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

Effectief zoeken en verwerken van digitale informatie

Brand-Gruwel, S. (2010, October). Effectief zoeken en verwerken van digitale informatie. Key-note presented the conference ‘Zoeken naar informatie op het web’ [seaching of information on the web], Utrecht, The Netherlands.Presentatie over de cognitieve processen die van belang zijn bij het zoeken, vinden en verwerken van digitale informatie

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

Information- problem solving: A review of problems students encounter and instructional solutions

Walraven, A., Brand-Gruwel, S., & Boshuizen, H.P.A. (2008). Information- problem solving: A review of problems students encounter and instructional solutions. Computers in Human Behavior, 24 (3), 623-648.Searching and processing information is a complex cognitive process that requires students to identify information needs, locate corresponding information sources, extract and organize relevant information from each source, and synthesize information from a variety of sources. This process is called information-problem solving (IPS). IPS can be characterized as a complex cognitive skill, which may need direct instruction to reach high levels of performance. However, IPS has been given little attention in schools, and instruction in this skill is rarely embedded in curricula. And yet, by giving students assignments in which students have to solve an information-based problem, teachers assume that their pupils have developed this skill naturally. A literature study was done to determine what kinds of problems students experience when solving information problems using the WWW for searching information, and what kind of instructional support can help to solve these problems. Results show that children, teenagers and adults have trouble with specifying search terms, judging search results and judging source and information. Regulating the search process is also problematic. Instruction designed specifically for IPS using the WWW for searching information is rare but indeed addresses the problematic skills. However, there are differences between various methods and it is unclear which method is most effective for specific age groups