Education
Title: Information Literacy for Science and Technology
Information: In spite of the massive quantity of information now available, students, parents, teachers, researchers, and the general public may face serious challenges in finding, retrieving, evaluating and using information. This pathfinder specifically discusses information literacy in the fields of science and technology. However, it is helpful to consider competency standards for information literacy, in general. The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL),http://www.ala.org/ACRLTemplate.cfm?Section=acrl&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=15&ContentID=7768, of the American Library Association (ALA),http://www.ala.org/, created the document, "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education." ACRL approved this document Jan. 18, 2000. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm You can visit the ALA/ACRL Information Literacy website. It provides a comprehensive selection of materials, including an overview of information literacy, selected resources, toolkits, and professional activities. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/informationliteracy.htm To address the special needs and circumstances of science and technology, the Science and Technology Section (STS) of the ACRL published "Information Literacy Standards for Science and Technology (DRAFT)" (June 2004.) This document identifies five standards and related performance indicators and outcomes. These standards are based on the ACRL's four information literacy competency (ILC) standards. The fifth standard in this document is new. From the DRAFT, these five standards are: 1. "The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed and constructs a course of action for obtaining the information." 2. "The information literate student procures needed information effectively and efficiently." 3. "The information literate student critically evaluates the procured information and its sources, and as a result, decides whether or not to modify the initial query and/or seek additional sources." 4. "The information literate student understands and respects the economic, ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and its technologies and either as an individual or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose." 5. "The information literate student recognizes the need to keep current regarding new developments in his or her field and understands that information literacy is an ongoing process and an important component of lifelong learning." You can find more details and a reference list of works consulted in developing these standards at: http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/infolitscitech.htm Many other initiatives exist that also address science literacy. A list of notable websites and pages is given below. The National Science Digital Library (NSDL),http://nsdl.org, provides a central access point to resources and collections that support science, technology, education and mathematics. Currently, one can search the library for "science literacy" and retrieve over 150 results! NSDL - Pathway Portals - This index provides links and descriptions of current and future portals supported by the NSDL. As stated on the webpage: "NSDL Portals provide specialized views of selected NSDL resources organized around the needs of specific audiences.... defined by grade level, discipline, resource or data type, or some other designation." http://nsdl.org/ofinterest/?ctype=rss&rss=partner_libraries NSDL portals include the "Middle School Math, Science and Technology Portal",http://nsdl.enc.org/, from The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC),http://www.enc.org ENC's topical focus, "Inquiry and Problem Solving," in the context of math and science education, offers a list of resources. http://www.enc.org/topics/inquiry/ ENC Features: "Becoming Literate in Math and Science" - This issue of the electronic version of "ENC FOCUS" provides links to full-text articles on math and science literacy. http://www.enc.org/features/focus/archive/literacy/ ENC Features: "Defining Math and Science Literacy" - This is a list of publications that one can order on the topics of Math and Science literacy. Most require a fee. http://www.enc.org/features/focus/archive/literacy/resources_v8n3/defining/ NSDL also highlights "Future Portals," such as The Shodor Education Foundation, a project supported by the National Science Foundation,http://nsf.gov. This project is dedicated to computational science education. http://www.shodor.org/ The Shodor Education Foundation supports the Computational Science Education Reference Desk (CSERD), a searchable catalog of resources, as well as a forum for discussion and ideas. http://www.shodor.org/refdesk/index.php MORE RECOMMENDED RESOURCES American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Project 2061 - There's loads of material to explore on this website. Check out the online tools, such as benchmarks for science education for grades K-12. http://www.project2061.org/default_flash.htm "Benchmarks for Science Literacy" - You can read more about the Project 2061 benchmarks - "a statement of what all students should know and be able to do in science, mathematics and technology by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12." Links are provided to the specific benchmarks. http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/default.htm?jsRedirect&txtRef= Science Net Links,http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/index.cfm - This website provides activities, resources and benchmarks for science literacy for grades K-12. The URL below links directly to benchmarks. http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/benchmark_index.htm Initiative for Science Literacy - Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashirir, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, formerly chief education officer of the National Science Foundation, directs this program. It aims to improve the abilities of students and the general public "to make informed choices and to reject shams, quackery, unproven conjecture, and to avoid being bamboozled into making foolish decisions where matters of science and technology are concerned." http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/wisl/wisl.html National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions (NASSMC) - The alliance is a "network of 37 state coalitions." The website hosts an archive of News Bulletins, and the NASSMC Briefing Service provides summaries of items that have appeared in the national press on the topics of science, math and technology education. http://www.nassmc.org/ A sample article of the NASSMC News Bulletin is: "The Importance of Geography Education in Science," NASSMC News Bulletin, December 2004. http://www.nassmc.org/bulletin.html#5 "21st Century Skills" - This publication on the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory website defines and discusses scientific literacy. Explore the topics by clicking on the "Table of Contents" in the left hand navigation pane. http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/scilit.htm NSTA Position Statement - "Beyond 2000 Teachers of Science Speak Out" - Position statement from the National Science Teachers Association (2000). http://www.nsta.org/positionstatement&psid=17 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Science (revised 2001), http://www.lhup.edu/wpriestl/Standards/NJscience.pdf Alberta Science Literacy Association http://www.asla.ca/index.html ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS Try Science - TryScience,http://www.tryscience.org/home.html, offers this Parent's Page http://www.tryscience.org/parents/parent.html INFORMATION LITERACY BY SUBJECT Astronomy and Space Sciences: "BENCHMARKS FOR SCIENCE LITERACY: CURRICULUM STANDARDS" - The Smithsonian Institution's Planetarium's exhibit, "Infinity Express," links content to national standards. You can click on literacy benchmarks by grade level: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. http://www.si.edu/planetarium/benchmarks.htm Biological and Life Sciences: NSEScorrelationcharts - ActionBioscience.org,http://www.actionbioscience.org/index.html, provides a chart, which correlates National Science Education Standards (NSES) with articles that appear on the website. http://www.actionbioscience.org/educators/correlationcharts.html Engineering: Nerz, HF and Weiner, ST. "Information Competencies: A Strategic Approach" - This paper looks at course-integrated instruction in engineering programs. It appears on the American Society of Electrical Engineering's (ASEE) website - best paper for 2001. http://www.asee.org/about/events/conferences/annual/pdf/upload/2001-Best-Overall-Paper-and-PIC-IV-Best-Paper.pdf Geography and Science: The Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP) - The GENIP Project provides "expertise and leadership in the development of policies related to geography education." GENIP is a consortium of the American Geographical Society (AGS), the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE), and the National Geographic Society (NGS). It's http://genip.tamu.edu/ National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology - Part of the American Museum of Natural History, the Center offers educational programs for students and teachers. Subjects include: biodiversity, earth science, astronomy, anthropology and paleontology. http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/ GENERAL INFORMATION LITERACY RESOURCES "What is Information Literacy?" VRD pathfinder (Sept. 2004) http://vrd.askvrd.org/index.asp?rid=2073&cat=1526. Directory of Online Resources for Information Literacy: Information Literacy Standards,http://bulldogs.tlu.edu/mdibble/doril/ EduRef.org,http://eduref.org,offers "Educational Standards", an AskERIC Response, December 2002 - http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi/Resources/Evaluation/Standards.html Information on the National Science Foundation's "Science and Engineering Indicators 2004" can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind04/start.htm This pathfinder offers an introduction to the subject of Science Literacy; it is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment of the subject. New resources and updates are continually becoming available. For more help in finding information on this subject, be sure to consult your local public and/or school library and librarians. Sincerely, Joyce W. VRD Staff Updated 12/30/04
Category: Education