With the rapidly evolving social media and digital landscape, young learners are navigating misinformation and social and personal challenges at a much younger age than previous generations.

Syeda Shahid, Ph.D., assistant professor of instructional technology and school library media, is using her research in information literacy to teach students in the College of Education’s instructional technology and school library media programs how to become information literacy experts to better teach information literacy to the next generation.

Information literacy is a global skillset anyone can develop. It requires utilizing critical thinking skills to recognize and adopt appropriate information behavior and having the ability to locate, evaluate and use that information effectively and ethically.

“Information literacy is a lifelong learning loop. It is a whole discipline to plan, design, teach and research. It has allowed me to connect with people of different backgrounds and learn from other disciplines,” Shahid says.

She views this research and skillset as an essential and foundational building block for processing the world around us. Furthermore, it’s a critical tool for current and future educators and library media specialists to teach their students.

“If we take information literacy as a skillset, we can enable children to develop skepticism, evaluate information effectively and know the primary source from which information is coming,” Shahid says. “As early as these skills are developed in our children as possible, they can become independent learners faster.”

Building digital citizenship

Paired with information literacy, Shahid imparts to her classes how to support their own students in becoming effective digital citizens, especially in the face of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

“In this digital age, it is important for students to learn digital citizenship skills—what is cyberbullying and cybercrime, how to interact with others on social media and navigate artificial intelligence,” she says.

Shahid encourages her students to think critically about the intersectionalities of information literacy and how there is no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching the discipline.

“As a researcher I am looking at the overall cultural, social and economic situations of different countries,” Shahid says. “I teach my students that with information literacy, you must always think about the needs of your students. It is a very contextualized phenomenon, and it’s important to tailor it to the person, their culture and their needs.”

Supporting future generations

“This is the skill of the future,” says Shahid. “There is an emerging need for media specialists to develop themselves as information literacy experts.”

TU’s instructional technology doctoral program supports educators, e-learning developers, instructional designers, school library media specialists and others to drive change in teaching, learning and performance environments by applying cutting-edge technology, research-based practices and inclusive design strategies to improve learning outcomes and organizational performance.

"Dr. Shahid's research and teaching significantly enrich our department's diverse expertise and are vital to our school library media program, which prepares future media specialists for our educational systems," says Mahnaz Moallem, chair of the Department of Learning Technologies, Design and School Library Media.

"In her first year, Dr. Shahid has swiftly engaged in a comprehensive review of the School Library Media program, focusing on integrating emerging and immersive technologies, including computing, AI, and cybersecurity. Her valuable insights and experience have significantly strengthened our M.S. programs and positioned us for future success," Moallem adds.

Educating students in the program on how to teach information literacy instruction and digital citizenship will strengthen critical thinking skills and support learning outcomes for the next generation of young professionals.