Inquiry learning can be extremely complex and different schools have different approaches.  From my experience, the schools which have a very clear approach to inquiry learning are the schools who engage the students effectively and wisely use their teacher librarian.  As stated on my blog, “teacher librarians need to have a strong understanding of the broader information landscapes” (Catherall, July 2017) which is why they are so effective for teachers to plan with. For example, when there has been a passionate leader in the school such as a teacher librarian who feels very strongly about inquiry, information literacy models and incorporating these successfully into all subject areas and the entire school, it has worked extremely well.  When this has been done well, students are more likely to be engaged in everyday experiences and will continue grow into lifelong learners (Wallace & Husid, 2016, p.11).  From my experience of teaching in primary schools, these leading teachers and teacher librarians generally have a wide knowledge and understanding of the different information literacy models and approaches to inquiry learning which in turn filters through the staff.  As Kim Bedingfield points out on her blog that collaboration between teachers and teacher librarians is extremely important to provide students with excellent units (Bedingfield, October 2017).

The need for a process to scaffold inquiry learning in schools is absolutely vital and this is where teacher librarians can assist staff greatly throughout the school. This scaffolding is vital as there needs to be a process and a framework teachers and staff can work with in order to support the students’ thoughts and questioning processes. If staff and students go straight to the ‘Going Further’ section of Kath Murdoch’s phases of inquiry model they have missed out on vital pieces of information and skills to help scaffold their understandings to guide them to this section.  Consequently, it would be impossible for students to produce work of a high standard if they do not have knowledge and understandings from the previous sections to use for these tasks. This is where teacher librarians can be of assistance as their role in this day and age is to prepare students for the twenty first century by giving them the skills to learn, collaborate and lead (Wallace & Husid, p. 1, 2014) which is possible throughout these inquiry planners.  Gillian Cornwell mentioned on her blog that teacher librarians are leaders of schools as a result of being information specialists and need to lead schools when working on their information literacy policies (Cornwell, September 2017).

I have been very fortunate to teach in some schools where there have been passionate leaders who lead the curriculum in such an effective manner which consequently filters through the entire school.  My current school has always focussed on Kath Murdoch’s model of ‘The Phases of Inquiry’.  I have been part of some fabulous units of work using this model and one was a whole school focus on ‘Asia’ which I was fortunate enough to coordinate.  It was simply astounding to see what the school was able to accomplish at each different year level and share at whole school assemblies. We were lucky to have the support from many people to achieve this however, as mentioned on my blog, the schools I have worked in without teacher librarians were not able to give staff the opportunity to collaborate with a librarian to enable them to create units of that could be as rich as possible which consequently effects student outcomes (Catherall, July 2017)

As a result of my experience using Kath Murdoch’s ‘Phases of Inquiry’ it was the natural choice for me to use in this project.  I had read through the information about the different information literacy models in the modules and I still felt that this was one I wanted to work with further.  Inquiry learning allows students no matter how academic they are to explore, discover and present their findings (Savitz, 2016, p. 334) and I believe the ‘Phases of Inquiry’ model enables this to occur very naturally.

I quite like the way this model is set out as it clearly scaffolds the students’ learning as it is very gradual and supportive of each individual student and the stage of learning they are at.  It enables students to investigate individually or in small groups in the ‘going further’ section once they have gathered, compared and contrasted information.  It also has a strong focus on questioning and reflection throughout the unit which is also important for the teacher so that they can gauge ongoing learning from the students and assessment at the same time.  This emphasis on questioning is supported by Coffman who states, “Inquiry learning implements a constructivist approach so students interact with the content by asking questions to increase understanding and comprehension and at the same time construct their own knowledge” (Coffman, 2012, p. 6).

I investigated the NSW Information Search Process (ISP) which I quite liked.  I felt it was very fluid and covered all necessary areas when investigating a particular topic.  However, I did feel that Kath Murdoch’s model works well with students from an early age and when models are being implemented into a whole school for some units of work it is important that it is appealing to all ages.  I felt that the selecting, organising and presenting aspects (What is the DEC Information Process (ISP)?, n.d., para. 4) of the ISP would need a large amount of input and direction from teachers for students of a young age.

I also looked at The Big6 model which I felt was quite clear and easy to understand and there also seemed to be much written about it.  However, similar to the ISP model, I felt that Kath Murdoch’s model was excellent for teachers to implement with very young students as the Big6 model begins with defining information and identifying what information is needed (Wolf, Brush & Saye, p. 3, 2003) which would require a large amount of assistance from teachers in order to assist students with understanding this.  However, an article did outline teachers’ concerns about a particular task students were asked to do without teacher assistance and the teachers were pleasantly surprised by what the students achieved (Wolf, Brush & Saye, p. 19, 2003).

There are without a doubt some fabulous information literacy models to assist with scaffolding inquiry learning.  What I found very valuable throughout this assignment is the reminder that schools, teacher librarians and staff from all year levels need to implement the model that fits with their school best and what they want to achieve.

References

Bedingfield, K. (2017, October, 1). Reflective practice- Inquiry learning and information literacy models. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/kimbedingfield/2017/10/01/reflective-practice-inquiry-learning-and-information-literacy-models/

Catherall, E. (2017, July 27). The information society. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/emmasonlinelearningjournal/2017/07/27/the-information-society/

Catherall, E. (2017, July 19). The role of a teacher librarian. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/emmasonlinelearningjournal/2017/07/19/the-role-of-a-teacher-librarian/

Coffman, T. (2012). Using inquiry in the classroom: Developing creative thinkers and information literate students.  Retrieved from Ebook Central Proquest.

 Cornwell, G. (2017, September 8).  Information literacy. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/gillian/2017/09/08/information-literacy/

What is the DEC Information Process (ISP)? (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.nthsyddem-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/curriculum-activities/library/information-process

Murdoch, K. (2010). Phases of inquiry. [diagram]. Retrieved from https://learningconnections.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/screen-shot-2011-12-05-at-10-08-57-am.png

Savitz, R.S. (2016).  Using inquiry based learning to keep students engaged and learning in all content areas.  Childhood Education, 92(5), 333-335.

doi: 10.1080/00094056.2016.1208016

Wallace, V.L., & Husid, W.N. (2014).  Collaborating for inquiry-based learning:  School librarians and teachers partner for student achievement.  Retrieved from Ebook Central Proquest.

Wallace, V.L. & Husid, W.N. (2016).  Collaborating for inquiry-based learning:  School librarians and teachers partner for student achievement, 2^nd edition.  Retrieved from Ebook Central Proquest.

Wolf, S., Brush, T., & Saye, J. (2003). The big six information skills as a metacognitive scaffold: A case study.  School library media research, 6.  Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/pubs/slr