Science provides students the opportunity to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information. In contemporary science instruction, the information literacy skills that exist in science and engineering practices can be elevated and enhanced while students are making sense of phenomena and designing solutions to engineering problems. Information literacy is a set of skills that enables an individual to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and effectively use information. This practice brief focuses on how educators can leverage information literacy skill instruction in the science classroom.

Educators: The goal of science is the production of reliable and trustworthy knowledge. The research on learning science and engineering that informed the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) and the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science emphasizes that science and engineering involve both knowing and doing; that developing rich, conceptual understanding is more productive for future learning than simply memorizing discrete facts; and that learning experiences should be designed with coherent progressions over multiple years in mind (National Research Council, 2007).

School Leaders: The ability to reason well—to recognize and act on the most accurate and best-justified claims—is vital for academic growth (e.g., prerequisite skills and knowledge for later learning), personal decision making (e.g., individual decisions about health) and the functioning of democratic societies (e.g., making evidence-based collective decisions and holding leaders accountable).

• According to the National School Library Standards Crosswalk with the Next Generation Science Standards, information literacy (IL) is composed of four domains: A. Think, B. Create, C. Share, and D. Grow.
• Information literacy skills are present in the science practices of Asking Questions and Defining Problems (AQDP); Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information (INFO); and Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions (CED).
• Student curiosity and asking questions about something they observed or something intriguing to them are central to science. Their wonderings can access prior learning, which serves as a foundation for constructing new knowledge (AQDP and IL.A. Think).
• Evidence, and figuring out how to gather necessary evidence, is at the core of science. Students use evidence to support their claims, they evaluate the quality of the evidence that supports another person’s claim, and they make their thinking visible in a variety of ways, including but not limited to, writing, illustrations, models, and orally (INFO and IL.B. Create).
• Science is a community-wide enterprise that values evidence-based claims, arguing with evidence, and constructive feedback provided by peers. It is this iterative process of sense-making when new understandings are constructed (INFO and IL.C. Share).
• The construction of new knowledge requires time to seek out new understanding and to use that knowledge in new and novel ways (CED and IL.D. Grow).
• Effective information literacy instruction will assist students as they evaluate content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Verifying factual information, understanding the sources of content, and recognizing the limitations of AI-generated text will inform students’ decision-making as AI becomes more prevalent in society. 

• Student-centered teaching and learning shift agency for learning to students; they must be supported in designing, carrying out, and building knowledge about the natural and built world. This makes the learning process more active and inclusive of all students.
• Inclusive instructional models can be used to provide multiple entry points to engage all students.

• Collaborate with a school library media specialist to adapt high-quality science instructional materials so that information literacy is elevated seamlessly.
• Invite a school library media specialist to instruct students on research practices, protocols, and methods, including the use of science databases and primary and secondary sources.
• Learn more about the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National School Library Standards Crosswalk with the Next Generation Science Standards.

• How can information literacy practices support teaching and learning in science?
• What collaborative conversations can teachers and school library media have about information literacy practices in science?

• Dr. Rachel Kuo’s talk titled Tracing the fault lines of misinformation from the Nobel Prize Summit 2023.
• How can I foster curiosity and learning in my classroom? Through talk! STEM Teaching Tools. Retrieved January 12, 2024.

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