I-LEARN

A Model for Creating Knowledge in the Information Age

Abstract

The I-LEARN model—Identify, Locate, Evaluate, Apply, Reflect, kNow—both describes the process of learning with information and provides a learning sequence that can be taught. Grounded in research and theory from information science and instructional design, it is also based on the author’s own research and writing. The model reflects an inquiry approach built on the three-part information-literacy paradigm that underlies many instructional activities in library media centers: accessing, evaluating, and using information. It expands that paradigm to focus specifically on the use of information as a tool for learning. Plans to validate the model in a digital library and in face-to-face environments are currently underway.