Loughborough University Library: Open Journals
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1614 research outputs found
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Exploring value as a dimension of professional information literacy
Full text linkThis study presents a critical exploration of one of the ACRL Framework concepts by examining it in the context of professional practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with health and human service professionals at a community health centre to explore how information literacy (IL) is experienced in the workplace. Value emerged as the dominant theme in participants’ descriptions of their information practices. This concept was conceived of predominantly in the context of personal and professional relationships that existed within the systems and structures of the physical workplace, professional practice and the health and social care system. Using phenomenography as a methodological approach, this study presents a lens through which to see the nature and significance of information value in various contexts beyond academia, and invites librarians to consider how evidence from workplace and professional settings may inform IL instruction to students, especially those entering health and human service professions
Book review of Witte, S., Latham, D., and Gross, M. (eds.) 2019. Literacy engagement through peritextual analysis
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How do teens learn to play video games?
Full text linkThe main objective of this article is to analyse informal learning processes in the field of video games. As many teenagers are engaged in these kinds of practices, the big question is: How do teens learn to play video games? In most cases they do not learn to play video games at school or with their parents, and therefore it is necessary to map and analyse these informal learning strategies (ILS). The aims of this article are to identify the main ILS that teens apply as they acquire and improve their video game literacy, and to develop a series of categories for analysing and classifying these informal learning experiences. After briefly outlining the situation of ILS and teens’ transmedia skills, in the context of a general reflection on information literacy (IL) and transmedia literacy (TL), the methodological aspects of research and fieldwork in eight countries is described. A taxonomy of ILS related to video game practices is also presented. The research team identified six modalities of ILS (learning by doing, problem solving, imitation, playing, evaluation and teaching) and expanded them with four main categories (subject, time, space and relationships) that contain a series of oppositions. This set of modalities, categories and oppositions should be considered as a first step in the construction of a set of analytical tools for describing and classifying ILS in the context of teens’ video game experiences
The roles of material prototyping in collaborative design process at an elementary school
Full text linkCo-invention projects in elementary school engage pupils in complex, open-ended design tasks in a practical, hands-on way. Physical materials are an intrinsic part of design, involving trasformation of conceptual ideas into material forms, such as prototypes. These tangible objects mediate embodied thinking and act as material-social mediators of knowledge creation processes. However, the material properties of the designed artifact and pupils’ varying skills and levels of material knowledge constrain the design process.
While previous studies of materiality in design have mainly focused on adults, this study aims to analyze and describe the different roles of material prototyping in an elementary school collaborative design process. A co-invention process was conducted in a Finnish elementary school during spring 2017, with the task of designing solutions for everyday problems. The data consisted of six video recorded design sessions, where small teams of 5th graders prototyped their inventions. We analyzed the video data across macro-, intermediate-, and micro-levels.
The results revealed that pupils used prototypes as mediators for ideation and collaboration. They tested their ideas with prototyping, and material manipulation occurred during collaborative ideation. Material representations supported the verbalization and demonstration of ideas. Some challenges also emerged; prototype construction was a slow and laborious process, the division of labor tended to be unevenly distributed, and the model took a dominant role over the designed artifact. We conclude that support from the teacher and the learning environment is critical for utilizing the full potential of material manipulation in an elementary school setting
Connecting theory to practice
Full text linkThis design-based research study of library instruction was developed using the Community of Inquiry theoretical framework. Three different instructional approaches were developed and evaluated as part of this study: the one-shot session approach, the partially embedded librarian approach and the fully embedded librarian approach. Surveys, interviews and journaling were used to gather data from faculty, undergraduate students and the researcher–librarian about their experiences. This research study is unique given the combined use of design-based research methodology and the Community of Inquiry theoretical framework to collaboratively design and evaluate library instruction. 
Girls’ engagement with technology education: A scoping review of the literature
Full text linkThe aim of this study is to review internationally published scientific literature on the subject of girls’ engagement in technology education, in order to identify the most common descriptions of girls’ engagement with technology education, girls’ technological activities, and the relationship between girls and technology. After a scoping review of the literature, 20 relevant articles were identified and included in the study; they were analysed using content analysis. The results show that, according to the reviewed studies, girls are less interested in and have less positive attitudes towards technology (education) than boys. They are also less likely to choose a technology- or STEM-oriented occupation. Several of the included studies venture possible explanations as to why this is and refer mainly to cultural factors. Those studies that do define the type of technology used in girls’ activities mostly describe a neutral, or male kind of “nuts and bolts” technology. As regards girls’ relationship to technology, there is potential for improving female engagement using apparently simple means; for example, making sure the social context of teaching is adapted to girls. The results of the literature review are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and can be used as a guide for educators and researchers in the area. In particular, the reasons for girls’ lower interest in technology education compared to boys need to be further researched, and it may be that researchers need to study girls in their own right, not in perpetual comparison with boys, in order to come closer to an answer
Book review of Steiner, S. and Rigby, M. (eds.) 2019. Motivating students on a time budget: pedagogical frames and lesson plans for in-person and online information literacy instruction
Full text linkPersonalised video instruction
Full text linkThe liaison librarian to a college with a substantial and growing online learning population began using asynchronous, personalised video instruction as an online replacement for the traditional face-to-face, one-on-one bibliographic instruction reference appointment. This project was informed by the framework of metaliteracy and the “See One, Do One, Teach One” instruction methodology utilised by the health sciences. While formal outcomes assessment has yet to be conducted, unsolicited comments from students are overwhelmingly positive, and preliminary data analysis of usage and engagement reveals several promising trends. 65% of all watched videos were watched for the entire duration of the video, and the liaison librarian found video creation to be less time-consuming than scheduling appointments.
The liaison librarian to a university with a substantial and growing online learning population began using asynchronous, personalised video instruction as an online replacement for the traditional face-to-face, one-on-one bibliographic instruction reference appointment. This project was informed by the framework of metaliteracy and the ‘See One, Do One, Teach One’ instruction methodology utilised by the health sciences. While formal outcomes assessment has yet to be conducted, unsolicited comments from students are overwhelmingly positive, and preliminary data analysis of usage and engagement reveals several promising trends. Of all watched videos 65% were watched for the entire duration, and the liaison librarian found video creation to be less time-consuming than scheduling appointments. Providing personalised video instruction tailored to the individual student’s information literacy need is a novel approach that may benefit online learners and librarians alike
Examining Estonian Schoolteachers’ Attitudes Towards the Use of Applied Science Knowledge Within Craft Education
Full text linkThis article examines the possibility of supporting craft education by incorporating knowledge students have gained via science lessons: such knowledge largely refers to the mathematics and physics taught in Estonian comprehensive schools. Results were gleaned from interviews with craft teachers in Estonia, in order to establish their attitudes to the idea of integrating science with craft. Their ideas are presented here, along with a comparison of their understanding of the pedagogy. The results of the study address the following research questions:
Do teachers consider the National Curricula supportive, in terms of integrating science knowledge in order to support craft education?
How do teachers recognise knowledge of science during craft processes?
Are teachers aware when science is integrated into their teaching?
What do teachers consider the benefits of such integration?
The research demonstrated the pedagogy of integrating knowledge of science with craft as a novel idea, based on a process of merging the two knowledge models. The result of this process is a development of a new area of knowledge that can both enable students’ understanding and their design and fashioning processes. Moreover, it relates to real-world phenomena and thus helps students with their ideation. Such new knowledge is achievable when knowledge from one of the fields is used in the other field, whether science or craft. The integration of science with general craft education is dependent upon both the National Curricula and a teacher’s method of teaching