Collaboratively Developing Information Literacy Curricula for Academic Writing through Focus Groups with Romanian and American Educational Professionals

Abstract

Disinformation and misinformation have become increasingly alarming problems for all educators in almost every country with the rise of Internet use and social media. But how do educational professionals counter what seems like an overwhelming issue? Local and international education professionals should work together to share insight into effective methods of assisting students with the difficult task of discerning what is real and credible online. An excellent place to start with this daunting challenge is to build an information literacy curriculum that assists students with academic writing. Teaching information literacy skills in conjunction with basic academic writing skills sets students on a path to be critical thinkers and to learn how to do reliable online research.

Working with the methodology of focus groups (a qualitative research method) in an online format, educational professionals from different countries can collaborate to plan together and share ideas to develop the most effective curricula to achieve common information literacy goals. This collaborative approach can help to provide lessons and materials to students that are culturally and linguistically adapted to be truly successful in each local educational context. Global problems demand solutions that come from international collaboration. Through the methodology of online focus groups, the potential to work together on these types of issues is now more accessible and practical than ever. This article highlights the collaboration of a focus group held from fall 2021 to winter 2022, comprised of Romanian and American educators working together to develop an information literacy curriculum to be used for teaching academic writing.