Information literacy education through mediated learning and multiple intelligences: A quasi‐

experimental control‐group study

Intan Azura Mokhtar (Division of Information Studies, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information,

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Shaheen Majid (Division of Information Studies, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang

Technological University, Singapore)

Schubert Foo (Division of Information Studies, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang

Technological University, Singapore)

Yessica Aguilar

Why the researchers chose this design?

A quasi experimental design was used because this study investigated the impact of information literacy (IL) teaching approaches, which are grounded in pedagogy, on students’ level and applicability of IL competencies. Researchers used the quasi experimental design because they experimented with 3 groups which were a random, homogenous, heterogeneous group with IL since they wanted to know the influence of IL and based on the results they proposed a pedagogical IL model.

Purpose This paper aims to present the findings of a study that

investigated the impact of information literacy (IL) teaching approaches, which are grounded in pedagogy, on students' level and applicability of IL competencies and it aims to pioneer research on the impact of IL teaching approaches, grounded in pedagogy, on students’ level and applicability of IL skills.

Design & Participants

The study was quasi-experimental in nature as it involved existing classes of students (thus no random assignment) and dichotomised students into experimental and control groups.

A quasi‐experimental control group study was carried out with 476 students, aged from 13 to 15 years old, from four secondary (high) schools in Singapore.

Methods & Tools

* A pre-intervention IL test

* Lectures, hands-on sessions and group activities for students to help them learn basic IL skills

* Information-based task

* ANOVA test

Data collection & Analisis

Demographics Out of the 279 students who participated in the mediated learning cluster of the

study, only 179 completed their project work (Table II). There is thus an overall response rate of 64.2 per cent. Quite a substantial proportion of students did not complete their projects and this was most probably due to two factors. First, the project was not a part of their main curriculum and was non-examinable. Second, the teachers in the school were not involved in carrying out and seeing through the completion of the project. As a result, the students did not take the project as seriously as they did for other subjects.

Out of the 197 students who participated in the multiple intelligences intervention cluster, only 157 completed their project work (Table III). There is thus an overall response rate of 79.7 per cent.

For the pre- and post-intervention tests by the mediated learning intervention cluster, there was a substantial response rate of 214 (76.7 per cent) and 246 (88.2 per cent) respectively (Table IV). Only students who completed both the pre- and post-intervention tests were included in the data analysis. For the pre- and post-intervention tests by the multiple intelligences intervention cluster, there was a substantial response rate of 167 (84.8 per cent) and 174 (88.3 percent) respectively (Table V). Only students who completed both the pre- and post-intervention tests were included in the data analysis.

Procedure The students were given a pre‐intervention test in the

beginning. Out of the 476 students, 279 students (from two schools) went through a mediated learning intervention programme, while the remaining 197 students went through a multiple intelligence intervention programme. Students were organised into smaller groups of five each, and were given a group project to do. Students in the experimental sub‐clusters were exposed to the respective intervention approaches, while students in the control sub‐clusters were left on their own to carry out the project. A post‐intervention test was administered to all students at the end of the intervention programmes.

Results The results of the group reports and project evaluation

done by three independent and neutral teacher‐examiners, as well as those from the pre‐ and post‐intervention tests, found that the application of either mediated learning (or close coaching) or multiple intelligences helped students perform better in the learning and application of IL skills.

As a result of this study, a pedagogical IL model is proposed. The Tiered Information Literacy Learning Spiral (TILLS) represents how IL can be taught and learned in a developmental manner in schools and beyond (see Figure 6).

Conclusion Appropriate pedagogical approaches on the part of

instructional librarians, teacher librarians, and other IL educators, need to be in place so that IL instruction is ingrained and effective. It must also be recognised that IL education is not meant to be fleeting, and that a long-term, continuous IL teaching approach based on sound pedagogy, will be more successful in ensuring that students are equipped with IL competencies and are able to apply these competencies in their schoolwork, co-curricular activities, and even their vocation later on in life.

Bibliographic Reference Intan Azura, Shaheen Majid, Schubert Foo (2007)

"Information literacy education through mediated learning and multiple intelligences: A quasi‐experimental control‐group study", Reference Services Review, Vol. 35 Iss: 3, pp.463 – 486. Retrieved from. http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/sfoo/publications/2007/2007RSR.pdf