Information Competence Development in Europe: trends and future prospects Sirje Virkus Tallinn...

Information Competence Development in Europe:

trends and future prospects

Sirje VirkusTallinn University/Manchester Metropolitan University

1.07.2005

Outline

Context and Concepts My research Methodology Survey: preliminary findings Multiple-case studies: preliminary findings Conclusions

Personal background

TPU – student, Library and Information Science ISTIER – researcher, ICT, information systems TPU, 1985 - teacher, administrator ODL 1994 (WebCT, LearnLoop, IVA) – learner,

designer, teacher, tutor MMU, 2001 – student, researcher, teacher,

designer, tutor (distance mode)

Competencies

Competencies

Debate of competencies Transferable skills, key or core competencies,

[transversal skills, generic skills, soft skills, personal skills, general competencies, soft competencies]

Creativity, analysis, problem solving, self development, learning skills, communication….

Meta-competencies

Key Competence

Contribute to a successful life Contribute to the development of the quality of

societies Apply to multiple areas of life (Gilomen, 2002).

OECD surveys of competencies

Adult competencies

- International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)

- Adult Literacy and Lifeskills (ALL) survey Students at school (15-year-olds)

- Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

Complexity of the topic (Gilomen, 2002)

Theoretical models and concepts

Political negotiation, consensus formation

Visions of society

and individuals

Cultural context,

biographical variability

WHICH KEY COMPETENCIES?

HE and competencies

The general move is clearly towards a greater attention to employment prospects and the acquisition of core or transversal skills.

Transmission of competences

Not exclusive responsibility of the education system

Other social institutions such as family, workplace, mass media or cultural organisations are important

……but further research needed (Gilomen, 2002).

Assessment issues

Assessment strategies should include assessment of social contexts

More importance should be given to the competencies of acting autonomously and joining groups

Focus on critical aspects of key competencies Cyclical structure of assessment program among adult

population Alternative methodologies have to be explored

....but further research needed

Importance of Information use

Importance of information handling and use

Several reports have emphasized the importance of finding, evaluating, and using information in our modern society


“The knowledge-based economy is characterised by the need for continuous learning of both codified information and the competencies to use this information. …the skills and competencies relating to the selection and efficient use of information become more crucial... Capabilities for selecting relevant and discarding irrelevant information, recognising patterns in information, interpreting and decoding information as well as learning new and forgetting old skills are in increasing demand”

OECD (1996). The knowledge based economy. Paris: OECD.


“The ability to produce and use information effectively is thus a vital source of skills for many individuals. So, the knowledge economy is based on the production and use of information and knowledge… “

OECD (2001a). Educational policy analysis 2001. Paris: OECD, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation.


Having the competence to use information effectively has been suggested also by management gurus as essential to organizational success

Drucker, P. (1993). Post-capitalist society. New York, NY: Harper Business.Drucker, P.F. (1994). Managing in turbulent times. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.Senge, P.M. (1994). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Currency Doubleday.Grainger, P. (1994). Managing information: your self-development action plan. London: Kogan Page.

The report EU Policies and Strategic Change for eLearning in Universities

Refers to the importance of using digital information: ‘… they [students] should be enabled to learn using digital information sources.

Coimbra Group of Universities (2002). EU policies and strategic change for elearning in universities. Report of the project 'Higher education consultation In technologies of information and communication' (HECTIC). Brussels, Coimbra Group of Universities.

Information literacy

Library and information professionals call these information-related competencies as ‘information literacy’.

Lots of definitions and models

Information Literacy Umbrella

Patrica Senn Breivik.

DefinitionsIL cover the following experiences: the use of information technology; the use of information sources; executing a process; controlling information for retrieval; gaining knowledge; extending knowledge; gaining wisdom.

Bruce, C. S. (1997). The seven faces of information literacy. Adelaide: Auslib Press.

Definitions

Information literacy is the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, leading to wise and ethical use of information in society

Webber S. & Johnston, B. (2002). Assessment for information literacy. Paper presented at the International conference on IT and information literacy, 20th-22nd March 2002, Glasgow, Scotland.

Recognizes the need for information Identifies

sources of information

Develops successful search strategies

Accesses sources of information

IL PERSON

Evaluates information and sources

Organizes information

Processes information

Uses and presents information

Information literate person

Definitions

Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one’s information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of life long learning.

The Prague Declaration (2003).

Definitions

Information literacy - the ability to recognise when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information

American Library Association. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (1989). Final Report. Chicago: American Library Association.

The Concept of Information

Information seems to be everywhere. We talk of its being encoded in the genes… disseminated by media of communication… exchanged in conversation… contained in all sorts of things… Libraries are overflowing with it, institutions are bogged down by it, and people are overloaded with it … [yet] no one seems to know exactly what information is.

Christopher Fox (1983, p.3)

Donald O Case. Looking for Information, 2002.Case, D. (2002). Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs, and Behaviour. Academic Press

The Concept of Information

Anthropologist Gregory Bateson (1972) defines information as any difference that makes a difference to a conscious, human mind

Summarizing 30 years of commentary, Levitan (1980) declared that 29 different concepts had been associated with the term of information

Literacy

Literacy “The ability to read and write” (Concise Oxford) Literacy has been seen as a concept, a process, a

competency, a skill and a tool that has meaning in relation to the demand of the economy and society or individuals and communities

also a mode of behaviour, which enables individuals and groups to gather, analyse and apply written information to function in society

Gilster sees it as a fundamental act of cognition (Gilster, 1997).

Literacy

The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) defines literacy in terms of proficiency levels of usage information to function in society and economy.

Literacy is defined as a particular capacity and mode of behaviour, the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work and in the community - to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential (OECD/Statistics Canada, 2000a, p. 12).

Literacy

In IALS literacy is measured operationally in terms of the three domains:

Prose literacy Document literacy Quantitative literacy

Levels of literacy

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 is considered a suitable minimum for coping with the

demands of everyday life and work in a complex, advanced society. It denotes roughly the skill level required for successful secondary school completion and college entry. Like higher levels, it requires the ability to integrate several sources of information and solve more complex problems.

Level 4 and 5 describe respondents who demonstrate command of higher-order information processing skills (OECD/Statistics Canada, 2000a).

Concern

Several observers have expressed concern that putting two fuzzy terms together doesn’t make the overall concept clearer.

Others assert that it doesn’t matter what you call or define it, as long as it gets done.

Competencies and skills Competence has two dimensions – knowledge and skills. “Knowledge may be seen as our understanding how our

everyday world in constituted and how it works. Skills involve the ability to pragmatically apply, consciously

or even unconsciously, our knowledge in practical settings. In this setting, “skills” can be conceived as the technical

aspects of competence, emphasizing the aspect of “how to do”

Anttiroiko, A.-V., Lintilä, L. & Savolainen, R. (2001). Information society competencies of managers: conceptual considerations, In: E. Pantzar, R. Savolainen & P. Tynjälä, eds. In search for a human-centred information society. (pp. 27-57). Tampere: Tampere University Press.

Competence

Complex cognitive skills (problem solving, qualitative reasoning, self-regulation, learning to learn);

Highly integrated knowledge structures (e.g. mental models);

Interpersonal skills and social abilities; Attitudes and values.

Kirschner, P., Vilsteren, P., van Hummel, H., & Wigman, M. (1997). A study environment for acquiring academic and professional competence. Studies of Higher Education, 22 (2), 151-171.

Alternative terms

information competence information competency information mediacy information problem solving information problem-

solving skills information fluency information mastery information literacy

competence

information literacy competencies

information literacy and skills information literacy skills information handling skills information handling

competencies skills of information literacy Infoliteracy information empowerment

Semantics

Information literacy = information skills= information competence

IF information literacy = competence THEN information literacy competence = information competence competence

IF IL = competence AND competence = knowledge and skills and attitudes THEN WHAT is information literacy skills ???

Other terms and their relations with IL

Study skills Learning skills Learning to learn skills Academic skills Media literacy Digital literacy….

Information literacy and learning “Information literacy is about learning” (Bruce,

1997) “Information literacy is a way of learning”

(Kuhlthau, 1993)In the literature the terms “learning styles” and “cognitive

styles” are often used interchangeably Learning style refers to how a learner perceives, interacts with, and

responds to the learning environment, it is a measure of individual differences

Cognitive style refers to a learner’s preferred way of processing information; that is, the person’s typical mode of thinking, remembering, or problem solving

Terms for IL

In Finland informaatiokompetenssi,

informaatiolukutaito In Norway informasjonskompetanse In Denmark informationskompetence in Sweden informationskompetens In Estonia infopädevus, infokirjaoskus,

Statement

In modern society everyone needs to develop increasingly sophisticated skills for information handling and use

Information handling and use

identifying, locating, gathering, storing, retrieving and processing information from a variety of sources;

using a range of information-retrieval and information-processing skills confidently and competently;

organizing, analysing, synthesizing, evaluating and using information;

presenting information clearly, logically, concisely and accurately.

WHY IL?

Why there is an increasing interest in information literacy? New learning approaches

and new focus on student learning in a lifelong learning context

Expanding quantity - information overload

- In different forms/places - E-everything - Uncertain quality - Plagiarism

Old and new paradigms of HE (Kathy Tiano)Old Paradigm Take what you can get Academic calendar University as a city Terminal degree University as ivory tower Student = 18- to 25-year-old Books are primary medium Single product Student as a ‘pain’ Delivery in classroom Multi-cultural Bricks & mortar Single discipline Institution-centric Government funded Technology as an expense

New Paradigm Courses on demand Year-round operations University as idea Lifelong learning University as a partner in society Cradle to grave Information on demand Information reuse Student as a customer Delivery anywhere Global Bits & bytes Multi-discipline Market-centric Market funded Technology as differentiator

Responses of HE Institutions to Changes New technologies; Student-centred learning approaches and constructivist

models of learning; Improve and innovate traditional HE education and to

provide new and alternative learning opportunities (DE); On-line education and electronic learning environments; Open their doors to non-traditional learners and design

new programmes and courses; Experiment with collaborative learning and teaching

supported by ITC.

Collis & van der Wende

The traditional lecture has still remained the ‘core medium’ for many HE institutions with ICT serving as a complement to already existing instructional tools

Collis, B. & Van der Wende, M. (2002). Models of Technology and Change in Higher Education: An International Comparative Survey on the Current and Future Use of ICT in Higher Education. Report, December 2002, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS), Twente.

Information overload

Personal information overload - personal stress and loss of productivity at work

Organizational information overload - overall productivity of the organization

'information fatigue syndrome' (IFS)

Influence of overload time is wasted - 38% of managers decision-making is delayed - 43% of respondents distraction from the main tasks - 47% of respondents stress – 42 % leading to tension with colleagues, loss of job satisfaction, illnness 61 % reduced social activity 60% tirednessInformation overload recognised as a critical problem

Reuters Business Information (1996). Dying for Information? An Investigation into Information Overload in the UK and Worldwide. London: Reuters. Reuters Ltd. (1998). Out of the Abyss: Surviving the information age. London.

HOW DO WE FACILITATE PEOPLE TO BECOME IL?

Different approaches can be used

develop a guide for students to use or for resource evaluation,

present a class sessions, create a course Web site giving students a guided tour for

searching the Web, develop an assignment where students work on a search

strategy appropriate to a problem statement, assist students in preparation of their literature reviews, develop online tutorials or integrate or embed IL into curriculum.

Integration of IL into learning

An integrated ‘information literacy’ component in learning would have a positive impact on

students' mastering of context, fulfilling research tasks and problem solving, becoming more self-directed, assuming greater control over their own learning, enabling individuals to engage in a variety of

learning situations and opportunities in optimal ways (Todd, 1995, George & Luke, 1995)

The Role of Library in Education

It is believed that library and information professionals have an important role to help students in becoming information literate

New Skills

Sound pedagogical knowledge; Good technological skills; Advanced teaching skills; An ability to develop and deliver effective

learning experiences.

New SkillsIt also requires that the teaching librarian functions as

an educational professional one who can: engage in educational debate and decision-making

processes, influence policy, forge strategic alliances and demonstrate diplomatic sensitivity.

Peacock, J. (2000). Teaching Skills for Teaching Librarians: postcards from the edge of the educational paradigm. COMLA Seminar 2000: User Education for User Empowerment Christchurch, New Zealand 19 – 20 October 2000.

Questions

How many librarians are qualified for the role as teachers?

Is it not more likely that teachers will develop their own information expertise?

Brophy, P. (2001). The Library in the Twenty-first Century: New Services for the Information Age. London: Library Association Publishing

IL education

“Whilst much attention has been paid to IL by American policy-makers, librarians and academics, the results are still relatively narrow, giving a potentially superficial guide to the nature of a curriculum for IL in HE”.

Johnston, B.; Webber, S. (2003). Information literacy in higher education: a review and case study. Studies in Higher Education, 28 (3), 335-352.

How are things in Europe?

References to IL initiatives in Europe are, however, quite rare and fragmented.

The majority of publications have come from the UK.

Part of the problem of understanding European IL activities stems from the language barrier.

How are things in Europe?

EC funded projects EDUCATE and DEDICATE, from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden

a research project for a doctoral thesis on information seeking and use in a learning context by Louise Limberg, from the Swedish School of Library and Information Studies in Borås.

Webber and Johnston research Albert Boekhorst, Claire McGuinness, Eva Ortoll Espinet,

etc.

Online delivery

Virtual tours OPAC tutorials IL tutorials

UK

About 50 universities have some form of electronic IL package

the contents of IL tutorials vary from basic to advanced searching skills, only some tutorials were subject specific and most of them in generic in nature.

Only 10 tutorials outlined the learning outcomes and and 4 gave an indication of how long the tutorial would take to complete (Stubbings & Brine, 2003)

Electronic IL tutorials

Most rely heavily on text with only few make good use of colour, images and layout of text.

14 tutorials allowed participants to navigate their own route through the packages.

Only 5 appeared to encourage reflection and discussion There had little inter-activity throughout the tutorials, but

several provide quizzes at the end of each section or tutorial (Stubbings & Brine, 2003)

Basic Library Skills IT Skills

Information literacy

Rec

ogni

se in

form

atio

n ne

ed

Dis

tingu

ish

way

s of

add

ress

ing

gap

Con

stru

ct s

trate

gies

for l

ocat

ing

Loca

te a

nd a

cces

s

Com

pare

and

eva

luat

e

Org

anis

e, a

pply

and

com

mun

icat

e

Syn

thes

ise

and

crea

te

Nov

ice

Adv

ance

d be

ginn

er

C

ompe

tent

P

rofic

ient

Exp

ert

Seven pillars of information literacy

How are things in Nordic countries?

It is difficult to find national and Nordic development programmes where IL is the objective (aim)

Curriculum plans do not deal with IL directly New pedagogic approaches contain such learning

mode that support IL A lot of skills compete with each other

Maria Schöder, Hankeet 2001-2003, 19.11.2002 (NORDINFO)

MY RESEARCH

The aim of the study

To investigate information competence development within European higher ODL in order to develop a framework that facilitates the effective delivery of information-related competencies

Methodology

Mixed methods: Survey Multiple-case studies Grounded theory approach

Philosophical assumptions

Interpretative and constructive paradigm Ontology - relativism Epistemology - subjectivism Methodology - hermeneutic/dialectic

QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Sample

EADTU member Institutions

[map borrowed from EADTU homepage]

Survey

E-mail survey (policy, curriculum development, research, supervision, staff development)

The survey aimed to find out the size and scope of information competence development in EADTU member institutions and to explore the role of libraries within this process.

to identify the examples of ‘good practice’

Method

Collection of data started in March 2003 EADTU member institutions 150

dual/mixed-mode universities + 6 open universities.

persons who have overall responsibility for teaching and learning

Some preliminary results

71 institutions responded, from 16 countries Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Netherlands

Norway Portugal Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland UK

Institutional policy

3822

10

NOYES

I DON'T KNOW

3823

10


Policy documents in these institutions included strategic plans in teaching and learning

emphasising the integration of PBL and RBL into the curriculum (23)

lists of graduate attributes or ‘qualities of graduates’ (16)

information literacy plans (19)


26 of the institutions answered that library staff belong to the educational committees that make decisions about curricula and learning.

34 of the institutions indicated that existing procedures for review of curriculum design in their institution require the incorporation of ideas about ‘IL’ development

50 referred to collaboration between librarians and the faculties to integrate ‘IL’ into the curriculum. However, 31 institution noted close collaboration between librarians and faculty on planning learning


Librarians were involved in developing courses (always – 1, sometimes - 46), providing online tutorial support, assessment and

evaluation (always – 3, sometimes - 39), assisting students in the preparation of their literature

reviews and (always – 14, sometimes - 46) assisting students in the preparation of their assessed

work (always – 9, sometimes - 47). were involved in developing Web sites for courses and

subjects (2; 40), self-paced ‘IL’ modules (4; 34) and Web-based learning materials that may be used by staff and students (7; 44).


A brief tour of the library (34) a handout &/or map (31) verbal instructions from tutors or staff (30) A section in a student handbook (23) a lecture or seminar especially devoted to these topics

(17) a course or series of lectures devoted to these topics (6) a phased programme of detailed induction by staff (5) several lectures/seminars on using the facilities (4)


13 of institutions indicated that their students earn credits for a unit or component on ‘IL’ during their studies on a cross-disciplinary basis and 31 of institutions indicated that as part of a discipline specific course.

17 institutions referred that there are some other programmes that foster IL or a range of generic

attributes including IL


30 of the institutions referred to some research in their institutions on ‘IL’,

Librarians and faculty partnership in the area of research (4)

Supervision partnership where librarians …and faculty share expertise and responsibility

for helping students through the phases of higher degree research (26)

…act as co-supervisors ensuring that literature reviews are relevant (15)

…keep supervisors and students up to date with information resources and services (45)

…participate in preparation of literature reviews and research proposals (19)


42 of these institutions also noted that there have been several workshops or other activities aiming to introduce faculty to the idea of ‘information literacy’ education.

CASE STUDIES

Interpretative case studies

2 national and 3 + (1) dual/mixed mode ODL universities in Europe.

Site visits: August 2003 – September 2004. Semi-structured interviews with students,

academics, senior managers and librarians. Document analysis, observations.

Interpretative case studies

4-5 DL students 3-5 academics 2-5 librarians 1-2 senior managers

72 in depth interviews

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS:

UNIVERSITY

ADMINISTRATORS

Preliminary findings

University senior managers 1 rector 1 vice rector 1 educational development officer 1 sub-dean for learning and teaching, director of the

school 1 head of e-learning department 1 head of IT unit 1 international project coordinator 1 leader of IT innovation

The concept of IL

Accepted and appreciated (4) Accepted, but some hesitation about the

term (3) Unknown (1)

The concept of IL- Acceptance

Is the concept IL familiar to you and to your institution?

A1: Yes, absolutely, this is very commonly used term in […..] discussions, also we have not yet agreed what would be the [….] term or the right […] word for information literacy, because literacy can be translated in so many different ways.

The concept of IL - Acceptance


A2: I think, in our University, during the last two or three years, this term has been used very often in different connections.

The concept of IL - Acceptance


A3: Yes. In this part of the University […], we take, I think, information literacy quite seriously and recognize it as an important part of the curriculum for our students.

The concept of IL- Hesitations


A 4: I think that information literacy is a good concept because it shows what is important. But the word of IL doesn’t say what IL is and….IL has been different things … and IL now is another thing as it was just 20 years ago…

The concept of IL- Hesitations


A5: … it’s too broad and at the same time it’s not telling you very much when it wants to incorporate everything from getting… or having an information problem to solving it and presenting the results to the outside world.

Importance of IL

A5: ….presenting information in a good way is very important, because we have all this project work, you know, producing a good project, product, report or whatever you do, is very important. So, it’s the whole way from having an idea about what you need to know and find it, and use it and present it.

Lack of IL

A7: In general that we have seen in their essays, when they write essays, it’s clear that the ability to make use of information services is not very well developed, it is not so good developed than we would expect.

Lack of IL

A1: We frequently face situations when researchers who should be very skillful in using information tools can not fully make use of those opportunities that are available. We still should find better methods to support our staff members that they will make use of new opportunities for finding literature and using it and handling it.

Integration of IL into curriculum

Integration of IL into learning is in the beginning stage in all ‘good practice’ institutions

However, not all administrators are familiar with the extent the IL is integrated into learning in the whole institution


Please tell me to what extent IL is integrated into learning in your institution.

A3: I think, it would be too much to claim that it is fully integrated into learning, I think; it is patchy across the different courses and different programs of study…I think it’s early days really.


A1: …I can’t say that we would have a situation which is sufficiently good or we can be satisfied with the IL skills of our students or our staff members.




A2: Even the concept is familiar to us and we have had this discussion, I do think that there is still a lot of work to do…

Why IL is in this early stage and not integrated? The modular nature of the programmes, each

course is very free standing University has used to provide the students with

all the resources they need It is very difficult in terms of economy of

students’ and tutors’ time and effort

Why IL is in this early stage and not integrated? A3: It puts on load on the student and their time,

it also puts quite a load on tutors who are working with them, because the tutors then have to, if you like, a lot of sources of information they are not aware of. In that a sort of contained course, the tutors are pretty well clear about the material the students will have been using. We have to go certain way in that direction, but I don’t think we can make the all course with that kind of open source approach.

Why IL is not integrated?

Lack of awareness Lack of good examples Lack of time Lack of resources Personal issues High workload of staff

National Policy

National policy supports IL developments (in the context of information society developments, Bologna process, electronic or digital library initiatives, e-learning or key skills initiatives, lifelong learning agenda)

National Policy

A1: …the most active discussions have now taken place as a part of the Bologna process, if we are developing a new university structure and new curriculum, the important part of new curriculum in different fields will be so called general skills, and now when we have started to talk about it, about these general skills, then of course information literacy has been one of the promising candidate that should be included into those general skills that should be taught in all disciplines in all degree programmes.

National Policy

A2: IL has been very hot topic in […] discussions at all levels of education and somehow it is also included into the new curriculum of our primary school and high school…

National Policy

A3: I have seen information literacy referred to in a number of government documents, that are about the development of higher education, the development of education generally in the country at different levels.


Some respondents refer to strategy documents which also emphasis IL, even the word IL is not always explicitly mentioned

Other institutions has no such kind of strategy documents, but the main strategy documents on IL are developed by the library


A4: No, I don’t think it’s written down in an official document, because in schools and also in university ….. it’s agreed that the responsibility for all teaching activities is left for individual teacher ….it’s integrated into culture instead, you now….

How do you know that your students are information literate or have attained information fluency?

A3: I don’t think we do know that. I’m not aware of any studies that, from which we would be able to draw that…We have so many other dimensions on which we have to assess students, if you like, that I can’t image that very sort of that tight framework of information literacy skills is ever going to be the leading edge of a course assessment.

How do you know that your students are information literate Student essays Student project work Master Thesis

Role of the library

Dramatic changes during some last years related to the spread of digital materials

Very promising time for libraries The role of the university library and good

contacts highlighted Library staff is well represented in the main

learning and teaching committees and make good use of these committees

Role of the library

A3: ..as the Internet took off and electronic library services then, I think that it allowed all the ideas about information literacy to flourish.

Role of the library

A3: I think they have been largely effective at making us think and telling us about some of the ways on which students ought to be behaving in a kind of knowledge society.

Staff development

A3: And the library is very good at putting on whole series of staff development events….The liaison librarian or subject librarian working with that faculty will organize things and push colleagues to take part in it. Other events are much more focussed on, if you like, topical areas and themes. And to my knowledge, I have been at least three events, quite well attended, which were getting over, if you like, the benefits of working with digital resources and online access to information and the associated skills what would be needed. So, I think there have been a plenty of staff development events.

Staff development

A3: Course teams are so busy, so under pressure that staff development events of that kind often take a quite a low priority.

EARLY FINDINGS

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ VIEW

Interviews with students

4-5 students from each case study institution

Limited interest to participate in this study 24 students participated in the main study

and 8 additional students answered by e-mail

Demographics

10 male and 14 female (1 M + 7 F) Age: 18-69 Level: BA, MA, PhD Subjects: law, languages, management,

history, business, geography, etc.

The concept of IL

Is the term ‘information literacy’ familiar to you? Unknown (7) The majority of students can understand what

the term IL means but do not use it or have hesitations about its meaning

Some students connect IL mostly with ICT literacy

Some students offer other terms

The term IL - Unknown

A7: No, no. I have never heard it. A9: No, that term is not familiar to me. A18: Not familiar with this term…

The term of IL - not used, but they can

understand it A8: It is not a term I have heard before…But I

think I can understand what it means – the ability to search, read and understand after required information.

A4: Actually that’s not so well known, it’s not part of my vocabulary, but if I think it could be… it’s like collecting information from different points and like teaching how to do it the best way and what different places you can use for that…

The term of IL not used, but they can

understand it

A2: Yes I know what it is but it is not an expression I would use in everyday language. When telling people about my course [recently taken IL course] I would just say it was learning to use the internet properly and search for information about a particular subject.

The term of IL - not used, but they can

understand it A6: Yes. I have probably heard it from [….] . I

have been in his lectures and so the concept of information literacy is familiar to me, but what its actually means is not so familiar. I’m aware that its very broad concept that has many different kinds of meanings. If I think what I myself think what it means, its…, I feel it is related to the fact that nowadays there is such a vast input of information from everywhere and it is getting more difficult to find a piece of information you need

The term of IL - not used, but they can understand it

A 15: Yes, I have heard the term, but I find it a bit confusing. It means nearly everything and it is not possible to draw its exact borders, it is connected with learning, thinking, problem solving, analysing, communicating….it is a part of everything… and you learn it through all your education and through all your life… at different level of your education … and in different ways…

Other terms

A 20: The term ‘information literacy’ is not very familiar to me, but it sounds like ‘information competence’, which I’ve read sometimes in web sites and other electronic resources and is maybe related to the same subject

A 24: I have not used this phrase previously, preferring to use terms such as Knowledge acquisition, knowledge audit, research analysis.

A 71: It means… knowledge management

Information literacy is a good term

A 22: Yes – the term ‘information literacy’ is familiar to me but I guess the term ‘information skills’ is also used in HE. I feel information literacy is a good term as it implies skills beyond formal education – skills that could be used in the workplace by professionals, managers etc.

The nature of their motivation

It was obligatory in their studies It enabled to develop new skills or update skills It enabled to support their career prospects It was CPE course and paid by the institution Personal reasons


A 4: It was part of the study …[..] so you didn’t have a choice

A 76: I want to join the police force eventually as an information analyst and this was the closest and simplest course I could find that may demonstrate that I know how to find data, analyse and report it. My main study is in psychology and this course fit nicely between years.


A 16: …so I thought it would be useful to go to the course also and you can get some training from the University and the pay for it. So, I applied for the course as far I could get it free and I did leave it to the last minute, but I did the degree anyway and I did get it, I did get it free.

How competent our students think they are in IL? Novice, advanced beginner, competent,

proficient, expert All categories were covered, but the competent

user was the most dominant Usually their level of competence increased one

level after participating in courses/programmes with IL component

Satisfaction

Generally satisfied and believe that achievement of IL has influenced their general learning outcomes, academic performance, course completion and success

Satisfaction

A 17: It helped me in broadening my awareness of development in online databases, electronic journals etc. I found it useful for my continuing professional development.

A14: Yes. Now I am an information co-ordinator for a help centre at a local hospice. Having completed the course recently helped my application for the position and gave me confidence in taking on the job

Satisfaction

A 15: I believe it has affected the whole results in two main ways: there is usually a well distributed amount of references in my works and there is also a clear connection between them. This is mainly due to a hard previous work in searching, selecting and distributing data (sometimes I think this is what really guides the order of the writing, somehow, the logic of the contents -which it’s probably not bad).

A 4: It has saved me researching time – that I was then able to spend on writing the essays

Satisfaction

A 5: Probably not, I’m not doing as well this year as last year though the course is harder but also I probably have too much information now that I struggle to make an essay from it that is flowing and logical.

Some more complains: Interaction

A 10: I was also disappointed to the extent, there was an e-mail discussion list.., what they call it…., conferencing or conference room… And I was rather disappointed with that also because it was supposed to be students, you know, exchanging ideas and things about the course and trying, I suppose stimulate what would you get if you work doing things face to face and it didn’t really.

Face-to-face meetings

A14: I did miss the face to face things, and I think I would have got even more out of it with the opportunity to meet some of the course team, maybe face-to-face, even for an afternoon, even for two or three hours when I could just, you can just go and say what I don’t like, I think this resource you suggested is dreadful, I can’t get one with it and they could say, no it isn’t if you look it in this way or if you look it in that way and when they would suggest something…

Knowledge finding

A17: the course seems to me not to have understood why somebody would want to be doing research, it .., the model that they had of learning was the knowledge is out there, all you have to do is to go and hunt for it. This is a librarian’s view of the world, it’s not the researcher’s view of the world, the researcher’s view of the world is: I have some interesting questions and I want to know is there any good. I want to know how can I develop my questions, I want to know if anybody else is similarly interested.

Personalized tasks

A 19: …there is no need at all, it seems to me, for you to determine what it is that should to be investigated as a main project, because if you really do have the expertise that you claim by virtually publishing this course you would be able to check very quickly whether or not there is any particular search, any particular project was satisfactorily done, it would only take you 10 minutes to do it. So, why not allow your students to investigate the matter of their interest and curiosity…

Personalized tasks

A 8: I didn’t like the assignment, it wasn’t what I wanted to do…I was not interested in research on it and we had to research it and we had to look up and I thought it was too descriptive, you know and I only did it, because, I just felt I wanted to complete it and also because it was paid for…

Library support

Do you usually contact library staff for help or advice? In what circumstances?

Library support

A8: I have only contacted library staff when there were serious difficulties for finding basic data (when I had quite nothing to start with, only a few unknown references) or problems to access online resources.

A9: Yes – only in cases of technical difficulties A18: Yes, if I can’t locate something, to arrange

book loans via post

Library support

A 22: I have only used the resources available on the Library web page, I haven’t contacted the Library staff, no.

A 24: Very seldom. They have been a presence on the FirstClass conference for the Masters course… Generally they’ve come up with answers long after certain clever students have presented solutions on the course conference, but good that they are there.

Library support

A10: ‘…because when you go to the university library, there is obviously the desk, on which you take the books and you return loans also, and I think, those people there, there are always long lines of people with their books and in a hurry and people who could have the time and to help us in research, I don’t actually know where they are…’

Library support

A 8: I know one particular, when I had loans from university libraries in Sweden and when I had to renew them, then I knew that OK I go to that holeway and then there is the door and I know the person who will renew my loans is sitting there, but I wouldn’t contact her and ask for help in searching information from the Swedish library databases from the library where I got the loan. No, they are not very visible, at least in here, so I wouldn’t just go to the holeway and knock on the door and, hey, can you help me search…

Library support

A74: We have a very helpful library/info centre at work on the same floor as me so often consult them

A 14: Yes – if I have queries about using databases on or off campus etc.

A 16: Yes – when I am stuck and don’t know what to do next.

Conclusions

IL is a complex phenomenon and may be approached from a variety of perspectives.

Multiple meanings of IL The importance of IL is acknowledged in Europe

even the term is not always used and some confusion with the term

IL initiatives in European ODL are quite fragmented and further exploration is needed

IL development still at beginning stage

Carol Kuhlthau

Kuhlthau said: "We do not have the information literacy problem solved. More work is needed."

The fourth Libraries in the Digital Age (LIDA) conference,

held May 21 24 at the Interuniversity Centre in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Thank you for your attention!

Date post:	23-Dec-2015
Category:	Documents
Upload:	margaretmargaret-mcdaniel
View:	219 times
Download:	0 times

Information Competence Development in Europe: trends and future prospects Sirje Virkus Tallinn...

Documents