Presented at LILAC 2008

1. Problem-Based Learning at
University College Dublin
Lorna Dodd
Liaison Librarian
Human Sciences
University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4,
Ireland
Lorna.dodd@ucd.ie
Supporting Information Literacy in
different educational approaches
Ursula Byrne
Head of Academic Services,
Humanities & Social Sciences,
University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4,
Ireland
Urusla.Byrne@ucd.ie

2. Background
• Largest university in Ireland
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL) currently in
practice within several programmes
• Government funding (SIF) to support
development of further initiatives across
campus

3. What is PBL?
• Centres on the student
• Work in small tutorials
• Presented with complex, real-life
„problems‟
• Identify what they know from their
existing knowledge
• Identify gaps in their existing knowledge
• Formulate „learning issues‟ for next
session

5. The flashy trainers

6. Why is Information Literacy
important in PBL?
• Self-directed learning
• Development of life-long transferable
skills
• Critical and reflective thinking

7. Identify an
information
need
Convert Learning
Issues
into search strategies
Identify
most
appropriate
source
Identify kind of
information &
resource
Effectively
retrieve
relevant
information
Evaluate reliability,
relevance,
currency
& appropriateness
Use the
information
in an ethical
way
Apply information
to problem &
integrate
into existing knowledge
APPLYING
INFORMATION
LITERACY TO
PBL

8. • Anatomy of the lung
 Factual Information –
Textbooks
• Allergens and treatment
 Current Research – Journal
Articles or Websites
• Is the information reliable?
• Is the information relevant to
problem?
 Location
 Availability of treatment
The Coughing Horse

9. Information Literacy
Instruction in PBL
• Traditional lectures clashes with philosophical foundations of
PB L
• Usefulness of traditional workshops
• In PBL context students need to use a range of information
resources in order to find a range of information types
• Often need to explain to academics that a change in
educational approach requires ALL aspects of student
instruction to change

10. Workshop approach
• Keep students in their PBL groups
• Identify common “Learning Issues” across all groups
• Let students search for information without any guidance or
instruction
• Each group reports back
 Which resources they used
 Why they chose each resource
 How useful each resource was
 What strategy/language they used

11. Workshop approach
• Librarian then looks at “Learning Issue”
 Identify which „type‟ of information is required
 Identify appropriate sources
 Think about language, keywords, alternative terms
• Students then repeat exercise and report back
• Students also asked how the information they find applies
to the problem

12. Using a „problem‟ approach
The M50 - Europe’s
Largest Car park?

13. Using a „problem‟ approach
• Psychology/sociology
 Research on stress associated with long commutes
• Environmental Studies
 Comparative literature on impact of new motorways on
developing countryside
• Planning & Policy
 Government reports in infrastructure planning
• Economics
 Current Irish & European statistics

14. Conclusion
• Information Literacy is increasingly consciously
developed
 encourage students to think about information they need
 challenge students to critically evaluate the information
they find and the source
• Information Literacy is often:
 Included as a learning outcome
 An assessment criteria
• Librarians are more involved in curriculum
development:
 Ensure there are sufficient resources
 Help students develop necessary skills

15. Conclusion
• Introduction of PBL can dramatically change library &
librarian‟s role
• Librarians often act as group facilitators in PBL
 Significant departure from their traditional role
 New skill set
• Information literacy essential component
 Many academics begin to understand the importance of IL
and librarian as a result of PBL
 This often leads to a „spill over‟ effect

16. How do we strike
the balance
between taking
advantage of new
opportunities and
managing growing
workloads?