University of Twente Student Theses
Reasoning behind online information literacy of students between 10 and 14 years old
Huis in 't Veld - Jansen, H.M.A. (2019) Reasoning behind online information literacy of students between 10 and 14 years old.
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Abstract: | This study investigated students’ outcomes in online information literacy skills and the reasoning on which students base their decisions. Online information literacy is the ability to identify information needs, locate information sources, extract and organize information from sources, and synthesize that information. Information literacy is a sub-skill of the 21st century skill digital literacy, which points to the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary to use the computer. Each 21st century skill points to a competence that is assumed to be important to respond to future needs. There is a need to focus on certain skills in education, because students in the 21st century need to master online information literacy and need the understanding of the rationale behind using information for their success in learning advancement. This study aimed to respond to this need of skills, and therefore consisted of three parts. First, based on the goals for online information literacy obtained from literature, a practical assessment was used. Second, students reasoning behind their actions were recorded through a Retrospective Think Aloud (RTA) protocol after finishing the practical assessment. Third, a questionnaire was used to gain insight in background information of the students. The main research question is: ‘How well do students (between 10 and 14 years old) master online information literacy and how can it be explained by looking at the underlying reasoning regarding defining, searching, selecting, processing, presenting and evaluating digital information?’. A mixed method exploratory research design was used to answer this question. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyse the RTA protocol and an independent samples t-test, and a linear regression were used to determine the other sub-questions. The 30 participants of this assessment were all Dutch students between ten and 14 years old. Results indicated that students were often unfamiliar with online information literacy skills. Using the practical assessment helped the participants to became more aware of the difficulty of online information literacy and addressing the base level. However, more time, clear instructions from the test leaders and a clear construct of the underlying goals in the practical assessment was needed to implement online information literacy skills effectively in primary education and to optimize the practical assessment to knowledge and skills. The information resulting from this study could be used advisory for the design of the practical assessment, as well as specifically for online information literacy in primary education. |
Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
Subject: | 81 education, teaching |
Programme: | Educational Science and Technology MSc (60023) |
Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/79137 |
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