lit review: Hands-On Information Literacy Activities

Although the museum education literature is interesting, I was not finding much in the way of "how to" insights.  So, I have changed by tactic.  Turning away from museum education material, I searched for books about information literacy for libraries.  Here is where I found some "how to" ideas that can be adapted to the archives. 

When it comes time to build new sessions, one book will be most helpful--Hands-On Information Literacy Activities by Jane Birks and Fiona Hunt, published in 2003 by Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.  This book is accompanied by a CD-ROM of worksheets and activity supplements.  The book itself provides step-by-step examples of activities in the form of games, assessments/reviews of sources, and core activities. 

The "games" section reminds me of an example I have used with grade 7 students.  I printed off several types of primary and secondary sources on individual sheets, distributed them to the class, and asked the students to paste their source in either the primary or secondary column drawn on a flip chart.  I didn't only use "traditional" sources; I included things like an x-box game and the programming code to build that game.  The "games" section also reminded me of the brainstorming shout-out parts of my sessions.  Guess I have been using games all along, but didn't think of it that way.

The "assessment" section gave examples of diagnostic tools, research methods, scavenger hunts, brainstorming ideas, using the catalogue, using web sites, and evaluating web sites and databases.  Of course, I already work closely with the librarians who deliver this information.  But, this book has caused me to think about using exercises to demonstrate how to use a finding aid and digital collection databases.  I also need to think about building into my sessions opportunities for students to learn how to ask for records and explain how I can mediate the research process in a way that makes sense to them.

The "core activities" section demonstrates how the examples can be layered to build a progressive learning session using games and assessment exercises.  To me, this is the most interesting section--albeit too short.  I have been wondering how to layer sessions in a way that will build on skills learned.  Is there a way to create a mock-up session that demonstrates the reference and research processes?  I am certain that there is.

I plan to return to this book.  Today I only made a few notes, but there are ideas in this book that can be adapted to my new sessions.  I need to put some of these examples into action.