Rethinking information literacy learning environments: A study to examine the effectiveness of two learning approaches.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to compare two information literacy learning environments: (1) a learning environment using the Contextualized Information Instruction Approach (CIIA), which is a collaborative, constructivist approach that contextualizes information skills within ongoing classroom assignments; and (2) a learning environment using the Immersive Information Literacy Approach (I2LA), which fuses cognitive and sociocultural constructivism, literacy and semiotic domain theory, a recentered view of information literacy and immersive technology (e.g., virtual reality) to create environments within which students can develop information literacy through authentic experiences and interactions. The specific aims of the study were to (a) examine the effectiveness of the two teaching/learning approaches (I2LA and CIIA) in respect to expanding students' understandings of information problem-solving and (b) to examine the information problem-solving, literacy level shifts (i.e., illiterate, burgeoning active, active, critical and associated) in students' ability to recognize/explain information problem-solving social practices (i.e., task definition, information types identification, information skills identification, multimodal resource identification, evaluation/selection, organization/communication and information use) and to visualize how they would produce domain particular meanings within the social practices.; The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods in exploring the specific aims. A two-group, pretest-posttest, randomized control design provided a direct analysis of learning approach effectiveness. Student interviews were employed to further explore the development of information problem-solving literacy within each learning model, and an activity theory observational framework was used to record and describe broad patterns of dynamic activity within each learning environment.; The results of the study reveal that learning within different environments is distinct, and that distinct environments have the potential of constructing particular types of information literate learners. Moreover, the CIIA students experienced significantly larger knowledge gains (T = -3.664, p = .00*), and the I2LA students experienced significantly larger application gains (T = 3.873, p = .00*). Furthermore, both I2LA students interviewed, during the study, moved into the active literacy level after the 4-week implementation period, and one of the CIIA students transitioned into the active level.