Course: Education 312, Literacy and Learning: Theory and Practice
Faculty: Lyn Robertson, Department of Education
Librarian: Susan Scott, Head of Information Services
Description of the nature of the project with emphasis on how information literacy will be incorporated into the curriculum
Education 312, "Literary and Learning: Theory and Practice" is a course required of all Denison students earning an Ohio teaching license. Its students represent disciplines from across the curriculum, and students come into the course with varying experiences concerning information literacy in general and as it pertains to their teaching discipline. "Literacy" has been used, traditionally, to mean something about reading and writing skill, and this course fulfills that aspect of teacher education by preparing prospective teachers to use reading and writing as vehicles for their students' learning, regardless of the subject matter with which they will be dealing. For years, this meant that new teachers were to be getting the message that it should not be only the English or reading faculty who have responsibility for helping students develop and use literacy skills. With the advent of electronic information retrieval and the "information explosion," this need has become compounded; now a prospective teacher must prepare to introduce students to and help them use, not only information on paper, but also information from a wide range of electronic sources (for example, databases and websites).
Denison students, in general, are grappling with issues of finding and interpreting information for themselves. Students in Education 312 must be continuing to learn about the production, dissemination, and organization of information in multiple ways, including 1. literacy and its many definitions and measurements, 2. locating information in their teaching disciplines and interpreting it critically, and 3. Locating information suitable for their own students, while simultaneously learning to help their own students to do the same.
The proposal is for Susan Scott to work with me in a redesign of Education 312 so as to expand upon traditional definitions of literacy and to address issues of information literacy in general and discipline-specific terms, as well as in pedagogical terms. Education 312 usually begins with readings that pose the problem of students (both college- and workforce-bound) emerging from high school with undeveloped literacy skills. My students and I then spend the semester studying theory and practice in literacy and working out solutions to the problem. Each student develops a list of competencies she or he will acquire and a list of evidence she or he will present as "proof" of having acquired it. The ultimate goal for each student is the writing of a lengthy unit of instruction inclusive of significant attention to literacy and extensive analysis and connection to literacy and pedagogical theories. Each student is then expected to implement this unit of instruction during the student teaching semester. With the assistance of Susan Scott, I hope to help my students: 1. come to an understanding of information literacy as defined in the grant being sought; 2. become more information-literate themselves; and 3. incorporate information literacy into their own teaching.
Time line for course development and implementation
Susan Scott and I would work together throughout the summer of 2001, exploring prospective teachers' needs and possibilities for class exercises and experiences. A new feature of Education 312, prompted by the State of Ohio's requirement of technology instruction for prospective teachers, is a lab component during which students will learn various computer applications, digital camera use, and other equipment use. Information literacy instruction in the main part of the course will be the conceptual counterpart of this laboratory.
Estimate of the amount of faculty time that will be needed to complete the project
I would expect to devote the equivalent of one day each week during the summer of 2001 to this project. This would include a weekly meeting of several hours with Susan Scott.