Information Literacy in the Smith School District

8/14/2019 Information Literacy in the Smith School District

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Information Literacy in the Smith School District

By Robbin Zirkle

Executive Summary

It is clear to any individual in a working environment that in recent years, information

literacy has become essential to success in the workforce. As such, public schools must be held

responsible for ensuring that students not only learn to read, write, add and subtract, but also

that they are information competent.

A survey of pertinent literature demonstrates not only that one can measure

information literacy, but also that high school graduates are not, on average, proficient in

information competence. This same literature also provides a guide for understanding and

improving information literacy among public school students.

The combined efforts of the Association of College Research Librarians, the American

Association of School Librarians, and the Educational Testing Service have all established

standards and methods for evaluating student information competence. Numerous studies

have used these standards as a measuring stick for assessing student information literacy as it is

now, and demonstrate that students generally lack proficiency in using information beyond

basic skills, particularly in regard to ethics (paraphrasing, citation) and redefining their search

process. Fortunately, a number of studies also provide examples of successful improvement

efforts that might be imitated within this school district to rectify the issue of information

incompetence.

As such, it is recommended that the school district endeavor to create an Information

Literacy Initiative headed by a committee of librarians, instructors and administrators to


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INFORMATION LITERACY IN THE SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT 2

oversee the development of student information competence within this school district. This

cohort will be charged with a number of incremental tasks. The first, to determine standards

for information literacy instruction within the school district based upon the literature included

within this research memo. Next, to develop a district-wide information literacy policy for

faculty as well as students and to create learning outcomes and indicators for various age levels

to appropriately cultivate and assess information literacy throughout their public education.

Faculty instruction in information literacy must be provided during professional development

time to ensure that faculty understands the Information Literacy Initiative and can carefully

articulate its objectives to students. Finally, administration must provide librarians and

instructors with preparation time designed exclusively for collaboration in instruction and

require that instructors collaborate at least once per term (semester, year) with a librarian to

ensure that information literacy is evenly spread throughout students education.


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Introduction

As educators in public institutions in the United States, our first and foremost mission is

and should be to promote the academic and professional success of our countrys citizens. In

public institutions, we are on the front line in this regard, providing the only education to

which an individual is guaranteed.

Within the last quarter-century, the workplace and personal communication have both

changed dramatically with the explosion of digital technology. Understanding, evaluating and

managing such technology is of paramount importance for continued innovation in this country

(Howard, 2012, p.74). As such, we have a responsibility ensure that all citizens are competent

in understanding, manipulating, and employing informationthat they are information

literate.

In order to ensure information literacy among our students, we must first answer three

questions: first, how do we measureinformation literacy? Second, do graduates of high schools

lack information competence? And third, how can we improve information literacy within the

public school system? As such, the following research review will address each of these

questions and provide a foundation for recommended actions.

Methods

Inclusion criteria for literature searching allowed for high quality empirical studies as well as

reference materials from authoritative sources that were e related to the field of instruction

and/or library and information science. Exclusion criteria required that resources be current

(published since 1992) they explicitly address an aspect of guiding questions.


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Search strategies for literature included keyword searching within the UNC Libraries

catalog, identifying relevant items within bibliographies of related but out-of-scope texts,

search within subject headings, search within specific journals, and finally, asking an actual

instruction librarian.

Keyword searching generated a number of search terms which were recycled effectively

throughout the literature search process. JSTOR and Lexis Nexis yielded sources with

bibliographies that identified pertinent literature as well as The Journal of Academic

Librarianship, which has content posted online that was very helpful and was included in this

memo. Subject headings were pulled from such resources which were searched view UNC

Libraries Summon search to identify a number of additional articles. An instruction librarian

also suggested looking into the Core Curriculum which directed the search toward the iSkills

evaluation available through the Educational Testing Service.

Literature Review and Discussion

How do we measure information literacy?

Before we can ascertain whether or not high school graduates are information literate

and how to promote information literacy, it is important to understand how exactly

information literacy can be measured and assessed. For information literacy standards, we can

look to those published by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the

Association of Research Librarians (ACRL), both of which are divisions of the American Library

Association.

AASL states that an information literate individual will use questions to acquire

knowledge and apply it to real life. Furthermore, such individuals will develop and refine


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research questions; effectively identify and evaluate resources; master technology tools; mimic

critical thinking through collaborative dialog; respect terms of copyright and fair use; organize

information effective; modify information strategies to create comprehensive conclusions; and

assess strategies to ensure more efficient future searches (Standards for the 21st

-Century,

2007).

ACRL delineates a similar list of standards for information literacy, but also

highlights indicators for learning outcomes that are concrete and more quantifiable, making

them ideal for assessing information competence of students. Suggested indicators include

identifying types and formats of potential sources for information to satisfy an information

need and synthesizing information across sources among others (Information Literacy

Competency Standards, 2000, p. 13). The important difference between the AASL and ACRL

standards is that the AASL standards are suggested for school-age students whereas the ACRL

standards are suggested for higher education. In other words, students have a rightto

information competence as recommended by the AASL, and ideallypossess skill as

recommended by the ACRL. As such, we must ensure that our students meet AASL standards

and strive for ACRL standards.

Indicators for information literacy work well, but do not necessarily allow

assessment of quantifiable trends across the school district. The Educational Testing Service

(ETS) has introduced an iSkills Exam, which uses scenarios in an online test environment to

allow students to demonstrate their information competence by combining many varied skills

to solve practical information problems (Educational Testing Service, 2006). As will be


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explained in the next section, the iSkills Literacy Assessment was piloted with many students

and has aided institutions in refocusing user education.

Do graduates of high schools lack information competence?

Considering the resources that may be required to promote information literacy within

the school district, it seems pertinent to ascertain whether or not information competence is an

issue among school-age students. The short answer is that yes, information isa problem and

concern among school students. In Looking to the future: Developing an academic skills

strategy to ensure information literacy thrives in a changing higher education, Howard points

out that skimming, scanning and making quick decisions about quality are common practices

within the learning experience in a digital age but that there is little practical instruction in

such matters (2012, p. 74). Furthermore, teachers struggle with howto provide such

instruction anyway, and information centers (libraries) are often viewed as inconvenient and

intimidating places McClure & Clink, 2009, p. 129-130).

The aforementioned iSkills pilot test shed more light on how these issues manifest,

providing concrete issues to be addressed. In its 2006 Preliminary Findings, ETS identified three

primary challenges in information seeking: identifying useful information, managing

overabundant information, and communicating information effectively. After surveying 1400

students they found that few test takers actually demonstrated key skills, and only earned half

of the points that they might have. Students had difficulty adapting material for new

audiences, narrowing search results and clarifying information through effective organization.

That said, students did show some proficiency identifying bias, reading organizational charts,

organizing emails and files into folders, and asking clarifying questions.


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Slightly less positive than some of the ETS findings are those of Jacksons

2006,Plagiarism Instruction Online: Assessing Undergraduate Students Ability to Avoid

Plagiarism. After analyzing student quiz scores, Jackson discovered that not only do students

lack an understanding of what paraphrasing is in research, they also do not understand

information ethics. Similarly, Gross and Latham discovered that not only do students generally

have below-proficient information literacy skills, but those who are least proficient believe that

they possess advanced proficiency (Gross & Latham, 2011, p. 591). Both of these studies

indicate that students entering university are not ready for the level of analysis and information

management that they will encounter.

The final question about whether or not information competence is an issue falls to

whether or not it is an issue forusrather than for universities. Why should the responsibility

for information literacy fall to public institutions? Julien and Barker point out that leaving

information competence to post-secondary education is irresponsible, because it doesnt reach

all citizens (2009, p. 13). Regardless of whether or not an individual pursues higher education,

he or she will be expected to understand and manage information.

How can we improve information literacy among public high school students?

Since a survey of literature demonstrates that we can, in fact, measure information

literacy and that high school students information competence can be improved. Continued

systematic literature review demonstrates that there are concrete steps to be taken to improve

information literacy.

Almost all literature indicates that continued information instruction in subject

classrooms is effective, but not all school environments can implement such regular instruction


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immediately. As such, Streatfield, Sharper, Markless and Rae-Scott identify three categories of

behavior for instruction librarians to utilize to effectively educate students: sporadic

opportunism, systematic development and strategic orchestration (2011, p. 19-20). The first is

informal and is vulnerable to higher priorities within the classroom, whereas systematic

development and strategic orchestration represent calculated initiatives from the managerial to

assistant level aimed at contributing to information literacy within the classroom.

Based upon this research, it is clear that both systematic development and strategic

orchestration should be goals for instruction. Instruction sessions must involve collaboration

with district faculty, information technology professionals and students. Furthermore,

information literacy instruction must be embedded into existing curricula so that it is relevant

and concrete with clear purposes and applications (Chen and Lin, 2011, p. 408). By introducing

an unfamiliar task into preexisting curricula, instructors are playing with what Fields cites as

[Baduras] node of confidence, or the balancing point between the familiar and the foreign,

forcing students to navigate new territory to satisfy an information need through experiential

learning (2005, p. 549).

The first and most fundamental distinction to make is that while skills are vital to

success in the modern era, imbibing a holistic, information-seeking learning process is essential

to progress. Holistic learning teaches students to identify problems as part of an information

cycle, in which they are perpetually searching for new knowledge. This concept contrasts with

the idea that information literacy is a toolbox out of which you pull necessary items to suit the

task at hand (Keene, Colvin and Sissons, 2010, p. 17-18). To ensure that holistic learning occurs,

skills should be practiced in scenario-based instruction sessions that are integrated seamlessly


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into core high school curriculum while implementing the holistic learning process (Howard, p.

2012, 75). This instruction will promote holistic improvements by requiring students to create

and implement plans for information gathering, helping them to reframe and refine their

research skills.

Ideally, these learning outcomes can be achieved in a number of ways. Most obviously,

librarians should plan lessons and/or suggest ways to integrate technology into teachers lesson

plans. Wallace and Shortens 2000 study of nursing students demonstrated that such

integration can be successful, even in a discipline separate from information sciences. Wallace

and Shortens students improved tremendously following information literacy instruction,

demonstrating that such skills can, in fact, be developed through integrated instruction.

Sharma (2007, p. 133) documented an example of one such implementation in the form of a

portfolio, which necessarily demonstrated students abilities to analyze a task, create a plan, act

on and redefine that plan, sort through results, and summarize pertinent results. This was

achieved through an incremental approach and extensive self-reflection. Evaluation following a

portfolio assignment indicated marked improvement in conceptual skills as well as tool-based

mechanical skills. Any assignment that successfully achieves similar learning outcomes enables

students to begin to see integration of information on the internet specifically into the

education and research process (Warmkessel and McCade, 1997, p. 83).

Library staff must also systematically expose students to the bounty of available

information so that they can learn to navigate and evaluate print and electronic resources

(Gold, 2005, p. 28). Furthermore, library staff must assist faculty in assessing student learning

and integration of information literacy instruction. Current standards and competencies for


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information competence are written in general, abstract language, making objectives difficult

for both educators and students to navigate (Dunn, 2002, p. 27). As such, librarians should

provide indicators for success in learning outcomes so that instructors and students are able to

quantify success.

The literature acknowledges that in order to move toward the suggested initiative,

districts must be prepared to make changes. Collections must be diverse and up-to-date,

including multimedia materials. Furthermore, the library catalog should be remotely accessible

to members of the district so that interested parties can complete searches while at home

(Gold, 2005, p. 29). Finally, libraries must not only be well-staffed, but must also exist within a

structure which encourages collaboration. Faculty and staff must be able to utilize

departmental planning time to meet with teachers and plan integration into curricula so that

students can focus on the learning process and asking questions rather than simply completing

menial assignments that they feel falls out of the realm of relevance to their lives (Bowles-

Terry, Davis and Holliday, 2008, p. 230). It is only by integrating information literacy instruction

that we can change the way students perceive and utilize information.

Recommendation

Given all of the information encountered in the literature, it is clear that high school

students are graduating without adequate information competence overall. As public school is

a right for American youth, school districts such as our own have an obligation to provide

students with the best opportunity to succeed, and in the modern era, such success requires

information literacy.


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The literature provides a great deal of information, and to attempt to put all of it into

practice would be both ambitious and a strain on our limited financial and professional

resources. As such, a carefully-constructed Information Literacy Initiative will provide

reasonable standards for district personnel to begin to incorporate into the student experience.

This Initiative should be headed by a cohort of librarians, instructors and administrators to

develop and redefine the scope of the Initiative throughout its life.

The Information Literacy Initiative must first create a collective set of information

literacy standards that is appropriate to our school district as well as the age group of students

with which we work. Consideration of both the ACRL and AASL standards as well as the Core

Competencies adopted by our school district should be considered in creating standards for our

district. These standards must then be translated into age-appropriate learning outcomes and

indicators for each grade level in schools (primary, secondary, et cetera).

In creating these learning outcomes and indicators for success, we must consider the

literature discussing the waysin which high school students lack information competence.

Preliminary findings indicated that students did well in regard to basic search and organization

tasks, but lacked the ability to use information ethically and to redefine their search strategy

during the search process. Furthermore, students must be challenged through complex tasks

to demonstrate their information competence, as students who are least proficient believe that

they possess advanced proficiency (Gross & Latham, 2011, p. 591). In order to address this,

learning tasks must be incrementally challenging to ensure that students are held accountable

for developing adequate information competence in line with established district standards.


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Instructors within the district must be exposed to information instruction as well so that

collaborative instruction is optimally fruitful. Administration within the school district must

require that instructors incorporate one of these collaborative projects into each course

throughout the school year to ensure consistent, relevant information literacy instruction is

integrated into the classroom. Librarians are charged with creating sample projects for varied

units within standard (subject-based) curricula to present to instructors for collaboration. Time

to prepare and develop collaborative efforts must be built into professional development and

staff time so as to make itself a priority within the district. After these pedagogical efforts are

made, additional steps toward promoting interest in information literacy may be taken based

upon student interest. Such steps might be similar to the at-home catalog and extended library

hours cited by Gold (2005).


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References

Bowles-Terry, M., Davis, E., & Holliday, W. (2008). Writing Information Literacy

Revisited: Application of Theory to Practice in the Classroom. Reference & User Services

Quarterly, 49(3), 225-230.

Chen, K.-N., & Lin, P.-C. (2011). Information literacy in university library user education.

Aslib Proceedings, 63(4), 399-418.

Dunn, K. (2002). Assessing Information Literacy Skills in the California State University: A

Progress Report. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28(1), 26-35.

Educational Testing Service. (2006). 2006 ICT Literacy Assessment Preliminary Findings

[PDF]. Retrieved from

http://www.ets.org/Media/Products/ICT_Literacy/pdf/2006_Preliminary_Findings.pdf

Fields, A. M. (2005). Self-Efficacy and the First-Year University Students Authority of

Knowledge: An Exploratory Study. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31(6), 539-545.

Gold, S. (2005). A Tale of Two Libraries. Technology & Learning, 26(3), 28-30.

Gross, M., & Latham, D. (2011). Whats Skill Got to Do With It?: Information Literacy

Skills and Self-Views of Ability Among First-year College Students.Journal of the American

Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(3), 574-583. doi:10.1002/asi.21681

Howard, H. (2012). Looking to the future: Developing an academic skills strategy to

ensure information literacy thrives in a changing higher education world.Journal of Information

Literacy, 6(1), 72-81.

Information literacy competency standards for higher education[Brochure]. (2000).

Chicago, IL: Association of College & Research Libraries.


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Jackson, P. A. (2006). Plagiarism Instruction Online: Assessing Undergraduate Students

Ability to Avoid Plagiarism. College & Research Libraries, 67(5), 418-428.

Julien, H., & Barker, S. (2009). How high-school students find and evaluate scientific

information: A basis for information literacy skills development. Library & Information Science

Research, 31, 12-17.

Katz, I. R. (2007, January). ETS research finds college students fall short in demonstrating

ICT literacy: National Policy Council to create national standards.

Keene, J., Colvin, J., & Sissons, J. (2010). Mapping Student Information Literacy Activity

against Blooms Taxonomy of Cognitive Skills.Journal of Information Literacy, 4(1), 6-20.

McClure, R., & Clink, K. (2009). How Do You Know That?: An Investigation of Student

Research Practices in the Digital Age. Libraries and the Academy, 9(1), 115-132.

doi:10.1353/pla.0.0033

Rockman, I. F. (2005). ICT literacy. Reference Services Review, 33(2), 141-143.

Sharma, S. (2007). From Chaos to Clarity: Using the Research Portfolio to Teach and

Assess Information Literacy Skills. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 33(1), 127-135.

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner[Pamphlet]. (2007). Chicago, IL: American Library

Association.

Streatfield, D., Sharper, S., Markless, S., & Rae-Scott, S. (2011). Information literacy in

United Kingdom schools: evolution, current state and prospects.Journal of Information

Literacy, 5(2), 5-25.

Wallace, M. C., Shorten, A., & Cookes, P. A. (2000). Teaching information literacy skills:

an evaluation. Nurse Education Today, 20, 485-489. doi:10.1054/nedt.1999.0439,


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Warmkessel, M. M., & McCade, J. M. (1997). Integrating Information Literacy into the

Curriculum. Research Strategies, 15(2), 80-85.


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Appendix I: Methods Continued

The initial plan for literature searching deviated greatly from the actual process of

literature searching that was used in producing this research memo because feedback was

employed and plans were altered. Three guiding questions were developed: first, how do we

measure information literacy? Second, do high school graduates lack information competence?

And finally (and most importantly), how can we improve information literacy among public high

school students? These are the final questions are much redefinition following initial searches,

and they were used to develop search terms and to select resources for consideration.

When considering sources to include and exclude, texts outside of empirical studies had

to be considered, such as the ACRL Standards for Information Literacy. As such, inclusion and

exclusion criteria changed throughout the search process. By the end of the search process,

inclusion criteria were revised to contain high quality empirical studies as well as reference

materials from authoritative sources. Sources also had to be related to the field of instruction

and/or library and information science, and all journal articles were peer-reviewed. Exclusion

criteria did not change greatly: nothing written more than 20 years ago (1992) was included,

nor was any source that did not explicitly address an aspect of guiding questions. The

requirement of empirical evaluation was revised for aforementioned reasons.

Search strategies for literature included keyword searching within the UNC Libraries

catalog, identifying relevant items within bibliographies of related but out-of-scope texts,

search within subject headings, search within specific journals, and finally, asking an actual

instruction librarian.


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These strategies varied greatly in effectiveness. Keyword searching generated a number

of search terms which were recycled effectively throughout the literature search process.

Databases searched using these keywords included JSTOR and Lexis Nexis, but these yielded

resources with bibliographies that were used rather than literature that was considered

directly. That said, this was used to find an article within The Journal of Academic Librarianship,

which has content posted online that was very helpful and was included in this memo.

Resources found through this path used similar subject headings, which were used within UNC

Libraries Summon search to identify a number of additional articles. Finally, Rebecca Vargha

suggested looking into the Core Curriculum that has been adopted by many states, which led to

several additional sources that directed the search toward the iSkills evaluation available

through the Educational Testing Service.

Documents

Information Literacy in the Smith School District