112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt1

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.htm or

Library Trends, Vol. 45, No.4, Spring 1997, pp. 708-724

Course Coordinator: Dr. Chu

Tutor: Dr. Felix Siu

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt2

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

112/04/193

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).

112/04/194

Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 2E.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”.

112/04/195

Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 3E.g., WiseNews Sources of articles both viewed and archived by the top 9 students.

USERIDNo. of Articles Viewed and Archived No. of Sources Used Origins of Source

cps4f35 24 20 Mainland China, Hong Kong

cps4g14 17 15 Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau

cps4f17 12 7 Mainland China

cps4e11 11 9 Mainland China, Hong Kong

cps4g26 11 9 Mainland China, Hong Kong

cps4f04 8 6 Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

cps4f05 6 5 Mainland China, Hong Kong

cps4e36 5 4 Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

cps4h05 5 4 Mainland China, Hong Kong

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-2007-wk2.ppt6

Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 4E.g., WiseNews

Subjects of articles, their respective sources and regions for a student.

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-2007-wk2.ppt7

Scarcity of resources -> abundant resources – 5E.g., WiseNews

Compare the news database WiseNews with other information sources

Students' Perceived Importantance on Various InformationResource/Services

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.9

4

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

Using schoollibrary

Using schoollibrary'sOPAC

Using publiclibrary

Using publiclibraries'OPAC

UsingWisenews

Using linksvia school's

website

Using Yahoo UsingGoogle

Otherssources

Information Resources/Services

Lev

els

of P

erce

ived

Im

portan

ce (5-

poin

t sca

le)

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt8

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

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt9

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

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt10

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)

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt11

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.

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt12

Six Stages in the Information Search Process (Initial Model)

Kuhlthau, C. C. , 2004, p.45

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-wk2.ppt13

First Stage of the ISP

Kuhlthau, C. C. , 2004, p.44

112/04/1914

Second Stage of the ISP

Kuhlthau, C. C. , 2004, p.46

112/04/1915

Third Stage of the ISP

Kuhlthau, C. C. , 2004, p.47

112/04/1916

Fourth Stage of the ISP

Kuhlthau, C. C. , 2004, p.48

112/04/1917

Fifth Stage of the ISP

Kuhlthau, C. C. , 2004, p.49

112/04/1918

Sixth Stage of the ISP

Kuhlthau, C. C. , 2004, p.50

Six Stages in the Information Search Process (Initial Model)

112/04/19 MLIM6319-IB-2007-wk2.ppt19

112/04/1920

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.

112/04/1921

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)

112/04/1922

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)

112/04/1923

Strategies for coaching students in the ISP(1). Collaborating – cont’d

25

1214

12

5

32

5 64

13

23

10

19

22

28

5 4

7

3 3

67

1311

2018

13

25

16

6 6 5

15

18

35

7

39

10

17

2 2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Nu

mb

er

of

rev

isio

ns

ma

de

A1(Leader)

A2A3A4A5A6B1(Leader)

B2B3 B4B5C1(Leader)

C2 C3C4C5D1(Leader)

D2D3D4D5 E1(Leader)

E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 F1(Leader)

F2 F3 F4 F5 G1(Leader)

G2G3G4G5H1(Leader)

H2H3 H4H5

Student

Number of revisions made by each student among eight groups

Students in the Knowledge Management course

Group leaders do most of the work?

112/04/1924

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.

112/04/1925

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.

112/04/1926

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.

112/04/1927

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.

112/04/1928

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)

112/04/1929

Constructive process of learning

The constructive process of learning involves: – acting and reflecting; – feeling and formulating;– predicting and choosing; – interpreting and creating..

(Kuhlthau, 1997)

112/04/1930

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.

112/04/1931

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.

112/04/1932

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.

112/04/1933

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.

112/04/1934

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)

112/04/1935

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.

Reference Kuhlthau, C. (2004). “Learning in Digital Libraries: An

Information Search Process Approach”. Retrieved on 29th Jan 2010, from http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/8113/librarytrendsv45i4k_opt.pdf;jsessionid=787F367E362B1A62B6E856BB7AE041CE?sequence=1

Kuhlthau, C. (2004). Seeking Meaning: A process approach to Library and Information services. Libraries Unlimited, Inc.

112/04/1936