Information literacy and flexible delivery: Creating a conceptual framework and model

Despite the growing recognition of the importance of information literacy education, there are few working models for curriculum integration within the Australian higher education sector. Librarians, in conjunction with faculty at Central Queensland University, developed a framework that assist in the planning and evaluation of information literacy programs.     

Community of practice versus community of readers: the literacy tutors’ dilemma

This paper describes a journey undertaken by literacy tutors who were caught between incompatible values and needs in building apprentices’ literacy. The highly literate tutors were committed to teaching critical literacy. They believed that improved literacy could support learners’ aspirations to advance their prospects at work, build their connections within their community and improve their health. Hence, the tutors aimed to guide their learners into membership of an imagined community of fluent readers. They found, however, that the apprentices, along with their managers and training coordinators, saw literacy as instrumental rather than a desired outcome in its own right. Essentially, achieving a sufficient level of literacy was needed for the apprentices to become members of workplace communities of practice. Tutors then questioned their prior assumptions about the intrinsic importance of literacy, slowly accepting a dichotomous way of thinking where industrial ways of learning and knowing were predominant. Tutors’ realisation that apprentices already possessed embodied and oral literacies helped them to support the apprentices in escaping (though not leaving) workplace contexts that were becoming increasingly document-driven in character and featuring rising expectations of improved print literacy.     

Perceptual Literacy and the Construction of Significant Meanings within Art Education

In order to verify how important the ability to process visual images and sounds in a holistic way can be, we developed an experiment based on the production and reception of an art work that was conceived as a multi‐sensorial experience and implied a complex understanding of visual and auditory information. We departed from the idea that to foster processes that encourage constructions of significant meanings it is necessary to abandon vision/audio‐centric notions of objecthood and offer a general definition of the perceptual object. The test was realised between the participants after modifying the performance conditions: some could not see the visuals, some could not hear the sound and others could appreciate the performance as a whole. Considering the results, we could infer that only the possibility to ‘read’ the performance as a whole encouraged construction of significant meanings. It would be possible to upgrade the approach, turning visual literacy into perceptual literacy, to contextualise artistic production that stimulates hybrid sensitive experiences. The education of critical perceivers should also enable transformations in responses to different stimuli. This is important if we consider the individuality of each student, his or her needs, affinities, cultural background, gender and so on.     

A multidisciplinary approach to information and critical appraisal instruction

The formulation of clinical decisions based on evidence requires the ability to locate information and evaluate it critically. A ten-week critical appraisal course for third-year medical students, taught cooperatively by library and Department of Medicine faculty, integrates education in the selection, evaluation, and application of information to patient care. The course is distinctive in that information management skills are taught by a multidisciplinary team in a problem-based format as part of the compulsory medical curriculum. Medical faculty provided instruction in reading and evaluating research methodology, as well as statistical analyses in published reports, using clinical scenarios and related journal articles at weekly sessions. Library faculty provided instruction in locating pertinent research on a sample clinical problem using standard printed and computerized indexes and local library resources, and presented criteria for selecting the most useful and significant works from those retrieved. Library faculty also met individually with students to provide instruction in online literature searching. Based on formal evaluation and informal feedback, the course was well received; it effectively presents the literature search as an integral part of critical appraisal of the medical literature and of the clinical decision-making process.     

Book reviews

Schwandt, Thomas A. (1997) Qualitative Inquiry: a Dictionary of Terms. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. 183 pp. $ 23.95 ISBN‐0–7619–0254–6

VanTassel‐Baska, J. (1998). Excellence in Educating Gifted and Talented Learners, Third Edition with chapters by Camilla Persson Benbow, John F. Feldhusen, Kenneth Seeley, and Linda Kreger Silverman. Denver, CO: Love Publishing Co. (532pp., $58.00 hb, ISBN 0–89108–255–7.

Moore, D.P. and Buttner, E.H. (1997). Women entrepreneurs: Moving beyond the glass ceiling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. (262 pp., $19.95 pb, ISBN 0–7619–0464–6)

Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (132 pp., $21.95 pb, ISBN 0–87120–342–1).     

Resilience and coping: Implications for gifted children and youth at risk

The large body of literature on resilience and coping gives promise to finding specific ways in which teachers, counselors, and schools can enhance success among gifted and talented children and youth placed at risk. While high intelligence is not a requirement for resilient outcomes, cognitive ability appears to be a supporting factor, especially as it relates to problem solving and coping. To the extent that low‐income and culturally diverse children and youth have more experience overcoming adversity, they may possess a greater range of and flexibility in coping strategies that can be shared with others. This article summarizes findings from resilience literature relevant to the development of children and adolescents and derives specific strategies for enhancing outcomes for gifted children and youth most at risk for encountering adversity.