In my haste to get this Information Learning Activity up and running, I had my Year 7 students complete the first questionnaire before we left on our trip to Sydney and Canberra. Perhaps not such a good idea, now I think about it, but I was anxious to get started on my ILA because I knew I would basically lose two weeks of teaching this term (Sydney/Canberra trip and EKKA week, with a Sports Day thrown in for good measure!).
I included a "Human Continuum" technique after the students had completed the questionnaire, to gauge where the students felt they stood re knowledge of the topic "Sources of Energy". It was interesting to note the gender differences. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest), the students were asked to stand in the line according to their perceived knowledge of the topic. The majority of the boys congregated down the "10" end of the line and all the girls tended to head down to the "1" end of the line. I plan to redo this activity at the completion of my ILA and compare it to the answers in the questionnaires.
After becoming familiar with Kuhlthau's Model of the Information Search Process, I did a Google Scholar search and found this link which focuses on "Inquiry Based Approaches to Science Education: Theory and Practice".
http://brynmawr.edu/biology/franklin/InquiryBasedScience.html. The theory included a comparison between Inquiry-based approaches to learning and the more traditional approaches. This inquiry model focuses on the constructivist theory of learning and includes Blooms Taxonomy of learning which allows for a focus on the higher order level of thinking. This fits in well with my ILA.
Questionnaire 1
1. Take some time to think about your topic. Now write down what you know about it.
Inquiry-based Learning and Information Literacy are quite new concepts to me and I feel a little daunted about it all. However, last term I based my Religion Unit on IBL and it was extremely successful. The students responded very positively to the tasks and thoroughly enjoyed working within a small group. The majority of groups were able to successfully answer the inquiry question and could provide evidence to support their answers.
2. How interested are you in this topic? Circle the answer that best matches your interest.
Not at all not much quite a bit
a great deal
3. How much do you know about this topic? Circle the answer that best matches how much you know.
Nothing
not much quite a bit a great deal
4. When you do research, what do you generally find easy to do? Please list as many things as you like.
- Google searches
- Notetaking
- Asking questions
- Library databases
- Accessing appropriate journal articles
5. When you do research, what do you generally find difficult to do? Please list as many things as you like.
- analysing and collating the information gathered
- refining Google searches
- being able to convey the information in an academic format.
I decided to investigate as many different Information Learning Models as possible to ensure I had a relevant knowledge of what some different learning models included. I also reviewed Callison's Model of Information Learning which includes five elements - Questioning, Exploration, Assimilation, Inference and Reflection. Some of the other models I investigated are listed above.
The 'Big 6' is a simple model which appears to be quite user friendly. This model includes Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use of Information, Synthesis and Evaluation. For this model to be successful, all the stages need to be addressed, but not necessarily in linear order. I noticed in this model a 'feelings' component is not included.
Candy's 'Autonomous Learner' Model describes the importance of self-direction for life-long learning. So rather than being teacher-directed, Candy believes learning should be student-directed. After taking a closer look at this model for information learning I felt there was not enough guided inquiry included.
McGregor's 'Constructing Knowledge' model, involves collaborative inquiry-based activities, leading to knowledge and skill acquisition. McGregor's model does not include a 'feelings' component as Kuhlthau does and there appears to be limited guided inquiry included. As I am working with Primary School students I feel the Guided Inquiry approach is imperative to ensure successful student learning.
