Information Gathering and Internet Learning

Brand-Gruwel, S. (2012). Information Gathering and Internet Learning. In N. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning (pp. 1560-1563). New York: Springer.To gathering information and learning from different internet sources, one must be able to solve information- based problems. An information-based problem is a problem that only can be solved by searching information because there is a gap between prior knowledge and the required knowledge to accomplish the (learning) task successfully. Brand-Gruwel et al. (2005) introduced the notion of Information Problem Solving (IPS; see, also, Eisenberg and Berkowitz 1990) and defined IPS as the ability to solve information-based problems; one must be able to identify information needs and define the problem, to locate corresponding information sources, to extract and organize relevant information from each source, and to synthesize information from a variety of sources into cogent, productive uses. In the chapter the concept is elaborated and research issues are addressed

Instructional Support for Enhancing Students’ Information Problem Solving Ability

Brand-Gruwel, S., & Gerjets, P. (Eds.). (2008). Instructional Support for Enhancing Students’ Information Problem Solving Ability [Special issue]. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(3).This special issue discusses European research on instructional support to foster students’ ability to solve information-based problems. In this introduction, the concept of information problem solving (IPS) and research in this field of interest will be placed in the broader perspective, which is called information behavior. The focus of this special issue is an educational one and the papers all go into a specific kind of instructional support. The main research questions, findings and conclusions of the six contributions will be outlined. It is concluded that the most important directions for future research deal with how instructional support for different aspect of the process, like for instance how to regulated the process, best can be designed in order to make the instruction adaptive and fit to the learners needs

Leren in een digitale wereld: uitdagingen voor het onderwijs

Brand-Gruwel, S. (2012). Leren in een digitale wereld: uitdagingen voor het onderwijs. [Learning in a digital world: challenges for education] (Unpublished inaugural address). October, 5, 2012, Heerlen, The Netherlands: Open Universiteit.We leven in een digitale wereld. Met de komst van internet hebben we toegang tot een immense hoeveelheid informatie en via ‘social media’ kunnen we gemakkelijk met elkaar communiceren. In het onderwijs kunnen allerlei digitale middelen worden ingezet om het leren van leerlingen en studenten te stimuleren en leerprestaties te verbeteren. Maar wat betekent het om te leren in een digitale wereld? Wat zijn op pedagogisch-didactisch niveau de uitdagingen voor de docent? Hoe kunnen ‘best practices’ ten aanzien van dit leren worden vertaald in schoolbrede innovaties? In de rede wordt een model gepresenteerd met factoren die van belang zijn voor het leren in een digitale wereld. De uitdagingen voor het onderwijs worden besproken en aangegeven wordt hoe onderzoek kan helpen deze uitdagingen aan te gaan

Information problem solving by experts and novices: Analysis of a complex cognitive skill.

In (higher) education students are often faced with information problems: tasks or assignments that require them to identify information needs, locate corresponding information sources, extract and organize relevant information from each source, and synthesize information from a variety of sources. It is often assumed that students master this complex cognitive skill of information problem solving all by themselves. In our point of view, however, explicit and intensive instruction is necessary. A skill decomposition is needed in order to design instruction that fosters the development of information problem solving. This research analyzes the information problem solving process of novices and experts in order to reach a detailed skill decomposition. Results reveal that experts spend more time on the main skill ‘define problem’ and more often activate their prior knowledge, elaborate on the content, and regulate their process. Furthermore, experts and novices show little differences in the way they search the Internet. These findings formed the basis for formulating instructional guidelines