Information Literacy Models  Information Literacy is a compelling topic.  Many researchers and education professionals have developed information process models  Among these models are the Information Search Process (ISP), FLIP It!, and the BIG6 Process.  The age of the learner is not a factor in the process, but the amount of support needed by a media specialist or educator can be determined by using the guidelines of the models to pinpoint where a learner may be.

Comparison

Information Seeking Process

The Big6 Model

FLIP It!

FLIP It! Lesson Plan  Focus: –Queries from Patricia Polacco’s book Pink and Say Topics from Civil War Time period that interests the student enough to research and get them excited about the information seeking process

FLIP It! Lesson Plan, continued Links:  Students need to know –How/where to gather useful nonfiction resources –How to use nonfiction historical resources effectively and efficiently

FLIP It! Lesson Plan, continued Input:  Students will gather information about a topic of interest related to the Civil War –Demographic information –Personal Information –Information that sparks their interest –Relevance in History

FLIP It! Lesson Plan, continued Payoff:  Students will prepare a product related to their research in the form of : –a paragraph, story book, comic book, song, poem, interview or other idea this teacher is not creative enough to think about at this time. –Students will present their product to the class and visitors.

FLIP It! Lesson Plan, continued Intelligent Thinking skills  If (I know this) Then (what can/should I do next)? This functional questioning will provide a framework for them to work efficiently to complete their query.

Information Literacy Standards  Locate information using parts of a book, encyclopedia, and internet sources  Interpret graphic sources in meaningful context  Develop note taking strategies  Generate Ideas using a variety of prewriting activities  Gather information and ideas from a variety of source including personal experiences and literature  Add, Delete, and rearrange information and ideas to first drafts and address the purpose of the audience  Share products in a variety of ways  Focus attention on and listen to both adult and peer speakers  Listen to and receive direction, gain information

Rationale for Kuhlthau’s ISP  Kuhlthau is a pioneer with the foresight to look at the process of information acquisition in terms of the Stages, – cognitive level, –affective level, –behavior level, –and moods.  For me she is one of my favorites.  Her ability to look at the process beyond the actions gives so much insight on how to balance the relationship with patrons as they go through the information seeking process.

Rationale for Kuhlthau’s ISP, continued  Media specialists need to be astute at reading people almost to the point of reading minds when the patron is at a level either cognitively or affectively is not able to give the information.  Understanding the feelings that partner with the actions is a skill that I work hard to understand as an educator.  Reading about her was a big “ah ha!” moment for me.  My job relates to students that are forever coming to blocks in their information seeking process whether it is academic, behavioral or socially.  Her model ties in the whole process neatly with the array of feelings.

Rationale for Kuhlthau’s ISP, continued  It is not only a process that can be used for media specialists and regular educators doing academic tasks; it can be used to support students who struggle for finding meaning or knowledge in many parts of their lives.  A person using this model to understand where in the process a child or an adult is functioning may have to rely on intuition and perception to really “get” where a child or adult is, but doing this may pave the way for a clearer picture of what is needed to guide or support them.  As an educator my rationale for choosing this model is the “human” way it looks at information seeking.

Comparison and Rationale for FLIP It! and Big6  Kuhthau’s process is one that I will lean on as I help learners.  It may be good to explain this model to learners as they learn about the information seeking process.  However it may not be the most practical to use in a K-12 setting.  Other models such as Yucht’s FLIP It! and Big6 may be more effective.

Comparison and Rationale for FLIP It! and Big6, Continued  FLIP It’s mnemonic is easy to remember.  It can also be a versatile tool to use for other activities.  FLIP It’s versatility could also be confusing to students who need the concreteness of the process and mnemonic if it were to be used for situations other than seeking information.  This model is effective because it uses easy to understand language and allows for the need to move back and forth between the steps.

Comparison and Rationale for FLIP It! and Big6, Continued  The Big6 has a very clear process that appears to be easy for students to follow and understand.  They may need visual supports along the way to help them remember the steps.  This process has been marketed well and there are many books, progams and lesson plans available.  The efficient straightforward model of BIG6 can make a difficult project fairly easy by being broken down in to the steps.  This model was developed by Eisenberg and Berkowitz and tries to correlate Bloom’s cognitive levels with the information seeking process.

Comparison and Rationale for FLIP It! and Big6, Continued  Until I learned more about BIG6 I had thought FLIP It!’s simple mnemonic for the process would be the easiest to use with my group of students.  After completing a project using information seeking I have discovered that they may need the more concrete levels of the BIG6.  I actually was a bit bummed that FLIP It! was not as easy for my students.  I will not give up on the FLIP It!, for it could have been the way it was taught.

Comparison and Rationale for FLIP It! and Big6, Continued  As an educator I think it is important to have an understanding of many models because we will probably have our own perspective on the process.  As we glean information from the various models available we will be able to understand the diverse needs and levels of our patrons.

Kuhlthau Reflection Reading Kuhlthau’s Reflections on the Development of the Model of Information Search Process (ISP) from a lecture given at the University of Kentucky, April 2007 made me realize what a dynamic educator she is. I was amazed by her through reading our text and browsing some other articles before reading this. She really is a wonder. Her whole mindset is holistic. She was persistent enough to stick with the research for this process for over twenty years. She used timelines and charts to help her collect longitudinal data in this model. She used main ideas form her findings and were some of the first to investigate the feelings part of the information seeking process. I found this amazing because I am constantly collection data on human behavior and reactions and she makes it all seem so effortless although time consuming. She has debunked the statement that information seeking is linear. She explains that it is more of a sequential model. And as life is experienced as one sequence as another so is the acquisition of information. Kuhlthau, C (Jun/July2007). Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, (33, 5) p Retrieved form Academic Search Premier, March 1, 2008.