A New Look at Information Literacy

I recently read an article in Online Searcher, “Teaching Research Processes for the Long Haul,” by William Badke that was a refreshing take on the process of teaching Information Literacy. While Badke directs his article towards undergraduates, I found the article to be quite informative for the information literacy work I have done primarily with middle school students. I think it would be easy to apply this article to any range of user in the conversation of seeking information. Badke talks about how to handle information in an intuitive manner. If the student has working knowledge of the subject they are researching, they will be able to better understanding the information surrounding the subject. He talks about the role of the professor in today’s educational landscape :

“The role of the professor of the future will not be the dissemination of knowledge but the passing on of expertise that enables students to handle the information of the discipline with sufficient ability that they begin to look like disciplinarians themselves.”

The librarian also plays a key role in stressing the “process as an equal partner with content.” How this can all play out is in a faceted research approach where a student’s assignment is broken down into steps with points of review and critique along the way. While the student is producing content, they are also learning the process along the way. They digest the process and it can begin to become an internal intuitive component. Badke does stress that the professor and the librarian together play an integral part in the student’s educational development.