The amount of information available to students now through the use of technology and the Internet has led to a revision of thinking in how we teach students to access, collect, and convert information for their use. While we still teach our students how to use resources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other resource materials, we now must not only include electronic resources, but also provide a framework for the research process.

Prince William School Librarians spent over a year reviewing current theories and practices and developed the Information Management Process (IMP). This process, while included as part of the Language Arts curriculum, is applied in all curricular areas and at all grade levels.  Drawing on the basic structure of how we make daily decisions, the IMP provides a guide for applying that structure to the research process. The IMP contains five steps for students to follow for successful completion of classroom assignments. The complexity of the steps varies depending on the grade level.

Clarify Information Needed:

• Understand the specific requirements of the assignment
• Review what is already known about the subject
• Create a search plan and possible resources for use

• Identify appropriate kinds of resources
• Use knowledge of how information is organized to locate resources
• Use various means to locate resources such as print and electronic indexes, keyword searching, electronic menu systems

• Review resources using indexes, tables of content, chapter headings to determine usefulness for assignment
• Evaluate timeliness and appropriateness of information

• Reads for information
• Checks for accuracy and missing information
• Records information in own words
• Organizes the information gathered
• Uses appropriate bibliographic format to cite sources

• Combines information from variety of sources
• Checks against prior knowledge
• Draws conclusions from information
• Checks for completion of all elements of assignment
• Demonstrates knowledge gained
• Evaluates own learning