Improving English Language Arts and Mathematics Teachers' Capabilities for Teaching Integrated Information Literacy Skills

Teachers in a large Illinois suburban school district will soon have to integrate the teaching of the Common Core State Standards into their content classes and may not feel prepared to do this effectively. Stephenson’s definition of capability was used as the conceptual framework for this study, which holds that capable teachers are those who have preparedness and competence to perform their current professional duties and the desire to improve their capabilities to adapt to future professional requirements. This quantitative study used a 1-shot survey design to collect data from the entire population (N = 28) of English language arts and mathematics teachers to assess both their perceived capabilities and their desire to improve their capabilities for teaching integrated information literacy skills. The response rate was 50% (n = 14). This design allowed teachers to identify their preferred formats for professional development around integrating information literacy into their content areas. Descriptive statistics indicated that several teachers perceived that they currently possess less than a moderate capability for teaching integrated information literacy skills. The findings of the data analysis informed the design of a professional development plan with 8 training modules, each 3 hours in length, to support the equivalent of at least 3 days of professional development training. This project serves an important goal of improving teachers’ capabilities for teaching integrated information literacy skills.