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Information skills and the special needs student.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

Information skills play an important role in school curriculums as students learn how to obtain information throughout their lives for leisure, academic, and vocational purposes. The special needs student presents additional challenges. Studies show that utilization of mentored learning situations can enhance development of appropriate social skills along with academic progress for special needs students. This case study was designed to teach basic information skills while mentoring a special needs student toward appropriate social behavior in the media center.

Introduction

He stormed in and went to an empty table where no one joined him. It was the third week of school and one of the fourth grade classes had come to the media center for their scheduled weekly session. I walked around passing out atlases for our activity, talking to various students until I came to his table. As I put the atlas on the table in front of him and said, "Hello," he looked at it, shoved it off the table into the floor, and stared at me. His face was streaked from crying, and he was obviously angry about something as usual. I picked up the atlas, put it on the table in front of him again, left my hand on it and told him I was glad to see him and learning to use the atlas was kind of fun if you gave it a chance. He answered that he hated everything at school, and this was just something else he didn't want to do. As I walked away, I couldn't help wondering why his media center visits always began this way. Predictably, within ten minutes he was shouting and crying and under the table, and when the class finally left, I was once again disappointed at how the session had gone but also relieved to have it over with. I began to search for the root of the problem.

The Importance of Information Skills

Developing information skills, such as learning how to use reference tools, is an important part of the elementary school curriculum. The school library media specialist, in conjunction with the classroom teacher, works to provide meaningful lessons and projects that utilize the different reference tools in order to teach the elementary student how and when to use each of these materials (Lowe, 2001; Wesson and Keefe, 1995; Vandergrift, 1994; Information Power, 1988). Generalization of newly learned skills is essential, and the connection between the skill being taught and its application in every-day life must be made for students to truly understand their importance. Once...

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