INFORMATION LITERACY:The Defining Paradigm of

Modern Education

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module the learners should be able to:

a. demonstrate an understanding of information literacy by way of definition and illustration of an information literate person;

b. explain how to apply information literacy in teaching;

c. put in plain words why teachers and learners should we be concerned about information literacy; and

d. clarify the implication of information literacy to teaching and learning , schools and workplaces, librarians, and to society and culture.

INTRODUCTION

There is one concept that has flourished in the teaching arena in many developed countries that is hardly talked about and much less practiced in the Philippine education system.

What should a learner do when faced with information overload?

How would a learner know how to choose the best information? to be critical thinker to be excellent problem solver to be superior decision-maker to acquire the ability to “learn how to learn”

What is information literacy?

Information literacy is knowing how to learn. It is knowing how to find information, evaluate it, and use it wisely and effectively.

We have to know how to learn--- to be a lifelong learner.

“Information literacy is the defining paradigm of modern education”

National Forum on information literacy (1989)

Information literacy is defined as the ability to know when there is a need for information. And to be able to identify, locate, evaluate,

and effectively use that information for the issue or

problem at hand.

NCLIS- National Commission on Libraries and

Information ScienceUNESCO- (United

Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural

Organization)

Information literacy encompasses knowledge of one’s information

concern and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate,

organize and effectively create, use and communicate information

to address issues or problem at hand.

A TOOL FOR EMPOWERMENT:INFORMATION LITERACY, THE

DEFINING PARADIGM OF MODERN EDUCATION

BASIC LITERACY- Includes the skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, counting, calculating, perceiving and drawing. Every one of these skills should be taught and reinforced by every teachers, in every subject, and with gradually increasing levels of sophistication, in every grade k through 12. in our day, a person lacking any of these skills cannot truly be considered “literate”

LIBRARY LITERACY- Is too important to be left to chance. Every students needs to understand the difference between fiction and non fiction. Every student needs to know how to effectively use reference books and periodicals. Students need to understand the Dewey Decimal System as a useful, logical system of hierarchical organization and recognize its similarities to other such system. Students should use indexes and the library catalog so often that becomes a subconscious skill.

MEDIA LITERACY includes an understanding of the many different types of media and the purposes for which they can be used. Students should be taught the difference between fact and opinion, and be able to distinguish between information, entertainment, and persuasion. They should learn that all information has a source and that knowing the source and its biases is an important part of understanding any information.

COMPUTER LITERACY- basic computer operations: booting the computer, saving and retrieving files, loading a program, and perhaps some rudimentary word processing skills such as “cut and paste” . Like basic literacy, technology literacy is a continuum of skills that can always be improved and like library literacy, students receive technology experience and instruction in a hit or miss fashion depending on which teachers they may have over the years.

VISUAL LITERACY- is the link between Media Literacy and Technology Literacy. Media images and sound are end products created using the tools of digital technology. “Visual Literacy means the skills and learning needed to view visual and audio/visual materials skeptically, critically, and knowledge”-------Brian Stonehill, Pomona College, Clairmont, Calufornia.

INDICATORS OF INFORMATION LITERACY: THE INFORMATION-LITERATE STUDENT CAN:

Recognize the need for

information

Identify and locate

appropriate information

sources

Access information contained in

those sources

Evaluate the quality of

information obtained

Organize the information

Use the information effectively

(Doyle, 1992)

CHANGING VIEWS OF EDUCATION (THOMPSON AND HENLEY, 2000)

learning

Learning is now perceived as a process, not a product; people do not quit learning when they leave school, but remain life long learners.

Curriculum

Now objectives are flexible, taking individual and cultural difference into account. Current events, local resources, and students interests are also taken into account as curriculum objectives are adjusted to make learning more relevant.

classroom

The classroom is viewed as an environment where active learning takes places. Classroom environment is conducive to learning and encourages students to become self-reliant, and responsible for their own learning

Information

Educators today realize that the students need to be actively involved in seeking information using it in some way as they create their own unique concepts of knowledge based on previous understandings and experiences.

Students

Students today are viewed as information seekers, information users, decision makers, and problem solvers. What they learn defends on what they need to know to make a decision or to solve a problem.

Teachers

Now teachers are facilitator of the learning process and are constantly learning as they works collaboratively with other teachers, library media specialists, community members, and even with overseas teachers via the internet.

assessment

Libraries &

librarians

Now project of all sorts are the rule. Authentic assessments are intended to gauge what students learn by measuring how well they use the information such as portfolios, presentations and written reports.

Library media centers are designed to provide not only efficient storage but also equal access to information and the convenient retrieval of it. Library media specialists now work cooperatively with teachers to plan units that integrate information literacy skills into subject area curricula

Methods of

teaching

The identification of information literary skills needed for lifelong learning and thinking promotes a change in what is taught.

Changing paradigm: Old teaching compared to new teaching

Old teaching methods New methods

Lecture/listen Actively engaged

Individual effortSubjects

Group effortIntegration

Facts Problem-centered

Sage on the stage Guide on the side

spoken/written All sources

RRR (42 hours) Authentic/portfolio

Insular program Community collaboration

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATION

The best hope for citizen to understand and function effectively in this data intensive world is a comprehensive, hands-on, universal education of information literacy concepts and skills through schools. This course of study can and should be integrated with the traditional school subject areas, but it should also be considered as a separate core discipline especially for purposes of goal setting, curriculum design, and evaluation.

This means shifting some of responsibility of gaining knowledge from the teacher to the student and allowing students to develop questions, strategies to search for answers, and formulate conclusion.

Teachers of all subjects must blend their traditional fact-based approach with an emphasis on learner-based inquiry and the scientific inquiry process (Lenox 1993)

School will need to integrate information literacy skills across the curriculum in all subjects areas beginning in the earliest grades.

THANK YOU!!!

Prepared by:Pedido, April Jean Marian

AndPoliga , Cris Maureen C.

Prepared to:Mr. Carlos Cornejo