Food for thought: Lunchtime training at LIT

Library Nora Hegarty

Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT)

LIT– active learning

The hallmark of our educational philosophy is active learning through a fusion of theory and practice (Limerick Institute

of Technology 2011)

LIT Library – active learning

active collaborative learning

broadly constructivist approach

pedagogical approaches that

put learner engagement at the

centre of the learning experience (Limerick Institute of Technology 2011)

Information literacy framework

If transportation may be likened to learning, the goal of education is not to move learners passively from

point to point but to help them learn to drive themselves. (Gunderman & Wood 2004) 897)

Library lunchtime training

information literacy workshops

a la carte menu – specific &

transferable study & research skills•Referencing, citation & avoiding plagiarism•Introduction to Endnote•Library resources for getting started with your thesis •Summon, ebrary & other library databases•Critically evaluating journal articles •Introduction to the literature review

A repertoire of IL related knowledge practices that will serve them well in varying situations

Some guidelines (Lau 2006 27)

• Plan information literacy workshops to enhance specific skills • Workshops should be focused

• Time length should be short and scheduled when students have a

study break i.e. lunch periods or evenings

• Create a program for the whole term with different workshops options

• Workshop facilitation can be shared among other information specialists, if they are available

• Keep the sessions lively • Name the workshop with catchy words focused on the actual

content (Lau 2006 27)

Library anxiety

a serious emotional or

psychological condition,

characterised by tension, fear, feelings of uncertainty &

helplessness, negative &

self-defeating thoughts &

mental disorganisation that

appear only when students are

in or contemplating a visit to the library

(Shoham & Mizrachi 2001)

Information overload

IAKT syndrome (Bell 2007 100)

Students assume they have little to gain from IL instruction

One way to deal with IAKT (I Already Know That) syndrome

is to challenge the students to demonstrate their expertise

(Bell 2007 100)

Zone of intervention (Kuhlthau 2004)

that area in which an information user can do with advice and assistance with what he or she cannot do alone or can do only with great difficulty (Kuhlthau 2004)

the workshops aim to accommodate students at point of need providing a version of zone of intervention enabling students to overcome information overload and enjoy information fluency

Lifelong learning

the core value of the workshops is that they allow students to

behave as lifelong learners not just to learn the

information skills characteristic of lifelong learners (Manuel 2003 44)

Learning is not a spectator sport. Students……must talk about what they are learning,

write about it, relate it to past

experiences and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what

they learn part of themselves (Chickering & Gamson 1987 5)

Knowledge in action (Head 2014)

Research is an iterative discovery process;

not a linear process (Head 2012)

Research is about

learning from and using information

for a purpose rather than just

finding sources (Holliday & Rogers 2013 267)

Student & lecturer feedback

At what moment did you feel most engaged with what was happening? When the librarian started to go round room talking to each of us individually and answering our questions

What action that anyone took did you find most affirming or helpful?U-tube clips were helpfulHandouts were brilliantI liked the practical part of the classLive demos were very usefulCommentary and comments added a lot too

What about the class surprised you most? It was more helpful than I anticipated It surprised me how much I did not know

I consciously promote these sessions to students as I feel they are very relevant

References • Bell, S. (2007) ‘Stop IAKT syndrome with student live search demos’ Reference Services Review, 35(1) pp.98-108.

• Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987) ‘Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education’, AAHE Bulletin, 39, pp.3-7.

• Gunderman, R. B. & Wood, B. P. (2004) ‘Trusting the student: learner-centred education’, Journal of the American College of Radiology, 1 (12), pp.897-900.

• Head, A. (2012) ‘How college graduates solve information problems once they join the workplace, Project Information Literacy Research Report’[online] available at: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED536470.pdf (accessed 7July 2014).

• Head, A. & Wihbey, J. (2014) ‘At sea in a deluge of data’, The Chronicle of Higher Education [online] available at: http://chronicle.com/article/At-Sea-in-a-Deluge-of-Data/147477/#disqus_thread (accessed 8 July 2014).

• Holliday, W. & Rogers, J. (2013) ‘Talking about information literacy: the mediating role of discourse in a college writing classroom’, portal: Libraries and the Academy, 13 (3), pp.257-271.

• Kuhlthau, C. (2004) Seeking meaning: a process approach to library and information services, 2nd ed. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

• Lau, J. (2006) Guidelines on information literacy for lifelong learning: Final draft, Information Literacy Section, IFLA. Universidad Veracruzana: Boca del Río, Veracruz, México.

• Limerick Institute of Technology (2011) LIT Vision & Strategy to 2020: Active leadership in education, enterprise and engagement [online] available at: http://www.lit.ie/Reports/Documents/LIT_Vision_and20Strategy 20 to2020_FINAL%2030%20March%2011.pdf (accessed 18 March 2014).

• Manuel. K. (2003) ‘Marketing “drop-in”workshops for lifelong learning’, Public Services Quarterly,1 (4), pp. 43-65.

• Shoham, S. & Mizrachi, D. (2001) ‘Perspectives on library anxiety among undergraduates: a study of Israeli B.Ed students’, Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27, pp.305-311.

• Simmons, M.H. (2005) ‘Librarians as disciplinary discourse mediators: using genre theory to move toward critical information literacy’,portal: Libraries and the Academy 5 (3), pp. 297-311

All images courtesy of Google Images

Nora HegartyLimerick IT Library Tel: 353 61 293874E-mail: Nora.Hegarty@lit.ie