Big Idea #2

Big Idea #2

What are the big ideas and unspoken assumptions of information literacy?  Look beyond the skills - how are we conceptualizing information literacy (you may want to break it down).  What are the unstated biases guiding the way we discuss information literacy - in terms of standards.  If you were teaching a course that focused on information literacy what are the overarching understandings you would want students to have at the end of the course?

While the focus is on the ACRL standards you may feel free to address the AASL Student Learning Standards published in 2008.

The big ideas of information literacy are not about acquiring skills to use technology, but about learning different ways to use information to learn.  Technology does not equal information literacy.  In Informed Learning, Bruce (2008) states that the skills we need in order to attain information literacy came before technology existed and “transcend technology” (p. 11).  The AASL Student Learning Standards (2008) state the same when discussing the thinking skills necessary to learn, “The amount of information available to our learners necessitates that each individual acquire the skills to select, evaluate, and use information appropriately and effectively” (p. 3).  One of the assumptions about information literacy that is false is that technology makes it easier to access and gain information literacy.  The ACRL Standards state, “Information Literacy initiates, sustains, and extends lifelong learning through abilities which may use technologies but are ultimately independent of them” (p. 3).  The database example that Bruce discusses is a good one.  You need to understand and have skills to search a database if you want to be successful.  You also have to understand how the database works.  Without this knowledge it is very difficult to get the results that you need in a search-you will probably spend time sifting through a lot of information that is not relevant to your inquiry. 

Another example is a student using Google in order to do research for a paper instead of going directly to a database that contains scholarly publications and accredited sources.  Most searches on Google come back with hundreds and sometimes thousands of results.  Students have to understand the difference between these sources and also have to learn how to search a database.  These are skills that are necessary to have in order to access and use information successfully.  Unfortunately, it has been my experience that sometimes while helping students do research for their assignments that their teachers have told them that they cannot use the internet for their research-only books.  This is because there are teachers who are afraid to allow their students to use the internet for sources, since they don’t want them accessing in accurate information through Google or on Wikipedia.  Students miss out on a wealth of information that is available via the internet from scholarly journals and other such publications when they are not taught the skills to differentiate between sources.  Without the necessary skills, technology is not going to help one attain information literacy.

I think that another one of the unspoken assumptions of information literacy is that everyone has access to information.  There are unstated biases within the standards.  One such standard that reflects this is Standard Two in ACRL, “the information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently” (p. 9), and #3 under Standard Two states, “The information literate student retrieves information online or in person using a variety of methods” (p. 10).  There are assumptions made that all students have opportunities to access and achieve information literacy, and not all students do.

If I was teaching a course that focused on information literacy, the basic concepts and understandings that I would want my students to have would be that in order to truly attain information literacy, one must think about their thinking, use inquiry in their study, and take charge of their own learning.  These are the basic concepts that both the ACRL standards and the AASL Student Learning Standards agree upon.  After reading Chapter 1 of Informed Learning and reviewing and thinking about both the AASL and ACRL Standards, I understand that the basic idea is that Information Literacy=Informed Learning=improving students’ use of information as they learn (Bruce, p. 5). 

I really struggled with these questions on Information Literacy, and I’m not sure if I really answered all of the questions that were asked.  I’m hoping that feedback and response from my group will help bring me to a better understanding and application of these concepts. 

American Association of School Librarians  (2007).  Standards for the 21^st-Century Learner.             Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards.

Association of College & Research Libraries (2000).  Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.  Retrieved from Angel, San Jose State University.

Bruce, C. S. (2008). Informed Learning. Chicago: American Library Association.

Big Idea #1

Big Idea #1:  What does it mean to learn?  Include thoughts and definitions regarding knowing and understanding.

I would define learning as an acquisition of knowledge.  I don’t feel that learning is as simple as memorizing facts, but more of a process of thinking that brings a learner to explore and question various aspects of the knowledge.  Learning is the end result or outcome that one is moving towards while engaging in careful thought and application of specific skills. 

I thought a bit about what my own definitions of these terms were and then I looked them up in the dictionary.  According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary, the primary definition of knowing is “having knowledge or awareness.”   This awareness is important since it stands for the metacognition that must take place in order for us to “know.”  Examining what we have learned or what we are attempting to learn is a large part of the process.  Additionally, thinking about the process is just as significant.  We must ask ourselves many questions, a few of which are -Where am I going with this idea?  Why do I think this? What is the goal of this learning? and How will I apply what I have learned?

In Understanding by Design (2005), Wiggins & McTighe state:  “The word understanding has various meanings, and our usage suggests that understanding is not one achievement but several, and it is revealed through different kinds of evidence” (p. 82).

After some careful thought about this statement, I turned back to Webster’s in order to discover the dictionary definition of understanding.  Understanding has several definitions:  “1. comprehension, 2. the power to think and learn; intelligence and 3. a specific interpretation” (p. 651).  I think that all of these are good explanations that directly apply to our purposes here.  While reading Chapter 2 of Understanding by Design (2005),  I couldn’t help but think that one way of defining understanding is understanding=interpretation.  Understanding brings us meaning, and that meaning differs according to our own experiences and ways of looking at things.  We all aren’t going to necessarily come to the same conclusions, or even take the same path to those conclusions when trying to achieve understanding.  The process and accomplishment of understanding, I believe, is unique to each learner.  There is not one goal toward understanding-there are many goals and understanding happens in layers.  Each layer that is constructed brings the learner to another level of understanding that is distinct.

It is important to recognize and “understand” that these concepts are open-ended.  In other words, learning, knowing and understanding are never truly complete.  They are always works in progress that are continually investigated, tested, and constructed.

I think I like my 8 year old son’s definition of understanding best.  According to him, understanding simply is “when you figure something out.”

Guralnik, D.B. (Ed.).  (1987).  Webster’s New World Dictionary.  New York, NY: Warner Books.

McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G.  (2005).  Understanding By Design.  New Jersey:  Pearson.