Loughborough University Library: Open Journals
Not a member yet
1614 research outputs found
Sort by
Creating an online tutorial to develop academic and research skills
No full textThis paper explores an approach to creating an online tutorial to support postgraduate distance learners in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. The process used by the author, the subject librarian for geography, is described through the planning and design stages, to development and application, and finally evaluation and future uses of the tutorial.The aim of the tutorial was to provide a resource students could use to improve and develop their information literacy (IL) and academic skills, addressing the process of producing a written assignment, from planning, to search tools and techniques, to reading and critical thinking, through to writing up and referencing. In planning and designing the tutorial, the content covered in the face-to-face workshop for postgraduate students on finding, managing and evaluating information was reviewed, and information on Library support for distance learners added. To accommodate differing learning styles, and encourage learning by doing, activities such as drag-and-drop exercises, quizzes and videos were used. A learning technologist was consulted for advice on look and feel, navigation and techniques to improve interactivity. The tutorial was made available via the VLE and students were encouraged by their tutor to look at the tutorial and fill in a short feedback survey. Obtaining qualitative feedback from students in an online environment proved challenging, and ultimately was a major limitation in providing a thorough evaluation of the tutorial. There were also difficulties in obtaining quantitative data on use of the tutorial. With little evidence of whether the tutorial had been helpful to students, or had enabled them to improve their information literacy skills, decisions as to its continuation had to be made based on feedback from academic staff and the perceived benefits, identified by library staff, of reusing the tutorial as a resource to support face-to-face workshops. While not every IL practitioner will have access to the software used (Articulate), or have the assistance of a learning technologist, the principles of developing online tutorial learning materials, the advice from the learning technologist, and the explanation of limitations and lessons learned will be of interest to any library professional or IL practitioner wishing to create online learning resources.
Book Review of Kaplowitz, J. R. (2012). Transforming information literacy instruction using learner-centered teaching. London: Facet
Get PDFReflection for learning: understanding the value of reflective writing for information literacy development
Get PDFReflective writing has long been acknowledged as an important aspect of personal and professional development. There is increasing evidence of the use of reflective writing assessments and activities in the context of information literacy (IL) education, particular in higher education (HE). Writing reflectively can help students to understand their own IL development and engage in deeper learning. Students on an undergraduate business intelligence module at the University of Sheffield completed a piece of reflective writing about their IL development as part of the assessed work for the module. This writing was mapped against a model of reflection and a model of IL to understand the depth and spread of reflection offered by these students. The results showed that students had chosen to reflect in some but not all areas of IL, and the depth of reflection was variable. However, the aspects of IL where students were reflective illustrated that the learning outcomes of the module had been met. Mapping reflective statements against models of reflection was found to aid in the analysis and assessment of the reflective writing. The analysis undertaken by the researchers supported their own reflective practice as scholars of teaching and learning
Assessing students’ information literacy skills in two secondary schools in Singapore
Get PDFAppropriately measuring information literacy skills is essential to understand their educational impact as well as exploring pedagogies to improve teaching of these skills. This paper reports findings of a baseline study to understand the information literacy level of secondary school students in Singapore. A comprehensive instrument encompassing a new dimension of ethical usage of information as well as major IL principles and guidelines was developed for data collection. A total of 298 responses were gathered through the online survey. The findings indicate that overall there was a scope to improve students’ IL skills. That stated, higher order IL skills (such as information use, synthesis, and evaluation) demand more attention, as comparatively lower levels of proficiency were observed in this study.
The Conundrum of Teachers’ Expertise
Get PDFLast week, ministers said academies could hire staff
who were experts in their field, even if they did not have
qualified teacher status (QTS). The government says the
new rules will help schools to improve faster. Ministers
say it will allow these schools to hire professionals who
are experts in their field, such as scientists, engineers,
musicians and linguists who may not have QTS.
(BBC News 1st Aug 2012)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19076852
You may not have consciously thought about them, but
you will be familiar with the two basic modes of operation
of the mind
Collaboration within Student Design Teams Participating in Architectural Design Competitions
Get PDFThis paper investigates design collaboration with reference
to convergent and divergent idea generation processes in
architectural design teams entering a design competition.
Study of design teams offer a unique opportunity to
investigate how creativity is fostered through collaborative
work. While views of creativity often relate creativity to
individual originality, collaboration requires different
designers to work together towards one common design
idea and consider as many different ideas as possible. In
collaborative design, it would be easier to offer a variety of
ideas but equally difficult to establish a consensus on a
single idea. To investigate the role of convergent and
divergent thinking in the design process, we interviewed
three groups of architecture students who participated in
competitions as a team. Interviews were analysed
thematically to investigate how the teams overcame
spatial, temporal, conceptual, and technological barriers.
We conclude that the barriers and roles of members in
design collaboration interact with convergent and
divergent concept generation
Design Research Society 2012 Bangkok: Reforming traditions, reshaping boundaries
Get PDFArriving in Bangkok from Dublin, I did not know quite what
to expect from a city whose name in Thai language, Krung
Thep, translates directly as ‘City of Angels’. Thailand’s
renown for warmth, charm and hospitality is well known,
however in its period of transition, political reorganisation,
and recent natural disaster, the nation is being forced to
reconcile tradition and progress, East and West, classicism
and modernism. Events at the Design Research Society
conference 2012, staged at Chulalongkorn University
Bangkok, fortified the city’s reputation and exposed the
country’s exciting state of flux. Over the four days from 1st
to 4th July, DRS delegates encountered a multidimensional culture – a nation which is at once freeflowing
and open to change, yet which remains grounded
in tradition and pride for its rich history
Indicators of adult information literacy
Get PDFInformation literacy (IL), defined as the capacity to locate, evaluate and use information to create new knowledge, is a core adult life skill and an extension of the notion of functional literacy. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has identified information literacy as an essential capacity for participation in the knowledge economy and has included this construct as a strategic priority in the Information for All Programme (IFAP).To support this initiative UNESCO has commissioned research to consider whether a household survey could be used to identify the extent to which people in member states are information literate in all aspects of their life, including work and lifelong learning, and in relation to their personal well-being, and in their participation in civil society. United Nations agencies use surveys to provide indications of the extent to which various agreed objectives are being achieved. These include international surveys of education and of health and well-being.This paper reports on an investigation aimed at determining whether indicators of IL could be identified by secondary analysis of existing data collected in other household surveys.It was concluded that IL has unique elements that are not encompassed in the surveys that were examined
