Big6 by the Month: A New Approach

IT’S TIME FOR A SWEEPING NEW APPROACH TO INFORMATION LITERACY LEARNING!

The sad truth is that few, if any, information literacy efforts in schools have fulfilled the promise of a comprehensive information literacy program.

• A comprehensive program should reach all students in the school.
• A comprehensive program should be predictable in terms of what students are expected to learn and how they are to learn it.
• A comprehensive program should be measurable in terms of setting accountable goals for the program and assessing performance by the students.
• A comprehensive program should report the results—to the students, to their teachers, parents and guardians, and to the overall school and district.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION LITERACY INSTRUCTION

Almost all school library or technology programs offer some form of information literacy instruction. But if we are frank with ourselves, most programs can be characterized as irregular, partial, and arbitrary. Certainly, some students receive excellent information literacy instruction, but others receive little or none.

The reasons are varied and understandable, including insufficient staff or limited resources, space, and technology. One of the main reasons is that the information literacy program is not viewed as a vital part of the school’s curriculum program; information literacy is not considered essential for every student in the same way as reading, writing, science, math, or social studies.

This non-essential status must end! In the 21st century, competence in reading and writing is no longer sufficient. To succeed in our global, information intensive society, students must learn how to ask good questions, find appropriate, relevant, reliable sources of information, and synthesize that information to create an original product. They also need to evaluate the success of their process as well as their product. That’s information literacy, and any student who graduates without these skills is at a serious disadvantage.

A second reason for the partial, hit-or-miss nature of information literacy programs is the emphasis on implementing the program through collaboration with classroom, subject area teachers, and curriculum. Certainly, every information literacy lesson and learning activity must be tied to classroom assignments and curriculum, but that doesn’t mandate that it be done through time-intensive collaborative sessions between teacher-librarians, technology teachers, and classroom teachers. A good information literacy teacher can connect with classroom assignments and subject curriculum, but it is unrealistic and misleading to think that collaboration can take place on a comprehensive level given today’s staffing in library and technology programs. Yes, we’ve seen excellent collaborative examples in many schools—but they are just that: examples, pilots, and samples. Systematic, large-scale, comprehensive collaboration is just not possible given the number of library and technology professionals in most schools. So it’s time to move this approach aside (after all, it’s not an end-goal anyway; it's a means to the end—which is student information literacy learning). The new means is connecting to assignments and curriculum and focusing on making sure that the information literacy learning program reaches every student.

BIG6 BY THE MONTH APPROACH

Again, information literacy is too important to be arbitrary or irregular. Library and information professionals must step up and commit to developing and delivering information literacy programs that are comprehensive (reaching all users), predictable (consistent over time), and accountable (measured and reported). To do so, we have adopted a four-part strategy:

1. Defined: Identify essential, “power” information literacy goals and learning objectives for all students in your school. These goals and objectives should link to relevant national or local learning standards. Essential skills pertaining to information and technology literacy appear in curriculum standards as well as national information literacy and technology standards documents. For example, look at Big6 2.2: Select the best sources (of information). A variety of standards emphasize the importance of evaluating sources of information:

Develop grade level objectives for each Big6 skill at each grade level. However, don’t over-reach. Define goals and objectives that are ambitious but attainable. Remember, these goals and objectives need to be comprehensive—intended for every student. We recommend identifying between four and eight power learning objectives for each Big6 stage for each grade level. Younger students strive for simpler goals. As students advance, the information literacy strategies and skills become more complex. Here is an example related to Big6 stage 2.2, “Select the best sources”:

2. Predictable: Plan and implement a consistent, intentional program that reaches every student. Here too, the program should be ambitious but practical. How will you be able to reach all students? Are there certain key assessments or assignments?

Let’s also be predictable in terms of the schedule. Here’s where Big6 by the Month comes in. Each month, there is a schoolwide information literacy learning and instructional focus:

• September: Overview of the Big6, and Big6 by the Month Program
• October: Task Definition
• November: Information Seeking Strategies and Location and Access
• December: Revisit and Reflect
• January: Use of Information
• February: Synthesis
• March: Revisit and Reflect
• April: Evaluation
• May: Culminating Activities

Teacher-librarians and classroom teachers who work with the youngest students may prefer the language of the Super3: Plan, Do, Review. Plan involves the Big6 stages of Task Definition and Information Seeking Strategies. Do incorporates Location and Access, Use of Information, and Synthesis. Review focuses on Evaluation of both the student s process and product.

Each month, we present the emphasized skill and specific grade level learning objectives in the context of the overall Big6 process. We target specific lessons, activities, and assessments to the skill and learning objectives for the month. This approach is not meant to constrict or constrain. You can still do a lesson or activity on a different Big6 skill in a given month. But it does mean that the monthly emphasis is on the main skill designated for that month (within the context of an assignment or curriculum topic). This calendar can be adjusted to fit the needs of individual schools or districts, but if all schools and professionals try to follow the same schedule—across the globe—we can share ideas, objectives, lessons, activities, and assessments. It also means that we can work together to publicize and promote the program.

The Big6 by the Month program should also be predictable in terms of the roles of the teacher-librarian, classroom teachers, technology teachers, and other instructional staff. We all know that there is a wide disparity in professional teacher-librarian staffing across states, districts, and from school to school within a district. Student to teacher-librarian ratios vary drastically, and this situation is not likely to change any time soon. Yet, we have failed to take these differences into account when visioning, planning, and delivering library and information services and instruction in schools.

The Big6 by the Month program recognizes that there is a difference in the scope and implementation of the Big6 information literacy program and the role of the teacher-librarian based on student-staff ratios. For example, it is reasonable to expect a full-time teacher-librarian in an elementary school of 400-600 students to deliver curriculum-centered information literacy lessons to students as well as to plan and manage the overall information literacy program. However, another full-time teacher-librarian in a school of 1,500 or more students or a teacher-librarian split between two or more schools cannot offer the same number of lessons or depth of instruction. In these cases, the teacher-librarian must plan and manage the information literacy program and provide lessons, strategies, and materials to the classroom teacher who must deliver the bulk of direct information skills instruction.

This is all part of a predictable program—within which the teaching staff and school community all know the intent and goals of the program and the roles of teacher-librarians, classroom teachers, and other educators in seeking to achieve the goals. The predictable program can also help make the case for increases in professional teacher-librarian staffing by defining what the current staff can achieve and how increased professional time would expand instruction and learning of essential, 21st century information skills.

3. Measured: Information literacy learning must be assessed so that students know if they have achieved the desired goals and objectives. Assessment is also essential for the classroom teachers and the school in order to know whether the program is successfully meeting its goals and objectives and in order to make adjustments and plan for the future. It is critically important to design assessment instruments that collect evidence to which we can apply specific criteria. Here are some optional ways to measure evidence and criteria.

Samples of Evidence:

• Classroom assignment
• Worksheet
• Contribution to discussion
• Written or verbal explanation (for choice of topic or sources)
• Lab report
• Observation
• Test
• Self-assessment
  [Big6 by the Month: Revisit and Reflect (2010). The Big6 is © Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. Big6 Associates, LLC. www.big6.com.]

Sample Criteria (to use in a checklist, rubric or scoring guide):

• Completeness
• Accuracy
• Logic
• Creativity/Insight
• Relevance
• Credibility
• Sources (number, type, range, quality)
  [Big6 by the Month: Revisit and Reflect (2010). The Big6 is © Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. Big6 Associates, LLC. www.big6.com.]

The following example shows how to apply assessment within a lesson. First, the lesson objective is to select relevant and credible sources (Big6 stage 2.2). Next, students must create journal entries from a person living through World War I or World War II. However, students not only list their sources but must also explain why they used those sources. Their explanation is the assessment evidence. Finally, the teacher applies the criteria of logic, accuracy, relevance, and credibility to determine whether or not students have met the objective.

Reported: Lastly, the information literacy program must develop and deliver two types of formal reporting mechanisms: (a) to the students themselves as well as parents, teachers, or appropriate others, and (b) to the faculty, administration, and school board about the nature, scope, and effectiveness of the information literacy program. Reporting methods will vary depending on the audience. Some schools’ report cards include a line for Library Skills (and other special subjects like physical education and music) to indicate that it is taught, not graded. Then the specialist can attach a report on the activities and skills for each grade level to inform parents. Issuing a monthly or quarterly report to parents, administrators, and other teachers would be informative whether or not it is attached to the report card.

MONTHLY WEBINARS

The Big6 by the Month series provides the conceptual and practical foundation to help you plan and deliver the comprehensive information literacy program. We offer monthly webinars to support the program. Each webinar includes all four elements—defined, predictable, measured and reported—as they pertain to that months topic. Webinars are delivered in the preceding month to allow educators time to plan and connect ideas to the school’s calendar and anticipated classroom studies. Each webinar identifies content standards related to the topic of the month, as well as information literacy and technology standards. For each topic, we also identify specific, attainable grade level objectives. Webinar packets feature sample lessons designed for various grade levels on a variety of academic subjects. We have also created a Google site with useful web links for each Big6 stage, and a discussion group where participants can ask questions and share their instructional strategies.

A webinar participant who works with a Masters of Education program reported, “I feel it is critical that these teachers and administrators know how essential this is for themselves and their K-12 students who are indeed bombarded with information and have access to so many digital tools and sources—to be able to apply the Big6 is fundamental.” Another participant commented, “Its nice to know that there are people who take these systems and ideas for researching and teaching in general, make them more workable, and then are able to share them with us.”

THE BIG6 BY THE MONTH TEAM

Dr. Michael B. Eisenberg is dean emeritus of the iSchool at the University of Washington and co-founder of the Big6™ Skills. Janet Murray is a retired teacher-librarian and the author of Achieving Educational Standards Using the Big6™. Colet Bartow is the library-information literacy specialist for the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Laura Robinson is an educator in the Seattle Public Schools and a Super3 author and trainer. Sue Wurster is the project manager and executive director of Big6 Associates, LLC.

Future issues of Library Media Connection will focus on the Big6 by the Month approach to individual stages of the Big6 Skills, and will highlight the related standards, objectives, lesson plans, and activities. But why wait?

WHAT CAN I DO NOW?

• Commit to Big6 by the Month; start planning for next year.
• Communicate and explain Big6 by the Month to your administrators and teachers.
• Identify state and national standards.
• Identify grade level objectives.
• Register for webinars or access recorded ones.
• Review the web-based materials linked to the Big6 by the Month site.
• Review this year’s discussions; contribute your great ideas.

BIG6 BY THE MONTH

This article is the first in a series of articles for a distance learning course. In the next issue, readers will have the option to complete assignments and qualify to earn CEU credits. Beginning with our August/September issue, there will be six articles throughout the 2011-2012 school year, allowing you to earn up to six CEU credits through this LMC/Big6 distance learning opportunity. For more information, see www.librarymediaconnection.com, or call (800)368-6868, Ext. 166.

USEFUL WEB LINKS

The Big6 Associates, LLC www.big6.com

Big6 by the Month Webinar Series Guide Page www.big6.com/2010/10/15/big6-by-the-month-central

Big6 by the Month Google Site http://sites.google.com/ske/big6xthemonth

Big6 by the Month Google Discussion Group http://groups.google.com/group/b6month

STANDARDS

State Standards provided by Education World www.educationworld.com/standards/state/index.shtml

Common Core State Standards Initiative http://corestandards.org

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner www.ala. org/aasl/standards

National Educational Technology Standards for Students (ISTE NETS-S) www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

Montana Office of Public Instruction: “Essential Learning Expectations for Information Literacy” http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/Standards/10FebELE_LibMedia.xls