New Information Literacy Curriculum

On 10th November, Sheffield University Information School hosted a seminar on an Information Literacy Curriculum. Full documentation is available at
http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com/

This includes an explanation of the ideas behind the curriculum and recommendations on how it may be used and taught. All the reports are available under reports and outputs. The curriculum document is straightforward and practical and I think would be useful for Australian TLs as well.

Aha! Moment

Yes I've had my own little aha! moment. The lightbulb is flickering due to our essential reading "Introduction to guided Inquiry - What is it, what's new, why now?" Everything we've looked at so far is connected in this article: the roles of the TL; collaboration; leadership, constructivist learning; information literacy; curriculum; the information process etc. Guided Inquiry connects all this together and in my view should be the main instructional framework for all schools.
What challenges do I foresee in the implementation of such an approach? The main one is probably getting everyone on board - teachers, parents, students, executive. I think it would work best as a whole school approach but if that was not happening you could still make a difference with just a few classes and some teacher support. You are also going to get students who lack motivation, no matter what you throw at them but I think it would be great with the majority of students.

Studies on Information Process Models

Part of our essential reading for topic 4 includes two articles about studies on information process models (The Big 6 and PLUS models). When I first started reading I thought why on earth do we need to read about these studies - what valuable information can I get from these readings? It took a bit of thinking but this is what I came up with -

• The studies show there is definite value in using information process models. There is a potential link between information problem-solving models and metacognitive skills (one of the essential skills students must possess in order to be successful in problem-based learning activities).
• Strengthened metacognitive skills can be applied to a variety of learning situations.
• With appropriate support, students can succeed at complex, learner centred, research oriented tasks.
• Using a model can boost students confidence when approaching problem solving tasks.
• Through a collaborative approach this type of metacognitive support can be effectively integrated into the school curriculum.
• Students themselves view scaffolding models as beneficial.
• Learners need to use models many times until it becomes almost second nature and then it should be gradually withdrawn to reduce reliance.
• Models are best used how learners want to use them.
• Models do not need to be used in a linear process.

And most importantly I think the studies show that TLs have much to gain from studying and evaluating how their students use a information process model so that they can understand better how learners learn and how to effectively integrate the information process into the curriculum.

Brief overview of New Curriculum for IL

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