CHU, Connie (Student, Master of Science in Library and Information Management, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong) YEUNG, Alice CHU, Samuel http://citers2012.cite.hku.hk/en/paper_553.htm

1. Chu, Connie B.L.; Yeung, Alice H.W.; Chu, Samuel K.W.
Faculty of Education, HKU
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2. • Introduction
• Research Questions
• Literature Review
• Theoretical Framework
• Methodology
• Findings
• Conclusion
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3. • The conceptions of learning have undergone fundamental
changes in recent years
• Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals
to “recognize when information is needed and have the
ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed
information”(ALA, 1989, p.1)
• The findings of this study will potentially contribute to the
better understanding of students’ current level of
information literacy, and hence provide insight on how to
further develop their knowledge and skills in this aspect
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4. • Main Research Question
To what extent do secondary school students possess
information literacy in the context of their inquiry group
project-based learning?
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5. • Sub Research Questions
1. Among the 5 aspects of information literacy of TRAILS
(Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy
Skills), which are the most challenging to students?
2. How do students go through Kuhlthau’s Information
Search Process (ISP) when undertaking their inquiry
group project-based learning?
3. What are the factors that have helped the students to
equip and enhance their information literacy?
4. To what extent are the students able to use information
sources properly and ethically?
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6. • Assessment of students’ information literacy is
necessary as it narrows the gap between the information
literacy curriculum and actual practices of teaching,
learning and assessment (Johnston & Webber, 2003)
• The fundamental decision of assessment tools design
depended on balancing the information needs and
accurately assessing the varied transferable information
skills (Walsh, 2009)
• Many projects have adopted TRAILS as the standard to
do information literacy assessment for high school
students (Burhanna & Jensen, 2006; Schloman &
Gedeon, 2007)
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7. • In this study, TRAILS is applied and related to Kuhlthau’s
Information Search Process (ISP) and Information
Literacy Framework for Hong Kong Students (IL
Framework)(EMB, 2005)
• A theoretical framework is formed to serve as an
instrument to assess students’ information literacy. It
lists the five aspects of TRAILS and integrates the tasks
and dimensions mentioned by ISP and IL Framework
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8. • TRAILS has five aspects: (a) develop topics, (b) identify
potential sources, (c) develop, use, revise search strategies, (d)
evaluate sources and information, (e) recognize the use of
information ethically
• Information Search Process (ISP) (Kuhlthau, 2004a) highlights
the change of the state of mind during six stages of information
seeking process: initiation, selection, exploration, formulation,
collection, and presentation together with three tasks: feeling
(affective), thoughts (cognitive), actions (physical)
• Information Literacy Framework for Hong Kong Students
(EMB, 2005) emphasizes four dimensions in information
literacy: cognitive, meta-cognitive, affective, and socio-cultural,
and maps to anticipated students’ learning outcomes
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9. 9

10. • This study adopts a mixed method research design
• The study group consists of 176 Secondary One students in
the academic year 2010-11 of a local public school
• The research includes
Survey—an information literacy test with 15 questions set
according to TRAILS was done by 176 students
Interview— 4 face-to-face focus group interviews with 17
students in total
face-to-face interview with 1 subject teacher
Students’ Group Project — 15 group projects done by students
were examined
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11. • Mapping the majority of students’ learning outcomes with 31
indicators provided by the IL Framework, the students’
information literacy was primarily at Level II, which
corresponds to the stage of Primary Four to Six. It is one level
below the anticipated learning outcomes
• The Students have had progress in the cognitive dimension
such as clarifying topics, analyzing information and
presenting findings
• They are relatively immature in socio-cultural dimension.
They were not eager to share information with others and they
found the citation work too time-consuming
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12. Level I (P1-3) Level II (P4-6) Level III (F1-3)
No. of No. of No. of
Dimensions indicator indicator indicator
Cognitive 0 10 4
Meta-cognitive 0 7 0
Affective 0 4 1
Socio-cultural 2 3 0
Total 2 24 5
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13. • The test shows that the students did particularly well in
finding potential sources while they did not do well in
using information ethically
• The students claimed that they looked for information on
the internet rather than other sources, and they ensured
that what they found on the internet was reliable and
could be freely used
• They did not cite the sources properly in their group
projects. They posted only hyperlinks of their mentioned
articles without proper citation
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14. Questions TRAILS Secondary One Overall Level of
Students’ Average Average Strengths
Q1 Aspect C: Develop, 55% 59% Moderate
Q2 Use, and Revise Search 88%
Q3 Strategies 58%
Q4 81%
Q5 13%
Q6 Aspect A: Develop 60% 48.6% Weakness
Q7 Topic 45%
Q8 41%
Q9 Aspect B: Identify 75% 75.3% Most Strength
Q10 Potential Sources 67%
Q11 84%
Q12 Aspect D: Evaluate 64% 63% Strength
Q13 Sources and 62%
Information
Q14 Aspect E: Recognize 53% 40.5% Most
Q15 how to use 28% Weakness
information
responsibly, ethically,
and legally
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15. • The students shared similar experiences as ISP model and
mentioned that they were uncertain and confused at the
initiation and selection stages but gradually found clarity
and focus after formulating topics with useful information
• The zone of intervention undertaken by teacher is
insufficient. There are rooms for improvement such as
enhancing information literacy training, strengthening the
collaboration between librarian and subject teacher, and
providing more library resources support
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16. • This study found that the students need to gear up their
information literacy to a higher level
• The students are good at identifying potential sources but
they are weak in using information ethically. It is necessary
to increase students’ awareness and knowledge of
plagiarism
• Based on the findings of this study, the educators can
design appropriate trainings to students to empower their
information literacy, which is one of the essential skills of
education in the 21st century
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17. American Library Association(ALA). (1989). Presidential Committee on
Information Literacy: Final Report. Chicago, IL:ALA.
Burhanna, K.J., & Jensen, M.L. (2006). Collaboration for Success: High
School to College Transitions. Reference Services Review, 34(4), 509-519.
Education and Manpower Bureau. (2005). Information Literacy Framework
for Hong Kong Students: Building the Capacity of Learning to Learn in the
Information Age. Retrieved 23 April, 2012, from
http://www.edb.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_7010/public
%20(eng_finial_version).pdf
Johnston, B., & Webber, S. (2003). Information Literacy in Higher Education:
A Review and Case Study. Studies in Higher Education, 28(3), 335-352.
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18. Kuhlthau, C.C. (2004a). Information Search Process Retrieved 2 April, 2012,
from
http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/information_search_process.htm
Kuhlthau, C.C. (2004b). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and
Information Services (2nd ed.). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Schloman, B.F. & Gedeon, J.A. (2007). Creating TRAILS: Tool for Real-Time
Assessment of Information Literacy Skills. Knowledge Quest, 35(5), 44-47.
SmallSEOTools.com. (2010). What is the Plagiarism Checker? Retrieved 23
April, 2012, from http://www.smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/
TRAILS. (2004). Retrieved 2 April, 2012, from http://www.trails-9.org/
Walsh, A. (2009). Information Literacy Assessment: Where do we start?
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 41(1), 19-28.
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