Competency J

Competency J

Describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors and how they should be considered when connecting individuals and groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information.

The information-seeking behavior of individuals has been studied for decades and several prominent theories have emerged. Carol Kuhlthau (1991) theorized that the Information Search Process has 5 phases: 1) initiation- recognizing the need for info., 2) selection- identifying the topic, 3) exploration- investigating the topic, 4) formulation collection- focusing the research gathering, and 5) presentation- completing the process by writing up the findings. In a high school setting, these steps can be observed in a formalized research assignment. However, Kuhlthau’s (1991) information search process where a person initiates the search with a specific question or need is no longer an adequate model to understand the complexities of youth information behaviors outside of formal research projects. Collaboration, creation and sharing are all key components of how teens collect and use information.

Dresang and Koh (2009) proposed Radical Change Theory to help discern differences between children’s information needs vs. adults. Their theory consists of three digital age components: interactivity, connectivity, and access. The interactive nature of children’s information seeking presents as behavior that is “dynamic, non-linear, and non-sequential” (Dresang & Koh, 2009, p. 27, para, 4). Connectivity refers to the collaborative nature of youth information seeking as a community endeavor, and access is about breaking down information barriers that previously existed, often with the use of emerging technologies.

These theories are important for teacher librarians to understand while designing instruction. Students seek out community when learning about new topics. They want to discuss, interact and create. This is how they make meaning out of the information they collect. For library programming, it could mean hosting discussion groups at lunch time, creating online spaces such as with Padlet or Flipgrid for sharing research they’ve collected. This benefits the student by helping them solidify their thinking, but also by seeing what other students have done, so they can push themselves beyond their own boundaries.

Conclusion

Knowing that students prefer to collaborate and create when seeking information, will help me support teachers to approach their research projects in a new way. These research projects are typically individual endeavors where some students excel and others struggle. Providing collaborative spaces and activities in preparation for individual work also follows principles of youth information-seeking behavior that can support all students.

Evidence 1: Blog Post

https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/info/literacy/2020/03/07/blog-4-article-spotlight-teens-information-practices-in-digital-communities/

I wrote this blog post in INFO 200, discussing an article about teen information-seeking behavior. This applies to the competency because it demonstrates my familiarity with the literature on youth information communities and their needs.

Evidence 2: Library Catalog Pear Deck

I created this Pear Deck lesson in INFO 254. It was delivered as a zoom lesson about how to use the library catalog. I included this evidence because it demonstrates my ability to design lessons that enable youth to access information in ways that value their information-seeking behaviors as are collaborative and interactive.

Evidence 3: Mining for Community: The Information Needs and Behaviors of Tweens in the Minecraft Community- Research Paper

I wrote this research paper in INFO 200 Information Communities. This paper focuses on the information-seeking theories regarding youth. I also address info-seeking behaviors of teens in the Minecraft Community, but it highlights youth information-seeking behaviors more broadly as well.

References

Dresang, E. T., & Koh, K. (2009). Radical Change Theory, Youth Information Behavior, and School Libraries. Library Trends, 58(1), 26-50. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.0.0070

Kuhlthau, C. C. (1991). Inside the search process: Information seeking from the user’s prospective. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42(5), 361-371.