What are the key understanding in teaching about information? Think about how information is conceptualized, both within popular consciousness, and academia. Using Bruce's informed learning, as well as standards what do we think is important in understanding information? This is a continuation of the IL discussion (and maybe this part should have come first) - does this change the way you conceive IL standards?
So many questions- I'm starting with the last one first, I think.
I actually love that this question came second, because now I have a chance to stop and reflect a little on my position up until now-- that teaching "information" itself isn't as important as teaching about how to interact with information in a personal, purposeful way. That's why I love the AASL standards- to me, they're as much about presenting perspectives as teaching skills.
But this week I think to myself, okay self, wait a second here. Without grounding all of these lovely ideas about information seeking and reflection in a meaningful context of information, they lose some meaning. I appreciate that Bruce's perspective encompasses both the importance of information literacy behaviors and skills, as well as their context and purpose.
When it comes to questions of "what is information?" and "how is information literacy best taught?" I still think that there's a divide between academics like Bruce and the people who wrote the AASL standards, and popular ideas. As a teacher, I see all sorts of ways that students (and especially their parents) expect teaching and learning to look in school, and a lot of it has to do with an outdated, hierarchical model of information transmission. They expect a sort of top down, teacher has the information and gives it to the students who take it in- model. In such a model, the information itself remains unchanged, even as different individuals work with it for different purposes. For me, the biggest piece of education that needs to happen for popularly held ideas about information and information literacy, is that learning is not just about having the right answer. It's about grappling with information, about selecting which information is most needed for a given situation, and finding it efficiently.
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To coin your phrase Rebecca..."I LOVE" your line where you say "learning is not about having the right answer". Genius! To be sure, information in all of its formats changes over time and with it the way students perceive, process and use the information. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI second Geri's comment - and I wish we could find our way t0 that notion. I think there is something to be said for using failure to learn, and that it is undervalued in our schools, which is about grappling. I am curious to see where the conversation around the "creativity crisis" in our schools leads us.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the information dump era of education no longer works with twenty-first century learners. Not when there are so many more vibrant options to reflect the different learning needs of our students.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember where I read it, probably in Bruce, but someone wrote that using clickers in instruction helped them understand what were common misunderstandings that they needed to further expand on in order to facilitate learning.