The Answer Lies Within

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 My Big Take-Aways from Theme 1

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 Teacher-Librarians wear many hats, including that of “information specialist”. 

“An information professional or information specialist is someone who collects, records, organizes, stores, preserves, retrieves, and disseminates printed or digital information. The service delivered to the client is known as an information service.” (Greer, 12).

In the above list of duties of the information specialist, there is no mention of “providing the answers to the questions”. 

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This may come as a shock to some of my clients (middle years students) who are looking for a quick answer to their research question. 

My usual response is, “the answer lies within”, (use of theatrical voice and dramatic pointing to resource is necessary for full effect). 

Although no doubt an Oscar-worthy performance, I need to consider the following:

Students are developing their basic and more specifically, information literacy skills. Click on the link below to watch a video about information literacy skills. 


Building information literacy skills is not dissimilar to developing problem-solving skills; identifying strategies, using tools (such as Big6or Super3), and giving time to practice is all part of the journey. 

Simply put, finding the “answer” is surface thinking. Providing opportunity for students to analyze and evaluate information (namely, put the information in their own words), allows for deeper thinking and learning. Not all references are created or should be treated equally. 

When recommending a reference, TL’s need to look at target audience, age of reference, reading level, etc. Does “Wiki-pedia” have its place? Of course, it’s a good starting point for research but should not be the only source. 

Are print references a thing of the past? It all depends on the scope of the task and the needs of the students. I am always wary of information overload. 


If it takes the student more time to decipher how to read the reference rather than to read the reference, than perhaps a different approach is needed. 

I think that Riedling said it best, "the day of seeking answers has not ended; only the process has changed." (p. 99). 




Works Cited

Asselin, Marlene et al. Achieving Information Literacy. 2nd ed., Canadian Association For School Libraries, 2006.

Greer, R.C.; Grover, R.; Fowler, S.G. (2007). Introduction to the Library and Information Professions. NetLibrary, Inc. Libraries Unlimited. p. 12-15.

Mackenzie, Trevor. Dive Into Inquiry. 1st ed., Elevate Books Edu, 2019.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, and Cynthia Houston. Reference Skills For The School Librarian. 4th ed., Libraries Unlimited, 2019, p. 99.


Comments

  1. MarieFebruary 9, 2022 at 11:31 AM

    "If it takes the student more time to decipher how to read the reference rather than to read the reference, than perhaps a different approach is needed. "

    This really resonated with me as it is something I have been thinking about a lot as I work with a grade 3 FI class. As you know, many times information texts in French are not ideal for second language learners. In a lesson the other day, I realized that students were better served in their research skills - at this grade level - by focusing on the visuals (photographs, diagrams, graphs, charts, etc.) with captions rather than the text.

    I also agree that we need to remember that practice, practice, practice is important when developing new skills and that developing information literate students would ideally be a multiyear collaborative approach by classroom teachers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PhoebeFebruary 13, 2022 at 5:46 PM

    I appreciate the video you've inserted here in this post.
    Research was something that intimidated me in later elementary and middle school. Really, I never explicitly learned how to do it, where to look, how to pull relevant information out, or even ask someone for help. I remember going to the public library with my mum and she showed me how to begin. That's a scary thought... hahaha. The role of a TL involves the grunt work of pumping out information literate teachers and their students. I wouldn't have thought about this portion of the role had I not started learning about the responsibilities of keeping a LLC in collaborative order.

    ReplyDelete

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