Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Instruction for Educators

Teacher Preparation and Education

As they prepare for service as educators, teacher education students:

• develop good practices in seeking reliable information about pedagogy and best practices in teaching; and
• learn the building blocks from which authority in the field of education is constructed.

Teacher Pedagogy Practice

In their instructional practice, educators:

• teach students to evaluate information from a variety of possible sources;
• expose students to diverse perspectives in order to teach them to maintain an openness to new perspectives, additional voices, and changes in schools of thought;
• help students analyze diverse perspectives and viewpoints with an attitude of informed skepticism in order to assess the validity and accuracy of information;
• help students to look for reliable indicators of authority to determine trustworthiness; and
• discuss with students the biases that privilege some sources of authority over others.

Social Justice

There are many ways for teachers to incorporate social justice ideals into their classrooms, including:

• reflecting on and acknowledging the biases of the organization for whom they work;
• viewing authority with an attitude of informed skepticism and awareness of bias, and an openness to new perspectives, additional voices, and changes in schools of thought; and
• actively seeking out the voices of students, parents, and colleagues.

Incorporating these ideals means that teachers understand:

• unlikely voices can be authoritative.

Digital/Media Literacy

As teachers develop their digital and media literacy skills, they:

• evaluate information about technology for quality, accuracy, and effectiveness;
• evaluate both print and online sources; and
• understand that the Internet has changed the nature of authority, that the information ecosystem is increasingly social, and that authoritative content may be packaged formally or informally and may include all media types.

Metacognition/Reflection

As teachers assess their information literacy processes, they:

• consistently reflect on their own biases and worldviews, and how that influences their views on which sources are authoritative; 
• assess and correct their understanding and comprehension of authoritative content related to their own biases; and
• utilize checklists, rubrics, and organizers to encourage the metacognitive process in students.

About the Objective: According to the InTASC standards, teachers must "keep abreast of new ideas and understandings in the field," use "meaningful research on education issues and policies," and access and evaluate information. Similarly, the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education states that experts are open to "changes in schools of thought," "view authority with an attitude of informed skepticism," and "understand the need to determine the validity of the information created by different authorities." Research is often used to inform or defend decisions in education policy and practice, but the quality of this research may vary. This objective asks teacher education students to evaluate scientific claims about education.   

Related InTASC and ISTE Standards: InTASC 4o, 5k, 10f, 10h; ISTE 2.1.c

Suggested Activity:

• Step 1: Introduce teacher education students to the following four-step process for evaluating scientific claims about education, which comes from Daniel T. Willingham's book When Can You Trust the Experts? (2012):

1. Strip It and Flip It: Write the claim in its simplest form, devoid of emotion. Try flipping it: "90% effective" becomes "10% ineffective."
2. Trace It: Find the origins of the claim, and pay attention to the qualifications and motivations of the person trying to persuade you. Mike Caulfield's SIFT strategy (2019) may be one way of tracing claims.
3. Analyze It: Consider why you are being asked to believe something and evaluate the idea's scientific merit.
4. Make Your Decision About Whether to Adopt It: Decide whether you will implement the change, based on the soundness of the evidence and its appropriateness for your context.

• Step 2: Ask teacher education students to practice these steps with various educational claims.
  • Note: In order to integrate teacher education standards around technology, it may be helpful to have teachers trace claims about educational technology, particularly since educational technology companies often make claims about the "effectiveness" of their product.

Caulfield, M. (2019, June 19). SIFT (The Four Moves). Hapgood. https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/

Willingham, D. T. (2012). When can you trust the experts?: How to tell good science from bad in education. Jossey-Bass. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/783862091

About the Objective: The Framework emphasizes that authority is "constructed and contextual," that biases may "privilege some sources of authority over others," and that "unlikely voices can be authoritative." Teachers often fail to recognize the knowledge and expertise of marginalized communities. Therefore, this objective gives teacher education students the opportunity to recognize PK-12 students, their families, and/or members of the community in which they teach as sources of authority. It connects well with an important concept in the field of education: "funds of knowledge" which "is based on a simple premise: people are competent and have knowledge, and their life experiences have given them that knowledge" (Gonzalez et al., 2005).

Related InTASC and ISTE Standards: InTASC 4q, 9e; ISTE 2.4.d

Suggested Activity:

• Step 1: Introduce teacher education students to the concept of "funds of knowledge" which "is based on a simple premise: people are competent and have knowledge, and their life experiences have given them that knowledge" (Gonzalez et al., 2005).
• Step 2: Have a discussion about how teachers too often rely on a deficiency model to structure instruction for marginalized children, instead of recognizing the funds of knowledge they possess.
• Step 3: Have teacher education students listen to or read perspectives from local community members and/or conduct ethnographic research. If teacher education students are currently teaching in a classroom, they can also interview or survey students and/or their families.
• Step 4: Ask teacher education students to reflect on how they can use the expertise and assets of the community to improve their practice.

Gonzalez, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (Eds.). (2005). Funds of knowledge : Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. Routledge. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/506264442

About the Objective: It is becoming increasingly recognized that information literacy (which relates closely to digital literacy, media literacy, and civic literacy) must be taught to students at all levels and in all subject areas. The InTASC standards call for teachers to "facilitate learners' critical analysis of [multiple] perspectives" and to collaborate with librarians and media specialists, while the ISTE standards state that teachers must "establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency." Therefore, teacher education students must not only develop their own information literacy skills (using the Framework), but also learn to teach information literacy skills to others.

Related InTASC and ISTE Standards: InTASC 4p, 5k; ISTE 2.3.b 

Suggested Activity:

• Step 1: Ask teacher education students to read "Learning the Landscape of Digital Literacy" (Learning for Justice, 2017) and have them discuss why digital/information literacy is important. Have them also discuss their responsibility as a teacher for instructing their students in those skills. Emphasize the importance of information literacy being meaningfully integrated across the curriculum, and the value of working with school and/or public librarians.
• Step 2: Have teacher education students create or modify a lesson plan that teaches PK-12 students to critically evaluate information. The following sources may be useful for finding lesson plans or materials for PK-12 students:
  • Learning for Justice: Digital and Civic Literacy Framework and Lessons - Lesson plans on digital and civic literacy skills for grades K-12
  • Common Sense Media: Digital Citizenship Curriculum - Lesson plans on digital citizenship for grades K-12
  • Stanford History Education Group: Civic Online Reasoning - A curriculum on evaluating online information (most useful for middle and high school)
  • News Literacy Project - This organization provides programs and resources about teaching students to be smart, active consumers of news and information

Collins, C., & Shuster, K. (2017). Learning the landscape of digital literacy. Learning for Justice. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/learning-the-landscape-of-digital-literacy

Relevant InTASC Standards

Relevant ISTE Standards for Educators 

From Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Model Core Teaching Standards and Learning Progressions for Teachers 1.0:

4o. Content Knowledge--Critical Dispositions: The teacher realizes that content knowledge is not a fixed body of facts but is complex, culturally situated, and ever evolving. S/he keeps abreast of new ideas and understandings in the field.

4p. Content Knowledge--Critical Dispositions: The teacher appreciates multiple perspectives within the discipline and facilitates learners' critical analysis of these perspectives.

4q. Content Knowledge--Critical Dispositions: The teacher recognizes the potential of bias in his/her representation of the discipline and seeks to appropriately address problems of bias.

5k. Application of Content--Essential Knowledge: The teacher understands the demands of accessing and managing information as well as how to evaluate issues of ethics and quality related to information and its use.

8o. Instructional Strategies--Essential Knowledge: The teacher understands how content and skill development can be supported by media and technology and knows how to evaluate these resources for quality, accuracy, and effectiveness.

9e. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice--Performances: The teacher reflects on his/her personal biases and accesses resources to deepen his/her own understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences to build stronger relationships and create more relevant learning experiences.

10f. Leadership and Collaboration--Performances: The teacher engages in professional learning, contributes to the knowledge and skill of others, and works collaboratively to advance professional practice.

10h. Leadership and Collaboration--Performances: The teacher uses and generates meaningful research on education issues and policies.

From International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Educators:

2.1.c. Learner: Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.

2.2.a. Leader: Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology by engaging with education stakeholders.

2.2.c. Leader: Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning.

2.3.b. Citizen: Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency.

2.4.d. Collaborator: Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.

Mapping the ACRL Framework to the AAC&U VALUE Rubric