Investigation of information search strategies and information literacy skills used by ninth grade students

Abstract

Developing students who are information literate is a primary function of the library media program. The rapid growth of technology and its ability to provide information through on-line resources provides challenges to the school library media specialist who must ensure that students are developing the skills necessary to access, process, communicate and evaluate information. As action research, this study is designed to assess student information literacy in six content areas. The first research question asks at what mastery level are ninth grade students using information search strategies and skills when posed with a need for information. Used as a pretest/posttest assessment, a self-assessment rubric identifies which information search skills and strategies ninth grade students use to access and process information from print, on-line reference and research databases and Internet resources and at what mastery level. A second research question asks whether the teaching unit assists in a positive change in the pretest to posttest correlations. The third research question surveys whether access to computers in the home correlates with increased levels of expertise in obtaining information. Subjects for the study are approximately 125 ninth grade students enrolled in the high school freshman English class. The data students produce using a self-evaluation rubric and survey serves as the primary source for this study. Data is analyzed to better understand student information search strategies and information literacy. Findings influence teaching and assistance methods offered by the media center to future ninth-grade English classes by indicating areas where the curriculum needs to be enhanced for students to reach mastery.