Abstract
Keyword searching is often taught as a linear, mechanical skill: identify key concepts, combine them logically, and retrieve results efficiently. Yet this model can obscure the social, linguistic, and power dynamics embedded within information systems. Drawing on principles of critical information literacy, this presentation explores how at Pratt Institute, librarians how the use of a simple pedagogical tool—dry-erase boards—can be used to transform keyword searching into a collaborative, reflective, and critically engaged classroom practice.
Traditional database demonstrations frequently prioritise functionality over reflection. They teach students how to search but rarely invite them to question why search tools behave as they do, or whose knowledge structures they represent. Critical information literacy, as articulated by Elmborg (2006), challenges this instrumental approach, arguing that information practices are always socially and politically situated. Building on this perspective, this presentation introduces an activity that reframes search instruction as a process of meaning-making rather than task completion.
In this session, LILAC participants will see how the use of dry-erase boards can shift keyword searching from a solitary to a communal act. Students work in small groups or individually to map out their search terms, synonyms, and potential biases in dry erase boards.The physical act of writing and erasing fosters dialogue about how language choices reflect assumptions about authority, identity, and inclusion. As Tewell notes (2015), such active, participatory approaches can surface the hidden dimensions of information access, helping learners recognise how search tools privilege certain voices and vocabularies.
Attendees will be guided through the practicalities of the exercise—from introducing the concept, to facilitating group discussion, to debriefing effectively. The presentation will include examples from classroom implementations across disciplines, highlighting how this method encourages students to articulate their reasoning, reflect on the influence of database design, and build collective understanding of the research process. Participants will also have the opportunity to experience the activity first-hand by creating their own “search maps” during the session.
This presentation will particularly appeal to LILAC participants interested in reinvigorating familiar teaching topics through creative, low-cost, and inclusive techniques. It demonstrates how a basic, analogue tool can support critical, embodied learning even in digitally oriented classrooms. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use lesson outlines, adaptable templates for varying class sizes, and reflection prompts to embed critical questioning into search instruction.
Ultimately, this session argues that small shifts in pedagogy can yield significant changes in student engagement and awareness. By making search strategies visible, negotiable, and collective, the dry-erase board becomes a metaphor for critical pedagogy itself: a space for rewriting and reimagining how we construct and contest meaning in academic research.
References
Elmborg, J. (2006). Critical information literacy: Implications for instructional practice. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(2), 192–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2005.12.004
Tewell, E. C. (2015). A decade of critical information literacy: A review of the literature. Communications in Information Literacy, 12(1), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2015.9.1.174
