Discerning users of information: A qualitative analysis of student inquiry

Abstract School Librarians are poised to lead a shift in information and digital literacy instruction with a growing emphasis on the evaluation of information sources, a need precipitated by widespread societal sharing of mis- and disinformation. What does the inquiry learning process look like when a team of students creates an innovative solution to a problem they identified through project-based research? And does such research enable students to practice the skills necessary to be discerning across information contexts? The information literacy instruction woven throughout the project contributed to the visible successes in student inquiry-based learning. And the skills necessary to be a discerning user of information were enabled through inquiry-based learning and would benefit from collaborative librarian instruction. Implications for school librarians point to teaching components from this project that are recommended for similar units (project scenario, process rubric, librarian background research packet, time to do research, librarian-led group discussion of focus, teacher prompts, teacher and mentor arranging expert visits, and a panel of judges) and those needed for future collaboration (scaffolding for searching for and tracking relevant sources, teaching complex note taking to decipher credible authors and sources, categorizing notes and sources by points of view, and citing sources to corroborate evidence).