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According to Russell (2009), a librarian who frequently meets with campus instructors to address any issues they may be having, professors worry that “students lack an understanding of what constitutes good-quality scholarly information” (p. 92). In the field of education, particularly early education, teachers must not allow the information literacy to influence scholarship, practice or leadership in a negative manner, but instead embrace the potential information literacy possesses and take full advantage of teaching students a more responsible way to research, analyze, and apply heir findings.
When a student chooses to research a topic, the problem most often encountered is a student’s lack of validating information they may acquire. While locating information may be easier and more convenient, students often are found to search for broader terms, not yielding results that might specifically address the topic they are researching (Holiday and Figurehead, 2006).
Holiday and Figurehead (2006) found that, “Students are fairly confident in their search abilities, but they tend to do research superficially, focusing on assignment acquirement, familiarity, and convenience rather than looking for the best possible information to address their needs. ” As educators, teachers must address this issue early on, impressing upon students the impertinence behind using only scholarly, peer-reviewed documents. If the idea of validating their resources is impressed upon them from the very beginning, then perhaps this fundamental idea will stay with them throughout their secondary educational experience as well.
Along with unlimited information, there are also unlimited resources which are opinion based only, and have not documentation to purport their opinions whatsoever. Within practice itself, educators must also implement the strategies for researching which they are teaching their students. The appropriate application of information literacy in the classroom by the educator will only solidify the teacher’s efforts to teach students the importance and skill of properly using information literacy.
Bade (2009) states that “educators did a magnificent job of contributing valuable teaching resources to the web, and they encouraged students to use discernment in choosing websites. But they didn’t provide systematic guidance to using information in the new electronic age” (peg. 48). What better way to correct this error, than to implement both the library and the internet in one’s own research, and present these researched topics to the class as a model?
Leadership has not been left untouched by the growing white noise of information that is available to researchers. In fact, due to the problems which seem to occur when information is not being properly scrutinized, Thrusters (2009) informs us that leaders, even educational leaders such as teachers, should be sure to “constantly evolve faculty information competence, which includes both, the teaching staff information competence development, and the faculty resource base provision and development” (peg. 31 In conclusion, information literacy has been a powerful influence on today’s society. However, one must be careful, for with great power comes great responsibility, as the click© goes. In regards to scholarship, practice, and leadership in the field of education, educators must be aware of the importance of correctly teaching and modeling skills needed to research, analyze and put into practice information literacy. References Bade, W. (2009). How we failed the net generation.