across the curriculum is to encourage students to be lifelong learners. (Bundy, 2004, p. 6). IL is more than a set of skills and the concept of IL being seen as a set of skills is now being questioned (Lloyd & Williamson 2008, p: 12).

The term Information Literacy (IL) does not have one distinct or acceptable definition however, there seems to be a general agreement that it is a complex issue. Langford (1998) argues that the notion of literacy is fluid as it is defined by the information needs of society at that point in time. Herring and Tarter (2006) suggest the term is used as an extension of information skills. Eisenberg defines  Information Literacy as “the basic skills set of the 21st century” (Eisenberg, 2008, p.39) and yet goes on to emphasise that such skills form a process of connected activities that in turn form a view of thinking about and using information. Abilock’s (2004) definition of Information Literacy emphasises the transformational nature of the process by which the learner uses information to “create for personal, social or global purposes” (Abilock, 2004, p.10).

As presented in the definitions above there is a recognition that IL goes beyond a set of skills and is transferable to other tasks across subjects, personal and social situations, and even beyond the school setting to the workplace in recognition of lifelong learning, a so called “habit of mind” (Abilock, 2004, p.9). These definitions of IL highlight the notion of creating, sharing, self-reflection and awareness allowing students to be critical thinkers and efficient 21^st Century Learners.

The use of Information Process Models shows also that IL is more than a set of skills as some models such as the Big 6 examine thoughts, feelings and actions associated with various activities (Wolf, Brush, & Saye, 2003). Kuhlthua (2004) also describes these thoughts, feelings and actions in her ‘Information Search Process’ model.

Information Literacy means more than to know how and where to find information, just as literacy requires a student to do more than simply read a text. The ‘Information skills in the school: engaging learners in constructing knowledge’ (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2007, p.7) policy refers to Information Literacy as “not just skills” but knowledge of how and when to use strategies.

It is therefore the role of the TL to provide effective frameworks to help students work through the abundance of information accessible to them through various forms, transfer this knowledge across subject areas, tertiary education or work and develop the IL needs of their students to prepare them to be lifelong learners.

References:

Abilock, D. (2004). Information literacy: an overview of design, process and outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html

Bundy, A. (ed.) (2004). Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework: principles, standards and practice. 2nd ed. Adelaide: Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL) and Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL).

Eisenberg, M. B. (2008). Information literacy: Essential skills for the Information Age. Journal of Library & Information Technology, 28(2), 39-47.

Herring, J. (2006). A critical investigation of students' and teachers' views of the use of information literacy skills in school assignments. School Library Media Research, 9.

Herring. J. E. and Bush. S. J (2011). Information Literacy and transfer in schools: implications for teacher librarians. The Australian Library Journal; 60, 123-132.

Herring. J. E. and Tarter A. (2006). Progress in developing information literacy in a secondary school using the PLUS model. Charles Sturt University.

Kuhlthau, C.C. (2004). Learning as a process, in Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services, Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, pp.13-27, available CSU Library Reserve.

Langford, L. (1998). Information literacy: a clarification. School Libraries Worldwide, 4(1), 59-72.

Lloyd. A. & Williamson. K. (2008) Towards an Understanding of Information Literacy in Context: Implications for Research. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, v: 40, p.3 -12

NSW Department of Education and Training. (2007). Information skills in the school: engaging learners in constructing knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/teachingideas/isp/docs/infoskills.pdf

Wolf, S., Brush, T., & Saye, J. (2003). The Big Six information skills as a metacognitive scaffold: A case study. School Library Media Research, 6.

Guided Inquiry (GI). What advantages, challenges and/or disadvantages do you see for a TL wishing to implement a GI approach.

From the readings, Guided Inquiry appears to be an effective process. Students researching real world issues making the task more significant and being able to achieve the 5 kinds of learning identified by Kuhlthau, (2010, p. 2) sounds great. GI has many advantages as it meets several outcomes; it identifies specifically the TL role and the classroom teacher role, highlights areas requiring intervention through the use of Information Search Process(ISP) by TL or classroom teacher through formative assessment, incorporates the use of ICT, prepares students for the 21st Century and is a method of Action Research. Two main challenges that I believe the TL may experience implementing this approach are staff members and time. TL may have difficulty finding staff members to work collaboratively with within different Key Learning Areas who share the same passion as the TL and the biggest hurdle I believe is time and the lack of it. It was great to see examples from Fitzgerald, Sheerman and Scheffers. Reading about their processes successes, and being able to view the research and results was motivational. I hope to be able to effectively implement Guided Inquiry into my teaching as I see it as a very worthy process.

The information below is what I believe to an effect comment on Guided inquiry xxx

Blog Task # 2. The role of the teacher librarian with regard to assessing information literacy and inquiry learning.

Information Literacy and Guided Inquiry are vital roles of the Teacher Librarian (TL). Therefore, assessing the effectiveness of these roles is of vital importance not only for accountability purposes but ultimately achievement of student learning outcomes.  The Australian School Library Association highlights the importance of the development of information literacy skills and the need for evaluation. Standard 2.4 states that the Teacher Librarian (TL) should “evaluate student learning and library programs and services to inform professional practice” (ASLA, 2004).

Information Literacy and Guided Inquiry have been defined by the following:

Abilock (2004, p.1) argues that information literacy ‘is a transformational process in which the learner needs to find, understand, evaluate, and use information in various forms to create for personal, social or global purposes.’

Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari (2007, p. 111) state that guided inquiry is an active process for both teacher and student, based on continual assessment and evaluation throughout an inquiry unit. This is to inform the instructor when what interventions are required as well as what students have learned.

Guided Inquiry as an instructional method of teaching has been identified as an effective strategy as it improves critical thinking skills and information literacy skills. (Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p. 112). These skills prepare students for 21^st Century Learning. The effectiveness of the TL and units of work addressing these outcomes can be assessed in many ways.

Diagnostic assessment, formative assessment and summative assessment across curriculum areas have been identified as the most effective way in assessing the usefulness of the TL’s active process in the inquiry process and efficiency of units of work (Stripling 2007, p. 25) along with authentic assessment.

Diagnostic assessment identifies students’ prior knowledge and an example of this assessment includes concept maps. The most important aspect of assessing prior knowledge is that it allows students to self reflect on their own misconceptions which enable them to identify these and replace them with more accurate knowledge (Stripling 2007, p.26),

Formative assessment is a measurement of knowledge through the inquiry process and is assessed throughout a unit of work. Examples of formative assessment include observations of engagement, student collaboration and how students are going about the inquiry process. Other forms of formative assessment include journals, logs, timelines, flowcharts, information search process timeline, conferences and portfolios (Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p. 119). These forms of formative assessment indicate what has been learned and what hasn’t.

Summative assessment assesses knowledge and skills at end of the learning process. An example of summative assessment is a written report at the end of a unit of work in collaboration with conferences and portfolios. Exams and multiple choice questions are examples of traditional forms of summative assessment, they are however limited as these forms of assessment do not assess the different types of learning (Cirriculum, Inforamtion Literacy, Learning How to Learn, Literacy Competence and Social Skills, (Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p.112) which require different types of assessment.

The most effective form of assessment identified by Mueller (2005) is authentic assessment. Authentic assessment is based on real world problems that make it more meaningful and significant to students. Authentic assessment and for that matter effective assessment, cannot ask students just to recall information they must be able to demonstrate that they have accurately constructed meaning (Mueller 2005, p.14). The steps in creating Authentic Assessment allow for TLs to collaborate with classroom teachers to implement Information Literacy specific for the school and develop standards and skills that are significant to students, observable criteria of standards and skills and the development of rubrics for rating these skills and standards. This form of assessment is helpful in identifying the effectiveness of the TL with regard to Information Literacy and Guided Inquiry.

Assessment is essential for guiding students through the inquiry process allowing for strengths and weaknesses of students to be identified. This is true also for the effectiveness of the unit of work and allows for TLs to organise what form of intervention is required to help students achieve learning outcomes and ultimately be effective 21^st Century learners.

References:

Abilock, D. (2004). Information literacy: an overview of design, process and outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html

Australian School Library Association (ASLA). (2004). Library standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians  Retrieved October, 2013, from http://www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.htm

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2007). Assessment in guided inquiry. In Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century (pp. 111-131). Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited. Available CSU Library Reserve.

Mueller, J. (2005). Authentic assessment in the classroom… and the library media center. Library Media Connection, 23(7), 14-18. Available EBSCOHost

Stripling, B. (2007). Assessing informative fluency: Gathering evidence of student learning. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 23(8), 25-29. Available CSU Library Reserve

Information Literacy

I find it amazing that there is so much information on ‘Information Literacy’, I also find it amazing that there are so many definitions. It is undoubtedly important for Long Life Learning as stated in ‘The Australian and NZ Information Literacy Framework’ people who are information literate ‘know how knowledge is organised, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them’.

The major difference that I have found with the definitions provided in this module as opposed to the definitions proposed in earlier modules is that they are more in-depth and focused more on individual needs within individual communities. These definitions identify many standards of information literate people but more specifically they identify that information literate people take part in independent learning and lifelong learning.

These recently proposed definitions differ from previous definitions as they highlight Information Literacy as the ability or understanding of knowing how to learn.

Information Literacy and Transfer

Herring (2011a) identifies many assumptions made about Information Literacy (IL), in particular, its transfer across subject areas. Herring (2011b) findings in the study of the use of concept maps as a tool to assess students transfer skills across time and subject areas highlighted an important issue. Students see the school as compartmentalised and did not see the importance of IL transfer skills even though the teachers in this particular study thought the student were capable of doing so (Herring 2001b). To overcome this hurdle and to encourage students to transfer IL skills and practices TL’s and teachers can:

-          Work collaboratively with other staff members to address this issue.

-          Make it a whole school approach.

-          Increasing teacher awareness across subject areas highlighting IL’s role in helping students gain new knowledge and be reflective practitioners (Herring 2011a).

-          Increase student awareness of the importance and skills obtained to be effective lifelong learners.

-          Take into consideration sociocultural perspectives, how your students learn in their particular environment (Herring 2011b).

-          Identifying effective information Literacy skills such as concept maps that are easily transferred across subject areas (Herring 2011b).

-          Developing strategies for students who lack the willingness or ability to transfer information literacy skills (Herring 2011b).

Referencing:

Herring, J. (2011a). Assumptions, Information Literacy and Transfer in High Schools. Teacher Librarian, 38(3), 32-36.

Herring, J. (2011b). Year Seven Student, Concept Mapping and the Issues of Transfer. School Libraries Worldwide, 17(1), 11-23.