Information Literacy, Inquiry Learning Models and the TL’s Role
The common joke in my house, now that I have started studying my Masters of Education in Teacher Librarianship, is that I am studying to be a master of “Shhh”. I haven’t laughed yet and neither are my student peers (Seewald, 2020, November 29 and Stephens, 2020, December 4). I explain to anyone who bothers to ask that I am expected to be a master of information literacy (IL) in a digital world. ETL401 has left me feeling both overwhelmed and empowered about this. But the bigger problem is that I am also left feeling stuck in the middle of competing pedagogies in my current school context because I can never be just a student, I am a studying practitioner. ETL401 has forced me to consider how little progress is being made in IL at my school. A school where policy makers are using Hattie’s effect sizes to choose explicit teaching over inquiry based. How will I convince them, what is the plan?
The feelings of being both overwhelmed and empowered can be explained on two fronts: what students are expected to learn and; what TLs are expected to teach. Both educational organisations like ACARA (2016) and world organisations like the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA, 2006) have decreed that to be successful global citizen in the 21st century you must be fluent in IL. The responsibility of teaching these skills seems to have fallen mostly on the TL’s shoulders. From ALIA’s exhaustive list of TL roles (2016), to academics like Todd (2012) wanting TLs to be innovative curriculum leaders, there is a lot of pressure on a TL. However, knowledge is empowerment and the impression that no one else is fulfilling the role of preparing students for the 21st century is enough to make me don a cape and become an IL superhero for my students and my colleagues. The question now is how best to do that and; how to make it happen in the context of my current work setting.
From Bonano’s “5 finger plan for success” (ASLA, 2011) to the “SLIM toolkit” (Todd, Kuhlthau and Heinstrom, 2005), it is acknowledged that TLs must prove their worth and, like all teachers, show evidence of their impact. Yet, Hattie, a revered expert on measuring impact in NSW public schools, has only shown IL to have a modest effect size of 0.4 (Visible Learning Plus, 2017). As such, IL receives only a passing mention in the NSW Department of Education’s recommended pedagogies (CESE, 2020). However, several IL strategies are recommended including, teacher collaboration, feedback, metacognition and Piagetian programs, which many had a massive effect size of 1.28 (CESE, 2020 and Visible Learning Plus, 2017).
The evidence is conflicting, so for me, the logical next step is to begin my own inquiry into evidence based practice (Wilson, 2020, January 8). Kuhlthau’s ISP research is based predominantly on high school students (Thomas, Crow & Franklin, 2011). Fitzgerald and Garrison (2017) theorise that inquiry learning is best started in year 7 while Hattie (Corwin, 2015) also argues that inquiry is better for older students due to a need for surface level knowledge. So perhaps, inquiry models of learning are best left until high school or at least, the end of primary school (Wilson, 2021, January 10). However, an alternative theory is that Hattie and CESE’s results are skewed against inquiry models because they don’t understand them and perhaps, neither do the teachers using them. Hattie’s claim that inquiry models fail students because there is no surface learning is certainly incorrect when compared to Kuhlthau, Maniotes and Caspari’s GID. The second phase in this model is all about building background knowledge. Furthermore regular teacher observations and assessment combined with student feedback and teacher collaboration are important aspects of the GID model. So are teachers failing to use it right or are Hattie’s measurements wrong? The answer lies with Hattie. He implores teachers to measure their own impact by first deciding what outcomes you are measuring against (Hattie, Masters & Birch, 2016). Perhaps the teachers and national testing bodies that influence Hattie’s effect sizes are yet to use the IL outcomes found in the general capabilities’ curriculum or the NSW geography inquiry skills continuum.
Moving forward for me, as both a student and a teacher of IL will mean using GID with explicit teaching (Stevens, 2019). It will mean starting with 11 and 12 year olds. Most importantly, it will mean carefully gathering evidence of my impact using these strategies. Now that I am quoting Hattie I’m confident that I can convince my colleagues and superiors to support my plan (Wilson, 2020, January 10).
References
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Australian Curriculum. (2016). General capabilities. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/#
Australian Library and Information Association, revised July 2016, ALIA-ASLA statement on teacher librarians in Australia, https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/alia-asla-statement-teacher-librarians-australia
Australian School Library Association. (2011). Karen Bonanno keynote speaker: A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan. vimeo. https://vimeo.com/31003940
Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation. (2020). What works best: 2020 update. NSW Department of Education. https://www.cese.nsw.gov.au//images/stories/PDF/What-works-best-2020-update.pdf
Corwin. (2015) John Hattie on inquiry-based learning. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUooOYbgSUg
Fitzgerald, L. & Garrison, K. (2017). It trains your brain: Student reflections on using the guided inquiry design process. Synergy, 15(2) https://www.slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/v15220179
Hattie, J., Masters, D. & Birch, K. (2016). Visible learning into action: international case studies of impact (Overview and Introduction). Routledge. https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bbHhCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=hattie+on+inquiry+learning&ots=MhnSzApjBU&sig=RgRyaguxn4yN1B_FdqHLyuzJBgU#v=onepage&q=hattie%20on%20inquiry%20learning&f=false
International Federation of Library Associations. (2006). IFLA/UNESCO school library manifesto. https://archive.ifla.org/VII/s11/pubs/manifest.htm
Thomas, N. P., Crow, S. R., & Franklin, L. L. (2011). Information literacy and information skills instruction : Applying research to practice in the 21st century school library, 3rd edition : applying research to practice in the 21st century school library. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Todd, R.J. (2012). School libraries as pedagogical centers. SCAN, 3(3), 27-36. Doi10.3316
Todd R.J., Kuhlthau, C. & Heinstrom, J. (2005). School library impact measure (SLIM). A toolkit and handbook for tracking and assessing student learning outcomes of guided inquiry through the school library. Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries at Rutgers University (CISSL). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278674274_School_Library_Impact_Measure_SLIM_A_Toolkit_and_Handbook_For_Tracking_and_Assessing_Student_Learning_Outcomes_Of_Guided_Inquiry_Through_The_School_Library
Visible Learning Plus. (2017). 250+ influences on student achievement. https://archive.ifla.org/VII/s11/pubs/manifest.htm
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