Monthly Archives: April 2020

ETL-401

Information Literacy Overload!

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Wow!

Information literacy (IL), you truly have fried my capacitors. When first introduced to the  concept of IL, I immediately thought of Kath Murdoch‘s inquiry cycle as it has such strong roots in IB philosophy. However as I read further, I came to understand that Murdoch’s inquiry cycle does not explicitly teach IL and the skills and values within, instead, it guides students through the inquiry process, from provocation through to taking action. Murdoch’s inquiry cycle is simple enough for the beginning IB teacher to understand and use; support from an IL model could only strengthen this robust inquiry cycle.

The definition that I initially grasped and held onto as making sense was that of UNESCO’s 2005 Alexandria proclamation described IL “as essential for individuals to achieve personal, social, occupational and educational goals. IL skills are necessary for people to be effective lifelong learners and to contribute in knowledge societies” (2008, p. 9). This resonated with me as an overarching definition, however there wasn’t enough substance. And I was left with further questions; What does it mean? How does it look in a classroom? 

These questions led me to continue reading, I came across Webber and Johnston’s definition. “The adoption of appropriate information behavio(u)r to obtain, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, together with critical awareness of the importance of wise and ethical use of information in society “(Webber & Johnston 2003, p. 336). While this helped clear a little of the fog I was still unsure; Who defines if the information is well fitted to the information needs? Particularly in the classroom, is this a teacher or the student? I’m sure many of us have come across students, who incorrectly ‘believe’ their information to be suitable or in Webber and Johnston’s words; well fitted.

I kept searching, and by searching, I mean reading the module…

At last I neared the end, could this final definition help lift the fog and aid my understanding of IL and the Information Sphere? Lupton’s definition of IL is “library research skills and ‘IT literacy’ but it is broader than these. Information literacy is not just about finding and presenting information, it is about higher order analysis, synthesis, critical thinking and problem solving. It involves seeking and using information for independent thinking, lifelong learning, participative citizenships and social responsibility” (Lupton 2004, cited in Lupton, Glanville, McDonald & Selzer 2004, p. 1). Now this sat right. Lupton agrees with previous definitions, and compounds on them. Not only is IL research skills and computational literacy, but selective knowledge acquisition and analysis, critically evaluated to really understand it. I’m not sure if it’s just because I know of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Lupton’s definition does revolve around higher order thinking, analysis, synthesis, critical thinking and problem solving. Either way, I think I’ve finally found a definition that has lifted the fog. The view is great!

 

References

Johnston, B. & Webber, S. (2003). Information Literacy in Higher
Education: A review and case study. Studies in Higher Education, 28(3). pp. 335-352. DOI:10.1080/03075070309295
Lupton, M., Glanville, C., McDonald, P., Selzer, D. (2004). Information literacy toolkit. 
UNESCO. (2008). Towards information literacy indicators. UNESCO. Paris.
Uncategorized

Evidence for TLs at proficient stage

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Australian School Library Association (ASLA, 2014) produced an evidence guide for newly graduated teacher librarians (TL). While I am far from graduating, this evidence guide further illuminates the role of the TL. Moreover, the evidence examples has incited thought  for content that is not in place in my current school.

For example, evidence for Standard 4.4: Maintain Student Safety.

  • “Publication of cybersafety guidelines, in print or digital, on website and/or learning management system
  • library procedures that implement occupational health and safety requirements
  • library signage; for example, relating to evacuation, or copyright law
  • participation in and support of the school’s pastoral care policy” (ASLA, 2014, p. 14)

None of this has been completed at my current school and having read this document, I am now incentivised to create some of these dually for student safety, and for evidence for Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

 

References

Australian School Library Association. (2014). Evidence guide for teacher librarians in the proficient career stage. https://asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/evidence_guide_prof.pdf

 

ETL-401

Inquiry-based learning

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I’m a little bit behind on my readings as I spend much of the last 3 weeks working on assignments and teaching, rather than following up with the readings. So I’m now catching up on Module 4.

As part of an IB school, I ‘think’ I know all about inquiry-based learning. I was shocked when reading Module 4 to find that there are several versions of inquiry-based learning including Project Based Learning (PBL) and Guided Inquiry (GI); I presume there is an Unguided Inquiry (UI) too.

PBL originates from the Buck Institute for Education, and revolves around a scenario in which students work collaboratively to solve. Kind of like what happens in workplaces around the world. Your boss tells you about the new project and a group is formed to work on it. Your team comes across many problems and several solutions too, at the end you share your report/final product and you either get that pay raise (A+) or fired (F). PBL teaches students life skills like, collaboration, communication and research.

GI is far more structured and relies heavily upon the teacher to structure each lesson to guide students through the inquiry process. In the IB world, this begins with a provocation; a photo, video, play or anything that gets the students thinking, provokes their thought and makes them ask questions.  A good teacher will take these questions, guide students to ask other essential questions and build the unit around these ‘key questions’; guiding students through the process of asking questions, seeking information, sorting information, drawing conclusion and taking action. These are easily broken down steps that help guide the student through the inquiry process (Fitzgerald, 2015, p. 18).

UI I presume gives students a task and allows them to research and present however they see fit, without any teacher intervention.

A large portion of my inquiry-based teaching has been GI and for assessments PBL, however I never differentiated between the two, simply seeing them as one.

 

References:

Fitzgerald, L. (2015). Guided inquiry in practice. Scan 34(4). pp. 16-27. https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=211651;res=AEIPT