SCHOOL LIBRARIES WORLDWIDE

Volume 8, Number 1, January 2002

Theme: The Multiple Dimensions of Principal Involvement

An Evaluation of the Use of the PLUS Model to Develop Pupils' Information Skills in a Secondary School [PDF file]
James E Herring, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, Scotland
Anne-Marie Tarter, Ripon Grammar School, Ripon, England
Simon Naylor, Ripon Grammar School, Ripon, England
Abstract
Various models of information skills have been developed and applied in schools in North America, Australia and the United Kingdom in recent years, but there have been few attempts to evaluate the application of the models. This paper reports a study of the evaluation of the use of the PLUS model in a secondary school in England. The PLUS model (Herring 1996, Herring 1999) categorises information skills into four interrelated steps: Purpose, Location, Use and Self-Evaluation. In this study, the PLUS model was used by 112 Year 7 pupils (11-12 year olds) studying physics. Each pupil completed a questionnaire relating to aspects of information skills and the use of the PLUS model. The views of the school librarian and the physics teacher were gained via semi-structured interviews. The main findings of the study were: pupils benefited from using a structured approach to project work; pupils saw the model as a useful tool particularly in helping them to plan, organise and reflect on their own work; and pupils of this age were very able to reflect on both the content and processes of learning.

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Last updated 12 September 2008 (KSB)