Using collaborative teaching and inquiry-based learning to help elementary school students develop information literacy and information technology skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of an intervention that used a collaborative teaching approach and inquiry-based learning (IBL) on the development of sixth graders' information literacy (IL) and information technology (IT) skills in Taiwan. A collaborative teaching method involving three teachers (teacher librarian, Social Studies teacher, and Computer teacher) in different subject areas was adopted in guiding students through this project. The participants consisted of 23 sixth-grade students and three teachers). The instrument included information literacy and IT measurement, and Survey of students’ self-evaluation on IBL. t-test and percentage analysis were used to analyze the data. In addition, qualitative data were obtained from interviews with 3 teachers and 6 students. From this study we found: The three teachers played essential roles in preparing students with IL and IT skills through their collaboration and instructional content design. The score of students' IL and IT skills improved significantly after employing the IBL. The students reported the positive impact of collaborative teaching and IBL on the development of their information literacy and IT skills.