International students’ expectations of information literacy instruction

This paper presents the findings of a case study that investigated international university students’ expectations and experiences of information literacy across two countries. The results from this case study provide insights that can be utilized by librarians working with international students, to plan and develop their information literacy instruction classes and programs. Armed with an awareness of what international students’ expectations and experiences with information literacy programs are, librarians can develop more meaningful instruction that better meets the information needs of international students. Moving beyond the pilot survey, the researchers aim to improve the survey instrument and collaborate with librarians in several countries to collect data from institutions and universities around the world. Exploring and comparing results from a truly global population will only enhance library services to international students and help librarians better understand the specific information needs of international students

The Evolving Information Needs and Behaviors of Undergraduates

Undergraduates comprise a highly complex information community, composed of many identities and with a range of interests and skills. Emerging technologies continue to play a critical role in undergraduates’ information behaviors. While prior literature has focused on the academic information needs of students, emerging technologies have brought to light the considerable role of their everyday life information behaviors. This paper seeks to explore the information needs and behaviors of undergraduates, in particular the current and incoming graduating classes. With increased focus on meeting everyday life information needs and continued appreciation and understanding of the versatility of emerging technologies in the lives of undergraduates, libraries will increase their value to this information community and better meet their needs

Social Media in the Dental School Environment, Part B: Curricular Considerations

The goal of this article is to describe the broad curricular constructs surrounding teaching and learning about social media in dental education. This analysis takes into account timing, development, and assessment of the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed to effectively use social media tools as a contemporary dentist. Three developmental stages in a student’s path to becoming a competent professional are described: from undergraduate to dental student, from the classroom and preclinical simulation laboratory to the clinical setting, and from dental student to licensed practitioner. Considerations for developing the dental curriculum and suggestions for effective instruction at each stage are offered. In all three stages in the future dentist’s evolution, faculty members need to educate students about appropriate professional uses of social media. Faculty members should provide instruction on the beneficial aspects of this communication medium and help students recognize the potential pitfalls associated with its use. The authors provide guidelines for customizing instruction to complement each stage of development, recognizing that careful timing is not only important for optimal learning but can prevent inappropriate use of social media as students are introduced to novel situations

The net generation and digital natives: implications for higher education

Executive Summary "Our students have changed radically. Today�s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach." (Prensky 2001 p1) 1. There is no evidence that there is a single new generation of young students entering Higher Education and the terms Net Generation and Digital Native do not capture the processes of change that are taking place. 2. The complex changes that are taking place in the student body have an age related component that is most obvious with the newest waves of technology. Prominent amongst these are the uses made of social networking sites (e.g. Facebook), uploading and manipulation of multimedia (e.g. YouTube) and the use of handheld devices to access the mobile Internet. 3. Demographic factors interact with age to pattern students� responses to new technologies. The most important of these are gender, mode of study (distance or place-based) and the international or home status of the student. 4. The gap between students and their teachers is not fixed, nor is the gulf so large that it cannot be bridged. In many ways the relationship is determined by the requirements teachers place upon their students to make use of new technologies and the way teachers integrate new technologies in their courses. There is little evidence that students enter university with demands for new technologies that teachers and universities cannot meet. 5. Students persistently report that they prefer moderate use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their courses. Care should be taken with this finding because the interpretation of what is �moderate� use of ICT may be changing as a range of new technologies take off and become embedded in social life and universities. 6. Universities should be confident in the provision of what might seem to be basic services. Students appreciate and make use of the foundational infrastructure for learning, even where this is often criticised as being an out of date and unimaginative use of new technology. Virtual Learning Environments (Learning or Course Management Systems) are used widely and seem to be well regarded. The provision by university libraries of online services, including the provision of online e-journals and e-books, are also positively received. 7. Students do not naturally make extensive use of many of the most discussed new technologies such as Blogs, Wikis and 3D Virtual Worlds. The use of 3D Virtual Worlds is notably low amongst students. The use of Wikis and Blogs is relatively low overall, but use does vary between different contexts, including national and regional contexts. Students who are required to use these technologies in their courses are unlikely to reject them and low use does not imply that they are inappropriate for educational use. The key point being made is that there is not a natural demand amongst students that teaching staff and universities should feel obliged to satisfy. 8. There is no obvious or consistent demand from students for changes to pedagogy at university (e.g. demands for team and group working). There may be good reasons why teachers and universities wish to revise their approaches to teaching and learning, or may wish to introduce new ways of working. Students will respond positively to changes in teaching and learning strategies that are well conceived, well explained and properly embedded in courses and degree programmes. However there is no evidence of a pent-up demand amongst students for changes in pedagogy or of a demand for greater collaboration. 9. There is no evidence of a consistent demand from students for the provision of highly individualised or personal university services. The development of university infrastructures, such as new kinds of learning environments (for example Personal Learning Environments) should be choices about the kinds of provision that the university wishes to make and not a response to general statements about what a new generation of students are demanding. 10. Advice derived from generational arguments should not be used by government and government agencies to promote changes in university structure designed to accommodate a Net Generation of Digital Natives. The evidence indicates that young students do not form a generational cohort and they do not express consistent or generationally organised demands. A key finding of this review is that political choices should be made explicit and not disguised by arguments about generational change

Infoliteracy@adistance: Creating Opportunities to Reach (Instruct) Distance Students

This article offers a theoretical model of online, graduate student information seeking behavior. The qualitative methodology used to gather data for the development of the model included an electronic survey and semi-structured interviews conducted online using Adobe Connect Pro™. Participating in the study were 238 graduate students enrolled in at least one online course at a mid-western university. Data analysis included use of Zoomerang™ reports to interpret survey data, and content analysis of interview transcriptions. The resulting evolution of the Bates’ (2002) theoretical model includes new two modes of information seeking: scrutinizing (directed, dynamic), and being alert (undirected, dynamic). The researchers conclude that the essence of online, graduate student information seeking is the gathering and processing of information by humans using computer technologies and the resulting impact on the human brain. This study shows the necessity of linking online, graduate student information-seeking research to psychological theory to examine reasons why online graduate students engage in various information behaviors

The Internationalization of the Academic Library: A Systematic Review of 25 Years of Literature on International Students

This study is a systematic review of the library and information science (LIS) literature related to international students and academic libraries. A systematic review involves the methodical collection and analysis of a body of literature and is growing in popularity in the LIS field. Three well-known LIS databases were systematically searched for articles related to the topic, and manual bibliography searches were conducted to find additional publications. Journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers were included or excluded based on established criteria. Findings show that articles published about international students and academic libraries have increased steadily between 1990 and 2014. The majority of authors are affiliated with universities and institutions in the United States, although an increase in represented countries is apparent. Fewer than half of the articles can be considered original research, and surveys are the most popular method for data collection. The LIS field—and international students—would benefit from further exploration of this topic, particularly from original research with practical implications

Disciplinary literacies in STEM: what do undergraduates read, how do they read it, and can we teach scientific reading more effectively?

There have been calls for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to become more interdisciplinary, reflecting the reality of contemporary research. However, communicating across disciplines is challenging. In this article, I explore what and how students read in the STEM disciplines`. I provide an overview of key topics in literacy research, and discuss the disciplinary nature of literacy. I compare disciplinary literacy requirements in STEM through thematic analysis of UK quality subject benchmark statements, which identifies considerable variation in the expectations of undergraduates to engage with primary research literature. I explore implications this has for interdisciplinary teaching, and present some published pedagogical strategies for engaging students in research literature. I call on STEM educators to embed inclusive disciplinary literacy teaching within curricula to support students in their reading. I also highlight the need for clear understanding of disciplinary conventions and reading expectations when designing interdisciplinary educational programmes

Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Education: Status and Issues

[Excerpt] An important aspect of U.S. efforts to maintain and improve economic competitiveness is the existence of a capable scientific and technological workforce. A major concern of the 110th Congress may be regarding the future ability of the U.S. science and engineering base to generate the technological advances needed to maintain economic growth. Discussions have centered on the quality of science and mathematics education and training and on the scientific knowledge of those students entering other disciplines. Even students pursuing nonscientific and nonmathematical specialities are likely to require basic knowledge of scientific and technological applications for effective participation in the workforce. Charges are being made that many students complete high school scientifically and technologically illiterate

Factors that Influence Information-Seeking Behavior : The Case of Greek Graduate Students

The purpose of this survey is to determine the information-seeking behavior of graduate students of the Faculties of Philosophy (8 Schools) and Engineering (8 Schools) at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Discipline did not seem to affect information-seeking behavior critically. The Majority of the sample demonstrated a low to Medium level of information-seeking behavior. This survey revealed the need for improving the level of graduate students' information literacy skills

Complex Questions, Evolving Answers: Creating a Multidimensional Assessment Strategy to Build Support for the “Teaching Library”

Since 2001, librarians at Oregon State University\u27s Valley Library have been working to build a teaching library supported by a clearly articulated instruction program. From the start, we believed that we needed to assess the teaching library\u27s impact, not only to determine the success or failure of our efforts but also to demonstrate the need for intentional, proactive in formation literacy instruction on our campus. No single assessment tool or method proved adequate to effectively measure student learning happening both inside and outside the library. We describe our evolving, multi-pronged approach to measuring the impact of the library on student learning in the context of current assessment practices in academic libraries and higher education