Undergraduate information literacy: A teaching framework

Abstract

In this paper, a framework for the teaching of undergraduate information literacy is proposed. This framework has been developed as a major outcome of the author's PhD research into information literacy issues in general, and an aspect of literacy—information retrieval—in particular. Literature from two disciplines was reviewed as background to the research: cognitive psychology; and information retrieval. Arising from this theoretical background were four main ‘prongs’ of research: the development of a two-stage explanatory model of the information retrieval process (based on information processing theory); a series of concept-based teaching modules (grounded in learning theory) testing the efficacy of that model in a large experimental study; an analysis of the role of cognitive maturity in the information retrieval process (based on tenets of developmental theory); and finally, the development of a framework for the teaching of broader aspects of information literacy, which framework drew together all theoretical aspects of the research. © 2004, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.