How They Learn/How You Teach: Building Library Instruction Sessions for Multiple Learners

This session will introduce participants to a variety of cognitive and learning styles and help identify practical strategies for appealing to the broadest range of student learning. Particular attention will be given to the challenges inherent to teaching hands-on workshops in wired classrooms. Strategies for coping with these challenges will be introduced and then discussed in small groups. Progressive educational reform movements that emphasize student-centered learning encourage librarians to challenge some of their instructional assumptions. Librarians are increasingly realizing both the importance of their teaching role and the imperative of undertaking a critical re-evaluation of their instructional practices. Simply providing information is not sufficient for satisfying the learning needs of users. Librarians must understand not only what students learn but also how students learn. This session bridges the two LOEX conference themes of Working with New Technologies and Environments and Changing Needs of Our Users by suggesting that an understanding of current research on multiple learning and cognitive styles facilitates a learner-centered focus to information literacy in changing technological environments. Participants will be introduced to the concepts of multiple learning and cognitive styles as well as current research in these fields as it relates to library instruction. A short demonstration will guide a group discussion of how these concepts can be applied to library instruction sessions. Finally, participants will receive tangible methods of how their new understandings of multiple learning and cognitive styles can be applied to their own instructional experiences

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

Assessing Affordances of Selected Cloud Computing Tools for Language Teacher Education in Nigeria

This paper reports part of a study that hoped to understand Teacher Educators’ (TE) assessment of the affordances of selected cloud computing tools ranked among the top 100 for the year 2010. Research has shown that ICT and by extension cloud computing has positive impacts on daily life and this informed the Nigerian government’s policy to integrate ICT into education with teachers playing critical roles in this enterprise. For teachers to effectively integrate cloud computing into education they must first be able to identify the uses of these tools. It becomes necessary to understand TE’s perceptions of the affordances of the newest ICT frontier for language teacher education. Participants in the study were randomly selected Nigerian TEs studying in the United Kingdom. They used the tools for various activities and their assessments measured against a checklist. They were also asked to think aloud while using the tools while the researcher took notes of what they said. Their assessments were classified according to thematic paradigms. The results indicate that TEs were able to correctly identify intended, perceived, unintended and false affordances. The implications for language teacher education include recognizing that enlightenment and training are critical for the integration of cloud computing tools into the classroom. Stakeholders should Consider Strategic development of basic ICT infrastructure.  It may be more effective to use a comprehensive approach to adoption. Moreover there is the need for further studies with a focus on other levels of education and cloud computing tools. Keywords: Affordances, Cloud Computing, Language Teacher Educatio

Osądzanie refleksyjne – tutorzy i tutees na temat trudnych poznawczo problemów

Niniejszy artykuł prezentuje badania przeprowadzone w celu uzyskania odpowiedzi na pytanie, w jaki sposób tutorzy (nauczyciele akademiccy) i tutees (studenci) formują osądy na temat kilku trudnych poznawczo problemów. W badaniu skoncentrowano się na opisie intelektualnych procedur stosowanych w refleksyjnym osądzaniu tutorów i tutees. Rozstrzygano, na ile jest to myślenie na poziomie prerefleksyjnym, quasirefleksyjnym i refleksyjnym. Podczas badania tutorzy i tutees byli postawieni wobec kilku niejednoznacznych tematów i mieli za pomocą krótkich odpowiedzi ustosunkować się do własnych źródeł poznania, przekonań i wiedzy. Badanym zadawano serię pytań skoncentrowanych wokół pięciu tematów, np. stosowania leków w terapii zaburzeń psychicznych; przyczyn alkoholizmu. Badania zostały przeprowadzone za pomocą pisemnego kwestionariusza zainspirowanego Wywiadem osądzania refleksyjnego (Reflective Judgment Interwiew), opracowanego przez King i Kitchener w oparciu o Model osądzania refleksyjnego. Model zakłada trzy stadia myślenia: prerefleksyjne, quasirefleksyjne i refleksyjne, podzielone na siedem etapów. Analiza wyników badań pozwoliła ustalić m.in. to z jakich źródeł korzystają badani uzasadniając swe sądy, na ile są pewni swojej wiedzy, czy dopuszczają inne punkty widzenia. Tutorzy najczęściej prezentowali stadium refleksyjne, a tutees stadium quasi-refleksyjne. Ustalono jednak, że poziom refleksyjności niektórych badanych spośród tutees zmieniał się w zależności od rozważanego zagadnienia, natomiast w grupie tutorów nie zaobserwowano istotnych różnic w myśleniu reflek- syjnym po zmianie tematu. Dodatkowe analizy z uwzględnieniem płci i kierunku studiów nie wykazały znaczących różnic międzygrupowych w myśleniu studentów. Badani tutorzy i tutees okazali się grupą niezwykłą, kompetentną i wyrafinowaną w zakresie rozwiązywania trudnych poznawczo problemów. Rekomendowane jest zindywidualizowane podejście do edukacji studentów poprzez stosowanie metody tutoringu

Un estudio sobre posibles predictores del aprendizaje en Internet

El presente trabajo apunta a ganar entendimiento sobre el impacto de ciertas características de los estudiantes en las diferencias de rendimiento académico observadas entre el aprendizaje autónomo mediado por Internet y su similar en el aula convencional. Las variables estudiadas fueron el nivel de autorregulación, las actitudes hacia la instrucción mediada por la web, las creencias de autoeficacia para un manejo diestro de Internet y las estrategias y criterios utilizados para buscar y validar información recogida en la web. Los resultados indican actitudes muy positivas hacia el aprendizaje mediado por la web, elevadas creencias de autoeficacia operativa, nivel de autorregulación algo superiores a la media de la escala, tendencia a utilizar estrategias elaboradas para buscar en Internet y criterios superficiales para evaluar la información recogida. Respecto al valor potencialmente predictor, de las variables bajo estudio, sobre las diferencias de rendimiento señaladas, se han encontrado correlaciones positivas y significativas entre estas últimas y los siguientes constructos: a) las actitudes hacia el aprendizaje mediado, b) el nivel de autorregulación del estudiante, y c) las estrategias para buscar información en la web

Dimensiones socioculturales de la competencia informacional en estudiantes universitarios: creencias, cultura académica y experiencias vitales

En el presente trabajo se muestra cómo una parte importante de la literatura sobre competencias informacionales en jóvenes universitarios se ha concentrado en estudios sobre las estrategias de búsqueda de información, tanto en fuentes impresas como digitales, a partir del análisis de factores cognitivos, afectivos, físicos y, en menor medida, se han explorado dimensiones socioculturales. En el contexto de la discusión, se entiende que la saturación y exceso de información fragmentada al que se enfrentan cada día los estudiantes puede convertirse en un obstáculo epistemológico para la construcción, tanto del conocimiento como de juicios reflexivos, y se invita al desarrollo de una investigación comprensiva en este campo. Para avanzar en la indagación, se parte de una experiencia concreta para evidenciar cómo las creencias epistemológicas, la cultura académica y disciplinar y elementos del capital cultural de los estudiantes, adquiridos en la socialización primaria, son relevantes para ampliar la perspectiva de investigación en este campo; finalmente, se proponen algunas preguntas para emprender nuevos estudios

Investigating the Relation between the Attitude to the Job Future and Informative-seeking Behavior among Students of Tarbiat Modares University

Methodology: In terms of objective and collecting data (made by systematic approach), this research is placed in sort of applied and descriptive research respectively. in order to collect data, we used a researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population is all students of Tarbiat Modares University in both master and doctoral degrees. Sampling was done randomly and the sample size, according to Cochran formula, is 374 persons. Findings: The results obtained by structural model indicated that there is a meaningful relation between the variable defined as attitude towards jobs future and the variable information-seeking behavior of students. The results of Kruskal-Wallis and Uman‌- Whitney tests showed that there was no difference between postgraduate and PhD students in terms of attitude towards jobs future. In addition, there was no difference among students of various groups given the variable towards to job future. while he reaction of students of various groups towards information-seeking behaviors was similar, there exist a significant difference between master and doctoral students in terms of information-seeking behavior Originality: As far as the results of this research is concerned, there is a meaningful relation between the information-seeking behavior and the attitudes of students toward their job future. Improving the attitudes to job future and motivating them, we can expect their information-seeking behavior would be improved. The discrepancy between graduate and doctoral students in terms of information-seeking behaviors indicates that universities, or more accurately, central libraries can play a greater role to enhance information-seeking skills of students as well as their level of information knowledge

Doing It Yourself: Special Collections as a Springboard for Personal, Critical Approaches to Information

This chapter documents the collaboration between a curator of special collections, a subject specialist librarian, and a writing instructor to develop a different kind of instructional approach for undergraduate research and writing. We sought to use special collections as a springboard to create an environment in which students could investigate research questions that connect to their personal lives and interests; engage in various of modes of writing; conceive of the potential networks of production and circulation for their work; and identify the library as a locus for sustained, organic, social, and productive inquiry

The use of self moderated focus groups to gather exploratory data on information beliefs and their impact on information seeking behaviour.

The existence of an information belief system is tested for the first time through innovative use of self moderated focus groups. Initial generation of information beliefs was achieved in an open, unpredicted and unbiased way through focus groups. To remove researcher effect and promote informality in discussion, the researcher experimented with a novel approach - self moderated focus groups. A detailed study of 5 groups evaluates their effectiveness in encouraging free and spontaneous discussion and in eliciting unique information ideas or beliefs. Results show that self moderated focus groups encourage naturalistic discourse, take unpredictable directions and are fertile in uncovering unexpected beliefs. Disadvantages include lack of consistency and leader mirroring, with members adopting the style and tone of volunteer moderators. Consideration should be given to gender balance in group composition. The method is recommended where open and free flowing discussion is sought