whatiknow

Slide 1: “But this is what I know!” -creating context to enhance learning Kate Cheromcha University Libraries, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI Scott, Jerry and Jim Borgman. “Zits” March 31, 2008. © 2008 Zits Partnership, King Features Syndicate. < http://www.arcamax.com/zits > Retrieved 31 Mar 2008.

Slide 2: We know that driving students are….  defensive, confused, nervous, reluctant to seek help – hidden  confident of own skills, abilities – justified or not  impatient, willing to “be taught” to attain goal – but not for very long and  “But this (context) is what I know” – and they’re right!

Slide 3: College students – all that & more  very comfortable, even very knowledgeable about technology – but not about technology’s limitations  proud to be multi-taskers – and expect to be accommodated as such  uneasy with actual research process, dislike uncertainty, “want facts”  empathetic, family-oriented, connected to friends, altruistic – “want to do good”  optimistic, pragmatic, achievement-oriented – “expect to do well”

Slide 4: Know how they learn…  Preferred instruction includes visual and kinesthetic, elements, rich media  Prefer to learn by doing – experiencing, exploring, experimenting, interacting  Expect teaching to accommodate learning preferences & styles – personalized choices, “consumer” attitude, flexibility, convenience  Practical, want immediate connection between what is being taught and its usefulness – value, results

Slide 5: Know faculty expectations…. “A first year college student should be able to…”  plan & conduct research  evaluate content according to criteria  draw conclusions based upon sufficient evidence  make connections between prior knowledge & new information  and more…..

Slide 6: Use this knowledge to create context. Context-  is the setting, background, situation, or environment relevant to an event, action, statement, etc.  can add relevance, create meaning, promote engagement.  enables meaningful connections; makes the intangible, tangible; adds comfort, familiarity, confidence.  is inescapable, undeniable, persistent.

Slide 7: “Talk” to this student … Q. “What if you don't think plagiarism is that big a deal? I mean, obviously you can't take someone's work word for word, but I mean you can paraphrase it. And how is someone supposed to know if he/she is plagiarizing? How can we be sure that someone else, somewhere else hasn't written some kind of the same thing? For example, if I had a history assignment on the assassination of JFK, how can I be 100% sure that my paper, which to me is completely original, isn't like something someone else has written somewhere else?”

Slide 8: Compare searching in databases …  “I need a car”…..  “I need information about …..”

Slide 9: to find what I need: Autotrader.com Academic Search Premier Cars, vans, trucks - transportation Articles, book reviews, editorials - information Product/Commodity provided To allow me to find a vehicle, for To allow me to find information Purpose – why was this database created? buying/selling vehicles Subscription fees, paid by university, library, Who pays for it? Really? Sellers of cars, advertisers subscribers; part of tuition/taxes Who can use this database? Anyone? Anytime I want to search for a car – available Limited – 24/7 available but only to library users, Anytime? Anywhere? 24/7. card-holders, password protected. Think about my research need: what different ways can I search for information on it? Specify: car make/model, mileage, cost, year - More specific search terms; identify narrow How can I narrow my search? description aspects of broad topic Change some/all of above Broader terms How can I broaden my search? Change boundaries around my searches to improve the results: Specify: geographic area; new vs. used car Specify: document type, full-text only, dates How can I limit my search? Remove/change some of above Remove/change some of above How can I expand my search?

Slide 10: to develop an effective research question:  Which car should I buy? - caveman question: can be answered with factual information hunted down and gathered from few sources  Should I buy a car? - quasi-research question – ½ caveman + ½ college requiring some analysis of information  Should teenagers be allowed to drive? - research (college) question requiring research process to answer effectively

Slide 11: to appreciate the research process:  question – the “essential” question  plan – where to look & for what  gather – searching, locating, retrieving, etc  analyze – keep the best, toss the rest  synthesize – put the pieces together  evaluate – for quality, suitability  …and repeat, all or in part, as needed

Slide 12: “Scam” them ….. May 15, 2008 Dear As p Faculty, dev art of o respeloping tur ongoin ond w he fo g ithin llowin effort to the r g i Polic eque policy cnsure a m To: all Departmental Heads, Faculty, u y to el Mentors,sted tim oncern eanin Instructors, P rs im e fra ing mu gful e Educators learn uant to r inate ob me. ltitas ducat i , e s king i Upon ng– tpossibley re tacles t Re: Multitasking detrimental to educationn he focentl and onal expe llowin porte o lea its di all ce e ter g d rn stracrience fo counter-measure. devic ll phonie g a coll policy isresearch ing n ting e r our ffects stude es in s, PD ege c being conc Date: May 15, 2008 All co secu As, B lassro deve erning . Ple n ase r ts other llege co re cont lackbe om, la loped the d e m a r bo . etrim All co online so puter se iners at tries, MP3ratory, l ental Looks interesting. Please circulateeforereview cial ne rvers w he fron playe ecture ent r ll ge co and tw effec ts of tainm mpu oror .in ill be t of th rs, an hall, multi discussion re: possible implementation n ter– e ks Cabl e tele ent here s all confi gure e roo d any or any m, fo taski Com etwo rvers d to b other other r retr ng on part. visio rks. will b ieval elect learn tru deve ments o n servic e con figure lock acce class ronic ing s comm pace, sess lopm n the e in c ss to . io ent o prop am d to b faceb unica stude Dean of Undergraduate Education,n, to minif the finaosed po pus housin lock acce ook, tion/i n nform mize l poli licy w mysp College of Arts and Sciences,hUniversity of RhodeuIslandImp ill be ag, including T an k you disr ption cy. ss to web- ace, youtu leme ccep hoste for yo ur an . ntatio ted fo common d gam be, x ticipa n will r the area e site be sc next 3 s, s and Dean ted c oope hedu 0 da will be dis simi led d ys, an conti Wen of Studen ration . uring d wil nued o the ti l be c . “Ded bes Colle t Educati me w onsid icate ge on hen c ered d to a lasse in th KAC ctive s are 2008 learn n ing fo r life”

Slide 13: ….into really evaluating websites.  Evaluate pre-selected “medical.org” websites – dispels existing assumptions  Evaluation criteria provided – includes “look behind the scenes”  “Should your loved one use this information?” – requires analysis for definite answer  Presentations and “thumbs up, thumbs down” class votes - connected and engaged

Slide 14: Content + Context = Connection  Know what students value, care about, worry about, dismiss, expect – “what do they know?”  Know what skills, abilities, etc. students need to succeed – “what do they need to know?”  Make the new seem familiar with context – “how will they learn it?”

Slide 15: Chast, R. “Driver’s Block”, Cartoon. 6 July 1992. The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker. Ed. Robert Mankoff. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2004.

Slide 16: Bibliography Fitzgerald, Mary Ann. "Making the Leap from High School to College: Three New Studies about Information Literacy Skills of First-Year College Students." Knowledge Quest 32.4 (2004): 19-24. Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. EBSCO. 31 Mar 2008 University Libraries, URI, Kingston, RI <http://search.ebscohost.com> Kirton, Jennifer, and Lyn Barham. "Information Literacy in the Workplace." Australian Library Journal 54.4 (2005): 365-76. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. EBSCO. 21 Mar 08. University Libraries, URI, Kingston, RI <http://search.ebscohost.com> Lantz, Agneta and Brage, Christina. "Towards a Learning Society - Exploring the Challenge of Applied Information Literacy through Reality-Based Scenarios." ITALICS: Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences. 5.1 (2006). 31 Mar 2008 <http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/italics/vol5-1/pdf/lantz-brage-final.pdf> Sweeney, Richard. Article: “Millennial Behaviors & Demographics.” (Includes bibliography) 22 Dec 2006. Personal website of Richard Sweeney. 25 May 2008. <http://library1.njit.edu/s taff-folders/sweeney/> Tessmer, Martin and Rita C. Richey. "Role of Context in Learning and Instructional Design.“ Educational Technology Research and Development 45.2 (1997): 85.1 Feb 2008 University Libraries, URI, Kingston, RI. <http://www.springerlink.com>