Integrating information and communication technology (ICT) literacy into the first -year composition course: Impact on teaching, learning outcomes, and assessment

Alexius Smith Macklin, Purdue University

Abstract

This study was an exploratory investigation of a novel approach to information literacy instruction at Purdue University. Insight into best practices in information and communication technology (ICT) instruction was the goal of this investigation, with a specific focus on using a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. Two questions were posed. The first addressed the impact on students' learning outcomes in a first-year composition program. The second focused on the use of a problem-based learning approach to facilitate skills acquisition. In addition to measuring learning outcomes using the iSkills™ assessment, impact was also determined by changes in search behaviors with regard to how students defined an information need, chose resources, and selected information. ICT-PBL activities comprised the curricula for a six-week investigation. Three problem designs required students to find and use information to propose a workable solution for the given scenario. A community of practice framework was used to study social activity and changes in search behaviors as a result of discourse and collaboration. A total of 19 students, enrolled in one section of the first-year composition program, participated in this study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used to determine the impact of ICT skills and effective practice in ICT skill instruction. Quantitative data included scores on both the pretest and posttest of the iSkills ™ assessment, scores from a pre-assessment activity, and performance on an online information literacy tutorial to answer the question regarding impact of ICT skill acquisition on students' learning outcomes. Qualitative data sources included semi-structured interviews, with additional evidence from documented search logs, classroom observations, field notes, and think-aloud protocols. Learner-made artifacts also served as confirmation of ICT skill acquisition. Three findings emerged the analysis and interpretation of the data including how students used prior knowledge as a means of understanding or making sense of the given problems; how they developed a shared repertoire of everyday experiences and incorporated them into the learning process; and how they engaged in discourse and debate for task interpretation by testing, revealing, modifying, and refining problem-solving strategies. These findings focus on the ways in which the problem-based learning environment supported students' ICT skill acquisition, and the ways in which the community of practice facilitated their learning. The study addresses the pedagogical needs of moving instruction from the current practice of teaching library skills to using a problem-based learning approach to teach critical thinking for information and communication technology literacy. In concluding this study, I make four assertions regarding ICT literacy education: 50-minutes is insufficient to teach critical ICT skills; ICT literacy education is most effective when librarians collaborate with subject matter faculty; assessment practices for ICT skills should be on-going, throughout higher education, so that instruction can be revised as needed; and, most importantly, ICT skills cannot be part of the curriculum until faculty and administrators accept them as necessary and appropriate for higher education. Using a problem-based learning approach, I extend existing research (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990; Kuhlthau, 1991, Webber & Johnston, 2000) to demonstrate an innovative way to incorporate these skills into the curriculum.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Ertmer, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Language arts|Educational technology

COinS