Authentic research and authentic learning through school libraries

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Authentic research and authentic learning through
school libraries

• DR ROSS TODD
• Associate Professor
• Department of Library and
• Information science
• Rutgers, The State University
• of New Jersey
• rtodd_at_scils.rutgers.edu

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Learning in the Information Age School

• ? Construction
• ? Inquiry
• ? Connectivity
• ? Engagement
• ? Interactivity
• ? Empowerment

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Celebrate the Understood, not the Found
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• If we always see as we've always seen,
• We'll always be as we've always been,
• Well always do as we've always done,
• Well always have what weve always had
• And well always get what weve always got
• (Author unknown)

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What is Authentic Learning?

• learning which emphasises meaningful, authentic
  activities that help the learner to construct
  understandings and develop skills relevant to
  problem solving
• learning activities that closely resemble the
  ways that students will be expected to use their
  knowledge and skills in the real world

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• Dinosaurs and
• Disasters

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7 Principles of Authentic Learning The heart of
the Information Age School
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1. Learning is an active search for meaning by
the learner

• Focus on development of personal knowing /
  meaning / understanding through active engagement
  with information (sources, people, popular
  culture)
• From transmission to engagement to inquiry
• Students are creators, not replicators of
  knowledge
• Developing in students the will and the
  motivation to know through engagement with
  information sources and information technology

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Ok kids, heres your next project(Kids groan
as the paper is passed out)
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THE RESEARCH PROCESS

• The problem
• Simple and superficial view of research, without
  understanding the complex dynamics of research
  involving behaviours, cognitions and feelings

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GETTING INTO RESEARCH

• Students fail as researchers often because of the
  nature of the task set for them restrictive
  rather than fostering open intellectual inquiry
• Does it matter if they never ever know? (Worth
  being familiar with Important to know and do,
  Enduring understanding)
• Whose interests are being served here?
• What are the cognitive, technical, evaluative
  demands embedded in the task?
• How do you accommodate for the cognitive,
  affective and behavioural demands of undertaking
  library / internet research?
• How are you going to engage them in building new
  understandings for themselves, rather than
  producing information for you?
• How can you be certain that students have the
  range of information scaffolds to complete the
  task to your specification?

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• Model of the Information Search Process
•  
•  
• Tasks Initiation Selection
  Exploration Formulation Collection
  Presentation
• --------------------------------------------------
  --------------------------------------------------
  ------------------------------------------------?
  
• Feelings uncertainly optimism confusion
  clarity sense of
  satisfaction or
• (affective) frustration
  direction/ disappointment
• doubt
  confidence
• Thoughts vague-----------------------------------
  --?focused
• (cognitive) ---------------------------
  --------------------?
• increased interest
• Actions seeking relevant information-----------
  -----------------?seeking pertinent information
• (physical) exploring
  documenting

Carol Kuhlthau Seeking Meaning
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Stages of the ISP

• Effective information seeking occurs in seven
  stages. These stages are named for the primary
  task to be accomplished at each point in the
  process.
• Initiation when confronted with an information
  need, students contemplate what they already
  know, what they want and need to find out
• Selection students identify and select general
  topics which will guide their information seeking
  to satisfy their information need.
• Exploration students investigate information on
  a general topic in order to extend personal
  understanding and to form a focus

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• In all three of the beginning stages of the ISP
  students often experience confusion, uncertainty,
  and apprehension.
• Formulation students become aware of the
  various dimensions, issues, ramifications of the
  initiating question and begin to form their own
  focused perspective of the subject under study.
• Collection students gather information that
  defines, extends and supports the focus that they
  have formed. Interest and confidence commonly
  increases as they gain a sense of ownership and
  expertise in the subject.
• Presentation students prepare to apply / share
  what they have discovered.
• Assessment students reflect on what they have
  learned to discover what went well and what might
  be improved.

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• Model of the Information Search Process
•  
•  
• Tasks Initiation Selection
  Exploration Formulation Collection
  Presentation
• --------------------------------------------------
  --------------------------------------------------
  ------------------------------------------------?
  
• Feelings uncertainly optimism confusion
  clarity sense of
  satisfaction or
• (affective) frustration
  direction/ disappointment
• doubt
  confidence
• Thoughts vague-----------------------------------
  --?focused
• (cognitive) ---------------------------
  --------------------?
• increased interest
• Actions seeking relevant information-----------
  -----------------?seeking pertinent information
• (physical) exploring
  documenting

Carol Kuhlthau Seeking Meaning
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Uncertainty Principle

• The affective symptoms of uncertainty, confusion,
  and frustration are associated with vague,
  unclear thoughts about a topic or question. As
  knowledge states shift to more clearly focused
  thoughts, a parallel shift occurs in feelings of
  increased confidence.
• KEY INDICATOR OF NEED FOR RESEARCH INTERVENTION

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UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE

• Initiation Exploration Focus Selection
  Presentation

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2. Learning is about making and maintaining
connections

• Linking information to knowledge
• Linking mind and environment
• Linking self and others
• Linking deliberation and action
• Linking actions and outcomes

• Development of information scaffolds
• Promoting an empowerment model towards knowledge
  construction, rather than a deficiency notion
• Gathering evidence on learning needs in relation
  to building knowledge

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What is constructivist Learning?

• Learning is a personal and social construction
  of meaning out of the bewildering array of
  sensations which have no order or stature besides
  the explanations which we fabricate for them
• Constructing meaning is learning. There is no
  other kind.
• (Professor George E Hein, director of the
  Program Evaluation and Research Group at Lesley
  College, Cambridge, MA, USA)

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Points to Consider

• Doing research is not highlighting photocopied
  text from books or web pages
• Recognise the distinction between reporting and
  researching
• How do you move students who perceive task of
  searching as primarily one of gathering
  information to a task of forming a focused
  perspective from the information encountered?
• How do you develop formal interventions which
  enable students to stay focused and not detract
  from the learning task at hand?
• Making provision for situations that promote
  seeking a focus during a search?

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Key to research success

• INFORMATION SCAFFOLDS
• OWNERSHIP FOCUS - MOTIVATION

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• identifying existing knowing, establishing needs
  and gaps, questioning, defining, searching,
  finding, locating, formulating, focusing,
  challenging, evaluating, filtering, analysing,
  organising, interpreting, constructing,
  synthesising, critiquing, reflecting, creating
  new knowledge, new understandings, new meanings,
  problem solving, getting direction, moving on,
  making decisions, getting answers

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DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDINGS

• find some new facts about my topic
• get some background information on my topic
• develop my particular theme more
• get more specific details about facts I already
  know
• help me find some connections between facts I
  already have
• correct some ideas I know are wrong
• change my mind about some of my ideas
• help me find out if some ideas I already have are
  right or wrong
• help me feel stronger about some of my ideas
• see if some guesses I have made are right

• work out if I should stick with my ideas /
  viewpoint
• sort out some vague ideas I have about the topic
• find some explanations for the ideas I have
• find some different viewpoints about the topic
• clarify things I didnt fully understand before
• help me work out what my viewpoint is on the
  topic
• help me form an opinion on the topic
• come to some conclusion about these ideas
• work out if I agree or disagree with the ideas I
  have
• find an argument to back up my ideas

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3. Learning is developmental

• Cumulative process, building to greater richness,
  complexity and application
• Knowledge growth is gradual advancement,
  consolidation, reinforcement
• Tracking student development of understanding,
  meaning and competence, and providing feedback.
• INTERVENTION IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS

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LEARNING INTERVENTION

• Do not abandon them at the most complex,
  difficult time of construction (analysis,
  synthesis, constructing the product)
• Proposal submissions advice on structure,
  organisation and conceptualisation
• Provide focused class-time for writing and engage
  with students in the writing process
• Provide more practice in developing arguments
  working with claims, backing, rebuttals, evidence
• Provide clear understanding of assessment
  criteria use of rubrics
• Peer-editing sessions

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Proposal Submissions

• Formulating the research question and / or
  hypothesis. What are you curious about? What is
  your informed guess that answers a why or how
  question?
• Is the question too broad or too narrow?
• Identify 4 words and / or terms that are critical
  to the research use these words
• Provide a working bibliography that demonstrates
  focus on the research

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4. Authentic learning and research requires
ownership

• Activities which enrich formal investigation
• Inclusion and reporting of personal engagement
  with primary sources interview, data gathering,
  simple experimentation, analysis of external
  documents, site visits.
• Integration of information and data to construct
  personal position

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5. Learning requires feedback, practice, use

• Feedback ? sustained learning Practice ?
  nourishing learning Opportunities to use ?
  meaningful learning
• Evidence-based feedback on progress towards
  meeting learning standards feedback on mastery
  of information scaffolds
• Evidence-based recursive process of needs
  analysis and improvement
• Encouragement and support for learning goals

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ASSESSMENT FOR INQUIRY AND MEANING

• Focus on knowledge construction, not reproduction
• Focus on knowledge, not information
• Feedback on scaffolding conceptual, technical
  and evaluative process
• Problem solving, higher-order thinking skills and
  deep understanding are emphasized
• Foster reflective practice creating a culture
  of student reflection (actions, behaviors,
  feelings)
• Provide self-analytical tools eg rubrics
• Diagnostic attempts to remedy learner errors
  and misconceptions do something about the
  problems

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6. Learning is strongly affected by educational
climate in which it takes place

• An effective educational climate for authentic
  research is one that
• values academic and personal success and
  intellectual inquiry
• involves all constituents in contributing to
  effective student learning
• gives a sense of feeling connected, cared for and
  trusted.
• THIS STARTS IN THE CLASSROOM

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What is the research climate of your classroom?

• Are students suffering from PBS (Project Burnout
  Syndrome) and MRC (Mindless Research Complex)?
• What do you convey that is important to students
  by your attitudes, values, and in-house
  behaviours in relation to research?
• Do the students see you as a competent
  researcher?

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Is your classroom a hotbed of learning activism?

• To inspire engagement with research outside of
  the classroom, the classroom needs to be a space
  where students can encounter alternative
  perspectives and challenge conventional views
  in safety and respect?
• Does the classroom provide opportunities for
  students to test the application of new
  knowledge?
• Can students share experiences that have shaped
  learning and identities with others?
• Can students unlearn personal views and
  approaches when confronted by new information

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7. Learning is enhanced by taking place in the
context of compelling situations

• Classroom as the intersection of physical,
  digital and knowledge spaces in the school
• Provide challenge and opportunity through
  compelling problems
• Compelling problems stimulate the brain to
  conceptualise, contemplate and reflect, and
  develop workable and innovative solutions
• Create a research environment where learning
  outcomes can be shared with multiple audiences.

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Information Utilization through the School
LibraryRoss Todd Carol Kuhlthau

• To understand what happens in students minds as
  they search for and make use of information to
  build their own knowledge in print / electronic
  information environments
• to understand more fully the knowledge
  construction process
• to identify patterns of subject access during the
  search process through digital, print and
  personal sources
• to identify patterns of cognitive intents during
  the search process

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SAMPLE

• 43 Grade 9 students at Gill St Bernards School,
  Gladstone NJ (21 girls, 22 boys)
• Semester long course Research Project
• School librarian / teacher collaboration
• Instructional Intervention Understanding
  Information Search Process, information
  searching, information analysis synthesis, and
  note taking
• 2 phases of course Instructional intervention
  culminating in major oral presentation (7 weeks)
  guided free-choice research paper (7 weeks)
  within the theme Celebration in Culture

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DATA COLLECTION

• 1. Written protocol at three key stages in the
  Information Search Process (Initiation,
  Formulation, Presentation) measure existing
  knowledge
• Structured search logs kept by each student
  during the progress of assignment
• Log of Feelings and Next Task
• Product analysis at completion of the assignment

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INTERVENTION MATTERS

• Changes in knowledge from simple, often
  incorrect descriptions of properties of topics,
  to complex structures reasons, outcomes,
  causality, implications
• Higher levels of conceptual coherence and
  structural centrality of knowing
• Ownership of knowledge outcomes creation, not
  replication
• Developing personal positions prediction,
  reflection, understanding personal position in
  relation to topic
• INTERVENTION PROCESS ENGAGEMENT ?PERSONALIZED
  KNOWLEDGE OUTCOMES

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INTERVENTION MATTERS

• I have learned many things about the research
  process after completing this project. The
  tracking sheets showed me that organization is
  important when researching. It helped me manage
  the time and showed me just how indepth my
  knowledge became. Another good thing was that
  there was always help available from the teachers
  and librarians

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INTERVENTION MATTERS

• This was a very exhausting process, but none the
  less, it was all worth it. I finally learned
  how to write a proper paper, not only for
  research, but any paper in general. I got to
  spend quality time with my teacher and librarian.
  The three things I enjoyed in writing and
  research are reading the books, making an
  outline, and LEARNING. I definitely learned a
  lot both about my interesting topic, and the
  research to make it happen.

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INTERVENTION MATTERS

• A six page research paper scared the bloody crap
  out of me, but with the help I got while doing
  the project, I knew I could do it. This project
  opened me to new ideas, and how to write my own
  ideas and thoughts based on them. I enjoyed
  recording my thoughts because I like to express
  how I am feeling during the process. This
  allowed my teachers and librarians to know my
  thinking throughout the course and to guide me
  better

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Learning is active, not passive

• formational
• transformational
• informational
• Instructional
• evidential
• constructing
• connecting
• empowering
• envisioning
• scaffolding
• energizing

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Reluctance to change

• You cannot teach an old dog new tricks
• Im retiring next year
• It will not work here
• We did all right without it
• Were all too busy to do it
• Think of the disruption!
• Not THAT again
• Weve always done it this way

• Too much content
• We dont have the time
• Staff will never accept it
• We like change if it does not involve alterations
• Why change, its working ok
• Youre right, BUT
• Lets get back to reality
• Lets sleep on it

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Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute.
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
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Only engage and then the mind grows heated .
Begin and then the work will be completed