Information and Critical Literacy: Aberdeenshire - a joint development event for Network Librarians and Literacy Co-ordinators

I was up in Aberdeen speaking at the Aberdeenshire Library and Information Services (ALIS) Joint development event for Network Librarians and Literacy Co-ordinators last week. It was a great day with librarians and teachers (primary and secondary), literacy co-ordinators working in partnership together seated at mixed tables (5 or 6 people at each table) to look at, discuss and work on Information and Critical Literacy material and activities, Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes. 

The first session was by Kathryn Russell, Literacy Development Officer 'Literacy across learning: working in partnership'. Kathryn tasked the groups / tables with the following:

Literacy across Learning: working in partnership

1. Please give an example of successful partnership working between teacher(s) and librarian(s). What factors were key to success?


2. Barrier / constraint to effective partnership: Suggested solution


3. Looking to the future  ... how would you like to see the working relationships between teachers and librarians evelove?

There was much lively discussion with 'what worked' going in a box in the shape of a book and 'what didn't work' going in a small wasterpaper bin.  Sue Cromar, Information Literacy Librarian, ALIS who organised the event and is writing a guide to partnership working collected all the information. The guide should be available in August / September this year.

Next up was Alison Bruce, Information Services Librarian, ALIS  - online resources for pupils and teachers. Alison demonstrated Credo Reference using a Science Experience and Outcome relating to the lungs. The retrieved resources demonstrated had pictures and texts plus source citation. The resources could also be shown as a Concept Map (Mind Map, Spider Diagram) with items linked to the references. The map could be simplified or expanded and the main topic could be changed. It was very impressive.

After tea / coffee break I did a presentation and workshop on Integrating Information and Critical Literacy across the curriculum . The workshop centered on each group / table unpacking a Curriculum for Excellence Experience and Outcome.

Librarians, teachers and Literacy Officer unpacking a CfE Experience and Outcome

  Participants in mixed groups:

• choose a Curriculum for Excellence Learning Experience and Outcome – Science or Health and Well Being


• unpack it using CfE template  created by Edinburgh Science QIO and used by Holy Rood High School, Edinburgh (link to  case study and template)  - unpacking is effectively a mapping exercise which allows the opportunities within the learning outcome to be explored.


• link to Literacy across learning experiences and outcomes  specifically ‘information and critical literacy’ activities


• identify relevant ‘information and critical literacy’ resources.

The workshop went well and it was interesting to hear the discussions and see librarians and teachers working in partnership to unpack their chosen experience and outcome. One school librarian was keen to replicate the exercise in her school as part of an in-service day.

After lunch there was a carousel exercise were groups (different groups from the morning) started at one table to hear about information literacy activities created and or used by Aberdeenshire schools:

Joint Geography Library Webquest

Table 1: Evaluating online resources - using Learning and Teaching Scotland's online Information Literacy material

Table 2: Note-making and mind-mapping - RISK (Research and Investigation Skills) developed at Meldrum Academy by the Netwwork Librarian and teaching staff. A CD of the programme and material was included in the event pack of information given to everyone.

 Table 3: Webquests - joint working between Geography Principle Teacher and school librarian  

Table 4: Online resources - more in depth look at Credo Reference

Read it! Write it! Reference it!

Table 5: Plagiarism, referencing and bibliographies - A guide to referencing for S4-S6 pupils Read it!  Write it!  Reference it! written  by a school librarian who previously worked in Colleges. Copies of the guide was included in the event pack of information given to everyone.

Also included in the event pack of information given to everyone was a copy of :

• Aberdeenshire Library and Information Service Draft Information Literacy Strategy


• Libraries Supporting Learning from 0 - 18  Information Guide for Parents and Teachers

The day was a great success and Sue Cromar recorded aspects of it for the Libraries R 4 Learning Project: Information Literacy Multimedia clips .

 

Information Literacy in Primary 1

A couple of weeks ago I spent the day in a Junior (Primary) 1 class as part of the work I'm doing for Learning and Teaching Scotland CfE Literacy Team - Real and Relevant – Information and Critical Literacy Skills for the 21st Century Learner’ (Early and First Level). The day was amazing with lots of information literacy activities based around some of the CfE learning outcomes and experiences. For example:

Finding and using information: Early Level

I listen or watch for useful or interesting information and I use this to make choices to learn new things. LIT 0.04a 

The children aged 5 years old listened to a chapter (chapter 4 I think) from a book about an owl finding out about night and darkness.

The book - The owl who was affraid of the dark

They had to listened for a specific piece of information which they then had to remember. Questions were asked to ensure that they had heard and remembered it. Later on in the day they were each given a worksheet and had to draw a picture to represent what the chapter was all about. The teacher then went round each of them and asked them to complete a sentence with information they had heard. Some repeated the information exactly others put it into their own words. Whatever the child said the teacher transcribed it onto their worksheet.

Other examples of activities included:

• selecting books in groups to find information about a particular night animal that the group had chosen i.e. a fox, badger, bat.

With the help of the teacher reading the text the children decided on the 4 most important facts about the animal. Later each group told the rest of the class what they had found.

• 
  
  art of the week where they had to look at a picture of a piece of art Rodin's Thinker and say what they thought it was about. It was amazing to see then looking at it, thinking about it and then giving their thoughts.

I could go on but will end there. My thanks to Mrs Lisa Bonar and her class at St Margaret's School in Edinburgh for allowing me into their world. Discussions regrading the sort of things that would be useful to teachers regarding their own information literacy was also covered. It has certainly helped my thinking for the work ahead of me and I look forward to using this knowledge along with other experiences of Primary 2 and 3 to come in the new year.

This is my last blog of the year so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

 

Survey of Scottish school librarians and their knowledge and use of Curriculum for Excellence

Thank you to everyone who completed the survey. There were a total of 74 responses of which 72 were from the secondary sector - a response rate of 20%.

The survey suggests that the school librarians are tending to concentrate primarily on the Learning Experiences and Outcomes and not the Principle Papers which are said to be “essential reading for staff” and “a range of practitioners” including themselves as the following quote demonstrates.

It is expected that the literacy experiences and outcomes and this accompanying paper [principles and practice], will be read by a range of practitioners, including those who work in school library resource centres, who make an enormous contribution to the literacy skills of children and young people. 

33 respondents (75%) indicated that they had identified ways in which information literacy can be used to achieve or assist achievement of the experiences and outcomes.

26 respondents (53%) replied that they are or have been involved in any piloting activities, created any new activities or updated existing activities based upon the experiences and outcomes.

28 responses were generated to the question of  'How can school librarians optimise their efforts to support information literacy and the Curriculum for excellence Experiences and Outcomes locally and nationally?'  The main points which were frequently repeated were: 

• becoming involved in school activities through school committees such as literacy teams,


• getting the support of the head teacher,


• demonstrating an understanding of the aims of CfE,


• supporting cross curricular activities, 


• developing links with primary schools,


• being involved in all discussions and training and in-service opportunities,


• liaising closely with subject departments,


• working with other school library colleagues,


• working with teachers to standardise terminology, 


• promoting a whole school approach


• involving Learning and Teaching Scotland.  

The full results and findings are to be written up for publication including articles for

The School Librarian - The Curriculum for Excellence: knowledge, engagement and contribution by Scottish school librarians, Chrisitne Irving to be published in 2010.

Aslib Proceedings - The Scottish Information Literacy Project and school libraries, John Crawford and Christine Irving to be published in 2010.

Other publications being looked at are education publications.

 

Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for learning, life and work

If you haven't read Curriculum for Excellence 4: Skills for learning, life and work then I would certainly recommend it.  I found it to be a very useful document which covers not just the school sector but everyone involved in lifelong learning.

It sets the context:

To meet the aspirations of Curriculum for Excellence, there will need to be changes in the way people think about curriculum, shifting the focus from a view of curriculum content as either ‘academic’ or ‘vocational’, towards curriculum as encompassing the whole range of knowledge, skills and attributes that contribute to the four capacities.

As we move forward, we need to build on and strengthen the development of skills across the curriculum. The focus will need to shift from the route to learning, and the settings where learning takes place, to the outcomes of learning, and the skills that young people need for their learning, life and work. (p4)

It sets the roles and responsibilities                                                               

All children and young people are entitled to opportunities to develop skills across the curriculum wherever and whenever they are learning. These skills are relevant from early years right through to the senior phase of learning and beyond, and into lifelong learning. All educators should therefore contribute to the development of these skills. (p.6)

It outlines who is involved in partnership working and their role:

Working with each other, and with other partners such as parents, employers, public bodies and voluntary organisations, can help schools and other learning providers to make the most of their contribution and recognise their part in promoting lifelong learning. In implementing the Experiences and Outcomes and planning for the senior phase of learning all partners, including learners themselves, will need to review the way they plan, reflect on and evaluate the development of skills for learning, life and work. (p.8)

On page 11 is a section titled Thinking skills across learning which to me looked very much like information literacy: 

It is important that all learners are given appropriate opportunities to develop their thinking skills. These skills can be developed across a range of contexts including through more practical or applied learning opportunities:

• Remembering involves such activities as recall, recognition or locating information


• Understanding might involve activities such as describing, explaining, summarising and translating


• Applying requires the learner to use or apply their knowledge and understanding in different contexts


• Analysing requires learners to break down information into component parts and search for relationships


• Evaluating involves making an informed judgement about something, for example an issue or method. Activities such as comparing, appraising, prioritising, rating or selecting, could involve learners in evaluating


• Creating happens when learners are required to generate new ideas and products through activities such as designing, creative writing, planning, reconstructing, inventing, formulating, producing and composing

Reflective questions on page 12:

• What range of learning activities could you use more effectively to help to develop young people’s higher order thinking skills?


• What kinds of questioning by both staff and learners might help to develop thinking skills?

 My answer to that would be - information literacy skills and school librarians / learning resource co-ordinators have the learning activities and questions / answers you are looking for.

Page 21 refers to placing learning within a practical context which the project has always found to be essential. In the context of early years there is reference to active learning which I heard a lot of at the early years sessions I attended at the Scottish Learning Festival.

Active learning is learning which engages and challenges children’s thinking using real and imaginary situations. It takes full advantage of the opportunities for learning presented by:

• spontaneous play


• planned, purposeful play


• investigating and exploring


• events and life experiences


• focused learning and teaching

Building the Curriculum 2 – Active Learning in the Early Years, provides further guidance on the use of active learning to support children’s development of the four capacities.

Active learning should continue beyond the early years.

 On page 27 it provides next steps for different groups / categories to consider  - Pre-school and teaching staff; Pre-school, school and college curriculum leaders; Local authority staff; Colleges, universities, employers and others who recruit young people; Local delivery partners (Skills Development Scotland, voluntary organisations, associated schools groups, private training providers and Learning Communities etc); Parent Councils; National Agencies and bodies (Skills Development Scotland, SQA, SCQF, Sector Skills Councils, employer bodies); The Scottish Government.

Under Pre-school, school and college curriculum leaders one of the points is -

How to develop and nurture a shared understanding and common language between partners.

I think this is important not just for this group of partners but the wider partners listed above.

Finally the document has some exemplification to support the development and delivery of skills through the CfE and it is worthwhile having a look at these. It has given me an idea of how we show the development of information literacy skills / critical literacy / thinking skills to CfE experiences and outcomes that are information literacy skills or information literacy related activities.  

Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for learning, life and work

Thanks to Carol Stewart for alerting me to

The new Building the Curriculum 4: skills for learning, life and work  policy guidance is now available online.

The publication is part of a series of Building the Curriculum papers and is intended to further support planning, design and delivery of the curriculum in pre-school centres, schools and colleges. It sets out skills for learning, life and work in Curriculum for Excellence and shows how they are embedded in the experiences and outcomes and the senior phase.

I'm just back from a week's holiday so haven't had a chance to read it yet plus I've still to read the Early Years Framework. from the size of my reading pile I'll need a week or two off just to catch up / get on top of it.