The premise of information use in schools and the students’ ability to locate, evaluate and use information has always been an essential skill. However, with the ever-changing information environment and access to the multi-platform and the diverse nature of information that the internet presents, information literacy is now at the forefront of twenty-first century education proficiencies (ACARA, 2016). For more on the information environment and the connection to information literacy skills, please see my thoughts and summations here.
From my studies over the duration of the ETL 401 subject, I have become more familiar with the general capabilities and their connection to collaboration, communication, creativity and metacognition. By linking our third assessment to the general capabilities, I clearly recognised the role of the teacher librarian in the development of these valuable skills for our students.
Through my readings and assignments, I discovered that the term information literacy became notable when Zurkowski (1974) used it to refer to and describe the mastery of information tools to solve problems. The requirement for students to become information literate and be able to filter through the vast amounts of information, in addition to evaluating and synthesising it, is a critical skill for now and the future.
Information literacy models will enhance student information skills and competencies, providing an emphasis on inquiry learning and the link to twenty-first century skills that incorporate information literacy, critical thinking, creativity, and cooperative learning (Garrison, Fitzgerald and Sheerman, 2018). By employing an information literate and student-centred learning approach, students will build capacity through deeper connections and understandings. Please read more about information literacy and the transference of skills for the future needs of students here.
It is imperative that schools and educators align the curriculum with inquiry skills, to assist learners move their use and knowledge of information from ignorance to understanding (Fitzgerald, 2015). Research during this subject has shown that this is occurring. Bonanno (2015) has mapped inquiry curriculum skills and general capabilities to the Guided Inquiry Design (GID) framework, and collaborators from the NSW Department of Education have created the Information Fluency Framework (IFF) (Wall, 2021). Both the GID and IFF present a series of steps for inquiry as learners access and use information. GID stems from the comprehensively researched Information Search Process (ISP), and IFF has its origins in the Information Skills Process (ISP).
This subject has highlighted the importance of utilising an information literacy model in schools to support students in acquiring knowledge and understanding of the information process. In addition, incorporating a model or guided inquiry process into planning has ensured that I will be more effective in teaching inquiry skills and embracing the general capabilities within the Australian Curriculum.
Research shows a clear benefit to schools who employ a teacher librarian, from fostering a reading culture, to improving student literacy, through to the development of critical information skills (Merga, 2021). This advantage will be extended with the active involvement of teacher librarians in a collaborative partnership alongside classroom teachers in schools. With an expert knowledge of quality resources and information literacy models, teacher librarians create, resource, teach and assess inquiry units that enhance student outcomes and build their information literacy confidence and skills for the future.
Over the duration of the ETL 401 course, I have come across a myriad of articles on the importance of collaboration in schools (Merga, 2019; Lombard, 2016; Sharkey, 2013). These studies emphasised the advocacy of opportunities for student collaboration, as well as teacher partnerships, to optimise student learning.
This course has been a wonderful introduction to Teacher Librarianship. Firstly, developing and reflecting on my learning over the duration of the course on my blog page has been a beneficial way to delve deeper into modules. The discussion essay ensured I immersed myself into scholarly readings and comprehended the requirements of university studies once more. Finally, the practical development of an inquiry unit was my first adventure into Information Literacy models and processes. The aim is to go forth and teach my unit, to evaluate the content, flow and phases, and to observe how students respond to the stages of inquiry. It will be interesting to note if and when students experience Kuhlthau’s (1991) cognitive thoughts and affective feelings as they progress through the information seeking process.
Overall, ETL 401 has reinforced the advocacy of teacher librarians in schools. The multifaceted and dynamic nature of information, and how people access, find and use that information, promotes the need for teacher librarians, to support students with developing their effective information literacy skills and setting them up with applicable processes for lifelong learning.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016). General capabilities.
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/.
Bonanno, K. (2015). Australian Curriculum inquiry skills scope and sequence. [Eduwebinar] https://eduwebinar.com.au/australian-curriculum-inquiry-skills-scope-and-sequence/.
Fitzgerald, L. (2015). Guided Inquiry in Practice. Scan: The journal for educators. 34(4), 16-27.
Garrison, K. L., FitzGerald, L., & Sheerman, A. (2018). “Just Let Me Go at It”: Exploring Students’ Use and Perceptions of Guided Inquiry. School Library Research. 21.
Holland, J. (2022). Information Literacy. [Blog post]. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennifersjournal/2022/05/01/information-literacy/
Holland, J. (2022). The Information Environment. [Blog post]. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennifersjournal/2022/03/13/the-information-environment/
Kuhlthau, C. C. (1991). Inside the search process: Information seeking from the user’s perspective. Journal of the American Society for Information Science. 42(5), 361-371.
Lombard, E. (2016). Information Fluency: Not Information Literacy 2.0. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3), 281-283.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2016.04.006
Merga, M. K. (2021). Why are teacher librarians an excellent investment in contemporary schools? Scan, 40(2).
Merga, M. K. (2019). Librarians in schools as literacy educators: Advocates for reaching beyond the classroom. Springer International Publishing AG.
Sharkey, J. (2013). Establishing Twenty-First-Century Information Fluency. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 53(1), 33-39.
Wall, J. (2021). Information Fluency: A NSW Journey. Scan, 40(9), 4-9.
Zurkowski, P. (1974). The information service environment: Relationships and Priorities. [Conference presentation]. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Washington DC.