Enhancing Information Literacy for Preservice Elementary Teachers: A Case Study from the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACTThrough this study, a librarian and faculty team aimed to determine the extent to which a one-credit information literacy course deepened preservice teachers' understanding of information literacy. We employed a treatment and control group design; treatment participants received 15 hours of information literacy instruction while control participants received no direct information literacy instruction. Data sources included a questionnaire and think-aloud cognitive tasks. Analysis revealed that the one-credit course was insufficient for deepening preservice teachers' information literacy skills, leading to recommendations to enhance and expand instruction and recommendations for future study. Preparing teachers with effective information literacy skills who are also equipped to instruct youth to navigate the challenges of 21st Century information literacy is an important endeavor that requires collaboration and continuous assessment.