The information process
How to develop information fluent users in the classroom and integrate information fluency into the curriculum.
Information Fluency
An information fluent person is one who can:
satisfy their changing information needs
pursue independent lifelong learning
contribute to the development of an informed society in a seamless process.
There continues to be an explosion of knowledge and enormous advances in technology globally. As a result, we live in an information environment characterised by:
an expansion of the range of sources of information
the transient nature of information
uncertainty about the veracity of information
This is due to the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news.
Students should develop fluency in using information. This is part of the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes necessary for lifelong learning.
Schools need to provide planned opportunities for students to develop information fluency.
The Library policy procedure indicates that school library programs should:
focus on [students’] information and research needs and
developing students’ critical thinking skills, so they can apply reasoning to research and make informed decisions about the ethical use of information.
Teacher librarians and teaching colleagues can use the Information Fluency Framework (IFF) as the primary source of information outcomes and processes.
Both the Information Fluency Framework and Information skills in the school, can be used as support documents to the Library policy. Information skills in the school provides a scaffold to develop student skills in information literacy.
The Information Fluency Framework can be used with the department’s Quality Teaching model. This approach incorporates a broad range of curriculum outcomes, literacies, capabilities and priorities.
The Information Fluency Framework enables learning across the curriculum. The IFF is divided into five elements:
Social
Literate
Innovative
Critical
Ethical
Developing fluent information users
People who use information successfully display the following characteristics:
- they are able to add to their core knowledge and frequently do so
- they use a variety of information sources and the necessary technology
- they are able to process the information which surrounds them
- they are confident in their ability to use information effectively
The school plays an important part in developing these characteristics in students by focusing on specific information-related competencies. Such competencies are sometimes referred to as inquiry skills.
Integrating information fluency into the curriculum
The responsibility for integrating information fluency into the curriculum rests with the whole school. This responsibility is reinforced by executive supervision of classroom and specialist teachers who are facilitators of the process with students.
Students at any stage, from Kindergarten to Year 12, require opportunities to develop information fluency. As students become along the progression, they can complete increasingly sophisticated and difficult tasks. This also applies to the resources they can use.
To create a learning environment which fosters the development of information fluency, schools should provide a program which allows for teacher and student flexibility in exploring curriculum tasks and problems. Such flexibility would allow:
- consideration of available resources
- inclusion of students' existing knowledge
- provision for individual differences in skill development and learning styles when information skills are incorporated into student learning
Image: The information process
The information skills process
Steps in the process
- What is my purpose?
- Why do I need to find this out?
- What are the key words and ideas of the task?
- What do I need to do?
Students should be able to:
- relate the task to their learning
- clarify the meanings of the words of the task
- identify and interpret key words and ideas in the task
- state the task in their own words
- work out the parts of the task
Steps in the process
- What do I already know?
- What do I still need to find out?
- What sources and equipment can I use?
Students should be able to:
- recall relevant information and skills from previous experience
- recognise strengths and limitations of current knowledge and decide whether additional information and/or skills are needed
- limit an investigation to a manageable size
- identify possible sources (people, organisations, places, print, electronic materials, objects)
- recognise the relative worth of sources
- select the best of these sources to use
- locate sources and appropriate equipment
- use appropriate equipment
- record details of sources that are used
Steps in the process
- What information can I leave out?
- How relevant is the information I have found?
- How credible is the information I have found?
- How will I record the information I need?
Students should be able to:
- begin to analyse the usefulness of each source
- use key words to locate potentially useful information within sources
- skim each source for information
- identify information that has links with the task
- assess and respect privacy and ownership of information
- decide what to do about deficiencies with information
- decide whether information is closer to fact or opinion
- identify inconsistency and bias in sources
- devise a system for recording and synthesising information
- summarise information
- record quotations and sources of information
Steps in the process
- Have I enough information for my purpose?
- Do I need to use all this information?
- How can I best combine information from different sources?
Students should be able to:
- review the purpose of the task
- combine the information into larger units of information
- combine the units of information into a structure
- review the structure in light of the purpose of the task
- adjust the structure where necessary
Steps in the process
- What will I do with this information?
- With whom will I share this information?
Students should be able to:
- identify the requirements of different forms of presentation
- consider the nature of the audience for the presentation
- select a form and style of presentation appropriate to the audience and the content of the material
- prepare the presentation
- present the information
Steps in the process
- Did I fulfil my purpose?
- How did I go - with each step of the information process?
- How did I go - presenting the information?
- Where do I go from here?
Students should be able to:
- review the extent to which the end product meets the requirements of the task
- assess their use of this process in completing the task
- examine strengths and weaknesses in specific information skills
- identify increases in knowledge
- set personal goals for the further development of information skills