Information literacy models: from experience to practice

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Information literacy models from experience to
practice

• Dr Christine Bruce 2007
• Associate Professor, Faculty of Information
  Technology, QUT, Australia

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QUT- BRISBANE AUSTRALIA
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Why are we researching IL?
Learning Communities
Learning Cities
IL
Learning Organisations
Information literacy transforms Information
literacy brings about learning
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• Our role as information professionals is to
  provide environments and learning opportunities
  that enhance information literacy . help people
  experience the power of information practices,
  that are effective in professional, civic and
  personal life.
• Bruce, C (2002) Information literacy as a
  catalyst for educational change.

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Five Dimensions of IL Research

• Bruce (2000) suggests that the territory of IL
  research may be described in terms of five
  dimensions
• The sectoral location of the research (education
  and the community)
• Ways of seeing IL (interacting with information)
• What is being investigated the research object
  - (peoples experiences)
• How the object is being investigated the
  research approach
• Disciplinary influences

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What is the object of research?

• Being information literate the significance of
  researching experience
• Experiences of
• Information literacy
• Internet searching
• Using online information
• Relationship between IL and learning
• Making ethical decisions
• Virtual communities

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Research Methods
EXPERIENTIAL
Survey Phenomenography Critical Incident
Technique Self-administered Surveys Mixed
Interviews method Case Study
Archival research Literature
Analysis Grounded Theory
Positivist
Qualitative
Quantitative
IL Research
Behavioural
Interpretive
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The Seven Faces of Information Literacy

• Key messages
• There are many ways in which IL can be
  experienced
• The importance of IT varies in each experience
• IL is a social, more than an individual
  phenomenon
• There is a strong relationship between IL and
  learning to learn
• For full details see Bruce, C (1997) Seven
  Faces of Information Literacy, Auslib Press,
  Adelaide.

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Seven Faces of IL
WISDOM
INSIGHT
KNOWLEDGE BASE
PROCESS
CONTROL
SOURCES
INFORMATION AWARENESS
For full details see Bruce, C (1997) Seven
Faces of Information Literacy, Auslib Press,
Adelaide.
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First Face IL experienced as using IT to stay
informed and to communicate

• IT used for information awareness
• IT helps users stay informed/communicate
• a social experience not individual
• dependent on expertise within a group
• Bruce, C (1997) Seven Faces of Information
  Literacy, AUSLIB Press.

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Second Face IL experienced as using Info
Sources

• bibliographic
• human
• organisational
• assistance of intermediaries emphasised
• Personal skills also valued

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Third Face IL experienced as using
infoProcesses

• linked to problem-solving, decision-making
• requires personal heuristics
• a creative art

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Fourth Face IL experienced as controlling
information

• recognising relevant information
• managing that information
• making connections between information, projects,
  people
• interconnectedness between information and parts
  of projects

Information Use
Information Technology
Information Control
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Fifth Face IL experienced as constructing
knowledge in an unfamiliar area

• emphasis on learning
• Developing a personal perspective with knowledge
  gained
• dependent on critical thinking

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Sixth Face IL experienced as extending knowledge

• personal knowledge experience creative
  insight/intuition
• mysterious experience
• develops new knowledge/ approaches to tasks/novel
  solutions

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Seventh Face IL experienced as using
information wisely

• personal quality
• values and ethics combined with knowledge
• information used for the benefit of others

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The Net Lenses Model

• Key messages
• University students have different approaches to
  searching the internet which correlate with their
  ways of discerning the net environment
• Introducing reflective processes can change what
  they see or dont see thus improving search
  capability
• Systems, tools, learning objects and assessment
  experiences can be designed to focus attention on
  relevant parts of the envronment
• For full details see Edwards, S. (2006) Panning
  for Gold IL and The Net Lenses Model, Adelaide,
  AUSLIB Press.

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Reflective Model for Learning to Search the
Internet (Edwards and Bruce, 2000)
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The Outcome Space
FOR MORE INFO...
Edwards, S.L. Bruce, C.S. (2002) Needles,
haystacks, filters and me the IT confidence
dilemma. Refereed Conference Paper presented at
Lifelong Learning Conference 2nd Yeppoon,
Central Queensland, Australia, 16-19 June 2002.
pp. 165-171. ISBN 187 6780 19 3
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Category 1 Information Searching is finding a
needle in a haystack
Information Environment Including structure and
layout Little or no distinction between library
catalogues and library databases
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External Hozizon
Search Tool Structure including Search Options,
Advanced search features and help
Search Strategies Need to plan, reflect and refine
Books including Textbooks Readings
Internal Hozizon
Logical Operators or Boolean Use of terms like
and or and not
Search Window including Search Engines and all
Library Resources
People including Friends, peers and Library Staff
SEARCH TOPIC
Synonyms Use of alternative terms and even spell
checking
Search Engine Favourite Limited few used
Information Quality Primary or Secondary sources
of information
Other Search Engines The Multitude of them
Wildcard Use including truncation
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Category 2 Information Searching is finding a
way through the maze
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Tool Structure including Search Options, Advanced
search features and help
External Hozizon
Refined Search Strategies Reflection begins
Logical Operators or Boolean Use of terms like
and or and not
Basic Search Strategy
Internal Hozizon
Information Environment Including structure and
layout Little or no distinction between library
catalogues and library databases
Library Sources including Books, Search tools,
catalogue and databases
Topic Search Process
People including Friends, peers and Library Staff
Wildcard Use including truncation
Search Engines Still prefer favourites
Synonyms Use of alternative terms and even spell
checking
Information Quality Primary or Secondary sources
of information
Other Internet Databases Including library or
other public domain databases
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Category 3 Information Searching is using the
tools as a filter
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External Hozizon
Primary or Secondary sources of information
Information Quality
Internal Hozizon
Information Environment structure and layout
Domain Searching
Search Engines
Reflection
Search Tool Structure
Term Analysis Use of Dictionary, Thesauri
TOPIC
Internet Databases
Refined Search Strategies
Library Sources
People
Synonym Use spell checking
Logical Operators or Boolean
Wildcard Use including truncation
Other Database Vendors Dialog, CITEC, etc.
Advanced Search and help
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Category 4 Information Searching is panning for
gold
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External Hozizon
Use of Dictionary Thesauri Term Analysis
Primary or Secondary sources Information Quality
Internal Hozizon
Domain Searching
Information Environment structure and layout
Reflection
Search Engines
Internet Databases
Info Quality
TOPIC
Library Sources
Search Refining Process
People
Synonym Use spell checking
Wildcard Use including truncation
Logical Operators or Boolean
Advanced Search and help
Other Database Vendors Dialog, CITEC, etc.
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Reflective online information use model Hilary
Hughes, Christine Bruce Sylvia Edwards
Lifelong Learning Conference, Yeppoon (2006)

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Six Frames for IL Education

• Key messages
• IL education is experienced differently
• The different frames through which IL education
  may be experienced can be described in terms of
  six dimensions
• Educators and learners in the same context may
  experience IL education differently
• Educators and learners in the same context will
  have preferred primary and secondary frames
• For full details see Andretta, S (Ed) ( in press,
  2007) Challenge and Change IL for the 21st
  century, AUSLIB Press, Adelaide.

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Six Frames for IL Education(Bruce, Edwards,
Lupton, 2006)
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CONTENT FRAME
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The Content Frame

• Users of the Content Frame usually adopt a
  discipline orientation. Their focus is on what
  learners should know about IL
• A typical example in relation to IL education
  might be teaching IL sessions within a discipline
  based subject and providing lectures on a key set
  of information tools and techniques. This might
  be followed by a test of recall.

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COMPETENCY FRAME
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The Competence Frame

• Users of the Competency Frame usually adopt a
  behavioural or performance orientation. They ask
  what learners should be able to do, and at what
  level of competence?
• A typical example in IL education might be the
  design of sequenced instruction to teach the use
  of an electronic tool supplemented by testing to
  determine the level of skill that has been
  attained by the learner at specified points in
  the learning process

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LEARNING TO LEARN FRAME
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Learning to learn frame

• Users of the learning-to-learn frame (Figure 5)
  usually adopt a constructivist orientation. They
  ask what it means to think like an information
  literate professional, for example an architect,
  engineer, journalist or landscape designer
• A typical example might be setting a real life
  problem in which the need to access, evaluate and
  use information from a range of sources is
  central and appropriately supported.

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PERSONAL RELEVANCE FRAME
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Personal relevance frame

• Users of the Personal Relevance frame usually
  adopt an experiential orientation. In relation to
  IL education they need learners to develop a
  sense of what IL can do for them.
• A typical example might be participating in a
  community project that required engagement with
  relevant information services and providers then
  subsequently reflecting on the experience and
  what was learned about both the subject and
  information use in that context.

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SOCIAL IMPACT FRAME
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Social impact

• Users of this frame usually adopt a social reform
  orientation. Their interest is in how IL impacts
  society, in how it may help communities inform
  significant problems.
• A typical example might involve focussing
  learners attention on various issues and values
  associated with problems surrounding the Digital
  Divide, and proposing tasks related to policy,
  technology or training designed to assist in
  bridging that divide.

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0
RELATIONAL FRAME
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Relational Frame

• Users of this frame are oriented towards the ways
  in which learners are aware of IL or specific
  relevant phenomena associated with IL. They are
  interested in designing experiences that help
  learners discern more powerful ways of seeing the
  phenomena in question.
• A typical example might involve helping students
  learn to search the internet by designing
  experiences that focus their attention on
  previously undiscerned aspects of the experience

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• What are the challenges of environments where
  teaching and learning and IL are seen
  differently?
• How can we use an appreciation of different ways
  of seeing to progress the practice of IL
  education?

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The Sense of Control Model

• A virtual community for people with long-term,
  physical disabilities (Tilley)
• TILLEY, C.
• Aim
• to develop a theoretical framework for a virtual
  community for a specific group of people, that
  is, people with long-term, physical disabilities.
• Method
• Grounded theory - theory that is developed
  inductively from a corpus of data
• Outcomes
• The major result of this study was the
  development of a theoretical model or framework
  for a virtual community for people with long-term
  physical disabilities that may be consulted for
  use by stakeholders whenever such a virtual
  community is proposed.
• Identification of a broad range of
  recommendations for discussion

For full details see Tilley, Bruce, Hallam and
Hills (2006) Information Research, 11, 3.
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The Virtual Community Model

• Key messages
• A sense of control is the foundation element of
  virtual communities for the disabled.
• The key domains in which persons with
  disabilities participate include Education,
  Fantasy, Information, Interest, Relationship,
  Transaction
• Key barriers include costs, the need for
  assistive equipment and technological training
• Key facilitators of access are information and
  IT literacy

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6 Types of E-communities A Model of Virtual
Community for Persons with Disabilities Christine
Tilley, PhD, QUT, 2007.
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Phenomenon a sense of control
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From experience to practice

• The journey of commitment to IL involves walking
  a path that starts with understanding the nature
  and character of information literacy
• then shifts
• To understanding how to bring about IL

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• We know from uncovering peoples experiences that
  fostering information literacy is about more than
  teaching skills and capabilities.
• It is about fostering the experiences required
  for engaging confidently in new information
  practices
• It is also about scaffolding programs and systems
  to help people as they go about their information
  practices.

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Acknowledgements

• With thanks to
• LILAC for inviting this paper
• Colleagues from QUT who have contributed to IL
  Research Sylvia Edwards, Mandy Lupton, Hilary
  Hughes, Christine Tilley, Helen Partridge,
  Camille McMahon, Natalie Cuffe, Helmut Klaus and
  others
• AUSLIB Press for so kindly disseminating the
  results of key projects