The Scottish Information Literacy Project:working with partners to create an information literate Scotland

Dr John Crawford & Christine Irving US School Librarians Visit 2008

Drumchapel Project

An exploratory project – initially ICT skills orientated Community ICT facilities little used - Library and Cybercafés –

implications only now being addressed School and School Library are main focus for IT use in

deprived areas Little integration of information literacy into the curriculum Levels of ICT ‘deprivation’ did not seem to be high Basic IT skills exist- WP, email, Internet Pupil evaluation of websites poor An asylum seeking issue An information literacy skills agenda emerged

Project objectives• to develop an information literacy framework, linking

primary, secondary and tertiary education to lifelong learning including workplace and adult literacies agendas

• Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for education and the wider community

• Working with information literacy champions both UK and worldwide

• Researching and promoting information literacy in the workplace

• Identifying and working with partners, both in education and the wider community

• Researching the role of information literacy in continuing professional development

• Researching the health literacies agenda

Progress to date

• First draft of Framework produced and piloted• Information literacy in the workplace study • Promoting international contacts• Contacts developed and strengthened with NGOs• Extensive communications programme• Website further developed• Contact established with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce• Initial health literacies contacts made • Creation of an information literacy network • Stimulated unprecedented level of activity in the schools

sector in Scotland

Partnerships and contacts • Schools mainly with librarians• FE/HE • Dept. Educational Foundations, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater• Delegation from Finland• US National Forum for Information Literacy• University of Aalborg?• Workplace – Scottish Government; Glasgow Chamber; CBI Scotland• LTS/SQA

Our friends in the North

Information literacy in the workplace

Workplace studies are a Project objectiveBased on 20 interviews with employees mainly in the public

sector in central ScotlandNot a heavily studied area – limited literatureFounded on a review of the pedagogic literature of learning in

the workplaceInterviews arranged with the help of Project partners and

contacts in Adult Literacies, Tribunals Service, Scottish Government Library Services and health libraries

Lack of private sector contactsFunded by the British Academy

Conclusions (1) • The traditional ‘library’ view of information as deriving from

electronic and printed sources only is invalid in the workplace and must include people as sources of information

• It is essential to recognize the key role of human relationships in the development of information literacy in the workplace

The public enterprise with its emphasis on skills and qualifications is a fertile area for further investigation and developmental work

Adult Literacies training is a powerful driver to encourage workplace information literacy

Conclusions (2)• Advanced Internet training extends employees’ information horizons• A skill and qualifications based agenda is an important pre-condition Most interviewees viewed public libraries as irrelevant for anything other

than recreational purposes Information literacy training programmes must be highly focused on the

target audience All organizations have information policies but may be unaware of the fact

An understanding of what constitutes information literacy is widespread

in the workplace but is often implicit rather than explicit and is based on qualifications, experience, and networking activities

Organizations which access a wide range of information, of high quality, including sources outwith their organization, will make the best informed decisions

• Contacts should be established with chambers of commerce, skills agencies and other organizations involved in workplace training

• Organizations’ information polices which are largely implicit should be made explicit and should include accessing a wide range of information, of high quality, including sources outwith their organization

• Preliminary skills audits should be carried out within organizations to determine staff information literacy skills and the organization’s information literacy policy

• The viability of developing information literacy training programmes should be further researched

• Information literacy training programmes should initially target sympathetic organizations

• Advanced Internet training programmes should be offered to all workplace employees

• The private sector should be researched further• The provision of information literacy training programmes by public libraries should

be investigated• Developmental work should be undertaken with Adult Literacies agencies • NHS contacts should be expanded to progress the health literacies agenda

Recommendations

The development of a National Information Literacy Framework

(Scotland)

• Looked at other frameworks – at home and abroad

• Discussions with relevant bodies and individuals

• Not reinventing the wheel – incorporate what is being used– look for common themes from existing models and

definitions

Draft Framework - outline

planning

locating

organising

representing

evaluating

EXPLORE

Schools (P3 - P7)

defining the topic

identification of key words

planning and organising

identification of suitable informationsources

effective searching

evaluating information

understanding ethics andresponsibility of use

understanding how to communicate orshare your findings

CILIP Information LiteracyDefinition

reviewing

Information Handling Skills

SCQF Levels 1 - 7

Secondary Schools & FurtherEducation

recognise a need for information

distinguish ways in which theinformation 'gap' may be addressed

construct strategies for locatinginformation

locate and access information

compare and evaluate informationobtained from different sources

synthesise and build upon existinginformation, contributing to the

creation of new knowledge

SCONUL

SCQF Level 8 - 12

Further Education & HigherEducation

understanding a need

understanding availability

understanding how to find information

understanding the need to evaluateresults

understanding how to work with orexploit results

understanding ethics andresponsibility of use

understanding how to communicate orshare your findings

understand how to manage yourfindings

CILIP Information LiteracyDefinition

Lifelong learning including allinformation using communitities e.g.

community learning and in theworkplace

Information Literacy Framework

Contents • Back ground information and provenance • Acknowledgements • Information literacy – what it is• Information literacy and lifelong learning• Information literacy education• Use of the Information Literacy framework • The framework levels• Information literacy and assessment• Appendices

Progress

Exemplars• Some good examples from partners – primary, secondary, FE, HE, workplace,

transition• More to come – some still being developed

However• Not as many as hoped - practitioners tend not to think of their activities as

exemplars of good practice

• Need to link to Curriculum for Excellence– single coherent curriculum for all young people aged 3-18 in Scotland– provides a framework within which excellent learning and teaching can take place – it is an integral part of the improvement agenda in Scottish education.

Sharing Practice for schools• Learning and Teaching Scotland

– Adding value to LTS Information Literacy Online Service: Exemplars of good practice http://www.caledonian.ac.uk/ils/LTS.html

ProgressCurriculum for Excellence Literacy

Literacy and English Outcomes – Draft experiences and outcomesFebruary 2008

The three lines of development for literacy skills are:

Reading - Enjoyment and Choice, Tools for reading, Finding and using information, Understanding, analysing and evaluating

Writing - Enjoyment and Choice, Tools for writing, organising and using information, creating texts

Listening and talking - Enjoyment and Choice, Tools for listening and talking, Finding and using information, Understanding, analysing and evaluating, creating texts

Within each of these there are organizers relevant to all curriculum areas.

www.curriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.uk/Images/literacy_across_the_curriculum_tcm4-470951.pdf

Exemplars of Good PracticeLiz Lloyd, Information Literacy Librarian, Aberdeenshire Library & Information ServiceVarious activities including SKIL website – Schools toolKit for Information Literacy

SKIL is an Information Literacy model which provides a framework, toolkit and support materials to enhance the teaching of Information Literacy across the curriculum.

It is not intended as an 'add-on' to the curriculum but used to provide lessons in various parts of the curriculum that will enhance the Information Literacy skills of pupils.

Website includes:SKIL by year group Nursery – Primary 7 (12 year olds)Resource bankPupil Zone

Exemplars of Good PracticeCaldervale High School, AirdireExploration by a group of staff (four teachers and the school librarian) around the question of how to improve the support they provide for the development of their pupils information skills in an academic context.

Follow up activity to participation in researcher project looking at teachers’ conceptions of information literacy (Williams and Wavell, 2006).

• the use of co-operative learning vital to success of project• teachers observed S1 Geography class (S1 = first year @secondary school 12 -13

year olds)• identified how they were going to define information skills and which ones they

were aiming to support their pupils• developed programme of work for S1 and S2 English with the intention of rolling

out across the curriculum• so far used / adapted for S1 and S2 Computing

Craigholme School, Glasgow - Donna Luc and Susan Cheyne, School LibrariansThe transition from primary to secondary

Junior 6 World Religions: Planning

• Working in groups• Brainstorming a research area• Devising research questions• Thinking of keywords for searching• Deciding on and collecting relevant

information • Presenting information • Learning about a world religion as an

individual and group, and sharing that information with the class.

Junior 7 Family History: Locating

Select best potential resources that are valid, understandable, relevant, authoritative and current.

Power Point presentation on work given at Project Open Meeting 28th May 2008www.gcal.ac.uk/ils/OpenMeeting2008.html

Exemplars of Good Practice

Exemplars of Good PracticeNorth Ayrshire School Librarians - Rosslyn Lee, Ardrossan Academy

2nd Year History• Covering misinformation and disinformation giving examples of websites, photos• strategies for searching• searching the Internet effectively; searching the Internet using Google, URLs and Domain

names• evaluating websites and books including quick quiz on evaluation• note-taking from the internet, note-taking from books• resource search for resources on John F Kennedy (they have to include specific details /

questions relating to - biographies of JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald, describe what events happened before, during and after the assassination, find and look at different conspiracy theories

Curriculum for Excellence Audit• audit of IL activities and how they fit into the CfE

Power Point presentation on work given at Project Open Meeting 28th May 2008

www.gcal.ac.uk/ils/OpenMeeting2008.html

Exemplars of Good PracticeUniversity of Abertay, Dundee City Council: Education Dept, School LRC Co-ordinators (Menizies Hill High School, BraeviewAcademy, Baldragon Academy)

• A collaborative approach to developing information literacy skills

• Working with S5/S6 pupils

• Creating closer relationships between:• University, secondary schools, local education department

Power Point presentation on work given at Project Open Meeting

28th May 2008 www.gcal.ac.uk/ils/OpenMeeting2008.html

Exemplars of Good PracticeUniversity of Dundee and three Dundee High Schools (Harris Academy,

Craigie Academy & St Saviour’s RC High School)

• Development of Modern Studies for 6th year students• Allow grounding in principles of virtual learning for 6th form students,

Modern Studies teachers, School Library staff• HE experience for 6th year pupils• Develop IL strand within Modern Studies based on SCONUL 7 pillars• Examine the secondary – tertiary gap • Develop techniques to help bridge the gap• Schools to evaluate outcomes at end of current school year 2007 / 08

Exemplars of Good PracticeGlasgow Caledonian University

• task force established to explore ways in which GCU can extend its support to students beyond the current provision for ICT skills towards integrated learning literacies (integrated ICT, information and learning skills)

• benchmarking learning and teaching practice and revising the learning, teaching and assessment strategy in line with the vision to 2015. The time is right to review skills provision and how this links with learning and teaching practice.

• Senate approval for the new LTAS which includes the I-Learn framework as an appendix

• pilot the framework with two or three programmes before rolling it out more widely

What stage are we at with the draft framework

• Piloting period finished• Successful Open Meeting carried out with

presentations of good practice from partners www.gcal.ac.uk/ils/OpenMeeting2008.html

• Online evaluation survey carried out• Report for Eduserv produced• Funding applications in – restructuring of

framework, incorporate feedback • Article on pilot for publication

What we want to do next• Restructure the National Information Literacy Framework Scotland in the light

of feedback from piloting in the school and FE/HE sectors• Expand the Framework to extend the lifelong learning/community

engagement component using the data from the workplace/Adult Literacies study currently completing

• Investigate the development of information skills training modules which could be delivered via public libraries, workplace training and Adult Literacies programmes

• Review and develop our existing workplace information literacy skills expertise with chambers of commerce, Adult Literacies partners, etc

• Have more time to publicise and promote our work to the sectors which we are targeting and to disseminate and develop strategic collaborations and partnerships on a national and international basis.

• To develop further strands in media and health literacies • Get information literacy incorporated into Scotland's’ lifelong learning policy

Constraints and issues

• Funding is the basic issue• After that – time• Trying to cover a wide range of issues• But – all information literacies areas overlap• Encouraged by wider support especially outside UK• Washington visit enlarged our agenda• Moving towards a networked environment?

Contact details Dr. John Crawford, Christine IrvingLibrary Research Officer, Researcher / Project OfficerRoom 302, (3rd floor) Room 302, (3rd floor)6 Rose Street, 6 Rose Street,Glasgow, G3 6RB Glasgow, G3 6RBTel: 0141-273 -1248 Tel: 0141-273 -1249

Email jcr@gcal.ac.uk Email christine.irving@gcal.ac.uk

Project websitewww.caledonian.ac.uk/ils/

Questions?