The last ten years in school library research reflect an expanded definition of information literacy along with a stronger emphasis on in-depth information literacy development, concluding that a fundamental shift in instruction provided by school librarians is needed; one that not only helps students find information, but develops students'…

In this, the first installment in a series, I present a list of approximately 10[superscript 2] questions that can be addressed in an introductory astronomy course using ubiquitous farmer's almanacs. Some of these questions take the reader into the world of astrology and perhaps other pseudosciences, but that is okay with me because at one time…

Knowledge organization standards are important community artifacts that set forth agreed upon specifications and protocols, and though they may appear neutral they have been shown to harbor specific perspectives. These perspectives are often covert but hold implications for the ways in which knowledge is conceptualized, organized, and represented.…

Theories of discourse argue that comprehension depends on the coherence of the learner's mental representation. Our aim is to create a reliable automated representation to estimate readers' level of comprehension based on different productions, namely self-explanations and answers to open-ended questions. Previous work relied on Cohesion Network…

This policy brief summarizes results from a survey of over 2,000 K-12 science teachers regarding their instruction related to COVID-19. Teachers were surveyed in the spring of 2020 shortly after school buildings closed. In addition, 40 teachers were interviewed. The brief also discusses implications and recommendations. [This brief is derived from…

Young people require good quality information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) while transitioning to adulthood and parents have a key role in providing it. This study intended explored Jordanian and Syrian parents' perspectives on initiating discussions about SRHR with their children. A convenience sample of Jordanian…

An increasing number of school districts encourage discussion of current events in classrooms. However, teachers' ability and willingness to manage these conversations may be hampered by concerns about what they are or are not allowed to disclose, especially because their First Amendment speech protections do not fully extend into the classroom.…

With the exponential growth of online information seeking by young people, it is imperative for health and sexual health educators to consider online information a resource young people will pursue. Access to accurate and comprehensive sexual health information is important, yet there is a scarcity of research evaluating the quality of this…

Students need to know how to discern patterns and make decisions using visual information in our modern economy. However, there are few sources of real-world information available to instructors that give students access to visualizations to help develop their skills in interpreting complex situations using diverse data sources. This article…

In this analytical essay, part of Harvard Educational Review's symposium on Platform Studies in Education, Ben Williamson, Kalervo N. Gulson, Carlo Perrotta, and Kevin Witzenberger argue that global technology companies have begun acting as governance organizations in education. Their analysis focuses on the global technology company Amazon, which…

Librarians know that information literacy is much more complex and nuanced than the basic library research skill that it's often portrayed as; in fact, as outlined by the ACRL Framework, research is a contextual activity. But the settings in which we teach often constrain our ability to take a more layered approach. This book not only shows you…

In Fall 2021, the COVID-19 Delta Variant produced yet another surge of cases and deaths. Many parents eagerly awaited the official emergency authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for younger children. However, other parents had already planned to delay or refuse vaccination. To ascertain how news and information consumption may impact vaccination…

A growing body of literature shows that primary scientific literature (PSL) is a valuable and useful tool for science, technology, engineering, and math education. We currently have a relatively limited understanding of how skills relating to reading PSL progress through academic careers, i.e., the process by which expertise in reading PSL…

In the summer of 2018, the author interviewed 10 senior high school students in Nelson, a small city of 15,000 located in the West Kootenay Mountains of southeastern British Columbia that is known for having progressive politics. Nelson is also known for having a unique history -- situated in the heart of the traditional territories of the Sinixt…

In this research study two professors and a classroom teacher collaborated to develop instructional moves to teach lateral reading, a digital source evaluation technique that involves conducting strategic quick research on sources of information. Results indicated that the introduction of lateral reading made students aware of the need to know…