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Information Literacy

"To be prepared for a future characterized by change, students must learn to think rationally and creatively, solve problems, manage and retrieve information, and communicate effectively. By mastering information problem-solving skills students will be ready for an information-based society and a technological workplace."

This excerpt and much that follow are taken from the American Library Association's Position Paper on Information Literacy

RESTRUCTURING AND INFORMATION LITERACY

Research on the restructuring of schools calls for the teachers role to change from a textbook lecturer to that of a coach. Students become active learners who create their own knowledge after interacting with information from a variety of resources. Learning which results from use of multiple resources is often referred to as resource-based learning.

Resource-based learning requires that students are effective users of information regardless of format. Print resources such as books and magazines as well as electronic resources such as computer databases and laser videodiscs will be used by students. Students will master information literacy skills when teachers and library media specialists guide them as they use information with a discipline or through an interdisciplinary project. Another component of restructuring, performance assessment, flows from active resource-based learning. Learning is assessed by observing student demonstrations of ability, knowledge or competencies. In a fully functioning performance assessment setting, student portfolios and other assessment techniques are used to measure outcomes or competencies.

THE ELEMENTS OF INFORMATION LITERACY

Students who are information literate will have demonstrated skills in each of the following areas:

  1. The ability to obtain and assess appropriate information.
  2. The ability to process and communicate information.
  3. The ability to think critically and evaluate the final project.

To obtain these goals students will need to develop skills in the related areas of Media Literacy and Computer Literacy. Instructors will need to make a committment to a curriculum designed around Information Literacy.

CURRICULUM AND INFORMATION LITERACY

To become effective information users, students must have frequent opportunities to handle all kinds of information. Locating, interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, and communicating information should become a part of every subject across the curriculum. Resource-based learning calls for all members of the educational community to become partners in a shared goal, providing successful learning experiences for all students. Learning environments should be structured to allow students unlimited access to multiple resources in the classroom, the library media center, and beyond the school walls.

The academic dean, as instructional leader, fosters resource-based learning by providing adequate planning time and budget support. As instructional partners, the classroom teacher and library media specialist are actively involved in identifying the learning needs of the students, developing teaching units, and guiding their progress. The library media specialist facilitates activities which offer meaningful practice in using a variety of information resources.

In an effective information literacy curriculum, the students experience with information moves away from learning traditional library location skills taught in isolation. Rather, the student learns information literacy skills, as defined in this paper, embedded into the core curriculum. Once acquired, a solid foundation of information literacy skills will prepare students for a lifetime of learning.

THE ELEMENTS OF INFORMATION LITERACY

1. OBTAINING INFORMATION

The first step in any learning is the ability to obtain information that is both timely and appropriate. This process will involve:

  1. DEFINING THE NEED FOR INFORMATION
  2. INITIATING THE SEARCH STRATEGY
  3. LOCATING THE RESOURCES
  4. ASSESSING AND COMPREHENDING THE INFORMATION
I. DEFINING THE NEED FOR INFORMATION

The first step in the information problem solving process is to recognize that an information need exists and to define that need. The student will be able to:

  1. Recognize different uses of information (i.e. occupational, intellectual, recreational)
  2. Place the information needed within a frame of reference (who, what, when, where, how, why)
  3. Relate the information needed to prior knowledge
  4. Formulate the information problem using a variety of questioning skills (i.e. yes/no, open ended)
II. INITIATING THE SEARCH STRATEGY

Once the information problem has been formulated, the student must understand that a plan for searching has to be developed. The student will be able to:

  1. Determine what information is needed, often through a series of sub-questions
  2. Brainstorm ideas and recognize a variety of visual ways of organize ideas to visualize relationships among them (i.e. webbing, outlining, listing)
  3. Select and use a visual organizer appropriate to subject
  4. List key words, concepts, subject headings, descriptors
  5. Explain the importance of using more than one source of information
  6. Identify potential sources of information
  7. Identify the criteria for evaluating possible sources (i.e. timeliness, format, appropriateness)
III. LOCATING THE RESOURCES

At the onset of a search a student will recognize the importance of locating information from a variety of sources and accessing specific information found within an individual resource. The student will be able to:

  1. Locate print, audiovisual, and computerized resources in the school library media center using catalogs and other bibliographic tools
  2. Locate information outside of the school library media center through online databases, interlibrary loan, telephone and facsimile technology
  3. Identify and use community information agencies (i.e. public and academic libraries, government offices) to locate additional resources
  4. Use people as sources of information through interviews, surveys and letters of inquiry
  5. Consult with library media specialists and teachers to assist in identifying sources of information
  6. Access specific information within resources by using internal organizers (i.e. indexes, tables of contents, cross references) and electronic search strategies (i.e. keywords, boolean logic)

Library media specialists help students build positive attitudes toward the use and communication of ideas. INFORMATION POWER

IV. ASSESSING AND COMPREHENDING THE INFORMATION

Once potentially useful information has been located, the student uses a screening process to determine the usefulness of the information. The student will be able to:

  1. Skim and scan for major ideas and keywords to identify relevant information
  2. Differentiate between primary and secondary sources
  3. Determine the authoritativeness, currentness and reliability of the information
  4. Differentiate among fact, opinion, propaganda, point of view, and bias
  5. Recognize errors in logic
  6. Recognize omissions, if any, in information
  7. Classify, group or label the information
  8. Recognize interrelationships among concepts
  9. Differentiate between cause and effect
  10. Identify points of agreement and disagreement among sources
  11. Select information in formats most appropriate to the students individual learning style
  12. Revise and redefine the information problem if necessary
2. PROCESSING AND COMMUNICATING INFORMATION

 Once information has been obtained a learner must be able to process and interpret this information to be able to communicate it effectively.

V. INTERPRETING THE INFORMATION
VI. PROCESSING THE INFORMATION
VII. COMMUNICATING THE INFORMATION

V. INTERPRETING THE INFORMATION

Following an assessment of the information, the student must use the information to solve the particular information problem. The student will be able to:

  1. Summarize the information in the students own words; paraphrase or quote important facts and details when necessary for accuracy and clarity
  2. Synthesize newly gathered information with previous information
  3. Organize and analyze information in a new way
  4. Compare information gathered with the original problem and adjust strategies, locate additional information or re-examine information when necessary
  5. Draw conclusions based on the information gathered and the students interpretation of it
VI. PROCESSING THE INFORMATION

The student must have the skills and tools necessary to manipulate the information and present it in a form that best communicates its content.
The student will be able to:

  1. Use the computer, as necessary, to refine and process the information
  2. Demonstrate the skills necessary to produce a professional looking final project utilizing the computer.
VII. COMMUNICATING THE INFORMATION

The student must be able to organize and communicate the results of the information problem-solving effort. The student will be able to:

  1. Use the search information to identify the important conclusions or resolutions to the problem to be shared with others
  2. Decide on a purpose (i.e. to inform, persuade, entertain) for communicating the information and identify the intended audience
  3. Choose a format (i.e. written, oral, visual) appropriate for the audience and purpose
  4. Create an original product (i.e. speech, research paper, videotape, drama)
  5. Provide appropriate documentation (i.e. bibliography) and comply with copyright law
3. THINKING CRITICALLY AND EVALUATING THE FINAL PRODUCT
VIII. EVALUATING THE PRODUCT AND PROCESS

Evaluation is the ability to determine how well the final product resolved the information problem and if the steps taken to reach the desired outcome were appropriate and efficient. Students may evaluate their own work and/or be evaluated by others (i.e. classmates, teachers, library media staff, parents). The student will be able to:

  1. Determine the extent to which the conclusions and project met the defined information need and/or satisfied the assignment. (i.e. how well did I do?)
  2. Consider if the research question/problem, search strategy, resources, or interpretation should have been expanded, revised or otherwise modified. (i.e. what could/should I have done differently?)
  3. Re-assess his/her understanding of the process and identify steps which need further understanding, skill development, or practice (i.e. how can I do better in the future?)
MEDIA LITERACY

Media literacy is concerned with helping learners develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of the media used to transmit information in this information age; how various media work, what constitutes a media, how they produce meaning, how they are organized, how they construct reality.

Media Literacy Online Project

COMPUTER LITERACY

Computer Literacy aims to provide the learner with the ability and necessary skills to use the computer as a tool to access, process, refine, and communicate information. Students will develop a base level of skills including familiarity with operating systems, word processors, spreadsheets, internet browsers, and e-mail programs.