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Learning at
• Our primary role has been to help schools, teachers and lifelong learners engage with NLS collections through online resources, workshops and partnership projects
• Online: aiming to create immersive and experiential learning experiences that introduce basic skills e.g. information literacy
• Offline: to offer practical, fun ways of engaging with NLS collections
• A multi-literacy approach for a multimedia, multi-information generation
Supporting Curriculum for Excellence:Literacy across learning
What is meant by literacy?• The set of skills which allows an
individual to engage fully in society and in learning, through the different forms of language, and the range of texts, which society values and finds useful
Building Critical literacy skills• Children and young people not only
need to be able to read for information: they also need to be able to work out what trust they should place on the information and to identify when and how people are aiming to persuade or influence them
The NLS Learning Team aims to help young people and lifelong learners develop not only multi-literacy skills but also the critical thinking skills that allow them to critically engage with a variety of content on multiple platforms
NLS toolkits focus on developing: • The ability to find and select information. Defining the information
needed for a task, finding relevant information, critically engaging with sources to select relevant, valuable and reliable information.
• Critical thinking and evaluation. Being able to question, analyse, scrutinise and evaluate sources. Interpreting meaning in order to understand the material.
• Cultural and social understanding. Being aware of the social and cultural contexts in which material is created and used.
• Creativity: Thinking creatively and imaginatively, and to use the collections to create outputs and represent knowledge in different formats and modes.
• Effective collaboration/communication. Expressing ideas and feelings, understanding the different modes in which meaning can be represented and being aware of the target audiences.
Information literacy for beginners• We worked with children’s author Alan Burnett to create a first-step
information literacy tool for primary pupils• Alan ran a number of information literacy workshops at Davidson’s Mains
Primary School in Edinburgh which formed the basis of our first ‘toolkit’• The emphasis was on a cross-curricular class project approach for finding
information• Outlining each ‘research’ stage in easy to understand videos/modules which
helps to underpin the skills pupils will need as they progress through their learning
• This underpins the Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes in understanding, analysing and evaluating (third and fourth level)
• Project Blaster works by guiding pupils through six project stages
• Each stage has a classroom activity to work through either online or by printing off the activity sheets.
• By working through each stage, pupils will understand how to identify sources then analyse and select the best ones for their project.
• It helps build critical thinking skills by asking them to think about information in a fun and creative way.
• It’s been designed to be used both as a class via electronic whiteboard or in groups or pairs or individuals
Stage 1 asks the class to decide on their goal or project, this could be a science display for the classroom , a play about Robert Burns or a piece of creative writing about Vikings
Stage 2 explains the different types of sources, primary and secondary, through an interactive sorting game
Stage 3 shows pupils where to start looking for information:• Me and my classroom• My home, family and friends• My community, people and places• Library and internet
Stage 4 shows pupils how to gather information or, how to gather their research. It shows them how to organise and record the information for their project.
Stage 5 shows pupils how to evaluate and choose the best information for their project, emphasising the need to check and validate the information.
Stage 6 Goes back to a class discussion which prompts pupils to share ideas and suggestions for their project. It consolidates all the previous steps so they are now ready to go and create a project on the topic they’ve chosen and present it any number of ways: a play, video, creative writing, poem …
Key skills• Finding and selecting information• Critical thinking and evaluation• Cultural and social understanding• Thinking creatively• Effective collaboration and
communication
Some user testing feedback:“The stages offer a framework for teachers to follow and they really like this. It gives them a structure.”
“The language is very relevant. I could definitely use this in the classroom, yet there are background materials which I could use for preparation/background as well.”
“I like this because it is not topic specific. We could pick any topic and apply the stages. It also fits very closely with CfE which is essential for teachers.”
“The sorting games are great and good that some online and others based on cutting up pages. This variety helps retain pupils’ attention.”
We are hoping to follow up the first toolkit with a series of modules which will help develop and emphasise a range of multi-literacies
We have contributed to the Education Scotland online resource on Political Literacy in collaboration with the Workers Educational Association
“Libraries can be kitchens, not just grocery stores”
Beverley CasebowEducation Officer
Alice HeywoodEducation Officer
@nlslearn
