Information Literacy and technology to improve learning and education

Description

‘Information Literacy is the ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques‘ (see http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/). We concentrate on Information Literacy with respect to the improvement of learning in schools. Main examples are the promotion of learning processes and outcomes for highly able pupils, for pupils with social and emotional problems, and social safety in and around school. We introduce a multilevel educational model with respect to the longitudinal development and stimulation of learning processes of a pupil since the start of kindergarten. Specific individual, curricular, group, teacher and school characteristics influence the development of the cognitive, social and emotional learning processes of the pupils in each group. In a first type of research, the hypothetical pedagogical-didactical-technological model is worked out in kindergarten and primary school practice in the Netherlands. A pilot is used to develop optimal kindergarten and school practice with teachers and school management. The qualitative results and conclusions are used in longitudinal experimental research designed with 41 kindergartens and primary schools.In a second type of research, the hypothetical model is focused on characteristics assessing multilevel aspects of school safety in Dutch primary and secondary education. The pedagogical-didactical-technological approach is applied in national surveys with pupils, teachers and school leadership. We conclude that integration of Information Literacy and Information and Communication Technology may indeed improve learning and education in structured and empirically controlled ways. More research is needed, however.

Period	Sept 2011
Event title	European Conference on Educational Research EERA
Event type	Conference
Location	Berlin, GermanyShow on map