4 - Information literacy in the context of contemporary teaching methods in higher education

Abstract

This chapter will explore contemporary Higher Education (HE) facilitation methods and their influence on student Information Literacy (IL) skills. Central to the discussion will be ‘enquiry-based learning’ including problem-based approaches and webquests, each of which has become an integral part of HE practice. Dialectic approaches to delivery and facilitation will also be considered including Socratic methods, which are now commonly used in many HE schools and faculties. The principal aim of the chapter is to broaden commonly held beliefs relating to information literacy to include wider aspects of information access and exchange in the context of contemporary classroom culture. The ability to recognise a need for information, to critically evaluate information and its sources, and then to use that information effectively in order to construct new concepts or create new understandings, is now a fundamental part of HE classroom practice during which contemporary HE students increasingly engage in dialectic processes in the quest for effective learning. In essence, this chapter will seek to expand the concept of information literacy beyond the accepted principles and frameworks established by the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy, to include the day-to-day aspects of IL that are often overlooked or unrecognised.