Cited as Chu, S. K. W., Chow, K. & Tse, S. K. (2011...

N:\Sam-publications\published articles\journals\final draft\Chu 2010 Using Collaborative Teaching and Inquiry PBL help Primary Students Develop Info Literacy.docx 3/7/2011

1

Cited as: Chu, S. K. W., Chow, K. & Tse, S. K. (2011). Using collaborative teaching

and inquiry project-based learning to help primary school students develop

information literacy and information skills. Library & Information Science Research,

33, 132-143.

Using collaborative teaching and inquiry project-based learning to help primary

school students develop information literacy and information skills

Dr. Samuel Kai Wah Chu, The University of Hong Kong

Dr. Ken Chow, Sacred Heart Canossian School

Prof. S. K. Tse, The University of Hong Kong

Abstract

Information literacy and information technology (IT) skills have become increasingly

important in today's knowledge society. However, many studies have shown that

students across different educational levels from primary to postgraduate level

actually lack crucial information literacy and IT skills, thus the need for an effective

pedagogical approach that will develop these skills. This study investigated the effect

of combining a collaborative teaching approach with inquiry project-based learning

(PjBL) on the development of primary students' information literacy and IT skills.

Students in a Hong Kong primary school completed two inquiry-based group projects.

A collaborative teaching approach involving three teachers in different subject areas

(General Studies, Chinese, and IT) and the school librarian was adopted in guiding

students through the two projects. Results indicated the positive impact of

collaborative teaching and inquiry PjBL on the development of students' information

literacy and IT skills.

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by two grants from the University of Hong Kong: ―Seed

Funding Programme for Basic Research‖ from the University of Hong Kong and

―Faculty Research Fund‖ from the Faculty of Education. The authors would like to

thank the principal, teaching staff, parents, and students who participated in this study.


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1. Introduction

In today‘s knowledge society, information literacy and information technology (IT)

skills are crucial for effective functioning in society (American Association of School

Libraries [AASL], 2007). As such, educators are being called upon to integrate the

teaching of information literacy and IT skills into the regular curriculum (Kuhlthau,

2004; Scott & Sullivan, 2005). Before, students were usually taught these skills using

the traditional didactic approach; however, the emergence of new pedagogical

approaches has also influenced how teachers and librarians are imparting these skills

to the students.

Inquiry-based learning (IBL), also known as enquiry-based learning (EBL), is a

pedagogical approach that uses questioning to involve students actively in their own

learning (Harada & Yoshina, 2004a). Recent studies have indicated that IBL is more

effective in promoting learning outcomes such as deep thinking, the ability to apply

knowledge, and reasoning skills when compared to the traditional didactic approach

(Dochy, Segers, Van den Bossche, & Gijbels, 2003; Harada & Yoshina, 2004b; Hickey,

Kindfield, Horwitz, & Christie, 1999; Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn, 2007; Hu,

Kuh, & Li, 2008; Kuhlthau, Maniotes, & Caspari, 2007). One way to implement IBL

in schools is through student group projects (Chu, 2009; Hmelo-Silver et al., 2007).

Project-based learning (PjBL) involves an in-depth exploration of issues, themes, or

problems without predefined answers (Harada, Kirio, & Yamamoto, 2008). PjBL has

been shown to provide students with opportunities to engage in realistic and thought-

provoking problem-based learning (Blumenfeld, Soloway, Marx, Krajcik, Guzdial, &

Palinscar, 1991; David, 2008; Marx, Blumenfeld, Krajcik & Soloway, 1997; Thomas,

2000). A considerable amount of research conducted in different domains and with

different outcome measures generally show support for the greater effectiveness of

both IBL and PjBL over the traditional didactic approach (Guthrie, Wigfield, Barbosa,

Perencevich, Taboada, & Davis, 2004; Hickey, Wolfe, & Kindfield, 2000; Hickey,

Kindfield, Horwitz, & Christie, 1999; Hmelo-Silver et al., 2007; Langer, 2001; Lynch,

Kuipers, Pyke, & Szesze, 2005; Wu & Tsai, 2005). The integration of PjBL and IBL

could lead to a promising learning approach (Chu, 2009; Krajcik et al., 1998), and is

referred to as inquiry PjBL in this article.

Figure 1 presents the framework for this study that examines the effectiveness of an

inquiry PjBL approach in guiding students through their group projects and promoting

learning in various domains (Chu, 2009). This framework was adopted from Kuhlthau

et al.‘s (2007) recommendation that two subject teachers and a school librarian

collaborate in the implementation of inquiry PjBL. For this particular study, the focus

was on the development of information literacy and IT skills among students and on

the collaboration between the IT teacher and the school librarian. 1

1 This study is part of a larger project that involved a collaborative teaching approach, bringing

together a team of three teachers with different specialties and the school librarian to equip students

with knowledge and skills to support group project implementation in a Hong Kong primary school.

Studies by the same team have used this framework, and it has been shown to foster improvement in

http://apps.isiknowledge.com/OneClickSearch.do?product=UA&search_mode=OneClickSearch&db_id=&SID=V1MGCdpBBleLh6FMipL&field=AU&value=Krajcik%20J&ut=000076187300003&pos=1


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Figure 1. The inquiry PjBL model adopted for the General Studies group projects.

2. Problem statement

Despite the emphasis on the emerging importance of information literacy and IT skills

(American Library Association, 2007), considerable research has shown that students

across different educational levels from primary to postgraduate levels are generally

lacking in competence in these areas. (Branch, 2003; Chu & Law, 2005; 2007;

Lazonder, 2000; Pelgrum, 1999; Schacter, Chung, & Dorr, 1998). While research has

shown the benefits of information literacy and IT skills for student learning (e.g.

Chan-Lin, 2008), limited studies have been conducted on the pedagogical approaches

that can be used effectively to promote their development (see Mokhtar, Majid, & Foo,

2008; Moore, 2001 for exceptions). Most of the studies that have investigated

information literacy and IT skills in the context of PjBL have focused on how students

use these skills as tools for doing their projects and not on examining these skills as

learning outcomes. There appears to be a need therefore to develop an innovative

instruction approach and examine how it may promote the learning of these skills

among students.

Evidence supports the effectiveness of pedagogical approaches like inquiry PjBL and

collaborative teaching in enhancing learning outcomes (e.g. Hmelo-Silver et al., 2007;

Murata, 2002). However, few studies have examined the use of these strategies for

students to gain competencies in information literacy and IT skills. Considering recent

recommendations of collaborative teaching with the participation of the school

other domains such as research, writing, and reading skills (Chu, 2009; Chu, Chow, Tse, & Kuhlthau,

2008).

General

Studies

Teachers

School

Librarian

Language

Teachers

IT

Teacher

Parents Eight dimensions for

students‘ improvement

1. Reading

comprehension

2. Writing abilities

3. Information

literacy

4. IT skills

5. Subject knowledge

6. Social and

communication

skills

7. Presentation skills

8. Research skills

Primary 4 students working on General Studies group projects

The Principal Experts in inquiry-

based learning


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librarian to support the implementation of inquiry projects (Kuhlthau et al., 2007), this

study combined collaborative teaching and inquiry PjBL, and examined its effects on

primary students‘ information literacy and IT skills. The findings of this study may

serve as evidence to support a viable teaching strategy to cultivate these skills that

students need in today‘s society.

3. Literature review

3.1. Inquiry project-based learning

Hong Kong‘s Education Bureau (2002) defined inquiry learning as a student-centered

approach, which helps students to integrate generic skills, knowledge and values in

the learning of General Studies. In the inquiry process, students are active

constructors of knowledge, and the teacher is a facilitator of their learning. Instead of

having the teacher give the right answers, the students have to raise questions, find

their own answers, and look for necessary information. They are engaged in

identifying problems, collecting information, and solving the problems they encounter.

A specific example of how inquiry-based learning can be applied in the classroom

setting is through the use of group projects (Krajcik et al., 1998). Projects can capture

students‘ interests, provoke serious thinking, and enable students to apply their

knowledge in a problem-solving context (David, 2008). Harada, Kirio, and Yamamoto

(2008) claimed that PjBL involves in-depth exploration of issues, themes, or problems

without predefined answers. It facilitates the development of ownership by giving

students the chance to select topics that are personally relevant and by giving them a

sense of responsibility to take charge of their own learning (Alloway et al., 1996).

A considerable amount of research conducted in different domains and with different

outcome measures generally show support for the effectiveness of inquiry learning

and PjBL over the traditional didactic approach (Guthrie et al., 2004; Hickey, Wolfe,

& Kindfield, 2000; Hickey, Kindfield; Horwitz, & Christie, 1999; Hmelo-Silver et al.

2007; Langer, 2001; Lynch, Kuipers, Pyke, & Szesze, 2005; Wu & Tsai, 2005). In a

comprehensive review of research on PjBL, Thomas (2000) found support for the

argument that this approach is more effective in enhancing student learning when

compared to traditional instruction. He further claimed that it is effective for teaching

problem-solving and decision-making skills. Examples of studies include a project by

Boaler (2002), which compared the mathematics skills of students in two secondary

British schools. One of the schools used project based learning, while the other used

traditional instruction. After three years, students in the project-based learning school

outperformed the students from the traditional instruction school in terms of

mathematics skills, as well as in conceptual and applied knowledge. In addition, more

students from the project based learning school passed the national exam. In another

study conducted by the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt University

(1992), a software program called The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury was developed.

This was a series of video-based adventure simulations that enabled inquiry PjBL.

This software provides a structure for students to work collaboratively on simulated

real-world problems that require the application of mathematical reasoning. Students

who used this software scored higher in solving word problems and in planning skills

than those who did not.


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3.2. Collaborative teaching

Previous studies have shown the importance of collaborative teaching practices in

improving instruction and student learning (Frana, 1998; John-Steiner, 1992; Murata,

2002; Oldfather & Thomas, 1998; Schwab Learning, 2003; Thousand, Villa, & Nevin,

2006). For example, Thousand et al. (2006) argued that when teachers collaborate on

their planning and teaching, they are better able to meet the needs of students with

diverse backgrounds. A recent development in collaborative teaching is the

acknowledgment of the librarian‘s role in the modern school setting (Kuhlthau et al.,

2007). Teacher-librarian collaboration has been the focus of a considerable number of

studies, as school librarianship has gained more active involvement in student

learning (Warmkessel & McCade, 1997; Konzal, 2001; Mokhtar & Majid, 2006; Chu,

Chow, Tse & Kuhlthau, 2008; Montiel-Overall, 2008). Despite the literature

supporting teacher-librarian collaboration, the role of school librarians as an education

partner seems to have gained little acceptance from teachers worldwide (Doskatsch,

2003; McCarthy, 2002). This is especially true in the Asian setting (Mokhtar & Majid,

2006). Mokhtar and Majid (2006) examined the collaborative relationship between

teachers and school librarians in Singapore primary and secondary schools. The level

of collaboration was found to be very low, and teachers had yet to regard the school

librarian as an education partner. Teachers with more teaching experience were also

observed to be more likely to engage in collaboration with librarians. Furthermore,

primary school teachers tended to collaborate with librarians more because they

organized more academic activities than secondary school teachers. Full-time

qualified librarians were also the key to promoting collaboration with teachers, as

they had adequate time and the necessary knowledge to be valuable assets in

education.

The inclusion of librarians in collaborative teaching has the potential to improve

student learning (Donham, Bishop, Kuhlthau, & Oberg, 2001; Kuhlthau et al., 2007).

School library programs, which are centers of inquiry-based learning, can enhance

student achievement (Alberta Learning, 2004). Borgman, Hirsh and Walter (1995, pp.

663-664) began their study on children‘s information seeking behavior with the idea

that a ―library-centered school curriculum would be an appropriate model for true

discovery learning.‖ Harada and Yoshina (2004) and Kuhlthau (1994, 1997, 2003)

studied how school librarians and teachers worked together in guiding students‘

inquiry learning, while Kafai and Bates (1997) discussed the important role of school

library staff in information literacy instruction for both teachers and students. In line

with this, Kuhlthau et al. (2007) recommended having a flexible three-member core

team consisting of two subject teachers and a librarian for the implementation of

inquiry projects. She claimed that this arrangement would be effective in harnessing

the domain knowledge of the subject teachers and also the information literacy skills

of the librarian, thus promoting a more authentic inquiry experience for the students.

3.3. Information literacy, IT skills, and inquiry project-based learning

―Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one's information concerns and

needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use


6

and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand‖ (US National

Commission on Library and Information Science, 2003). An important component of

information literacy is IT skills, which involve the ability to use different tools in a

computer system (AASL, 2007). Previous studies have shown that information

literacy and IT skills are important components of inquiry PjBL (Chan Lin, 2008;

Jonassen & Reeves, 1996; Owens, Hester, & Teale, 2002). Inquiry PjBL requires

students to carry out an in-depth exploration of particular issues, themes, or problems

(Harada et al., 2008). In this regard, information literacy is crucial since it helps

learners become ―critical users of information and creative producers of knowledge‖

(Bowler et al., 2001, p. 205). Owens et al. (2002) likewise emphasized the importance

of IT skills in inquiry PjBL, in that they allow students to organize and edit their

projects easily. At a higher level, IT skills empower students to communicate with

experts in different places, access information from a vast array of resources, and

create multimedia presentations with high quality (Owens et al., 2002).

Numerous studies have recognized the importance of technology to student learning

(Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992; Lee & Kim, 2005; Owens,

Hester, & Teale, 2002), but there is also evidence indicating that students may not

have the necessary information literacy and IT skills to utilize the technology

effectively (Julien & Barker, 2009; Salovaara, 2005; van Aalst, Fung). For example,

Bowler et al. (2001) provided a review of research in this area and found that a lot of

students lacked basic IT skills. Borgman et al. (1995) found that elementary school

children did not possess the necessary keyboard, spelling, or vocabulary knowledge to

effectively search library catalogs. In addition, Bilal (2001) found that when grade

school students were required to use Yahooligans! to find certain information, they

had difficulty in completing the task. Even teachers found it difficult to incorporate

technology use in the classroom (Wallace, Kupperman, Krajcik, & Solloway, 2000).

Thus, it appears that technical illiteracy hampers effective student learning (Bowler et

al., 2001).

4. Research questions Based on the literature gap identified above, this study sets to examine the following

research questions:

1. To what extent does collaborative teaching with inquiry PjBL help students

develop their information literacy and IT skills?

2. How important did the students perceive the information literacy and IT skills

they learned in completing their inquiry PjBL?

3. To what extent does the improvement in information literacy and IT skills vary

across student academic ability and gender?

4. What are the different roles played by the school librarian and the IT teacher in

terms of the support they provided to equip students with the relevant

information literacy and IT skills?

5. Procedures


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This study applied a mixed methods research design, employing both quantitative and

qualitative methods to answer the research questions. The use of both methods in

combination is expected to generate a better understanding of the research problem

(Creswell, 2008).

5.1. Instructional Design

In the years preceding this intervention, General Studies (GS) projects had been

implemented under the direction of the GS teacher only. In response to the

observations concerning students‘ IT and information literacy needs mentioned in the

introduction, the first author of this article and the school principal provided guidance

and leadership in bringing the teachers and the school librarian in this study to work

together to guide the P4 students on projects that involved information research from

printed and Internet sources. The instructional design was based on the models and

guidelines created by Harada and Yoshina (2004a, 2004b) and Kuhlthau (1997, 2003,

1994), and was conducted over a period of 6 months.

The study consisted of two phases. Phase 1 lasted for 10 weeks, while Phase 2 lasted

for 9 weeks. Students worked in groups of 5-6 and were free to choose any topic

based on the theme for each phase. The number of members for each group was

determined by the teachers to equally distribute students in the class. The main theme

for Phase 1 was ―The Earth‖, while the theme for Phase 2 was ―The History of Hong

Kong or China.‖ Students worked in the same groups for both phases. At the

culmination of each phase, each group prepared a written report and presented it in

front of the class. In order to enhance the students‘ skills in searching for different

kinds of information, the school librarian arranged 6 library lessons, each lasting 50

minutes. The first three sessions were given during the beginning stages of Phase 1,

while the last three sessions were given during the beginning stages of Phase 2. The

goal was to make the students familiar with the Internet and with online searching.

The IT teacher, on the other hand, was responsible for equipping students with

relevant IT skills such as using PowerPoint. During the IT classes, students also

learned the use of the Chinese handwriting device, Chinese inputting methods, and

other relevant IT skills for information search. The IT teacher conducted 10 sessions

to teach these different skills, which were spread out across the two phases. Students

also received support from the Chinese Language and General Studies teachers in the

course of their projects. The medium of instruction during the whole study was

Chinese.

5.2. Participants

This study involved three groups of participants: (a) students, (b) their parents, and (c)

the teaching staff. One primary school in Hong Kong served as the site for this project.

All four classes of Primary 42

(P4) students in the selected school participated in the

study.3 The school did not group its students according to their academic standing, and

2 In the HKSAR education system, Primary 4 corresponds to Grade 4 in the US system.

3 P4 students were chosen through convenience sampling. In addition, Hong Kong students begin to

have group work during their P4, thus we wanted to see how inquiry PjBL can facilitate the

development of information literacy and IT skills and vice-versa.


8

thus each class was made up of students with varied academic abilities. The mean

number of students per class was 36. Class A had 37 students (20 males, 17 females),

class B had 35 students (20 males, 15 females), class C had 36 students (19 males, 17

females), and class D had 35 students (17 males, 18 females). This constituted a total

of 143 participating students (76 males, 67 females). Aside from the students, the

teaching staff were also interviewed . Although 11 teaching staff were involved in the

project (4 General Studies teachers, 4 Chinese teachers, 1 school librarian, 1 IT

teacher, and 1 curriculum development officer), in this paper we will only focus on

the IT teacher and the school librarian. In addition, we included 27 parents (10 in

Section A, 7 in Section B, 4 in Section C, and 6 in Section D) who consented to be

interviewed. Telephone interviews were conducted with the parents.

5.3. Data collection

Different data collection methods were employed in the study. Self-report

questionnaires were administered to all the students who participated in the study.

Focused group discussions with selected groups of students were also conducted,

together with telephone interviews with parents and face-to-face interviews with both

the school librarian and the IT teacher.

The self-report questionnaires were administered by the teachers to the P4 students

after their inquiry PjBL. Students were asked to assess their level of information

literacy and IT skills before and after the intervention. The questionnaire was divided

into 2 main parts. The first part aimed to assess students‘ (1) perceived level of

familiarity with various information literacy skills before and after the intervention,

and (2) perceived level of familiarity with different IT skills before and after the

intervention. The second part of the questionnaire asked students about their

perceived importance of the components of information literacy and IT skills in

completing the projects. For the first part of the questionnaire, two dimensions of

information literacy skills were examined. The first dimension was concerned with

the perceived level of familiarity with the use of various information sources/services

like the school library, school library‘s OPAC (online public access catalogue), public

library, public library‘s OPAC, Wisenews, links via school‘s website, Yahoo!, Google,

and other sources. The second dimension of information literacy was perceived level

of familiarity with various types of information search knowledge/skills,,which

included the use of Boolean operators, Dewey classification system, reference books,

newspapers, and keyword search. IT skills, on the other hand, were assessed using

items that focused on student‘s perceived level of familiarity with various software

packages like PowerPoint, Excel, and two Chinese writing software (Canjie input

method and Jiu Fang input method). This part of the questionnaire was anchored on a

5-point scale where ―1‖ referred to ―not familiar‖ and ―5‖ referred to ―very familiar.‖

The second part of the questionnaire asked students how important they perceived the

various information literacy and IT skills were for the completion of their inquiry

projects. This part of the questionnaire was anchored on a 5-point scale where 1

referred to ―not important‖ and 5 referred to ―very important.‖ (See Appendix B for

the questionnaire given to the students after the inquiry PjBL). This questionnaire was

based on previous research investigating the development of information literacy and


9

IT skills among postgraduate students, and was later modified to make it more

appropriate for primary school students (see Chu & Law, 2005; 2007).

To examine the roles of the school librarian and the IT teacher, face-to-face interviews

were carried out concerning the support they had offered to students in order to equip

them with the relevant information literacy and IT skills. Telephone interviews with

27 parents who had given their consent to participate in the study, and focused group

discussions with students were also conducted to determine their perceptions of the

inquiry PjBL. The parents who were interviewed turned out to be well-distributed

across the 4 classes of students.

5.4. Data analyses

The data from questionnaires comparing the self-perceived level of familiarity with

various information literacy and IT skills before and after the intervention were

analyzed using dependent samples t-tests. Linear regression was used to analyze the

effects of gender and year level on change in information literacy and IT skills. SPSS

16.0 was used for all the statistical analyses. The semi-structured interviews with the

parents and students were summarized through sequential analysis. Axial coding was

done by using NVivo 7.0, where themes were identified and clustered.

6. Results

6.1. Development of information literacy and IT skills

To investigate how students developed in terms of their information literacy and IT

skills (research question 1), the researchers looked at the (a) teachers‘, parents‘, and

students‘ overall perceptions of improvement in information literacy and IT skills, (b)

students‘ perceived level of familiarity with the various information sources before

and after the inquiry PjBL, (c) students‘ perceived information search knowledge and

skills before and after the inquiry PjBL, and (d) students‘ perceived IT skills and

knowledge before and after the inquiry PjBL.

6.1.1. Teacher, parent, and student perceptions of improvement in information literacy

and IT skills

Teachers, parents, and students assessed the students‘ information literacy and IT

skills in relation to the implementation of PjBL. The survey showed that the three

groups perceived that the collaborative teaching and inquiry PjBL approach helped

students improve their information literacy and IT skills, with scores above the

midpoint of three (See Figure 2). Interviews with teachers and parents supported these

quantitative findings. For example, the IT teacher said, ―Most students managed to

accomplish the standards of PowerPoint skills that I set for them. They were able to

insert pictures, add hyperlinks and edit words in PowerPoint.‖ One parent also viewed

the improvement in information literacy and IT skills as helping her child become

―exposed to more reading materials when searching for information—no longer

limited to textbooks.‖


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Figure 2. Teachers‘, parents‘ & students‘ perception of student improvement in

information literacy and IT skills via collaborative teaching and inquiry PjBL

6.1.2. Students’ perceived familiarity with various information sources before and

after the inquiry PjBL

Dependent t-tests were used to compare the ratings of the students‘ familiarity with

various information sources and services before and after the inquiry PjBL. Results

showed that students reported greater familiarity with the information sources and

services after the inquiry PjBL compared to their familiarity with these sources before

the project (p < .001) (See Table 1).

Table 1

Mean values and significance levels for the dependent t-tests on students‘ familiarity

with various information sources before and after the intervention Item Mean before

intervention

Mean after the

intervention

t statistic p value

The use of the school library 3.94 (SD = 1.07) 4.49 (SD = 0.77) -8.370 P < .001

School library‘s online catalog 2.82 (SD = 1.24) 3.71 (SD = 1.13) -10.99 P < .001

The use of public libraries 4.15 (SD = 1.12) 4.55 (SD = 0.78) -6.51 P < .001

Public libraries‘ online catalog 3.26 (SD = 1.38) 4.01 (SD = 1.02) -8.42 P < .001

WiseNews 1.76 (SD = 1.16) 4.01 (SD = 1.02) -20.48 P < .001

Google 2.97 (SD = 1.31) 4.05 (SD = 1.05) -10.99 P < .001

Yahoo 4.46 (SD = 0.89) 4.79 (SD = 0.52) -5.85 P < .001

School/library suggested

websites

3.23 (SD =1.48) 3.78 (SD = 1.36) -7.21 P < .001

Note: The three parties were answering the question ―Does the inquiry

PjBL help students improve in their information literacy and IT skills?‖

The scale was 1-5, with 1 as ‗low improvement‘ and 5 as ‗high

improvement.‘


11

Note. N = 143

Of the different information sources and services (use of the school library, use of

school library‘s online catalog, etc.), students were most unfamiliar with using

Wisenews and the school‘s OPAC (See Figure 3). Students were more familiar with

using the school library facilities, public library facilities, and Yahoo!. Students‘

familiarity with Yahoo! was greater than that of Google (4.5 compared to 3.2), which

might be explained by Yahoo!‘s more child-friendly services such as ―Yahoo! Kids‖

(http://kids.yahoo.com/) that Google does not offer. Since students did not have free

access to the WiseNews database in school in the past, and because it is not a freely

accessible database available on the Web, students‘ familiarity with WiseNews was

substantially lower than all of the other information sources and services prior to the

inquiry PjBL. However, the biggest improvement was also seen in this domain. This

big improvement in familiarity with Wisenews was supported by our interview data.

Some students became so comfortable with using it that one of them ―used it for

leisure reading and for doing homework in the Scouting Movement.‖ Another student

used it for reading topics of interest to himself, which were not really required in

school. Figure 3 summarizes the students‘ responses about their perceived familiarity

with the various information sources and services before and after the inquiry PjBL.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Use o

f the

scho

ol lib

rary

Using

scho

ol li

brary

's OPA

C

Using

publi

c libr

aries

Using

publi

c libr

aries

' OPA

C

Using

Wise

news

Using

Google

Using

Yahoo

Using

scho

ol su

gges

ted w

ebsit

es

Before

After

Figure 3. Students‘ familiarity with information sources & services before and after

the projects.

6.1.3. Students’ perceived information search knowledge and skills before and after

inquiry PjBL

Figure 4 shows how the students perceived their level of information search

http://kids.yahoo.com/


12

knowledge and skills both before and after the inquiry PjBL project. Students

perceived an overall improvement in the different information search knowledge and

skills components. Before the inquiry PjBL, students perceived themselves as

particularly weak in using the Dewey classification system and the three Boolean

operators. After the inquiry PjBL, the greatest gains were reported to be in the use of

the Boolean operators (‗and‘, ‗or‘, ‗not‘). Table 2 presents the results of the dependent

sample t-tests, which show that students perceived themselves more knowledgeable in

the various information search knowledge and skills after the inquiry PjBL (p < .001).

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Dewey

clas

sifica

tion

syste

m

Refere

nce b

ooks

Newsp

apers

Keywor

ds

Boolea

n ope

rator

"and

"

Boolea

n ope

rator

"or"

Boolea

n ope

rator

"not

"

Before

After

Figure 4. Students‘ perceived information searching knowledge and skills.

Table 2

Dependent t-test results on students‘ perceived information search knowledge and

skills before and after the intervention Item Mean before

intervention

Mean after the

intervention

t statistic P value

Dewey classification system 2.53 (SD =1.23) 3.64 (SD=1.14) -11.54 P < .001

reference books 3.13 (SD=1.18) 4.04 (SD=0.88) -12.17 P < .001

Newspapers 3.57 (SD=1.15) 4.41 (SD=0.83) -8.98 P < .001

Keywords 3.32 (SD=1.40) 4.30 (SD=0.88) -10.00 P < .001

Boolean operator ―and‖ 2.62 (SD=1.43) 4.25 (SD=0.87) -13.96 P < .001

Boolean operator ―or‖ 2.65 (SD=1.42) 4.20 (SD=0.92) -13.50 P < .001

Boolean operator ―not‖ 2.61 (SD=1.44) 4.18 (SD=0.96) -13.76 P < .001

Note. N = 143

6.1.4. Students’ perceived IT knowledge/skills before and after inquiry PjBL

Figure 5 shows students‘ IT knowledge/skills before and after the inquiry PjBL.

Students regarded their IT skills in using Chinese inputting methods like Jiu Fang and


13

Simplified Cangjie as weak before the project. In Jiu Fang, only the numeric keypads

are used to input Chinese characters into the computer, while in Simplified Cangjie,

Chinese characters are inputted using the qwerty keyboard. After the project, students

perceived an improvement in all aspects of their IT skills and knowledge. Students

perceived that they had gained the most in ‗making PowerPoint presentations‘

(improvement of 1.28 points), ‗using Jiu Fang method‘ (improvement of 1.22) and

‗making Excel spreadsheet‘ (improvement of 1.16). Students perceived that they had

gained the least improvements with ‗Writing Pad‘, which was probably due to their

high familiarity with it even before the intervention. Table 3 shows the dependent

samples t-tests, which indicate that there was a statistically significant improvement in

the students‘ perceived familiarity with the different IT knowledge/skills after the

inquiry PjBL (p < .001).

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Jiu Fang input

method

Cangjie input

method

Writing pad Powerpoint Excel

Before

After

Figure 5. Pre and post inquiry project familiarity with IT knowledge/skills.

Table 3

Dependent t tests on students‘ familiarity with various IT knowledge and skills before

and after the intervention Item Mean before

intervention

Mean after the

intervention

t statistic P value

Jiu Fang input method 2.46 (SD=1.42) 3.68 (SD=1.26) -12.70 P <.001

Cangjie input method 2.63 (SD=1.40) 3.51 (SD=1.31) -10.35 P <.001

Writing pad 4.58 (SD=0.81) 4.81 (SD=0.62) -4.50 P <.001

Powerpoint 3.27 (SD=1.39) 4.44 (SD=0.87) -11.05 P <.001

Excel 3.01 (SD=1.41) 4.28 (SD=.96) -11.99 P <.001

Note. N = 143.

6.2. The importance of information literacy and IT skills for completing the projects

Students were surveyed on (a) their perceived importance of various information


14

sources/services for completing their projects, (b) their perceived importance of

information search knowledge/skills for completing their projects, and (c) their

perceived importance of IT knowledge and skills to the completion of inquiry-based

learning projects.

6.2.1. Students’ perceived importance of various information sources/services for

completing the projects

Students answered a survey on their perceived importance of various information

sources or services for the completion of their projects, and their ratings are

summarized in Figure 6. Almost all the information sources were perceived by

students as generally important as evidenced by the above 3.5 ratings given to all the

information sources above. The most important source of information was Yahoo!

followed by the use of the public library and the school library. Although searching on

the web was the most convenient means of obtaining information, the more traditional

forms of information seeking such as using the school library and using the public

library still appeared to be important.

Students' perceived importance of various information resource/services

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Using

school

library

Using

school

library's

OPAC

Using

public

library

Using

public

libraries'

OPAC

Using

Wisenews

Using links

via school's

website

Using

Yahoo

Using

Google

Other

sources

Information resources/services

Levels

of

perc

eiv

ed

im

po

rtan

ce

Figure 6. Students‘ perceived importance of information resources and services

6.2.2. Students’ perceived importance of information search-related knowledge/skills

Students were also asked how important they thought the different types of

information search knowledge or skills were in completing their projects, and their

answers are summarized in Figure 7. Students perceived ‗keyword search‘ to be the

most important, followed by the use of the three Boolean operators. These findings

are consistent with previous research indicating that knowing how to use the right

keywords and being able to use Boolean operators properly are crucial to obtaining

more accurate information (Bezanilla, 1992; Chu & Law, 2007; Lancaster et al., 1994;

Tillotson, 1995). It also suggests that students considered information searches


15

through electronic resources such as search engines and databases more important

than searches in printed resources such as newspapers and reference books. This is not

surprising since recent research has shown that children, nowadays, use computers at

an early age (Calvert, Rideout, Woolard, Barr, & Strouse, 2005).

Students' perceived importance of various information searching

knowledge/skills

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Dew

ey class

ifica

tions

Refe

renc

e bo

oks

New

spap

ers

Key

wor

d sea

rch

Using

"an

d"

Using

"or

"

Using

"no

t"

Information searching knowledge/skills

Level

of

perc

eiv

ed

im

po

rtan

ce (

5-p

oin

t

scale

)

Series1

Figure 7. Students‘ perceived importance of information searching related

knowledge/skills

6.2.3. Students’ perceived importance of IT knowledge and skills for completing the

projects

IT skills were important for students in searching for information related to their

projects, as well as for preparing for their final project reports and presentations (Chu,

2009). For example, Chinese input programs were important as they enabled students

to use databases and search engines. IT skills such as using PowerPoint and Excel

enabled students to create effective presentations for their projects. Students generally

thought IT skills were important to them as evidenced by ratings that were all above

the midpoint of the scale. The most important areas perceived were the use of

Microsoft Office—PowerPoint and Excel (See Figure 8).

Although students improved more in the Jiu Fang inputting method than in Simplified

Cangjie (See Figure 5), they tended to see Simplified Cangjie as more important than

Jiu Fang (4.1 vs. 3.9 /5). This may be due to the fact that Simplified Cangjie is offered

as a free bundle in Microsoft Windows, while Jiu Fang is only available at school.

Before the inquiry PjBL, some students might have had some experience with

Simplified Cangjie at home, whereas they started to learn Jiu Fang only during their

projects. With its availability at home, Simplified Cangjie may well be perceived by

the users as more important. This finding shows that as far as teaching IT skills is

concerned, there might be some disparity between what tools are perceived by


16

students as important and what tools teachers actually teach at school. Nevertheless,

the students generally considered the IT knowledge and skills they learned during the

inquiry PjBL to be important for the completion of their projects. Scores ranged from

3.9-4.5 on a 5-point scale.

Students' perceived importance of various information technology

knowledge and skills

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Jiu Fang input

method

Cangjie input

method

Writing pad Powerpoint Excel Other skills

IT knowledge/skills

Levels

of

perc

eiv

ed

im

po

rtan

ce (

5-p

oin

t

scale

)

Series1

Figure 8. Students‘ perceived importance of IT knowledge/skills

6.3. Effectiveness of inquiry PjBL across different academic abilities and gender

To determine whether academic ability and gender influenced the perceived

improvement in information literacy and IT skills (research question 3), gender and

grades of the students were entered into a regression model as predictors. Academic

ability was determined by obtaining the students‘ general averages from the school.

The criterion variable - perceived improvement in information literacy and IT skills -

was obtained by adding the standardized improvement scores (Z scores based on

mean and standard deviation) for the information literacy and IT skills questions in

the survey. This index is referred to as overall improvement in information literacy

and IT skills. Results showed that gender did not significantly predict overall

improvement in information literacy and IT skills, whereas grades significantly

predicted such improvement. Students with higher academic abilities seem to have

made improvements in information literacy and IT skills significantly more than those

students with lower academic abilities (See Table 4 for the regression results).


17

Table 4

Regression result for gender and grade as predictors of improvement in information

literacy B SE B Sig

Constant -5.961

Gender .184 .406 .040 p = .650

Grade .068 .023 .254 p = .004

Note R2 = .091

6.4. Roles of the school librarian and IT teacher

In order to understand the collaborative process more deeply, the librarian and the IT

teacher were interviewed about the roles they played in this project. Although the

major initiative in organizing the inquiry PjBL was undertaken by the first author, all

the 11 teaching staff were also involved in designing the content and the process of

the intervention. In this article, the roles of the school librarian and IT teacher are the

subject of interest because the focus was on the improvement of information literacy

and IT skills of the students. Their roles were defined in terms of the support and

guidance they offered to the students and how they collaborated with each other and

with the other subject teachers. Their responses are summarized in Table 5. During the

information literacy and library sessions, students were equipped with the basic skills

for using various electronic sources. According to the school librarian, the provision

of relevant materials to students, as well as training in using the materials effectively

increased student motivation and interest in conducting their own inquiry PjBL. The

librarian also tried to cultivate a positive attitude towards the use of the Internet

among the students and cautioned against indecent Web materials and Internet

addiction or overuse.

The IT teacher, on the other hand, set up the WiseNews database and taught students

various IT skills like using PowerPoint, Excel, and Chinese input methods. He

contributed to the development of their self-directed learning. He commented that

students had become better at creating PowerPoint slides for effective presentation by

the end of their projects.

The librarian and IT teacher coordinated with the other teachers. For example, the

librarian said, ―I would find out from the Chinese Studies teachers what topics they

needed me to cover, and I would organize a class that involved students…so that they

could master the relevant skills… this also complemented the General Studies (GS)

teachers‘ teaching. Basically, the classes that I conducted were based on the needs of

GS, IT and Chinese Studies teachers.‖ The librarian directly worked with the GS

teachers. She said, ―I helped GS teachers in terms of borrowing some books for their

students. Apart from that, I also helped them to search for some relevant websites, did

some newspaper-cutting on the topics that they were doing for their reference, and I

also searched some relevant information for the students and created some reference

folders for them.‖ The IT teacher, on the other hand, commented that to facilitate

collaboration, he gave special attention to ―the division of labor‖ among the different

teachers.


18

This showed that the librarian and the IT teacher had different roles to play in the

inquiry PjBL. They did not function independently, but worked as a team,

collaborating with the other subject teachers during the inquiry PjBL.

Table 5

Roles of the librarian and the IT teacher in the collaborative inquiry PBL Librarian IT Teacher

‗As an information provider‘; provided

relevant books (a block loan of 200 books from

public libraries), information folders

(containing newspaper clips) and related

webpage links

Held information literacy classes to provide

training for students in the use of various

printed sources (e.g., reference books),

information searching skills (e.g., Boolean

operations), the school and public library

catalogs, and the WiseNews database

Assessed students‘ effectiveness in using

various information sources and development

of information searching skills.

Set up user accounts for students to

access the WiseNews database, which

contains news sources from Hong Kong,

mainland China, Taiwan, and other parts

of the world.

Taught various IT related skills,

including Microsoft PowerPoint and

Excel, and Chinese input methods (e.g.,

Simplified Cangjie)

7. Discussion

This research investigated how a combination of inquiry PjBL and collaborative

teaching can serve as an effective means of improving primary school students‘

information literacy and IT skills. Results showed that the intervention led to a

perceived general improvement in the information literacy and IT skills of the

students as they did their projects in the GS course. Students‘ perceived level of

familiarity after the intervention compared to that before the intervention was

significantly higher for all the dimensions of information literacy and IT skills that

were examined in the study. The present findings contribute evidence to the growing

literature supporting the effectiveness of inquiry PjBL (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Derry

et al., 2006; Harada & Yoshina, 2004a, 2004b, Hmelo-Silver et al. 2007; Krajcik et al.,

1998; Schmidt, Loyens, van Gog, & Paas, 2007) and collaborative teaching

approaches (Harada & Yoshina, 2004; John-Steiner et al., 1998; Rockman, 2003) in

promoting positive student outcomes. An additional contribution is that this study also

highlights the effectiveness of combining these two approaches, i.e., inquiry PjBL and

collaborative teaching. Few studies have previously investigated how they can be

combined to promote optimal outcomes for students, with most studies focusing

exclusively on inquiry learning (e.g. Sproken-Smith et al., 2010) or collaborative

teaching (e.g. Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2006) (See Harada & Yoshina, 2004 and

Kuhlthau et al., 2007 for an exception). In addition, this study shows the potential of

inquiry PjBL in promoting information literacy and IT skills, thus building on

previous studies that have shown its positive impact in other domains like natural

science (e.g. Harland, 2002; Krajcik et al., 1998), social science (e.g. Derry et al.,

2006; Spronken-Smith et al., 2008), business (e.g. Capon & Kuhn, 2004), medicine

(e.g. Hughes, Ventura, & Dando, 2004), and mathematics (e.g. Cognition and


19

Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992).

Inquiry PjBL was shown to be an effective means of promoting information literacy

and IT skills. This builds on the findings of previous research showing that

information literacy and IT skills cannot be learned through one-time training such as

tutorials or workshops (Mokhtar et al., 2008). Information literacy and IT skills need

to be reinforced over a longer period of time with proper scaffolding and guidance

from the teacher. Asselin (2005) noted that teachers perceived lack of time to teach

information literacy and IT skills as a barrier. Inquiry PjBL which is conducted over a

relatively longer time period may be a better alternative to the short-term workshops

and tutorials that have been commonly used to teach information literacy and IT skills.

There is an increasing need for these competencies in today‘s information society, but

students of different educational levels have been found to lack them (Branch, 2001;

Chu & Law, 2008; Lorenzen, 2001), thus highlighting the need for an effective

teaching approach.

The results showing that students considered the information literacy and IT skills

they learned as important for completing their inquiry-based projects are in line with

the findings of previous studies showing the importance of technology in completing

school work (Bowler et al., 2001). The importance of information literacy and IT

skills goes beyond the academic domain. Experts have claimed that these

competencies have become ―a prerequisite for participation in society and the work

force‖ (U.S. 21st Century Workforce Commission, 2000).

In this study, academic ability influenced the perceived improvement in information

literacy and IT skills. In inquiry PjBL, students are expected to take charge of their

own learning by posing their own questions and by trying to develop an in-depth

understanding of a particular topic. Our findings imply that inquiry PjBL may require

a higher degree of motivation and self-regulation from students for it to be effective.

Research has shown that motivation is closely linked to engagement with schoolwork

(Ames & Archer, 1988; Fredericks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2008). Inquiry-based

learning places a heavier burden on individual students‘ motivation and on their

capacity to take charge of their own learning (Owston, 1997; Santiago & Okey, 1992).

Students with higher grades are presumed to have a higher motivation and a higher

level of self-regulation (Pintrich, 2003). Thus, it may be possible that students with

higher grades in this study made greater improvements in information literacy and IT

skills than those with lower grades due to their higher motivational and self-regulation

level. This is consistent with research done in educational psychology claiming that

self-regulation promotes learning (Schunk & Ertmer, 2000). It appears that educators

may need to pay more careful attention to the participation of students with lower

academic abilities in inquiry PjBL programs. Investigations of group learning have

shown that it is most effective when students of different academic abilities work

together and when peer interaction emphasizes cooperation rather than competition

(Epsten, 1989; Schunk, 2009). Such situations may benefit students of lower

academic ability. The present study did not take into account the distribution of

students with different academic abilities among the groups. The dynamics of the


20

group learning process might have influenced the learning outcomes, but such a

proposition requires further research.

Interviews showed that the IT teacher and the librarian played different roles in

helping the students complete their inquiry PjBL. The collaboration between the

school librarian and the IT teacher allowed the students to benefit from the expertise

of each teacher. This finding supports the claims of previous research on the benefits

of collaborative teaching (Thousand et al., 2006) in general, and teacher-librarian

collaborations in particular (Kuhlthau et al., 2007; Mokhtar et al., 2008).

Collaborative teaching has been seen as an important part of inquiry-based learning

since it involves taking advantage of the expertise of the teaching staff (Kuhlthau et.

al., 2007). This allows each teacher to offer his or her unique expertise to meet the

specific needs of the students. Teacher-librarian collaborations enable students to

access the domain knowledge of the subject teachers and the information literacy

skills of the librarian. The present study highlighted the crucial role of the librarian in

implementing the inquiry PjBL. In the traditional school setting, librarians are not

really visible in the school context, and their roles in teaching students are often

overlooked and undervalued (Hartzell, 2002). This problem is more severe in the

Asian context where there is still a lack of effective programs that tap the expertise of

school librarians in teaching information literacy and IT skills (Mokhtar & Majid,

2006). The present study showed the importance of involving both the librarian and

the IT teacher in inquiry PjBL to facilitate the promotion of student learning outcomes.

In sum, this study indicates the overall effectiveness of combining inquiry PjBL with

collaborative teaching in promoting information literacy and IT skills among primary

school students. In addition, aside from learning these skills, students also found these

skills crucial in improving their project work. This study also highlights the important

roles that librarians and IT teachers play in student learning.

8. Limitations & areas for further research

The study relied mostly on subjective perceptions since self-report questionnaires

were used to assess the effects of inquiry PjBL and collaborative teaching. Future

research could include more objective measures of information literacy and IT skills

before and after the intervention. It would also be useful to have a comparison with

students learning information literacy and IT skills through a traditional approach to

contextualize the current research. In addition, future cross-cultural studies could be

conducted to assess the effectiveness of the approach undertaken in this study among

students from different countries.

9. Conclusion

The findings of this study contribute to the body of research showing evidence for the

benefits associated with inquiry PjBL (see Hmelo-Silver et al., 2007 for a review) and

collaborative teaching (e.g. see Kuhlthau, Maniotes, & Caspari, 2007). In particular,

this research showed that the combination of collaborative teaching and inquiry PjBL

contributes to the development of information literacy and IT skills. Few studies have


21

explicitly investigated the integration of these two approaches, and the results of this

study may aid teachers and librarians to collaborate in improving these skills of their

students.

Information literacy has been shown to be of relevance not only to a select few, and it

has become a ―survival skill in the information age‖ (American Library Association,

Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, 1989). Given their crucial role of

information literacy and IT skills in modern society, educators must find ways of

leading students towards gaining competency in these skills. The approach undertaken

in this study has been shown to be a promising strategy for educators to aid students,

as young as primary school level, towards becoming skilled in IT and information

literate.


22

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APPENDIX A

Telephone Interview Survey for the Parents

1. How much do you think your child enjoyed the inquiry project?

Not at all Very much so

1 2 3 4 5

Can you please elaborate/say more about this?

_____________________________________________________________________

2. From your perspective, how difficult did your child find the inquiry learning project?

Very difficult Very easy

1 2 3 4 5


_____________________________________________________________________

If your child did encounter difficulties, how did he/she manage to overcome them?

_____________________________________________________________________

3. How much help did you offer your child when he/she was doing the project?

None A lot

1 2 3 4 5

If any, what kind of help did you offer?

_____________________________________________________________________

4. Does the project help your child improve in the following aspects?

Aspect None A lot

1 2 3 4 5

Ability in finding information

(e.g. can find relevant

articles/books more easily)

Interest in reading (e.g., read

more books/articles)

Reading ability (e.g. read

faster, can identify the main

points of articles more

quickly)

Writing ability (e.g. can write

with a wider base of

vocabularies)

Computer related skills (e.g.


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PowerPoint, Chinese word

processing)

Knowledge about the research

topic

Improvement in other aspect(s) as a result of working on the project:

_____________________________________________________________________

5. Do you find the overall support from school sufficient in equipping your child with

the knowledge and skills to tackle the project? (e.g. the talk on inquiry-based learning

for parents, broad loan from public library)

Not at all Very much so

1 2 3 4 5


_____________________________________________________________________

6. Do you think that it is advisable for the school to keep organizing inquiry-based

learning project/activity(s) for the students in the future?

_____________________________________________________________________


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APPENDIX B

Survey for all P4 students on Information Literacy and IT Skills

Class:

Name:

Purpose: To assess students‘ development in information and IT literacy in terms of:

(1) what information literacy/IT skills and knowledge they have become familiar

with; and (2) what information literacy/IT skills and knowledge they find

important/useful for their inquiry-based learning projects. The findings from the

survey may help teachers in class planning in future. This questionnaire takes 15

minutes to complete.

Please answer the following questions based on your experiences from Phase I &

II of the inquiry-based learning projects.

1. How familiar were you with the following information literacy/IT skills and

knowledge before the inquiry-based learning projects (before December 2006)?

2. How familiar were you with the following information literacy/IT skills and

knowledge after the inquiry-based learning projects (end of June 2007)?

3. How important/useful were those information literacy/IT skills and knowledge

to your inquiry-based learning projects (end of June 2007)?


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Before the inquiry-

based learning

projects

After the inquiry-

based learning

projects

Perceived level of

importance

Level of familiarity

1 = Not familiar

5 = Very familiar

Level of familiarity

1 = Not familiar

5 = Very familiar

1 = Not familiar

5 = Very familiar

A. Sources/databases: 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

The use of the school

library

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

School Library‘s online

catalog

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

The use of the public

libraries

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Public Libraries‘ online

catalog

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

WiseNews 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Google 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Yahoo 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

School/Library

suggested websites

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Others, please specify 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

B. Search skills &

knowledge:

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Dewey classifications 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Reference books 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Newspapers 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Keyword search 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Boolean operator ―And‖ 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Boolean operator ―Or‖ 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Boolean operator ―Not‖ 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Others, please specify: 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

C. IT skills and

knowledge:

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Jiufang input method 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Canjie input method 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Writing pad 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

PowerPoint 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Excel 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Others, please specify: 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

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