Information literacy self-efficacy within a medical curriculum : research conducted in 2011-2016 at Ghent University

Considering the rapid pace of progress in medicine, the medical profession should definitely be aware of the importance of lifelong learning. Information literacy self-efficacy (ILSE) plays a crucial role in the development of lifelong learning. Therefore, curriculum developers and medical educators need to have a good understanding of ILSE, in order to decide when to integrate specific support and training in their curricula. This PhD dissertation investigates the conditions for an effective training of information literacy skills in the context of an academic medical curriculum. The research analyses the evolution of the ILSE for all medical students at Ghent University (Belgium) from 2011-2016. To evaluate medical students’ ILSE, the research aimed at developing a validated and usable measurement tool: an ILSE scale to be used in a medical curriculum. An existing standardized scale (ILSES) was enriched with ten specific medical items and validated within a 6-year medical curriculum. The new scale, the Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale for Medicine (ILSES-M), consists of 5 subscales labelled as: ‘Evaluating and Processing Information’; ‘Medical Information Literacy Skills’; ‘Searching and Finding Information’, ‘Using the Library’ and ‘Bibliography’, all well-defined information literacy skills. To investigate the effectiveness of the ILSES-M, the scale was tested on a longitudinal basis (to measure the development of medical students’ ILSE), and in a specific educational case (integrated information literacy course in the first year) pre-and post-intervention ILSE scores were analysed. In both cases, the ILSES-M appeared to be a reliable tool, e.g. for formulating recommendations to integrate information literacy training in the curriculum. This research recommends a vertical integration of information literacy into medical curricula: a continuous development of information literacy skills throughout the programme, by activating and stimulating the actual use of these skills. Different implementations are clearly needed to enhance students’ learning. The longitudinal study shows that when there is no real use of the skills, the ILSE decreases. Pre- and post-interventions show that integrating a ‘search-report’ increases the development of ILSE and that adding a peer review is positive for the ILSE in relation to the medical information literacy skills. In general, student’s ILSE increases overall in more recent academic years. The development towards more specialised information literacy skills prove to influence students’ awareness and thus self-efficacy. Furthermore, training and guidance need to be integrated at appropriate times and should be adapted at the level of information literacy skills appropriate in the learning process

Facilitating research amongst radiographers through information literacy workshops

Background Despite a strong research presence in Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LTHTR), Allied Health Professionals are under-represented in developing and publicising research within the organisation inspired by day to day clinical practice and staff experiences. Two departments within the Trust, Library and Knowledge Services (LKS) and Research and Innovation (R&I), came together to enable a group of staff to develop the knowledge and skills they needed to access information and create new “home grown” research. Case Presentation A clinical librarian and an academic research nurse created a research engagement programme within the diagnostic radiography department at LTHTR, which included the development, delivery, and evaluation of six workshops. Sixteen individuals took part in these workshops, and data were collected on library usage, self-efficacy in information literacy, and research output before and after their delivery. Library membership increased by 50% in diagnostic radiography staff, literature search requests from this department increased by 133%, and all participants who attended at least one workshop reported an increased Information Literacy Self Efficacy Scale (ILSES) score. An increase in research activity and outputs were also attributed to the programme. Conclusions This project has resulted in a set of freely available workshop plans and support resources that can be customized for other healthcare professionals and has won several awards for its innovative use of departmental collaboration. Through our evaluation of the programme from workshop attendees and non-attenders, we have identified impacts, outputs, and barriers to engagement in order to continue to deliver this content to other departments and embed a “home grown” research culture at LTHTR

Measuring the Reader Self-Perceptions of Adolescents: Introducing the RSPS2

This paper introduces a new affective instrument for assessing the reader self-perceptions of students in grades seven through ten. The Reader Self-Perception Scale 2 (RSPS2) builds upon its predecessor, the RSPS, a tool that measures the reading efficacy beliefs of children in grades four through six. New items were created for the RSPS2 to reflect differences in the expectations for adolescent reading. The instrument was piloted on 488 students, revised, and then validates with an additional 2,542 students in the target grades. Factor analytic procedures revealed four factors emerging on the RSPS2. Items for Progress, Observational Comparison, Social Feedback, and Physiological States clustered as expected into scales with reliabilities ranging from .87 to .95. The article includes a description of the instrument, an explanation of its possible uses in assessment, instruction, and research, as well as directions for administration, scoring, and interpretation

Statistical Literacy Among Applied Linguists and Second Language Acquisition Researchers

The importance of statistical knowledge in applied linguistics and second language acquisition (SLA) research has been emphasized in recent publications. However, the last investigation of the statistical literacy of applied linguists occurred more than 25 years ago (Lazaraton, Riggenbach, & Ediger, 1987). The current study undertook a partial replication of this older work by investigating (a) applied linguists’ general experiences with statistics, (b) underlying factors that constitute applied linguists’ knowledge about and attitudes toward statistics, and (c) variables that predict attitudes toward statistics and statistical self-efficacy. Three hundred thirty-one scholars of applied linguistics and SLA completed a questionnaire. Eighty percent had taken a statistics class; however, only 14% of doctoral students and 30% of professors felt that their statistical training was adequate. A factor analysis of participants’ knowledge of statistical terms revealed three factors: common inferential statistics knowledge, advanced statistics knowledge, and basic descriptive statistics knowledge. An analysis of participants’ attitudes toward statistics revealed two factors: statistics are important and lack of statistical confidence. Regression analyses found that a quantitative research orientation was the strongest predictor of positive attitudes toward statistics; nevertheless, participants also expressed support for qualitative research. Recommendations for improving quantitative methods in our field are made based on our findings

Technology-Enhanced Teaching: A Technology Acceptance Model to Study Teachers’ Intentions to Use Digital Games in the Classroom

This research to practice paper uses a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to explore the factors that affect teachers’ intentions to use digital educational games in the classroom. Research shows that using computers and other digital technologies like digital games is one way to influence young people’s career aspirations and improve their digital literacy. This is particularly important as the world of work is changing and emerging jobs becoming more intensive in their use of digital technologies. In the developing world and in particular Nigeria, there have been calls to improve the digital literacy skills of young people to help them make informed career choices, and fully participate effectively and equally in the digital world. However, many of the computing and digital technology education initiatives have not produced the positive results intended. The lack of awareness, readiness and buy-in of the relevant stakeholders are some of the factors that has been identified as a barrier here. For example, for computing and digital technology-based projects in schools, the success largely depends on the support and attitude of teachers. As one of the major stakeholders in the classroom, teachers need to be consulted in decisions that affect the way they deliver their lessons; especially when novel ideas and approaches that challenge tradition are introduced. It is therefore important to consider their acceptance or otherwise of digital games in the classroom. A Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was modified to include constructs previously identified by teachers that potentially influence their intention to use digital games in the classroom. The extended TAM was developed into a questionnaire and tested with 220 teachers in Nigeria. Analyses of the results show that syllabus connectedness, perceived usefulness and self-efficacy are significant predictors of the intention of teachers to adoptdigital game-based learning in the classroom. Furthermore, the teachers' demographics including experience of teaching, age and gender all mediated the intention of the teachers to use digital game-based learning. The results and findings present recommendations for school leaders and developers of digital educational games. The practical insights from this are also important here and helpful for guiding the deployment of such games particularly in areas where such technological interventions have not been used before

Female media use behavior and agreement with publicly promoted agenda-specific health messages.

This study set out to explore the relationship between female media use behavior and agreement with agenda-specific publicly promoted health messages. A random digit dial telephone cross-sectional survey was conducted using a nationally representative sample of female residents aged 25 and over. Respondents' agreement with health messages was measured by a six-item Health Information Scale (HIS). Data were analyzed using chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression. This survey achieved a response rate of 86% (n = 1074). In this study the longest duration of daily television news watching (OR = 2.32), high self-efficacy (OR = 1.56), and greater attention to medical and health news (OR = 5.41) were all correlates of greater agreement with the selected health messages. Surprisingly, Internet use was not significant in the final model. Many women that public health interventions need to be targeting are not receptive to health information that can be accessed through Internet searches. However, they may be more readily targeted by television campaigns. Agenda-specific public health campaigns aiming to empower women to serve as nodes of information transmission and achieve efficient trickle down through the family unit might do better to invest more heavily in television promotion

Examining Literacy Specialist Candidates’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Leadership Competencies Before and After Internships in Schools

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the self-efficacy beliefs of 25 literacy specialist candidates in three key leadership areas before and after 15-week internships in schools. The three leadership areas, identified by university faculty as important to the leadership role of literacy specialists in schools today, are: 1) serving as a resource to classroom teachers, administrators, and parents; 2) conducting staff development; and 3) engaging in literacy program development and coordination. Paired-sample t-tests used to evaluate pre/post-survey scores at the end of the 15 weeks suggest self-efficacy beliefs in all three categories grew significantly over the course of the internships. Using Bandura’s framework and the leadership competencies to code and analyze interviews, electronic communications, and reflective papers, the author shares examples of how candidates at the top and bottom of the group in self-efficacy growth compared in interpreting self-efficacy related information during the course of the internships. Implications for graduate literacy programs are discusse

Primary connections in a provincial Queensland school system: relationships to science teaching self-efficacy and practices

The teaching of science is important, both to meet the need for future workers in fields requiring scientific capability and to equip students for full participation in modern societies where many decisions depend upon knowledge of science. However, many teachers in Australian primary schools do not allocate science education sufficient amounts of time to achieve these outcomes. This study reports data obtained from 216 teachers in the primary schools in a provincial Australian school system. The purpose of the study was to assess the effects of existing strategies using Primary Connections for promoting science teaching and to inform future professional development strategies. Teachers reported moderate levels of self-efficacy for teaching science and a proportion reported allocating little or no time to teaching science. Both self-efficacy for science teaching and the amount of science taught were higher for teachers who had used Primary Connections curriculum materials