According to Big6, students must be taught skills in order to utilize information to problem-solve and make decisions. With an abundance of digital information available at our fingertips, students need to understand where to find credible information, and how it can be used. The
Big6 is an information and technology curriculum aligned with
state and
national standards in education.
Able to be used with various grade levels and ages, information problem-solving skills are taught within six stages:
- Task definition: identify information needed
- Information-seeking strategies: select information sources
- Location and access: locate sources and find relevant information
- Use of information: engage with information
- Synthesis: organize and present relevant information
- Evaluation: judge the product and process of information problem-solving
So why should we teach our students information problem-solving skills? First, students learn through doing. In order to learn and remember important skills, information needs to be presented in a relevant, hands-on manner, which includes using a problem-solving technique. In this way, educators can facilitate student learning by teaching methods of obtaining and using information: more the how than the what. Furthermore, teaching information problem-solving skills allows for students to retain these methods to be used in various settings and for multiple purposes. This generalization of knowledge is an assessment tool in and of itself, as it allows student to showcase use of a skill, rather than reproduction of specific information one time. Lastly, information problem-solving allows students to develop creative skills by not only generating new ways to solve a problem as well as higher-order thinking skills, since they will be evaluating their choices and critically thinking about information and its sources. These skills apply real-world benefits to classroom instruction.
So why should we teach our students information problem-solving skills? First, students learn through doing. In order to learn and remember important skills, information needs to be presented in a relevant, hands-on manner, which includes using a problem-solving technique. In this way, educators can facilitate student learning by teaching methods of obtaining and using information: more the how than the what. Furthermore, teaching information problem-solving skills allows for students to retain these methods to be used in various settings and for multiple purposes. This generalization of knowledge is an assessment tool in and of itself, as it allows student to showcase use of a skill, rather than reproduction of specific information one time. Lastly, information problem-solving allows students to develop creative skills by not only generating new ways to solve a problem as well as higher-order thinking skills, since they will be evaluating their choices and critically thinking about information and its sources. These skills apply real-world benefits to classroom instruction.
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