Literacy
Literacy is the ability to read and write, or competencies and knowledge in a specified area. Information literacy serves as one of the core competencies in tertiary education. The term ‘information literacy’ was first mentioned in US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science report to describe the skills needed to use a variety of information tools to access and synthesize information from primary and other sources (Zurkowski, 1974). The Presidential Committee on Information Literacy defined an information literate as a person who is ‘able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information’ (ALA, 1989, para. 3).
The following are skills involved in information literacy (ACRL, 1989, as cited in Weiner, 2012):-
-
Identify information need and determine the extent of information needed
-
Locate and access the needed information effectively and efficiently
-
Evaluate information and its sources critically
-
Incorporate selected information into one's knowledge base
-
Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
-
Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally
There are other literacies related to information literacy such as digital literacy, media literacy, academic literacy (Secker & Coonan, 2012). With the advancement of media and information communication technology (ICT) as well as the development of knowledge and various disciplines, a gamut of literacies emerges and develop. In this case, Dr Angela Feekery from Massey University has come up with quite a comprehensive coverage which she named as Feekery Information Literacy Model (shown below).
The necessity and importance of having information literacy skills for higher education 'community of practice' is irrefutable. In fact, there is a call for institutionalising information literacy (Weiner, 2012).
At Unitec, I have been teaching information literacy skills for several semesters. This semester, while taking the DGHE course - Effective Learning and Teaching Strategies - I have applied several active learning strategies in on one of the information literacy skills, namely referencing.
Referencing is related to the last skills in the information literacy 'cycle' - ethical use of information. We use referencing to tell readers where ideas/data from other sources have been used in our piece of writing. We use others’ ideas/data in 2 ways: direct quotation or paraphrase/re-word. These are some of the reasons for referencing: to distinguish your own ideas from others; to reinforce your argument; to show different perspectives. to allow fact-checking; to ensure the moral rights of the author; and to avoid plagiarism (Unitec Libguide).
Through referencing and citing, readers of our work can find the original sources we used, the authors of the original sources we used are given credit for their work, our own research and ideas are clearly evident and we are given credit for our work, our work has credibility in the larger realm of scholarly knowledge, and evidence of practicing academic integrity. There are two elements in referencing: citation (in the body of writing) and references (reference list or bibliography). There are many referencing style because academic disciplines have varying expectations for how to list citation information. The goal of referencing and citing is to help a reader who wishes to consult our sources directly (Unitec Libguide).
In the mini teaching and summative teaching practices, I have used puzzle pieces as an activity for active learning strategy. In this activity, three citations were selected (different types of sources - book, journal article and website) and cut into pieces. Students were asked to work in group/pair to match those pieces. Once they have completed the task, a discussion was followed to check correct answer. From my observation (supported by instructor and students feedback), the strategy was very effective and successful. Students actively engaged in the activity. Opportunities for mentoring, re-affirming prior knowledge, and learning new things (for some students) were created in the discussion, all these allowed learners to have active engagement and independent learning. Learning by doing was successfully achieved.
An important observation in the above strategy is the importance of providing a clear instruction before commencing the activity. In the summative teaching practice, the instruction was given while students are focusing on distributing the puzzle pieces. Improvement can be done by giving a clear instruction. These are the principles of effective instruction delivery (n.d.):
-
Internalize your plan
- Ensure that you have every student’s full attention before (and while) you give instructions
-
Communicate the activity’s connection to the objective
-
Emphasize key parts of the instructions
-
Address potential confusion
-
Communicate and enforce specific time periods for each task
-
Use age-appropriate language and directions
-
Find the right balance between “too much” information and “not enough”
-
Check that students understand directions
References
ALA (1989). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final report. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org
/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.
Principles of effective instruction delivery (n.d.). Retrieved from www.teachingasleadership.org
Secker, J., Coonan, E. (2012). Rethinking information literacy: A practical framework for supporting learning. London: Facet
Publication.
Weiner, S. A. (2012). Institutionalizing information literacy. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 38(5), 287-293.
doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2012.05.004
Zurkowski, P. G. (Nov 1974). The Information Service Environment: Relationships and Priorities. Related Paper No.5.
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Retrieve from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED100391