Information literacy as a value

Abstract

High school students require the proficient understanding and execution of information literacy processes and skills in preparation for the challenges of the "information ecosystem" (ACRL, 2015, p. 2) they inhabit. Although teacher-librarians grapple with developing materials, programs, and resources intended to support increases in high school student information literacy knowledge, students continue to enter higher education with limited skills to support the rigor of academic research (Gross & Latham, 2012). Previous research of Kuhlthau (1991), Bruce (2008) and Oakleaf (2009) focused on information literacy development through motivation, varied experiences, and incremental assessments. Essential to the development of a high school student's information literacy knowledge is the school's library program (Eisenberg, 2008). A new perspective to view a high school library program will heighten stakeholder shared support, awareness, responsibility, and expectations, for the development of sustainable information literacy processes and skills that can be viewed and utilized in a new context for transferring and recontextualizing into higher education. This semester long case study examined the perspective of stakeholders within Western High School (pseudonym) in Massachusetts to determine whether the existing library program supports the development of student information literacy skills. The study utilized Wiggins' (1993) assessment for learning theory and Bickman's (1987) use of a program theory to evaluate student and library program outcomes. The research determined the library program supported student information literacy growth when librarian and educator objectives were intertwined when creating lesson plans, tasks, guides, assessments, and rubrics. Students were able to learn, practice, self-assess, correct, redirect their learning, and individually invest in their information literacy knowledge development.