Development, Interest, Self-direction and the Teaching of Information Literacy - Article 9 - Perspective

Oct 15, 2026

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Three theories from college student development and educational psychology relevant to teaching information literacy are synthesized: Perry’s framework for intellectual and moral development, Renninger’s phases of interest development, and Grow’s stages of self-directed learning. Each theory is presented in turn, after which key parallels among them are identified. The discussion concludes by outlining practical implications for designing and teaching information literacy instruction.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

College Student Development

Perry’s intellectual and moral development positions

Interest Development

Self-directed Learning

Implications for Teaching Information Literacy

Communications in Information Literacy | Volume 12 | Issue 2 | Article 9 | | --- | --- | | 2018
Development, Interest, Self-direction and the Teaching of Information Literacy
Steve Black
Colgate University, [seblack@colgate.edu](seblack@colgate.edu)
Let us knowhow access to this document benefits you. Follow this and additional works at: [https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit](https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit) | | Recommended Citation Black, S. (2018). Development, Interest, Self-direction and the Teaching of Information Literacy. Communications in Information Literacy, 12 (2), 203-214. [https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2018.12.2.9](https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2018.12.2.9) This Perspective is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications in Information Literacy by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, [please contact](please contact pdxscholar@pdx.edu)[ pdxscholar@pdx.edu](please contact pdxscholar@pdx.edu). Black: Development, Interest, and Self-direction COMMUNICATIONS IN INFORMATION LITERACY | VOL. 12, NO. 2, 2018 203 Development, Interest, Self-direction and the Teaching of Information Literacy Steve Black, Colgate University Abstract Three theories from the disciplines college student development and educational psychology of particular relevance to teaching of information literacy are summarized: Perry’s (1999) scheme of intellectual and moral development, Renninger’s (2009) phases of interest development, and Grow’s (1991) stages of self-directed learning. Each theory is described, then parallels among them are drawn, and finally the implications of these theories for the teaching of information literacy are discussed. Keywords: cognitive development; individual interest; self-direction Perspectives edited by Stewart Brower Black, S. (2018). Development, interest, self-direction and the teaching of information literacy. Communications in Information Literacy, 12(2), 203-214. Copyright for articles published in Communications in Information Literacy is retained by the author(s). Author(s) also extend to Communications in Information Literacy the right to redistribute this article via other scholarly resources and bibliographic databases. This extension allows the authors'copyrighted content to be included in some databases that are distributed and maintained by for-profit companies. All other rights of redistribution are licensed by Communications in Information Literacy under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BYNC-SA 4 .0) . Black [ PERSPECTIVES ] Development, Interest, and Self-direction Published by PDXScholar, 2018 Communications in Information Literacy, Vol. 12, Iss. 2 [2018], Art. 9 204 COMMUNICATIONS IN INFORMATION LITERACY | VOL. 12, NO. 2, 2018 Development, Interest, Self-direction and the Teaching of Information Literacy Introduction Ongoing conversations among academic librarians about how to best approach the teaching of information literacy can be enhanced by knowledge of key findings in the fields of college student development and educational psychology. This paper describes three theories of particular import to the teaching of information literacy: Perry’s (1999) scheme of intellectual and moral development, Renninger’s (2009) phases of interest development, and Grow’s (1991) stages of self-directed learning. Each theory will be described, then parallels among them will be drawn, and finally the implications of these theories for the teaching of information literacy will be discussed. College Student Development William Perry conducted the interviews upon which his scheme of college students’ethical and intellectual development were based at Harvard and Radcliffe in the 1950s and 1960s. His team’s findings were first published in 1970 (Perry, Harvard University & Bureau of Study Counsel

FAQs

Which three theories are summarized in the paper on teaching information literacy?

The paper summarizes Perry’s scheme of intellectual and moral development, Renninger’s phases of interest development, and Grow’s stages of self-directed learning.

How does the paper describe Perry’s model of student development?

It explains that students typically transition through nine developmental positions, and then presents a simpler four-position model: Duality, Multiplicity, Relativism, and Commitment.

What is the paper’s final focus regarding information literacy instruction?

After describing each theory and drawing parallels among them, the paper discusses implications for how information literacy should be taught.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore