The idea of information literacy, broadly defined as the ability to recognise information needs and identify, evaluate and use information effectively, has been of growing concern in the education sectors for a number of years; whilst in the workplace, employers and managers have perhaps attended more to the need for computer and information technology skill. New descriptions of information literacy, that may be of value to the business sector, are now beginning to appear as a result of qualitative research into how professional employees experience the effective use of information. This paper summarises the outcomes of an investigation into the experience of information literacy amongst various types of professionals; and explores the possible differences and interrelations between individual and organisational information literacy suggested by these outcomes. Seven different ways of experiencing information literacy were identified. These experiences are closely related to important workplace processes such as environmental scanning, information management, corporate memory, and research and development; confirming that information literacy should be considered a significant part of the character of learning organisations as well as being a key characteristic of the organisation's employees. Implications of individual and organisational information literacy for beginning and continuing professional education are explored.
Information literacy educators are daily challenged by an environment in which colleagues and students bring very different perspectives to curriculum design, teaching and learning, and by the need to apply theories of learning to information literacy education in coherent ways. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model, Six Frames for Information Literacy Education, as a tool for analysing, interpreting and understanding these challenges; and to explain the relational frame in more detail. In the first part of this paper we provide an overview of the different ways in which teaching, learning, and information literacy may be approached. We also introduce the Six Frames for information literacy education. In the second part, we explore some challenges and techniques of applying the relational frame for information literacy education in more detail. Finally, we suggest some ways in which using the six frames may assist practice. KeywordsInformation literacy, learning, relational model, six frames of information literacy education, variation theory. People see information literacy, learning and teaching differentlyThe purpose of this paper is to propose a model, Six Frames for Information Literacy Education, and to explain the relational frame in more detail. We contend that information literacy (IL) is not a theory of learning, but rather that peoples' approaches to IL and IL education are informed by the views of teaching, learning and IL which they adopt either implicitly or explicitly in different contexts. IL educators, including discipline-based academics and librarians are challenged daily by an environment in which administrators, teaching colleagues, students and others bring very different perspectives to the processes of IL education.In this section we explore the idea that teaching, learning and IL are seen differently by participants in the teaching-learning context, and suggest ways in which IL education might be affected. Variation across these aspects of the IL education context inform the Six Frames for Information Literacy Education -which we introduce in this paper as tools to help us analyse and reflect on aspects of IL education and their contexts."People see teaching and learning differently" This is a deceptively simple proposition, supported by much research, which has a profound effect on our daily engagement with teaching and learning in its many forms.
Phenomenography is a qualitative research approach that seeks to explore variation in how people experience various aspects of their world. Phenomenography has been used in numerous information research studies that have explored various phenomena of interest in the library and information sphere. This paper provides an overview of the phenomenographic method and discusses key assumptions that underlie this approach to research. Aspects including data collection, data analysis and the outcomes of phenomenographic research are also detailed. The paper concludes with an illustration of how phenomenography was used in research to investigate students’ experiences of web-based information searching. The results of this research demonstrate how the phenomenographic approach yields insights into variation, making it possible to develop greater understanding of the phenomenon as it was experienced, and to draw upon these experiences to improve and enhance current practice.
Executive SummaryThe research reported here investigates variation in first year university students' early experiences of learning to program, with a particular focus on revealing differences in how they go about learning to program. A phenomenographic research approach was used to reveal variation in how the act of learning to program may be constituted amongst first year university students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students who had either recently completed, or were enrolled in, a university-level introductory programming subject. Analysis revealed that students might go about learning to program in any of five different ways: by (1) Following -where learning to program is experienced as 'getting through' the unit, (2) Coding -where learning to program is experienced as learning to code, (3) Understanding and integrating -where learning to program is experienced as learning to write a program through understanding and integrating concepts, (4) Problem solving -where learning to program is experienced as learning to do what it takes to solve a problem, and (5) Participating or enculturation -where learning to program is experienced as discovering what it means to become a programmer. The relationships between these different approaches to learning are represented diagrammatically. The mapping of the variation constitutes a framework within which one aspect of the teaching and learning of introductory programming, how students go about it, may be understood. Implications for teaching and learning in introductory university curricula are discussed. They include the following points:
The idea of informed learning, applicable in academic, workplace and community settings, has been derived largely from a program of phenomenographic research in the field of information literacy, which has illuminated the experience of using information to learn. Informed learning is about simultaneous attention to information use and learning, where both information and learning are considered to be relational; and is built upon a series of key concepts such as second-order perspective, simultaneity, awareness, and relationality. Informed learning also relies heavily on reflection as a strategy for bringing about learning. As a pedagogical construct, informed learning supports inclusive curriculum design and implementation.This paper reports aspects of the informed learning research agenda which are currently being pursued at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The first part elaborates the idea of informed learning, examines the key concepts underpinning this pedagogical construct, and explains its emergence from the research base of the QUT Information Studies research team. The second presents a case, which demonstrates the ongoing development of informed learning theory and practice, through the development of inclusive informed learning for a culturally diverse higher education context.
This paper elaborates the concept of informed learning and locates it in educational, workplace and community settings. Drawing from existing research into people's experience of information literacy, it identifies critical experiences of informed learners in each of these three settings. It also explores the support required in educational, community and workplace contexts which makes informed learning possible. Recognising strong implications for policy makers in different sectors, the paper presents a set of guiding principles for developing informed learning and learners. The idea of informed learning represents and advances understandings of information literacy that incorporate the broader concept of using information to learn: those understandings that go beyond the functional or generic information literacy paradigm and draw attention to the transformational, situated and critical aspects of information literacy. Using information to learn is a natural, but often implicit part of all formal and informal learning environments, and is a vital component of the lifelong learning agendas of many nations worldwide. Supporting informed learning requires conscious attention to the use of information in the learning process, by educators, managers, trainers, and policy makers in all sectors. It requires a far reaching response to policy directions involving a wide range of stakeholders.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
334 Leonard St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.