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Information Literary Skills at A-level:
Challenges and Strategies
Gill Miller, University of Chester
David Schultz, University of Manchester
Rich Waller, Keele University
On the sheet in front of you, write down
One or two challenges that you face teaching
information literacy skills to your students.
Dr Gill Miller
Senior Lecturer,
Dept of Geography and Development Studies
University of Chester
• Former Deputy Head and Head of 6th form
• Currently Chief Examiner of A-Level World Development
• Interested in transition from school to university driven by the feeling that
IL skills could be better developed - especially in exam scripts(!) and that
HEIs need to find the tools to improve IL also.
• Good to have the same IL messages between school and university
Prof David Schultz
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences
University of Manchester
Chief Editor, Monthly Weather Review
@EloquentScience
[email protected]
BuildYourOwnEarth.com
ManUniCast.com
Our Earth (Coursera, starting on June 8)
Research interests:
Meteorology, climatology
Scientific communication skills
Author: Eloquent Science
School Malpractice Officer
Dr Richard Waller
Senior Lecturer in Physical
Geography
Keele University
Email: [email protected]
Research Interests
• Modern-day glacial and periglacial environments
• Glacier-permafrost interactions
• Geoconservation
• Supporting student transitions into Higher
Education
“Information literacy is the adoption of
appropriate information behaviour 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.”
Johnston, B. & Webber, S. 2003. Information literacy in higher education.
Studies in Higher Education, 28 (3), p336.
What does HE expect?
“Seven Pillars” of information literacy
1.
2.
3.
4.
IDENTIFY – identify personal need for information
SCOPE – assess current knowledge and identify gaps
PLAN – devise strategy for location information and data
GATHER – locate and access information and data
required
5. EVALUATE – compare and evaluate information and data
6. MANAGE – organise information professionally and
ethically
7. PRESENT – effective application of knowledge gained
http://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/coremodel.pdf
Avoiding plagiarism
Developing
appropriate search
strategies
Referencing skills
Constructing
appropriate search
terms
Evaluating the
reliability of sources
Managing your
resources
Distinguishing between
primary, secondary and
tertiary sources
Using online
databases
Information Literacy:
The Continuum of Skills
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8314929977_36b1d58cf6_o.jpg
Information Literacy:
The Continuum of Skills
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8314929977_36b1d58cf6_o.jpg
“The uncertain quality and expanding quantity
of information also pose large challenges for
society.
Sheer abundance of information and technology
will not in itself create more informed citizens
without a complimentary understanding and
capacity to use information effectively.”
Bundy, A. (ed.) 2004. Australian and New Zealand Information
Literacy Framework: principles, standards and practice (2nd Ed.).
Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy. P3.
Waller Research Project:
Use of Information Resources by A-level Students
Questionnaire survey:
– Frequency of use of different types of resource.
– Perceived value to their studies.
Focus group: Completion of an exercise where
students assessed the pros and cons of various
resources:
– Consider reaction to different resource types.
– Elucidate reasons behind choices.
A-level students – Use of Resources
Mean (0 = never, 4 = all the time)
4.0
3.5
Comprehensive (n=11)
3.0
Private (n=7)
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
A-level students – Use of Resources
Mean (0 = never, 4 = all the time)
4.0
3.5
Comprehensive (n=11)
3.0
Private (n=7)
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Mean value to studies(1 = v. poor, 5 = v.
good)
A-level students – Value of Resources
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Comprehensive (n=11)
Private (n=7)
Frequency of use of information resources by
new arrivals
Mean (0 = never, 4 = all the time)
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Class notes General
internet
Specific
internet
Geography (n=33)
Textbooks
Chemistry (n=66)
Journals Print media TV/radio
Politics (n=47)
Perceived value of learning resources
5.0
4.5
Mean value to studies
(1 = v. poor, 5 = v. good)
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Class notes General
internet
Geography (n=33)
Subjectspecific
internet
Textbooks
Chemistry (n=66)
Journal
articles
Print media TV & radio
Politics (n=47)
“The real paradox lies in the fact that the more
resources are made available, the more
students are inclined to confine their
search strategies to a few of those resources
due to the lack of necessary skills required.”
Oppenheim, C. & Smith, R. (2001) “Student citation practices in an Information Science
Department”. Education for Information. Vol. 19, p315.
Transitions in information literacy
Information searches restricted to “easy to use” sources
(e.g. Wikipedia).
Little effort to evaluate the credibility and reliability of
the information acquired.
Limited exposure to key information resources such as
journal literature.
Little or no experience of referencing.
Lack of critical reflection and synthesis of sources
How can we (Schools and HE) get
students to appreciate the
importance of…?
information literacy skills
critical thinking
communication skills
scientific literature
using multiple sources
What HE is doing now…
Exercise related to assessing reliability of the source
Exercises designed to gain familiarity and comfort with
scientific literature
Reading with a purpose
Are you a bucket or a sieve?
(Waller and Schultz 2014)
Exercise: assessing reliability
You are looking for information on the potential impacts of future
climate change on glaciers and as part of a Google search have
identified the following information resources.
For each of the resources:
1. Identify the pros and cons from a student’s perspective.
2. Consider their reliability. Which resources do you consider
the most credible and why?
Rank the resources according to their reliability and detail.
Which resources would you use?
Are there any you would discard as flawed?
(15 mins)
Source 1: NSIDC – Glaciers and Climate Change
http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/climate.html
Source 2: IPCC 5th Assessment Report
http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_Chapter04_FINAL.pdf
Source 3: Climate change reconsidered (heartland.org)
http://heartland.org/media-library/pdfs/CCR-II/Chapter-5-Cryosphere.pdf
Source 4: BBC weather centre
http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/glaciers.shtml
Source 5: Journal article
http://www.geography.osu.edu/faculty/bmark/2008%20ESR%20Vuille_etal.pdf
https://heartland.org/
Google Scholar
• Enables students to search for more explicitly “academic” and researchoriented material using a familiar interface.
• Much more research literature freely available than ever before…
Concluding comments
Developing basic skills in information literacy can help
enhance student performance at A-level and ease
student transition into HE study.
Key skills to work on include:
Locating a diverse range of resources using tools such as
Google Scholar.
Introducing advanced sources such as journal literature.
Evaluating the reliability and “usefulness” of sources.
Introducing the importance of referencing.
Happy to work with anyone interested in trying to
integrate these skills into their teaching programme.
Waller, R., and D. M. Schultz, 2014: How to succeed at university in GEES
disciplines: Enhancing your information literacy skills. GEES, Higher Education
Academy, 30 pp.
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/10230 OR
http://bit.ly/InfoLiteracySkills
Waller, R., and D. M. Schultz, 2013: How to succeed at university in GEES
disciplines: Using online data for independent research. GEES, Higher
Education Academy, ISBN/ISSN: 9781907207938, 24 pp.
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/disciplines/GEES-online-data