Due to the rapid growth of technology, the amount of information available is accelerating so quickly that teachers are no longer able to impart a complete knowledge base in a subject area. In addition, students entering the workforce must know how to access information, solve problems, make decisions, and work as part of a team. Information literate students are self-directed learners who, individually or collaboratively, use information responsibly to create quality products and to be productive citizens. The Information Literacy Model for Lifelong Learners is a framework that teachers at all levels can apply to help students become independent lifelong learners. Students make preliminary decisions about the type of information needed based on prior knowledge.
Students examine the resources for readability, currency, usefulness, and bias.
Students must interact with the information by categorizing, analyzing, evaluating, and comparing for bias, inadequacies, omissions, errors, and value judgments. Based on their findings, they either move on to the next step or do additional research. They make decisions on how to use and communicate their findings. Throughout the information problem solving process, students evaluate their efforts. This assists students in determining the effectiveness of the research process.