Teaching Information Literacy Is No Longer “Static and Predictable”
“I’m not saying that my schooling was worthless, nor that there aren’t things that need to be taught. Absolutely not. I’m just saying that education’s job, in the 1950s and ’60s, was to prepare students for a future that was static and predictable.
I believe that we no longer live in those times. I believe that we need schools where students teach themselves. We must assure that they become literate, but that it is a literacy to learn — learning literacy. We should assure that they are gaining a common context for themselves, who they are, what they are, where they are, when they are, and that they appreciate the ways that their environment impacts them and how they impact their environment — and that they learn these things through their developing learning literacies.” [2 Cents Worth]
Applicable to how we teach information literacy, as well as how we teach in our library schools.
[…] 11 09 2007 While reading Jenny Levine this morning I was pointed to this, which made me stop and think again about what I learned in […]
Pingback by learning lifestyle « Circulating Zen — September 11, 2007 @ 8:36 am
What would that mean for, No Child Left Behind?
Comment by Woeful — September 11, 2007 @ 8:50 am
Will Richardson runs a company called Connected Learning and a blog by the name of Web-blogged, Learning with the Read-Write Web. He recently posted an article that may be pertinent to teachers, students and parents. The premise is the that in order to move education forward there are some things –attitudes– that we all need to un-learn. Un-learning will enable us to provide better educational experiences by re-envisioning our schools and classrooms. His list of un-learning follows:
We need to unlearn the premise that we know more than our kids, because in many cases, they can now be our teachers as well.
We need to unlearn the idea that learning itself is an event. In this day and age, it is a continual process.
We need to unlearn the strategy that collaborative work inside the classroom is enough and understand that cooperating with students from around the globe can teach relevant and powerful negotiation and team-building skills.
We need to unlearn the idea that every student needs to learn the same content when really what they need to learn is how to self-direct their own learning.
We need to unlearn the notion that our students don’t need to see and understand how we ourselves learn.
We need to unlearn our fear of putting ourselves and our students “out there” for we’ve proven we can do it in safe, relevant and effective ways.
We need to unlearn the practice that teaches all students at the same pace. Is it any wonder why so many of our students love to play online games where they move forward at their own pace?
We need to unlearn the idea that we can teach our students to be literate in this world by continually blocking and filtering access to the sites and experiences they need our help to navigate.
We need to unlearn the premise that real change can happen just by rethinking what happens inside the school walls and understand that education is now a community undertaking on many different levels.
I am interested in this because I believe that libraries provide the opportunities within communities for continual learning experiences. Librarians can enhance the learning done within and outside of schools. We get lots of students who are looking for information and we hope students and learners this year coming in with information needs and allowing librarians to help in fulfilling those needs. Here is to a great school year!
Comment by Cindy — September 11, 2007 @ 7:41 pm
Sounds like some good home schoolers I know. They teach their children “how to learn” so that the kids are capable of learning on their own. Could be why so many colleges value home schoolers. Do you think the Board of Education (at whatever level) would even consider the possibility that they might learn something in dialogue with Home School Teachers? WoW, what a concept.
Comment by Len — September 12, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
couldn’t agree more… most students in the US could attend school completely wonked and they would still be able to graduate. The curriculum needs to be broadened at a much earlier level. Once school is done… well that is all the edumacation they needed! Being able to self educate and get into the always learning mindset is key.
Comment by james — September 13, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
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