1. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 1 MLIM6319 Info. Behaviour – wk 2 “Learning in Digital Libraries: An Information Search Process Approach” – by Carol Kuhlthau http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/information_search_process.htmhttp://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/information_search_process.htm or Library Trends, Vol. 45, No.4, Spring 1997, pp. 708-724 Course Coordinator: Dr. Chu Tutor: Dr. Felix Siu

2. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 2 Main Considerations for learning in digital libraries What problems do learners encounter? How can information professionals assist learners in their use of digital libraries for lasting meaningful learning? What are some of the theoretical underpinnings for guiding meaningful learning in digital libraries? Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004

3. 2015/9/15 3 Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources - 1  McClintock (1996) explains that schools have changed from being places where teachers and students were isolated from the general culture with a scarcity of resources to being connected by networks with unlimited access to the abundant resources of our culture.  “Such a new rule is not without its pitfalls, but to cope with these we must recognize that it is a new rule, deeply different from the old. In our extended present, the educational problem changes profoundly, shifting from stratagems for disbursing scarce knowledge to finding ways to enable people to use unlimited access to the resources of our culture” (McClintock, 1996, p.2).

4. 2015/9/15 4 Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 2 E.g., WiseNews  Students’ Opinions About WiseNews – Students: 3.5 out of 5, with 5 as “very helpful”. – Students: 3.9 out of 5, with 5 as “very easy to use”.

5. 2015/9/15 5 Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 3 E.g., WiseNews  Sources of articles both viewed and archived by the top 9 students. USERID No. of Articles Viewed and ArchivedNo. of Sources UsedOrigins of Source cps4f352420 Mainland China, Hong Kong cps4g141715Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau cps4f17127 Mainland China cps4e11119 Mainland China, Hong Kong cps4g26119 Mainland China, Hong Kong cps4f0486Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan cps4f0565Mainland China, Hong Kong cps4e3654Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan cps4h0554 Mainland China, Hong Kong

6. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-2007-wk2.ppt 6 Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 4 E.g., WiseNews  Subjects of articles, their respective sources and regions for a student.

7. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-2007-wk2.ppt 7 Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 5 E.g., WiseNews  Compare the news database WiseNews with other information sources

8. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 8 Constructivist Approach When learning is viewed as a process of construction, each student is actively involved in building on what he or she already knows to come to a new understanding of the subject under study. In contrast, a transmission approach is based on transferring facts about the subject from the teacher or the text without requiring any reconstruction on the part of the child. Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004

9. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 9 An example of a transmission approach is copying word for word from a text or lecture and then reporting back, usually in the form of a test. An example of a constructivist approach is reading, listening, or viewing a text and reflecting on the content, noting what is remembered as important and interesting, perhaps in the form of a chart depicting the connection of ideas and then explaining to a peer study group what was noted. Transmission Approach vs. Constructivist Approach Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004

10. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 10 Roles For Librarians Librarians and teachers play a central role in facilitating learning in the constructivist approach. They formulate the overall direction and underlying principles to be developed during the learning experience. They guide and coach learners through the learning experience. (Sizer, 1992)

11. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 11 Zone of proximal development  Vygotsky (1978), the Russian psychologist, developed the concept of an area or zone in which intervention would be most useful to a learner, called the zone of proximal development.  The zone of intervention for information professionals (Kuhlthau,1993), is that area in which a user can do with guidance and assistance what he or she could not do alone.  Scaffolding - the process of providing a child or student with sufficient support during the time they are learning something.

12. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 12 Six Stages in the Information Search Process (Initial Model) Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004, p.45

13. 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt 13 First Stage of the ISP Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004, p.44

14. 2015/9/15 14 Second Stage of the ISP Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004, p.46

15. 2015/9/15 15 Third Stage of the ISP Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004, p.47

16. 2015/9/15 16 Fourth Stage of the ISP Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004, p.48

17. 2015/9/15 17 Fifth Stage of the ISP Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004, p.49

18. 2015/9/15 18 Sixth Stage of the ISP Kuhlthau, C. C., 2004, p.50

19. Six Stages in the Information Search Process (Initial Model) 2015/9/15MLIM6319-IB-2007-wk2.ppt 19

20. 2015/9/15 20 Comparing 2 assignments done by former students Students in groups of 2-3 will examine and discuss assignment examples 2 and 3. – Which student did a better job? – Post your answer on the Discussion Forum.

21. 2015/9/15 21 Coaching the Information Search Process in Digital Libraries Studies of the ISP show that students use certain activities to help them work through the process of information seeking. Students find it helpful to: (1) work with others and not be required to work alone on a project; (2) have a clear concept of their own process; (3) talk to other people as they go along; (4) describe their ideas in some pictorial form; (5) write short pieces along the way. (Kuhlthau, 1997)

22. 2015/9/15 22 Strategies for coaching students in the ISP (1). Collaborating In studies of the information search process, one of the strategies students used to work through the more difficult stages in the process was to work with other students. – They would confer on what they were planning to do. – They would let each other know if they came across some source that they thought might be of use in the other's investigation. True collaboration enables each person to construct his or her own understanding of the problem at hand. The collaboration advances each individual's constructive learning. (Kuhlthau, 1997)

23. 2015/9/15 23 Strategies for coaching students in the ISP (1). Collaborating – cont’d Group leaders do most of the work?

24. 2015/9/15 24 Strategies for coaching students in the ISP (2). Continuing The strategy of continuing is based on an understanding of the information search process as a constructive process rather than as a single incident of information seeking. Students with a clear understanding of their involvement in a continuing process are likely to press on beyond a single search to reading and reflecting that leads to further searching and ultimately to forming a focused perspective that provides a base for an extensive collection of information. The process of information seeking involves construction in which students actively pursue understanding and meaning from the information encountered over a period of time.

25. 2015/9/15 25 Strategies for coaching students in the ISP (3). Conversing Talking, especially those that enables thinking, was found to be an important strategy for students in the studies of the information search process in every stage in the process. – Coaching in the earliest stage of the ISP can take the form of offering an invitation to research that engages students in conversations about what they already know about the problem and what they might be interested in finding out. – Conversing during exploration helps students to try out different formulations for the focus of their research.

26. 2015/9/15 26 Strategies for coaching students in the ISP (4). Charting Charting is depicting an idea or a set of ideas in the pictorial form of a drawing or a chart. Organizing ideas graphically is an important strategy for developing thoughts as they are emerging as well as for identifying what is not known and needs to be investigated further. A chart provides a picture of a set of ideas and addresses the connection between the ideas. This type of charting has been given a number of different names, most commonly used are webbing and graphic organizers.

27. 2015/9/15 27 Strategies for coaching students in the ISP (5). Composing Composing in the electronic environment means more than writing. Writing implies putting pen to paper in a traditional sense. – Personal computers have changed significantly the ways people approach writing. – The act of composing facilitates thinking. – People compose not only for others to read but to formulate, organize, and express their own developing thoughts. Composing is an excellent strategy for advancing formulation in the information search process. – Research journals can provide an ongoing vehicle for composing throughout the research project. – Journal keeping can be easily adapted to the use of personal computers. – Librarians may recommend that students keep research journals for recording ideas, questions, and connections as they progress through the ISP.

28. 2015/9/15 28 Creating Learning Environments in Digital Libraries Learning begins with an area of uncertainty. – The student is unable to do something, does not understand, and needs to know more. Learning through information seeking promotes a change in a way of thinking about something. – Learning is measured by this change. – The student thought about something one way before and now he or she thinks about it in a different way. – In some instances, a change is sudden, radically altering the way something is viewed or the way something is done. – Other learning is reflected in a more subtle change over time, but nonetheless a significant increase in understanding takes place. (Kuhlthau, 1997)

29. 2015/9/15 29 Constructive process of learning The constructive process of learning involves: – acting and reflecting; – feeling and formulating; – predicting and choosing; – interpreting and creating.. (Kuhlthau, 1997)

30. 2015/9/15 30 Acting and Reflecting Dewey (1933) explained that action and reflection are necessary elements in order for learning to take place. Activity without reflection rarely leads to new learning. Action that is followed by reflection enables students to construct a new understanding from the activity situation. By reflecting on the result of an action, students discover new insight into their former perspective.

31. 2015/9/15 31 Feeling and Formulating Formulating is not just thinking about something but is a holistic experience accompanied by deep feelings and emotions. Students often misinterpret their feeling in the information search process. Rather than recognizing feelings of uncertainty as natural and essential to the early stages of the process, they often mistake these feelings for a lack of ability to do the task or a lack of resources available to gather sufficient information.

32. 2015/9/15 32 Predicting and Choosing All throughout the information search process, students have to make choices. They choose general areas to investigate, specific aspects to learn about, and a focus to understand on a deep level. They choose the sources that they will read and the ideas they will develop. They choose the strategies they will apply for locating information and for formulating a focused perspective. Kelly (1963) explains that choices in the process of construction are based on prediction of consequences. Prediction plays an essential role in the constructive theory of learning.

33. 2015/9/15 33 Interpreting and Creating Interpreting information and creating a new understanding is the overarching goal of the information search process. Interpreting is based on personal constructs built from past experience. In this highly individual process, students make connections between information in various sources, extend their own ideas, and create something new for themselves.

34. 2015/9/15 34 Challenges for Information Professionals Great promise for learning in digital libraries but seeking meaning in information rich environments is not an easy process. The central goal of information seeking for the learner is to move from uncertainty to understanding. Information professionals play an important part in facilitating that goal. (Kuhlthau, 1997)

35. 2015/9/15 35 In-class discussion For the new Secondary School Curriculum, every Form 5/6 student has to do a substantial independent research project for their Liberal Studies (LS) course. Information seeking is a major element for the project. In groups of 3-4, discuss the role school librarians can play in helping these students to move from uncertainty to understanding in their LS project.

36. Reference Kuhlthau, C. (2004). “Learning in Digital Libraries: An Information Search Process Approach”. Retrieved on 29 th Jan 2010, from http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/8113/library trendsv45i4k_opt.pdf;jsessionid=787F367E362B1A62B6E856B B7AE041CE?sequence=1 http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/8113/library trendsv45i4k_opt.pdf;jsessionid=787F367E362B1A62B6E856B B7AE041CE?sequence=1 Kuhlthau, C. (2004). Seeking Meaning: A process approach to Library and Information services. Libraries Unlimited, Inc. 2015/9/15 36