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ENG1100: College Writing - Sabatino: I-LEARN Model

Guide for the course College Writing

The I-LEARN model is a circular process of researching a topic and formulating new information.

 

The processes involved in the six stages of the I-LEARN model

The I-LEARN model includes the process below for the six stages of information processing

Identify a problem or question that can be addressed with published information.

Locate information that can be used to address the problem.

Evaluate the information found.

Apply the selected information to what you already know about the topic.

Reflect on what you have learned.

kNow, understand and incorporate what you have learned.

After you research your topic, focus on the process of integrating this information with what you already know, and constructing a new understanding of the topic and integrating it into your own knowledge.

 

The processes involved in the six stages of the I-LEARN model

The I-LEARN model includes the process below for the six stages of information processing

 Identify

  • Choose a problem or question that can be addressed with published information.
  • Formulate a problem or question about the topic.

Locate

  • Access published information about the topic.
  • Focus on what type of information is needed.
  • Review the important points of the issue
  • Extract the most important points

Evaluate

  • Judge the quality and relevance of the topic
  • Who is the author?  Is this person or publisher unbiased?
  • Is the information relevant to your topic?

Apply

  • Apply the information you have found to understand more about the topic.
  • Generate a new perspective on the topic.
  • Organize the important points of your research
  • Write a draft of what you have found

Reflect

  • Reflect and examine what you now know about the topic.
  • Revise your preliminary writings
  • Refine your perspective.

kNow

  • What you now kNow about your topic?
  • Has your opinion about this topic changed based on the information you have found?
  • Do you now know more about the topic than when you began?
  • What are the important points for you now?
  • Is there anything you would still like to know?

Based on the book Learning in Information-Rich Environments: I-LEARN and the Construction of Knowledge in the 21st Century, by Delia Neuman and published by Springer, 2011.