This blog post is a reflection on my experience with teaching information literacy. I identify the changes needed in my own teaching practice and the challenges I see facing the profession as a whole.

 

How is information literacy currently taught to students in your context?

Reflecting on my six years teaching Year 1 and Year 2, information literacy was barely touched upon. The only thing I can recall is teaching our students how to paraphrase information they had read on topics of interest when writing their own informative texts, but this was as far as we went on this topic. For these tasks I always sought out quality information sources myself and provided these to the students. Upon reflection, doing this was taking away the chance to model, guide, and support my students in how to select quality information sources.

 

What is needed to build upon current teaching approaches?

A clear continuum of what information literacy may look like at each stage. An example of this is Hossain’s (2020, p. 14) K-12 Academic Integrity Literacy (citation and referencing) continuum. The expectations listed in the ‘K-Grade 2’ column emphasise a need for teachers to explicitly model information literacy practices, such as verbally acknowledging the ownership of work. Linking back to the teaching of paraphrasing that I mentioned previously, I could further build upon this by clearly explaining why we paraphrase the information we have gained to develop an awareness of ownership within my students.

 

What do you see as the challenges for teaching information literacy in our complex and changing information ecosystem?

I see smartphones as a huge challenge when it comes to teaching information literacy. While the younger generation are often labelled as “digital natives”, evidence suggests that the digital literacy skills of this cohort vary considerably, and the technologies they choose to engage with are limited (Merga, 2018, p. 78). In 2023, it was estimated around 91 percent of 14- to 17-year-olds in Australia owned a smartphone (Maclean, 2024, para. 1). While smartphones appear to be the technology of choice for the current teenage cohort of students, the technology has drawbacks that impact the application of digital literacy skills. A smartphones screen size and capabilities do not facilitate the ability to critically assess content using strategies such as exploring multiple sources (Yarmey, 2023, p. 108). This limitation impacts a young persons ability to critically assess information sources that they may encounter when using their smartphones.

 

What might you consider to be potential ways to respond to these challenges?

Embedding instruction on how to select the right tools for information searching within our information literacy lessons. Also ensuring that the information literacy skills that are taught, particularly at the high school level, are transferable to mobile phone devices, as it is inevitable that this cohort of students will engaging with information sources using smartphones.

 

References:

Hossain, Z. (2020). Connecting policy to practice: How do literature, standards and guidelines inform our understanding of the role of school library professionals in cultivating an academic integrity culture? Synergy, 18(1). https://slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/373

Maclean, J. (2024, September 9). 91 per cent of Australian teens have a phone – but many are not secure. CSU News. https://news.csu.edu.au/opinion/91-per-cent-of-australian-teens-have-a-phone-but-many-are-not-secure#:~:text=Most%20Australian%20teenagers%20have%20their,the%20interactions%20they%20might%20have.

Merga, M. K. (2018). Reading Engagement for Tweens and Teens: What Would Make Them Read More?. Bloomsbury Publishing

Yarmey, K. (2023). Changing the conversation: introducing information literacy to a generation of smartphone users. In Godwin, P. & Parker, J. (Eds.), Information Literacy beyond Library 2.0 (1st ed., pp. 103-110). Facet.