Lincoln - Using an active learning task to engage students and involve them in the evaluation of an information literacy training session

Using an active learning task to engage students and involve them in theevaluation of an information literacy training sessionHeather Lincoln, Imperial College London, h.lincoln@imperial.ac.ukThis presentation will describe an active learning state change technique we have usedin our hands-on information literacy sessions to MSc business students, whichencourages them, as part of a classroom task, to evaluate and reflect on the materialdelivered. State changes are active learning techniques where the method of teachingis changed, for example moving from a presentation to a class discussion or task(Allen, 2002). The aim is to retain students’ attention by varying the means ofinformation dissemination, to get them to participate and reflect that key information-on how to find information for assignments- has been delivered.The active learning state change used was Gueldenzoph’s 3-2-1 Processor, in the formof a three minute task at the end of the session, where students were asked to list threerecollections, two insights and one question they had from the session material(Gueldenzoph, 2007). Responses were collected on the same sheet as a generalevaluation form and enabled us to gauge more closely than before, in terms ofqualitative feedback, students’ reaction to the session and what they had learnt duringit.Students were more engaged with the feedback process and the format led them, insome cases, to be quite reflective on the effect of the session. For example one studentcommented ‘as business is completely a new field to me, I was so worried if I couldget enough information for assignments...Glad that I could attend this course’.Some students used evaluative statements during the task; for example insightsincluded that they now knew ‘how to access reliable accurate information’ and ‘howto use databases more efficiently’ and had ‘a much better insight in what this libraryoffers in terms of information but also support!’Finally the question section allowed students to highlight issues or misunderstandingand to request a follow up answer if they wished.ReferencesAllen, R. H. (2002) Impact Teaching: Ideas and Strategies for Teaching to MaximizeStudent Learning. Boston, Allyn & Bacon.Gueldenzoph, L. E. (2007) Using Teaching Teams to Encourage Active Learning,Business Communication Quarterly, [Online] 70 (4) 457-462. Available from:http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/ [Accessed 26th September 2011].

Lincoln - Using an active learning task to engage students and involve them in the evaluation of an information literacy training session

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Lincoln - Using an active learning task to engage students and involve them in the evaluation of an information literacy training session Document Transcript