Teaching about Information

What are the key understandings in teaching about information? (Synthesis due Oct 20th)

The ways that information is used vary greatly. Educators need to be aware of the multitude of information literacy skills students need to use so that they can ensure that they are hitting all of the skills. This is why the adoption of the new library standards is so exciting for teacher librarians. We are at a critical moment in the development of libraries and by having strong standards, we can guide our practices to ensure that we are protecting the future of libraries themselves. Classroom teachers are struggling to keep up with the educational mandates that determine what they teach. Many feel that they don't have time to teach information literacy. Those who do often become bogged down with technology issues and aren't able to transmit the necessary content. School librarians are aware of this and have made a move to take this content into their realm. I feel as if one of the key understandings regarding the teaching of information is the view that information literacy is the job of teacher librarians.

When designing a curriculum for teaching curriculum there are a number of accepted teaching points. The Big 6 is a popular method for teaching information literacy that highlights six skills that provide students with a strategy for dealing with any assignment or problem. The six stages include task definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation. Taken as a whole, these skills provide students with some of the most commonly accepted understandings regarding information literacy.

"As educators, we need to think about information use and its relationship with learning when we design learning" (Bruce, 2008, p. 3). Oftentimes, educators neglect to consider the bigger picture when designing a curriculum. We need to examine the specific skills that students need for success. This begins with topic selection, and performing successful search strategies, and then onto evaluating sources, analyzing and synthesizing information and using that to create knowledge.



Bruce, C. (2008). Informed learning. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Eisenberg, M. & Berkowitz, R. (1987). Retrieved September 30, 2010 from Big 6 website, http://www.big6.com/

What does it mean to learn?

What does it mean to learn?  Learning is the ability to pick up new information.  This can happen in a number of ways.  It might involve analyzing or synthesizing information to discover new meanings that were previously unrecognized.  Learning is achieved through a wide variety of ways-- be it audio, visual, and kinesthetic.  Different people have varying success at learning through various modalities.

Learning is not an ability that only humans are able to achieve.  Throughout the animal kingdom creatures acquire new understandings of the world around them.  While some knowledge is inherent-- such as the ability of a young baby to suckle it's mother's breast.  Other aspects of the same phenomenon are learned-- such as learning which nipple will provide access to the most milk.  In a large litter, learning this information could be a matter of life or death.

Learning happens both formally and informally, directly and indirectly.  Author, Tom Bodett explained that “the difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”  This illustrates the fact that much of what we learn comes from direct experience.  It is through new and different experiences that we acquire understandings of the world.  These are ever-changing depending on the situations we experience.  It is only because we learn to incorporate new knowledge into our perspective that we can understand how these fit together.  

 At school learning is thought to happen in a number of ways.  Students might learn by memorizing information, such as multiplication facts, learn by practicing something, such as playing a musical piece, learn from observation, such as might take place by watching the behavior of a classroom pet, or learn by listening to a lecture.  Now, as students are using more and more technology in the schools, the audio, visual, and kinesthetic learning are often taking place all at the same time—be it in front of a computer screen.  The more modalities information is presented in, the more likely people are to learn it. 

The old methods of learning are being replaced by new understandings of the manners through which people learn and the best ways to accomplish this.  "If we learned to read by repeated drill and memorization only, and by thinking of reading as only decoding, making sense of a new book can be a monumental challenge" (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p.41).  To understand a book, a reader has learned, not only how to decode, but also how to synthesize the words into ideas that can be reflected upon.  As the reader considers an idea more and more, they are learning new ways to interpret the information they have gathered. 

To learn is to acquire a new understanding based on input that is provided through any of the means previously discussed.  Through these understandings, an individual will react to situations differently as they learn to navigate the outcomes until they discover how to achieve a desired outcome.  This process many happen consciously or unconsciously.  As an individual discovers the proper method to attain a desired outcome, they can use this information throughout situations.  This process is sometimes referred to as transfer.   "Transfer involves figuring out which knowledge and skill matters here and often adapting what we know to address the challenge at hand." (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p.41).  When transfer occurs, then an individual has not only learned a cause and effect relationship, but also synthesized that information and applied it to another situation.  This is a different type of learning. 

Bodett, T. Retrieved September 19, 2010 from: http://www.bodett.com/storyarchive/quoteme.htm

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Knowing vs. Understanding

Knowledge may be power, but without understanding knowledge is useless.  The two are intrinsically tied together and the distinction between them is one that could easily be missed.  The very concept of understanding is slightly elusive.  To understand is to be able to take knowledge and to be able to analyze and synthesize it into a deeper level of comprehension that allows one to grasp the situation on a larger level.  Wiggins and McTighe, in Understanding by Design, claim that "to understand is to be able to wisely and effectively use--transfer--what we know, in context; to apply knowledge and skill effectively, in realistic tasks and settings" (p.7).  This implies a deeper connection to information than simply knowing it.  For example, a farmer can sit and tell me how to grow the perfect crop of corn.  We could sit for hours, pouring over infinite lessons he has learned throughout his life.  However, until I have actually grown the perfect crop of corn, it is difficult for me to truly understand how to do it.  Thus, there is an element of experience that leads people from knowledge to understanding.  In that regard, knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding.  However, true understanding will not exist without the practical application of experience combined with the background knowledge required for the task at hand.  The irony is that humanity tends to idealize knowledge, yet understanding will lead us much further towards our successes.  It is common for knowledge to exist without understanding--especially in the school system.  As our educational system is obsessed with standardized testing, students who memorize information are considered smart.  While the ability to memorize is useful, it will not help a student to grasp complex concepts that require a synthesis of knowledge to create understanding.

Renowned Egyptologist Isha Schwaller de Lubicz explained that "science is not the same as Understanding. To know means to record in one’s memory; but to understand means to blend with the thing and to assimilate it oneself, as the bread you eat is assimilated by your body".  After extensive studies of the Egyptian temples, Isha Schwaller de Lubicz came to realize that understanding was consciousness, which developed through knowledge coupled with experience that led towards the path of enlightenment.  This path is the extension of the journey that leads from knowledge to understanding.  As teachers, it is important to realize that the types of lessons we create help determine whether successful students will simply be gaining knowledge or actually understanding concepts on a deeper level.  We must ask ourselves if we are providing our students with the tools to eventually reach beyond knowledge, beyond understanding, into the deeper consciousness de Lubicz describes.

McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2005).  Understanding by design.  New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Proverbs from the Ancient Egyptian Temples.  (n.d.).  In D.W.E. Dubois learning center.  Retrieved from: http://www.duboislc.org/html/Proverbs.html