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Forum Information Literary Skills at A-level: Challenges and Strategies

Forum 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

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Forum Information Literary Skills at A-level: Challenges and Strategies

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  1. Forum Information Literary Skills at A-level: Challenges and Strategies Gill Miller, University of Chester David Schultz, University of Manchester Rich Waller, Keele University

  2. On the sheet in front of you, write down One or two challenges that you face teaching information literacy skills to your students.

  3. 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

  4. Prof David Schultz School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences University of Manchester Chief Editor, Monthly Weather Review @EloquentScience David.Schultz@manchester.ac.uk BuildYourOwnEarth.com ManUniCast.com Our Earth (Coursera, starting on June 8) Research interests: Meteorology, climatology Scientific communication skills Author: Eloquent Science School Malpractice Officer

  5. Dr Richard Waller Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography Keele University Email: r.i.waller@keele.ac.uk Research Interests • Modern-day glacial and periglacial environments • Glacier-permafrost interactions • Geoconservation • Supporting student transitions into Higher Education

  6. “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.

  7. What does HE expect?“Seven Pillars” of information literacy • 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 • EVALUATE – compare and evaluate information and data • MANAGE – organise information professionally and ethically • PRESENT – effective application of knowledge gained http://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/coremodel.pdf

  8. Avoiding plagiarism Developing appropriate search strategies Referencing skills Constructing appropriate search terms Distinguishing between primary, secondary and tertiary sources Evaluating the reliability of sources Managing your resources Using online databases

  9. Information Literacy:The Continuum of Skills PhD or Entry-Level Career Primary School Senior Management Secondary School University http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8314929977_36b1d58cf6_o.jpg

  10. Information Literacy:The Continuum of Skills PhD or Entry-Level Career Primary School Senior Management Secondary School University http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8314929977_36b1d58cf6_o.jpg

  11. “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 (2ndEd.). Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy. P3.

  12. 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.

  13. A-level students – Use of Resources

  14. A-level students – Use of Resources

  15. A-level students – Value of Resources

  16. “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.

  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. Are you a bucket or a sieve?

  21. (Waller and Schultz 2014)

  22. 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: Identify the pros and cons from a student’s perspective. 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)

  23. Source 1: NSIDC – Glaciers and Climate Change http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/climate.html

  24. Source 2: IPCC 5th Assessment Reporthttp://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_Chapter04_FINAL.pdf

  25. Source 3: Climate change reconsidered (heartland.org)http://heartland.org/media-library/pdfs/CCR-II/Chapter-5-Cryosphere.pdf

  26. Source 4: BBC weather centrehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/glaciers.shtml

  27. Source 5: Journal articlehttp://www.geography.osu.edu/faculty/bmark/2008%20ESR%20Vuille_etal.pdf

  28. https://heartland.org/

  29. Google Scholar • Enables students to search for more explicitly “academic” and research-oriented material using a familiar interface. • Much more research literature freely available than ever before…

  30. 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.

  31. 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

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