Teaching the next generation of Information Literacy educators: pedagogy and learning #ckviii

My colleague Pamela McKinney is attending the 8th Creating Knowledge conference, taking place 2-3 June 2016, in Reykjavík, Iceland. She is presenting a paper today, co-authored with me, Teaching the next generation of Information Literacy educators: pedagogy and learning, which I have embedded below. She may also provide me with reports on the conference for this blog! the hashtag for following the conference is #ckviii

Teaching the next generation of Information Literacy educators: pedagogy and learning from Sheila Webber

Citation tutorial: MLA Play

The Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO) Site of the Month for May is MLA Play, produced by Mary Hanlin and Denise Woetzel, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Richmond, USA. "MLA Play consists of four lessons that guide the student to a better understanding of the essential patterns and formatting standards used in MLA format. The tutorial in its entirety doesn’t typically take more than a half an hour to do, and after successful completion students can submit their name and email address which is forwarded on to their professor. Although there are dozens of online MLA tutorials, this tutorial is unique in that it focuses on helping students understand the pattern by explaining the reasoning behind the word order. This tutorial aims not simply to show MLA, but also to help students really understand the “what” and the “why” of MLA. Also, the tutorial explains MLA in a direct and accessible manner." The site itself is at http://library.reynolds.edu/students/games/anthology/mla_anthology.html and the interview with the authors is at http://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/pedagogy/primo-peer-reviewed-instruction-materials-online/primo-site-of-the-month/may-2016-site-of-the-month/.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Hawthorn, May 2016

Last chance for early bird for #ifla Artifactual Literacies conference

There is an IFLA information literacy pre-conference in Chicago, USA: Information and Artifactual Literacies: Engaging Minds in Libraries and Museums, taking place August 11-12, 2016, co-sponsored by the IFLA Information Literacy Section, ACRL, and DePaul University. This event precedes this year's IFLA main conference in Columbus, Ohio, USA. "Along with an exciting keynote by Emily Graslie, Chief Curiosity Correspondent at The Field Museum of Chicago, the satellite will include presentations, workshops, panels, and poster sessions featuring innovative ways to use primary sources, special collections, and museum resources to engage students, faculty, and visitors in learning experiences." Register at http://iflainfolit2016satellite.org - early bird rates end on May 31
Photo by Sheila Webber: my apple blossom, May 2016

#QQML2016 : Strategies for building and assessing the long-term impact of research projects

The final session at the QQML conference was a plenary session from Hazel Hall (Edinburgh Napier University) entitled What happens next? Strategies for building and assessing the long-term impact of research projects.
She has produced an excellent overview of it here: https://hazelhall.org/2016/05/27/strategies-for-building-and-assessing-the-long-term-impact-of-research-projects-closing-plenary-at-qqml2016/ and it is also on Slideshare (see below).
I may do one more post about QQML after I have trawled for further presentation links etc. Next year the QQML conference is in Limerick, Ireland.

What happens next? Strategies for building and assessing the long-term impact of research projects from Hazel Hall

#QQML2016 information literacy assessment: the threshold achievement test

At the QQML conference, liveblogging a few of the sessions. Carolyn Radcliff (co-author Kevin Ross) presented on The next generation of information literacy assessment: the threshold achievement test. Radcliff started by introducing the ACRL Framework for information literacy. Radcliff works with Carrick Enterprises, who (as I blogged a little while ago) have a project to develop an assessment instrument based on the ACRL Framework: they aim to "measure dispositions and knowledge" and "assess at various stages of student development", with the assessment tool available on a variety of devices, and capable of being completed in the scope of a 50 minute class.
Firstly Radcliff considered "dispositions". They have identified : productive persistence; tolerance for ambiguity; feeling responsible to the community; mindful self-reflection. They have mapped the ACRL Framework to 4 modules, each of which can be covered in a 50 minute session. For each module they identify the dispositions and knowledge outcomes which are relevant.
Radcliff talked about the challenging (though fun) activity of writing test items (they have multiple choice, rating items etc.). They are aiming to include higher order items. They have tested and piloted the test in various ways (detailed feedback from students, larger scale pilots etc.)
I have already expressed some doubts about this testing approach, but it is obvious they are going about this in a very thoughtful and thorough way, and that a lot of people are interested. The website is at https://thresholdachievement.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: staircase in Senate House, a clever advert for their Shakepeare exhibition

#QQML2016 Gamifying Business Information Literacy

Next in liveblogging from the QQML conference, Jordan Nielsen (San Diego State University) talked about Gamifying Business Information Literacy: using digital badges to incentivise the acquisition of business information skills.
He decided to create a series of online business tutorials, and applied for a small research grant so he could use gamification in the tutorials: in this case to see whether digital badges engaged the students. Nielsen focused a specific course on Rhetoric and Writing, where he had reached 250 students in the first engagement with students, and 430 second engagement.
In terms of the tutorial, he considered using Adobe Connect, Blackboard and a homegrown system. He decided on Blackboard, as it does have a badging option, and also a means of enrolling all students in the tutorial. The tutorial has 3 sections, Finding, Evaluating and Using information, and in each section there are 2 subsections, one on company and on industry information. Nielsen used text, images, link, videos on Youtube, videos he created using Powtoons etc.
Badges on Blackboard are issued when they are triggered (so you set the trigger) and badges can be exported. The badged tutorials are going to pilot this autumn, with students surveyed, and also there will be a comparison between classes that have used the tutorials and classes which have had teaching in class.
Photo by Sheila Webber: lunchtime fruitplate, QQML conference

#QQML2016 : Collaboration and information literacy in Portuguese school libraries

A final day of liveblogging from the QQML conference. Ana Novo presented on Collaboration and information literacy in Portuguese school libraries. This presentation was based on PhD work (interviews with 20 teacher-librarians) and also work with Masters students (perceptions of 32 Masters students who were teacher-librarians). In Portugal they have to be qualified as teachers as well as librarians to work in schools. Novo identified some of the models that could be used for IL in the classroom e.g. Herring's and Kuhlthau's. She identified that part of the teacher librarian's role was convincing a school's director, teachers etc. that it was worth spending curriculum time on information literacy. Novo said that collaboration with teachers was important, but the teachers had more of an individualistic culture (my class, my pupils...). She cited Montiel-Overall (2005, 2006) as identifying that collaboration can impact school achievement, and Montiel-Overall also proposed 4 models of collaboration (coordination, cooperation, integrated instruction, integrated curriculum).
In the 20 interviews for the PhD study only the first two models were identified (coordination, cooperation). For the 32 Masters students, 12 each were in the first and 2nd model, 2 in the third and 6 were in transition (between 1st and 2nd and between 2nd and 3rd).
The conclusions were that there are difficulties in intergrating IL, with teacher very focused on his/her class.
Masters students had recommended e.g. training and awareness for teachers, flexible opening hours, organisisng events in the library, publicising it in the school newspeper etc.

#QQML2016 : Teaching Media Literacy, Did we Forget Literacy

At the QQML conference. Leena Pylkkö (whose coauthor was Pauli Pylkkö) talked on Teaching Media Literacy, Did we Forget Literacy. She is at Turku City Library (Finland) and she was talking about their multiliteracy initiative. Multiliteracy is part of a "culture path" designed in collaboration with local schools. Children come at different stages of education, and activities are attended by 82% of children at 2nd and 4th grade (8/9 years and 10/11 years). For older children, there is QR code orientiering and a session on the representation of people in the media.
Pylkkö described some of the activities e.g. making a video blog; making a picture collage of representations in the media; filling out activity sheets on a tablet.
She has been reflecting on how this connects to thinking skills, information literacy and reading skills. Children say that the most difficult things in the activities are e.g. thinking what to say on the vlog; understanding text (so challenges that have been around a long time - how to think and understand).
In order to explore these issues further Pylkkö contemplated Kuhlthau's model, but decided that a more suitable framework for her own context were Nelson Goodman's ideas. These are that paintings, photos etc. are worlds of their own each with their own system of codes. Thus, Understanding worlds = reading their symbol systems, and Not understanding = not understanding the symbol system.
Adapted to libraries; the librarian can be the person who introduces the learner to worlds and their symbols. This provides a framework for the librarian, and "literacy" is seen as competence in a specific semiotic system. Pylkkö also felt this helped to distinguish between ICT and literacy (and she talked at this point OECD and other research which showed that ICT use did not necessarily bring improvement in learning outcomes).
Pylkkö concluded that, using this approach, you would also embrace "traditional" concepts and content. She said that "Knowledge IS literacy, that is, ability to use different symbol systems in order to "make worlds"" - the worlds were e.g. "the library", "music", "art", "Books, DVDs, Video games" (the latter could be more than one world, also). Thus the librarian could concentrate on introducing the children to each of these worlds.
The presenter has written a paper (based on a talk at this conference 2 years ago) on a similar topic here http://www.qqml.net/papers/December_2014_Issue/3412QQML_Journal_2014_Pylkko_Dec_909-916.pdf

#QQML2016 : Methods for Authentically Assessing Information Literacy Instruction

Lvebloggong at the QQML conference this afternoon, a session on information literacy started with a presentation from Giovanna Badia (McGill University): Give Back to your Students! Methods for Authentically Assessing Information Literacy Instruction to Innovate your Teaching. The picture shows her coping with admirable calmness while various people tried to sort out the technical problems with the room's computer, before her talk started.
She started by defining authentic assessment as allowing students to chose their own topics to research for assessment. The context for the intervention she was describing was one taken by 90 chemical engineering students. She posed the questions to herself: could students understand her lecture on searching and could they apply it to their own search questions. Therefore she did a follow up questionnaire asking, for example, if they had used peer reviewed articles for their term paper topic (which they had chosen themselves) and asked them to search on Scopus for their topic and copy their search history. Gift cards were given as incentives. 40% of the class responded and 10 students took up an offer for further search help. From the survey: students found relevant results on avaerage in 3 different sources. Common issues were over-broad topics and too many search results.
As a response to this, Badia took an action research approach and designed an activity. She put the students in groups. They had to create a research question incorporating one or more words from a list (the list was compiled by looking at previous students' term paper topics). She made it into a game, where there was a prize for the best research question - as the activity progressed students got better and better at critiquing the research questions.
She also introduced a pre and post test which included ranking search strategies. Then, once again she had a follow up survey, adding a search strategy ranking exercise. Whilst the post test showed improvement in search strategy judgement, the responses to the later survey showed the students had slipped back somewhat. This time a finding of note was that students were using insufficient numbers of concepts. Badia aims to introduce a new activity to help with this issue, the next time the class runs. Badia gave some tips at the end, including that she got better responses to surveys by handing them out in class, and if they are in colour they stand out more (a colleague suggested that perhaps students felt guilty walking out of the clas without doing it, when the paper was such a distinctive colour!)

#QQML2016 : Designing Services for a Federated University - and some Shakespeare

Another talk from the QQML conference, where I am today. Jackie Marfleet, Senate House Librarian, University of London (the venue for conference) talked about Collaboration and Co-operation: Designing Services for a Federated University. She explained the special position of Senate House library, which acts as a "second library" to the various universities which make up the federated University of London (which consists of University College London, King's College London, London Business School etc.). Primarily it serves researchers (rather than undergraduate students). Being in that position, the library very much has to demonstrate its value. One way of doing this is collecting statistics, e.g. there are 7.5 million individual accesses of electronic resources per annum, but it also has to demonstrate impact.
Marfleet talked about the difference between cost, value and quality, and how quality had to be defined by the target population. Strengths of the library included unique colection, helpfulness of staff, physical location: although it isn't open 24/7 a large majority also are happy with opening hours (since, again, it is used mainly by faculty and research students - who I suppose are less likely to want to be in the library in the middle of the night completing assignments - they will be up in the middle of the night writing in their own homes/offices). Feedback has been that people like the library because it is somewhere quiet and studious (as an alternative to noisier collaborative spaces): highlighting again that people do not have standard, uniform wants and needs. Marfleet also talked about public engagement e.g. the major Shakespeare exhibition currently on (which has its own microwebsite): http://shakespeare.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/ and here's a nice video shot in the library

#QQML2016 Trends and Challenges to Future Libraries: Exploring Research Approaches

This morning at the QQML conference I gave my invited talk: Trends and Challenges to Future Libraries: Exploring Research Approaches. It is embedded below: in it I present an exaggerated view of the challenging future of (academic) libraries, describe examples of phenomenographic, ethnograpic, autoethnographic, case study and action research, and finally explain how qualitative research can develop librarians and libraries and enable them to meet challenges. It includes all the references, in the last few slides.

Trends and Challenges to Future Libraries: Exploring Research Approaches from Sheila Webber

#QQML2016 impact of training on information seeking behaviour

At the QQML conference Beatriz Candon presented research undertaken by Mariza Talim (University of Minais Gerais, Brazil: there was a 3rd author Sergio Talim) on the impact of training on information seeking behaviour. The group studied were health professionals, aiming to investigate the impact of tarining in use of the Virtual Health Library Portal and PubMed. The Kirkpatrick model was used to evaluate training. This involves examining learners' perceptions of training, the knowledge acquired, what is different inb behaviour afterwards and finally the organisational benefits resultng from the training. This study looked at the first 3 of these 4 elements.
Mariza Talim (a medical librarian) taught 15 hours (including similar sessions offered to different groups). The training concentrated on search strategy, using functions of the two databases etc. There were 82 participants. Data was collected through 3 questionnaires: pre and post test questionnaires, and the third administered 4-5 months after training. This third one asked them about a critical incident, and aimed to determine impact on practice. There was also a pre and post test. The data was analysed descriptively and comparing the before and after questionnaires.
The large majority of participants' perceptions of the training was positive. Trainees reported increased use of conference papers, systematic reviews etc., less use of Google and more frequent use of MEDLINE etc. The pre and post tests and questionnaires showed an increase in skills. The third questionnaire (asking them to think of a search incident before and after training) showed that participants who responded (I think it was 21) were getting more information after training and they were still using Google less and health databases more.

#QQML2016 Scholarly sharing of articles

Another post from the QQML conference. Carol Tenopir (with a presentation coauthored with prject partnered) reported on an international study which is investigating researchers' behaviours with sharing articles etc. They have undertaken focus groups in the USA and the UK and administered a questionnaire survey in various countries. They have discovered that people are sharing both informally and informally, in all sorts of ways e.g. via email, reference management software, printing things out. 16.7 full text articles and 8.6 links/references were on average shared by respondents (asked what they had shared in their last project). The mean number of articles downloaded per project were 65 (with a range between zero and 500, so working out percentage of those shared based just on average items shared seems too simplistic). Just over half of the downlaods came from library collections. Out of the works shared (whether their own work or others) the large majority were of the published version of the article.
There were some differences based on age e.g. people under 30 and over 60 shared less. Also there were some disciplinary differences e.g. engineers shared more via email and through other informal methods, social scientists shared a lot and shared more on social media. The project website is  http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/beyond-downloads and Carol Tenopir's publications on Researchgate are here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carol_Tenopir/publications
There is, for example, a paper about this research here (so here I am, as a social science researcher, sharing links informally....)

#QQML2016 report: Ethnographic study at Long Island University libraries

I'm at the QQML conference (Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries) in London for the next few days, giving a talk tomorrow. I won't be blogging this conference comprehensively as it isn't focusing on information literacy, but just pick out a few talks.
Just now, Valida Dent (pictured, in the red jacket) talked about a mixed methods (mainly ethnographic) study of student research behaviours at Long Island University libraries (USA). They used qualitative and quantitative methods, and aimed to illuminate students’ behaviour when they were doing academic work for assignments etc. The researchers did interviews, a 50-item questionnaire survey (including asking students what apps they were using on their mobile devices), and 32 hours of observation in the library. Observation was informed by findings from the survey to prompt foci for attention. Findings included (just to highlight a couple of things from the survey) that students found the library website confusing, that they were using library databases and google about equally, and they “were bringing their culture with them to their academic studies” on their mobile devices e.g. religious apps. Findings from the observation included that while students were sitting in groups, they were often working individually, including communicating via their phones with people sitting close to them.
There was a presentation on this research at LILAC, which is on Slideshare here http://www.slideshare.net/infolit_group/what-actually-happens-an-ethnographic-investigation-of-student-library-use-eamon-tewell-natalia-tomlin-kim-mullins and an article by the presenter Applying Ethnographic Research Methods in Library and Information Settings on Academia.edu at https://www.academia.edu/2012915/Applying_Ethnographic_Research_Methods_in_Library_and_Information_Settings

New book on visual literacy

Brown, N., Bussert, K., Hattwig, D. and Medaille, A. (2016). Visual Literacy for Libraries: A practical, standards-based guide. ALA Editions [in the UK it is published by Facet, with a discount for CILIP members].
In US$ at the ALA: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=11543 (there is also a sample of the book there)
In UK £ at Facet: http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=301447&category_code=13#.V0Qg0ObdiZM
The publisher's blurb says "Ideal for the busy librarian who needs ideas, activities, and teaching strategies that are ready to implement, this book: shows how to challenge students to delve into finding images, using images in the research process, interpreting and analysing images, creating visual communications, and using visual content ethically; provides ready-to-use learning activities for engaging critically with visual materials; offers tools and techniques for increasing one’s own visual literacy confidence; gives strategies for integrating, engaging with and advocating for visual literacy in libraries."
Photo by Sheila Webber: My apple blossom, May 2016

Recent articles: discovery search; music; research methods courses; screencasting; flipping

The latest issue (volume 42, no. 3) of The Journal of Academic Librarianship (priced publication) includes:
- Blakesley, E. (2016) Cognitive Bias and the Discovery Layer. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3), 191. (an interesting short think piece!)
- Dempsey, M. and Valenti, A. (2016) Student Use of Keywords and Limiters in Web-scale Discovery Searching. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3),200-206
- Myers, A. and Ishimura, Y. (2016) Finding Sound and Score: A Music Library Skills Module for Undergraduate Students. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3), 215-221
- Adams, C. et al. (2016) A Collaborative Approach to Integrating Information and Academic Literacy into the Curricula of Research Methods Courses. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3), 222-231
- Murphy, J. and Liew, C. (2016) Reflecting the Science of Instruction? Screencasting in Australian and New Zealand Academic Libraries: A Content Analysis. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3), 259-272
- Loo, J. et al (2016) Flipped Instruction for Information Literacy: Five Instructional Cases of Academic Librarians. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3), 273-280
- Lombard, E. (2016) Information Fluency: Not Information Literacy 2.0. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(3), 281-283
The contents page is at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00991333/42/3
Photo by Sheila Webber: Blackheath wildflowers, May 2016

Exploring Online Student Engagement: recording

Slides and recordings of the online event Exploring Online Student Engagement: Encouraging Active Learning at a Distance (held on May 4 2016) are available. There were three presentations: Christina Pryor & Kyla Hunt from Amigos Library Services gave practical tips for presentations and learner participation; Victoria Raish from Penn State University described her use of Yammer; Adele Merritt Bernard, Arlene Alleyne-Regis & Selwyn Rodulfo from the University of the West Indies Open Campus shared "their experiences creating a positive and active learning experience and engaging library users across a diverse and distributed university population".
Slides are at https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxQDYlcTaXNINDREaGR1X1AydVE&usp=sharing (the ones about using Yammer are the most informative as stand-alone objects)
Event Recording is at https://youtu.be/oKs8Ew4f3TM
Photo by Sheila Webber: Hawthorn stamens, May 2016

Using the Framework to Foster Conversations about Information Literacy Instruction

On 31 May at 1pm US Eastern time (which is 6pm UK time) ACRL Instruction Section’s Management and Leadership Committee presents its final Spring online seminar: Using the Framework to Foster Conversations about Information Literacy Instruction. It is led by Sara D. Miller and Amanda Nichols Hess and registration is here http://bit.ly/1NiWM6y "A key strength of the ACRL Framework lies in the potential that its concepts
provide for unearthing tacit assumptions in the process of developing expertise in disciplinary information literacy. The paths from IL novice to expert within in a discipline tend to be murky and filled with assumptions
about concepts, skills, and values unique to disciplinary cultures which "should have been learned” somewhere along the way. It is key for librarians in teaching positions to partner with disciplinary faculty in identifying and addressing critical issues of a discipline’s conventions and ways of constructing knowledge and to intentionally engage students with these questions. This presentation will discuss an ACRL Framework-based workshop designed for librarians and disciplinary faculty to come together to examine and discuss what information literacy looks like from a position of disciplinary expertise. Three goals of the workshop are to help facilitate conversations between librarians and disciplinary faculty, to understand specifically what is meant by information literacy within disciplines, and to identify areas of potential focus for IL instruction."
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry branch, Limpsfield Churchyard, April 2007

OERs on copyright

CHEER (Copyright in Higher Education Elements Resources) is an "an online repository of reusable works related to copyright in higher education" created by the North American universities: Furman University, Clemson University, and the University of South Carolina. "Our goal is to develop a single place where librarians, copyright offices, and other related offices at colleges and universities can find a variety of resources they can reuse, remix and redistribute." Obviously the specifics relate to US copyright law, but a good deal of material focuses on principles or issues that apply in other countries. They are calling out for other universities to reuse their content and also to contribute material of their own to the repository. The material can be browsed under the headings: Scholarly Communication; Copyright in the Library; Copyright Law and Application; Continuing Education and Copyright; Copyright Across Campus
The repository is at http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cheer/ and their email is tclcheer@mailbox.sc.edu
Photo by Sheila Webber: crab apple blossom, May 2016

New Media and Information Literacy project in Jordan

#UNESCO and the Jordan Media Institute (JMI) have launched a Media and Information Literacy (MIL) project Jordan. "The program aims to contribute to capacity building of national educational institutions in MIL and transferring skills to new generations, in addition to spreading awareness and knowledge among decision makers, opinion leaders and society." The first involves developing a policy paper and a strategy for introducing MIL into the curriculum. The second phase involves trainingh teachers and introducing MIL to school curricula. There is more information at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/jordan_media_institute_and_unesco_launch_media_and_information_literacy_project/back/9597/#.Vzw2y-bdiZM
Photo by Sheila webber: cherry branches, May 2016