1 / 24

Using Journals to Build Information Literacy Skills

Using Journals to Build Information Literacy Skills. Violet H. Harada University of Hawaii vharada@hawaii.edu ACEI Annual International Conference April 16, 2003. Targets for session. Background. Context. Methodology. Analysis. Key findings. Implications. Driving questions.

darrel-patel
Download Presentation

Using Journals to Build Information Literacy Skills

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Using Journals to Build Information Literacy Skills Violet H. Harada University of Hawaii vharada@hawaii.edu ACEI Annual International Conference April 16, 2003

  2. Targets for session • Background. • Context. • Methodology. • Analysis. • Key findings. • Implications.

  3. Driving questions • How do we move students from the mechanics of the research process to making meaning from information gathered?

  4. Driving questions • How do we develop teaching practices that nurture deeper understanding?

  5. Beliefs • Information seeking and use is a PROCESS. • Skills involved in this process are teachable. • Librarians and teachers are partners in planning and teaching.

  6. Information search process • Presearch • Focus and presentation planning. • Collection and organization of information. • Presentation,evaluation of performance and of process.

  7. Action research team • School - grade 5/6 teacher, librarian. • University - graduate research assistant, myself.

  8. Research questions • What understandings and problems do students describe as they engage in research? • What feelings do they express? • How can journal writing inform our teaching? • How does it impact student-instructor interaction?

  9. Why journal writing? • Reveals thinking and reasoning. • Demonstrates what students know and don’t know. • Allows for expression of personal feelings.

  10. Context • School: Shafter Elementary • Subjects: 17 students, ages 10 and 11. • Learning context: 2 research assignments over 11 weeks.

  11. Methodology-- What students did • Journal entries, twice a week. What the teacher and librarian did • Lesson plans and reflections. • Anecdotal logs. What the university team did • Field observations and interviews. • Content analysis of student journals.

  12. Analysis-- • Coders: UH graduate student, myself. • Entries independently coded. • Each entry analyzed for cognitive and affective content. • 91% agreement between raters.

  13. Coding - cognition • Information unrelated to concept, skill. • Disjointed recall of concept. • Accurate restatement of concept, limited support. • Accurate restatement concept, elaborated support.

  14. Coding - affect • Initial optimism. • Growing doubt, frustration. • Increasing confidence. • Satisfaction or dissatisfaction based on results.

  15. Findings: Presearch phase Assignment 1 • 70% were unable to explain why they were exploring the broader topic. Assignment 2 • 88% able to articulate purpose of exploring the larger topic before selecting a focus.

  16. Findings: Focus phase Assignment 1 • 90% selected focus solely on interest. Assignment 2 • 76% identified multiple criteria including • Availability of resources. • Readability. • Relevance. • Personal interest.

  17. Findings: Collection phase Assignment 1 • 50% able to vaguely describe the note taking process. Assignment 2 • 90% able to identify major elements and elaborate on them.

  18. Findings: Evaluation phase Assignment 1 • 24% were able to identify one or two aspects of the research process. Assignment 2 • 100% able to identify major steps. • 95% could elaborate on them.

  19. Findings: Affect

  20. Implications for instruction • Spend more time on presearch phase. • Identify sub-skills and provide direct instruction. • Incorporate graphic organizers to teach keyword identification, organizing and synthesizing information.

  21. More implications • Engage in extensive modeling. • Incorporate thinkaloud strategies. • Involve students in developing assessment tools. • Do more debriefing on process.

  22. Benefits: instructors • More interaction with students. • More precise identification of problems. • More informed judgments about instructional modifications.

  23. Benefits: students • Deeper understanding of their own insights and problems. • More open expression of feelings throughout the process. • Greater confidence in raising questions.

  24. For a more detailed rendition of this study refer to the following: Harada, V. H. (2002). Personalizing the information search process: A case study of journal writing with elementary-age students. [Online] School Library Media Research. Available at http://www.ala.org/aasl/SLMR/vol5/ search/search.html

More Related