Developing information literacy: collaborating for authentic learning

Abstract

An assignment collaboratively planned, constructed, and implemented by a teacher-librarian and a classroom teacher in Fairfield High School, Iowa, exemplifies how the five standards in Newmann and Wehlege's (1993) framework can be applied. The assignment required students to learn brand-name painkillers and determine what the consumer needs to know about them in order to make an informed decision about which to use. The project reflects a high degree of authenticity overall as measured by Newmann and Wehlage's framework by requiring students to use higher order thinking, demanding significant depth of knowledge, reflecting connectedness to the real world, requiring a high level of interaction between students, and providing social support for student achievement