ERIC Number: EJ1089165
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1933-5954
EISSN: N/A
Teaching and Learning Information Synthesis: An Intervention and Rubric Based Assessment
Lundstrom, Kacy; Diekema, Anne R.; Leary, Heather; Haderlie, Sheri; Holliday, Wendy
Communications in Information Literacy, v9 n1 p60-82 2015
The purpose of this research was to determine how information synthesis skills can be taught effectively, and to discover how the level of synthesis in student writing can be effectively measured. The intervention was an information synthesis lesson that broke down the synthesis process into sequenced tasks. Researchers created a rubric which they used to assess students' levels of information synthesis demonstrated in their final research essays. A form of counting analysis was also created to see if other methods could help in measuring synthesis. The purpose of this research was to determine how information synthesis skills can be taught effectively, and to discover how the level of synthesis in student writing can be effectively measured. The intervention was an information synthesis lesson that broke down the synthesis process into sequenced tasks. Researchers created a rubric which they used to assess students' levels of information synthesis demonstrated in their final research essays. A form of counting analysis was also created to see if other methods could help in measuring synthesis. Findings from the rubric analysis revealed that students appear to benefit from the synthesis lesson. The level of synthesis, however, remains low overall. In addition, the study showed that the different measures of synthesis established were able to identify different levels of information integration. Discovering effective ways to measure and teach synthesis continues to be essential in helping students become information literate.
Descriptors: Synthesis, Information Skills, Intervention, Scoring Rubrics, Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness, Problem Solving, Measurement Techniques, Library Instruction, Statistical Analysis, Librarian Teacher Cooperation, Skill Development, Academic Libraries
Communications in Information Literacy. Director, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa Library, Schusterman Center, 4502 East 41st Street, Tulsa, OK 74135. Tel: 918-660-3222; Fax: 918-660-3215; e-mail: editors@comminfolit.org; Web site: http://www.comminfolit.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Arizona
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A