Information literacy is essential for lifelong learning. As teacher librarians (TLs) I believe it is our aim to foster and promote self-directed and independent learning (Bundy, 2004). It is for this reason that inquiry plays such a vital role and should be the mission of schools to implement effectively. For TLs and teaching teams to demonstrate best practice in this area they need to choose an information literacy model and outwork it school wide. Scheffers (2008) describes how inquiry units are planned, supervised and taught by teams of school librarians and teachers. I believe it is this teamwork approach that helps integrate 21^st Century skills across the curriculum and makes inquiry learning successful. When inquiry learning becomes part of the core instruction within the classroom it allows students to be more active and engaged learners who are self-motivated and independent (Abilock, 2004).

Inquiry based learning encourages students to use a variety of strategies and scaffolds to locate and evaluate information to answer questions they have posed themselves (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2012). While reflecting on inquiry based learning I noticed many fellow university students stating the difficulties in introducing inquiry units within their schools, time, money and teachers not wanting to collaborate are only a few of the many challenges. However, the advantages and results of properly implemented inquiry learning show why TLs must promote inquiry learning as there are many benefits to students and their learning. Herring (2006), observed the effects that scaffolded inquiry learning had on student achievement and confidence in the learning process. Results showed that students who followed the information literacy model led to deeper student engagement, the observations showed that students were forced to stop and think what the big topic is about and interpret their own understanding rather than rushing into the task. Students used better critical thinking skills and the range of resources used were high quality. Students were seen to be better organised with their planning, searching and note taking which improved end results. Herring (2006) states that with the support of the information literacy model students were able to manage more complex tasks than they would without using the model. Using a literacy model to structure inquiry learning helps students develop a deeper personal knowledge of their chosen topic (Sheerman, 2011).

One of the many benefits of inquiry learning that promotes the need for a literacy model is collaborative learning. As I previously reflected upon in forum discussions, students learn from each other, this is something we as TL and teachers should be promoting (Johnston, 2017 Topic 5.2 Forum Post). When you have a model in place it allows students to share their knowledge without fear of plagiarism, as a model helps students to investigate independently, but share with their inquiry circle or jigsaw groups. It gives students the opportunity to work as part of a team and contribute something meaningful to a common goal.

When looking at all the different information literacy models I found that guided inquiry (GI) was the model I liked the best and found that the structured guidance in this model was superior to the others. I found the stages of open, immerse, explore, identify, gather, create, share and evaluate easy for students to understand and follow (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2012). I feel the stages flow logically and would suit short-term tasks or extended projects. The structured scaffolds used in this method aim to guide and support students through the difficult patches in their information search (FitzGerald, 2011). Guided Inquiry creates an environment that makes learning fun and helps students participate in activities that promote deep, lasting learning (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2012).

Inquiry based learning and the need for an information literacy model is a topic not without its challenges as staff are time poor and schools are just trying to get by with the funding they have, but if we want to provide students with opportunities to develop skills for lifelong learning then overcoming the barriers is something we must keep striving towards as we aim for quality teaching experiences for our students.

References

Abilock, D. (2004). Information literacy: an overview of design, process and outcomes. Noodle tools. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160409135915/http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html

Bundy, A (ed.) (2004). Australia and New Zealand information literacy framework: principles, standards and practices. Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIL) and Council of Australian University Libraries (CAUL). Retrieved from http://www.caul.edu.au/content/upload/files/info-literacy/InfoLiteracyFramework.pdf

FitzGerald, L. (2011). The twin purposes of guided inquiry: guiding student inquiry and evidence based practice. Scan, 30(1) 26-41. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;res=AEIPT;dn=187248

Herring, J. (2006). A critical investigation of student’s and teachers’ views of the use of information literacy skills in school assignments. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol9/SLMR_CriticalInvestigation_V9.pdf

Johnston, M. (2017). Topic 5.2 Forum Post. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&forum_id=_75995_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_23320_1&course_id=_14213_1&message_id=_999850_1#msg__999850_1Id

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes. L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2012). Guided inquiry design: A framework for inquiry in your school. Rutgers School of Communication and Information. Retrieved from http://wp.comminfo.rutgers.edu/ckuhlthau/guided-inquiry-design/

Scheffers, J. (2008). Guided inquiry: a learning journey. Scan, 27(4) 34-42. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;res=AEIPT;dn=172157

Sheerman, A. (2011). Accepting the challenge: evidence based practice at Broughton Anglican College. Scan, 30(2) 24-33. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;res=AEIPT;dn=189075