Using assignment data to analyse a blended information literacy intervention: A quantitative approach
by Geoff Walton
Co-authored with Mark Hepworth, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2012 OnlineFirst
This research sought to determine whether a blended information literacy learning and teaching intervention could... more This research sought to determine whether a blended information literacy learning and teaching intervention could statistically significantly enhance undergraduates’ information discernment compared to standard face-to-face delivery. A mixture of face-to-face and online activities, including online social media learning, was used. Three interventions were designed to develop the information literacies of first-year undergraduates studying Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University and focused on one aspect of information literacy: the ability to evaluate source material effectively. An analysis was devised where written evaluations of found information for an assessment were converted into numerical scores and then measured statistically. This helped to evaluate the efficacy of the interventions and provided data for further analysis. An insight into how the information literacy pedagogical intervention and the cognitive processes involved in enabling participants to interact critically with information is provided. The intervention which incorporated social media learning proved to be the most successful learning and teaching approach. The data indicated that undergraduate students’ information literacy can be developed. However, additional long-term data is required to establish whether this intervention would have a lasting impact.
Information behaviour and information literacy: The ultimate in transdisciplinary phenomena?
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 2011 43:166
(Originally published online: 2 June 2011)
This article investigates transdisciplinarity in relation to information behaviour and information literacy. It... more This article investigates transdisciplinarity in relation to information behaviour and information literacy. It demonstrates how these areas are especially suited to transdisciplinarity thought, notes the potential that transdisciplinarity offers in these contexts and presents the key components of transdisciplinarity in two complementary breakdowns designed to help academics and information professionals recognize the value of the concept to their own work. The article considers how transdisciplinarity may be understood in terms of transferable skills, collaboration across different areas, phenomena that affect various disciplines and the use in one field of ideas associated with another. It concludes with reflections on the overall strengths and weaknesses of transdisciplinarity.
Beyond information seeking: towards a general model of information behaviour
Godbold, N. 2006, ‘Beyond information seeking: towards a general model of information behaviour’, Information Research, vol. 11, no. 4. http://informationr.net/ir/11-4/paper269.html
Introduction. The aim of the paper is to propose new models of information behaviour that extend the concept beyond... more
Introduction. The aim of the paper is to propose new models of information behaviour that extend the concept beyond simply information seeking to consider other modes of behaviour. The models chiefly explored are those of Wilson and Dervin.
Argument A shortcoming of some models of information behaviour is that they present a sequence of stages where it is evident that actual behaviour is not always sequential. In addition, information behaviour models tend to confine themselves to depictions of information seeking.
Development. A model of 'multi-directionality' is explored, to overcome the notion of sequential stages. Inspired by authors such as Chatman, Krikelas, and Savolainen, modes of information behaviour such as creating, destroying and avoiding information are included.
Conclusion. New models of information behaviour are presented that replace the notion of 'barriers' with the concept of 'gap', as a means of integrating the views of Wilson and Dervin. The proposed models incorporate the notion of multi-directionality and identify ways in which an individual may navigate 'gap' using modes of information behaviour beyond information seeking.
A longitudinal study of changes in learners’ cognitive states during and following an information literacy teaching intervention (Emerald Literati Highly Commended Paper 2012)
by Geoff Walton
Co-authored with Mark Hepworth. Journal of Documentation, 2011, 67, 3, pp449-479
Purpose
The paper identifies the changes in cognition associated with becoming information literate,... more
Purpose
The paper identifies the changes in cognition associated with becoming information literate, specifically, in relation to the evaluation of information. Additionally, it puts forward a model for a teaching and learning intervention that engages the learner and leads to higher order information literacy (IL) thinking. From a theoretical perspective the research integrates ideas from the fields of IL, teaching and learning, e-learning and information behaviour (IB).
Design/methodology/approach
Three interventions were designed to develop the information literacies of first-year undergraduates studying Sport & Exercise at Staffordshire University, to teach and test IL. Interventions took a blended approach and combined face-to-face and online social network learning (OSNL) – also referred to as social media learning (SML) - and focused on one aspect of information literacy: the ability to evaluate source material. Data was captured via interviews, focus groups and from the online discussion that was analysed thematically and categorised using task, behaviour, cognitive states, affective states, conative states and knowledge. This helped to evaluate the efficacy of the interventions and provided data for further analysis. This paper focuses on the cognitive data and their transitions during the interventions and, in particular, among those respondents who experienced OSNL.
Findings
The changing cognitive states, associated with IL learning were modelled and made evident key cognitive states and transitions. This is represented in the paper in diagrammatic and mathematical notation. The findings indicate the complexity of the information behaviours associated with IL including the cognitive, behavioural, conative and affective elements. Although the cognitive transitions are the focus of this paper an insight is also given into an IL intervention that fosters the capability to interact critically and reflectively with information. The pedagogy that underpins these changes is indicated. The intervention, which incorporated OSNL, proved the most successful.
Research limitations/implications
Undergraduate students’ IB can be changed and IL developed. Additional long-term data would have indicated whether this intervention had a lasting impact on the undergraduates.
Practical implications
IL practitioners should consider incorporating OSNL and assessment in their interventions. Incorporating discussion, reflection and peer-to-peer assessment is likely to be lead to deeper learning when teaching IL.
Originality/value
The research adds detail to our understanding of the cognitive, behavioural, affective and conative states associated with IL and makes explicit how these may change as the learner becomes information literate.
Modeling Building Semantics - Providing Feedback and Sustainability
by Isaac Wiafe
World Renewable Energy Congress 2011 – Sweden Energy End-Use Efficiency Issues (EEE
Abstract: Even minor changes in user activity can bring about significant energy savings within built space. Many... more Abstract: Even minor changes in user activity can bring about significant energy savings within built space. Many building performance assessment methods have been developed, however these often disregard the impact of user behavior (i.e. the social, cultural and organizational aspects of the building). Building users currently have limited means of determining how sustainable they are, in context of the specific building structure and/or when compared to other users performing similar activities, it is therefore easy for users to dismiss their energy use. To support sustainability, buildings must be able to monitor energy use, identify areas of potential change in the context of user activity and provide contextually relevant information to facilitate persuasion management. If the building is able to provide users with detailed information about how specific user activity that is wasteful, this should provide considerable motivation to implement positive change. This paper proposes using a dynamic and temporal semantic model, to populate information within a model of persuasion, to manage user change. By semantically mapping a building, and linking this to persuasion management we suggest that: i) building energy use can be monitored and analyzed over time; ii) persuasive management can be facilitated to move user activity towards sustainability.
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Download (.pdf) Engaging sport and exercise science students via participation using online collaborative learning (OCL)
by Geoff Walton
HEA (UK) EvidenceNet (2009)
This paper argues that the lessons learnt from the research described in the case study can be harnessed to provide a... more
This paper argues that the lessons learnt from the research described in the case study can be harnessed to provide a generic template for managing online discourse
"The project was initially funded by a Research informed Teaching grant. In brief research informed teaching projects at Staffordshire University aim to highlight innovative ways of demonstrating and promoting the research-teaching link as identified by Jenkins, Healey & Zetter (2007). This paper seeks to argue that the lessons learnt from the research described in the case study can be harnessed to provide a generic template for managing online discourse, in effect, a protocol for using any online social networking Web 2.0 application for educational purposes."
Using Online Collaborative Learning to Enhance Information Literacy Delivery In a Level 1 Module: An Evaluation
by Geoff Walton
Co-authored with Mark Hepworth, Jamie Barker and Derek Stephens (2007) published in Journal of Information Literacy, 1 (1), pp13-30
The purpose of this study was to encourage Sport & Exercise Level 1 students to use the discussion board facility... more
The purpose of this study was to encourage Sport & Exercise Level 1 students to use the discussion board facility in the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in order to engage them in online collaborative learning of This was achieved by using notions of scaffolding, reflection and situated learning in delivering the information literacy (IL) elements of the programme. Delivery of the programme was carried out in a blended fashion (a mix of face-to-face and online interventions). The study is part of a PhD pilot study and a Learning & Teaching Fellowship project undertaken by the main author. information literacy.
Methodology
This was a quasi-experimental design using both qualitative and quantitative strategies. Qualitative data was gathered via: capturing student postings and examining their content; a questionnaire administered at the end of the module and from Focus Group responses. Quantitative data was gathered via pre and post delivery tests and by calculating numbers of postings and time taken by students to make initial postings.
Findings
This paper indicates that it is possible to engage students in even the most detailed aspects of IL (for example, breaking down a URL as a criterion for evaluating a web site or where to place commas in a reference) if the appropriate tasks (involving active hands on, collaborative working), settings (within a subject based module during a timetabled session) and assessments (task based with some form of evaluation and reflection) are used. Discussion board output captured via VLE provides a rich insight into what students learn as they tackle IL online activities. From the tutors’ perspective the process of iteration used in the evaluation activities was successful and was an unanticipated outcome of the delivery. It can be seen that by seeding online discussions with student comments ‘moments of iteration’ were provided which enabled IL learning to be articulated in increasing detail.
Information Literacy Education in the UK: Reflections on Perspectives and Practical Approaches of Curricular Integration
by Geoff Walton
Co-authored with, Susie Andretta and Alison Pope (2008) published in Communications in Information Literacy, 2 (1), pp36-51
This paper has two main aims, to present the current position of information literacy education in UK-based academic... more This paper has two main aims, to present the current position of information literacy education in UK-based academic institutions and to propose a strategy that ensures the integration of this phenomenon in learning and teaching institutional practices. The first part of the paper offers an insight into the perceptions of information literacy by exploring four distinct perspectives, including the institutional angle and the views associated with faculty staff, library staff and students. What transpires from the findings is that information literacy from an institutional perspective is dominated by the need to measure information skills within the context of information as a discipline in its own right. Another issue that is raised by the data points to a great deal of misinformation regarding information literacy, and that, as a result, a clear marketing strategy must be adopted by information professionals to address the misconceptions held by faculty staff and students alike. We aim to address these points by drawing on recent scholarship and research in the field which demonstrates the validity of information literacy as a process for fostering independent learning. The second part of the paper explains how a Fellowship project has placed information literacy on the pedagogical agenda of the University of Staffordshire in the UK by promoting information literacy education as an integrated element of the curriculum.
An Evaluation of Students’ Identity-Sharing Behaviour in Social Network Communities as Preparation for Knowledge Sharing
International Journal for the Advancement of Science & Arts, Vol.1, No.1, 2010: 14-24
Social network communities (SNC’s) are seen as a potential technology enabler to share knowledge around difficult and... more
Social network communities (SNC’s) are seen as a potential technology enabler to share knowledge around difficult and sensitive topics. Identity information disclosure in SNC can
be evaluated to understand the capability of this technology in breaking down social barriers, engendering trust and enabling wider learning. This pilot study is to evaluate the identity-sharing behaviour in SNC’s by presenting the quantitative analysis of the disclosure as well as subject opinions regarding identity information sharing in SNC’s identified. Recommendation for research in this area of study centres on methodological issues, including a wider scope of subject opinions such as trust and learning attitude within SNC’s.
