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Information and Digital Literacies in a Kindergarten Classroom: An I-LEARN Case Study

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Abstract

This case study, part of a larger qualitative research project, involved 24 kindergarteners and their teacher in the design, development, and evaluation of a research project built around the I-LEARN model (Neuman, Learning in information-rich environments: I-LEARN and the construction of knowledge in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, 2011b). I-LEARN is a six-step learning model (Identify, Locate, Evaluate, Apply, Reflect and kNow) designed to guide research for twenty first-century learning. The objectives of the study were both to improve the digital and information literacies of the participants and to validate the I-LEARN model for use in an early childhood classroom. The findings have implications for information literacy, digital literacy, and developmentally appropriate practices.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a Drexel University School of Education grant. We are grateful to the leadership, teachers, and students from Fairmount School who participated in the project.

Funding

This study was supported by an unnumbered Drexel University School of Education grant.

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Correspondence to Mary Jean Tecce DeCarlo.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

The Drexel University Institutional Review Board approved this research. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Tecce DeCarlo, M.J., Grant, A., Lee, V.J. et al. Information and Digital Literacies in a Kindergarten Classroom: An I-LEARN Case Study. Early Childhood Educ J 46, 265–275 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0857-7

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