Integrated Information Skills Instruction: Does It Make a Difference?

Abstract

Todd has conducted several studies of the effect of integrated information skills instruction on Australian high school students, and the work reported here is part of his ongoing research agenda in this area. Not surprisingly, he reports that such instruction has a positive impact on students’ mastery both of subject-matter content and of information-seeking skills; even more intriguing are his insights into the details related to these results. Todd’s studies lay the foundation for a basic argument that integrated information skills instruction should be provided for all students and that policies, strategic plans, and staffing arrangements must be developed to ensure the school library media specialist’s leading role in this effort. In the context of an emerging global information society, information literacy is increasingly presented as a key challenge to educators and to educational authorities. School library media specialists worldwide have responded energetically to this challenge. Today school library media programs are increasingly based on the assumptions that information skills instruction is a valuable and essential part of the school’s educational program; that these skills emphasize general information problem solving and research processes rather than just skills of location and access to library resources; that these skills should be taught within the context of the school’s curriculum; and that the teaching of these skills can be enhanced by the use of innovative instructional methods.(1) This report documents ongoing research in Sydney, Australia, into the impact of information literacy programs on student learning. In this research, information literacy is defined as the ability to use information purposefully and effectively. Kirk, Poston-Anderson, and Yerbury present it as a holistic, interactive ability encompassing skills in six areas: 1. defining the tasks for which information is needed; 2. locating appropriate sources of information to meet needs;