Panning for Gold: Information Literacy and the Net Lenses Model
... The original Net Lenses study (Edwards, 2006) used phenomenographic methods (Marton, 1994;Marton and Booth 1997) to uncover variation in students' experiences of webbased information searching. Incorporating first year, third year and postgraduate student perspectives, the participants (n = 41) came from six of the eight faculties at QUT (Queensland University of Technology). ...
... Each category is characterised in terms of referential and structural components constituted in terms of the critical dimensions of variation, including focal elements, approaches to learning, and reflective practice. The resulting model, called Net Lenses, has been presented previously (Edwards, 2006) and validated in multiple subsequent studies (Edwards, 2004(Edwards, , 2006Edwards et al., 2002Edwards et al., , 2010. ...
... Each category is characterised in terms of referential and structural components constituted in terms of the critical dimensions of variation, including focal elements, approaches to learning, and reflective practice. The resulting model, called Net Lenses, has been presented previously (Edwards, 2006) and validated in multiple subsequent studies (Edwards, 2004(Edwards, , 2006Edwards et al., 2002Edwards et al., , 2010. ...
In recent years, leading website search engines have abandoned vital search features supporting complex information needs, evolving instead for the marketplace and for users seeking speedy answers to easy questions. The consequences are troubling, for researchers and for information science educators, with concerns ranging from the very relevance of search results and the unknowing of what is missing, to the novice searcher’s waning ability to frame potent queries and to learn ways to refine results. We report on a grounded theory study of search experiences of information professionals and graduate students (n = 20) that contributes a holistic understanding of web searching, using its findings both to frame what is lacking in the design evolution of search engines for complex information needs and to outline a way forward. One goal of the study was to evaluate an established model of web searching, called Net Lenses, a theoretical framework shown to be highly relevant during the study’s grounded theory secondary literature review. The original Net Lenses research used phenomenography to identify variation in the web search experiences of university students (n = 41), evidencing four categories according to the characteristics of searcher awareness, approach to learning, response to obstacles and search outcomes. This study validated the model and led to an expanded version, Net Lenses 2.0, with five categories of search experience, reflecting the complex information needs of more advanced searchers. This resultant Net Lenses 2.0 model is discussed with its implications for search engine design, for advanced searchers and also for learning-to-search modes, much needed by searchers seeking to develop their abilities. The study’s implications coalesce in a call to action for more inclusive search interface design, and an agenda is put forth for how information researchers, educators and literacy advocates can move forward in their intersecting domains.
... These two studies were each complemented by articles on the phenomenographic research approach and its potential impact for information research (Bruce, 2000;Limberg, 2000Limberg, , 2005. Whilst numerous studies using phenomenography in information research have been published in recent years (Edwards, 2006;Kirk, 2002;Lupton, 2008;Parker, 2006;Williams & Wavell, 2007), there has been no recent summary of phenomenography, its theoretical positions and its applicability to information research and practice. This paper will fill that gap. ...
... The individual therefore, is given the opportunity to discern the variation between the old and the new experiences, and according to Runesson (1999) it is this process of discernment that is a significant attribute of learning. Edwards (2006) has applied this view of learning to information searching. Using the phenomenographic method, Edwards identified variation in the experience of information searching in the online environment. ...
... Each of the four categories is associated with different meanings being assigned to the search experience. They are also associated with different awareness structures, different approaches to learning, and different search outcomes (Edwards, 2006). The presence of two columns in the outcome space is significant. ...
Phenomenography is a qualitative research approach that seeks to explore variation in how people experience various aspects of their world. Phenomenography has been used in numerous information research studies that have explored various phenomena of interest in the library and information sphere. This paper provides an overview of the phenomenographic method and discusses key assumptions that underlie this approach to research. Aspects including data collection, data analysis and the outcomes of phenomenographic research are also detailed. The paper concludes with an illustration of how phenomenography was used in research to investigate students’ experiences of web-based information searching. The results of this research demonstrate how the phenomenographic approach yields insights into variation, making it possible to develop greater understanding of the phenomenon as it was experienced, and to draw upon these experiences to improve and enhance current practice.
... Questions of this form have been adopted in several phenomenographic studies of IL (Gunton, Bruce, & Stoodley, 2012;Edwards, 2006;Lupton, 2004;Gunton, Bruce, & Stoodley, 2012;Maybee, 2006), and have been tested for effectiveness through multiple piloting processes. ...
... Nevertheless, certain ways of experiencing our environment, defined by qualitative shifts of awareness, may be identified as watersheds, which lead us into new ways of understanding our environment. These watersheds indicate critical points for learning and personal change (Edwards, 2006(Edwards, , 2007. ...
... From this study we begin to see that the categories may be considered as thresholds (Meyer & Land, 2003;Cousin, 2007), or watershed moments (Edwards, 2006(Edwards, , 2007, critical points of understanding that launch us into new ways of experiencing our health information environment. If we stay in familiar conceptual territory we risk never growing in our experience, however once we cross a conceptual threshold our perspective is changed irrevocably. ...
The purpose of this book is to open a conversation on the idea of information experience, which we understand to be a complex, multidimensional engagement with information. In developing the book we invited colleagues to propose a chapter on any aspect of information experience, for example conceptual, methodological or empirical. We invited them to express their interpretation of information experience, to contribute to the development of this concept. The book has thus become a vehicle for interested researchers and practitioners to explore their thinking around information experience, including relationships between information experience, learning experience, user experience and similar constructs. It represents a collective awareness of information experience in contemporary research and practice. Through this sharing of multiple perspectives, our insights into possible ways of interpreting information experience, and its relationship to other concepts in information research and practice, is enhanced. In this chapter, we introduce the idea of information experience. We also outline the book and its chapters, and bring together some emerging alternative views and approaches to this important idea. © 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
... resources far fewer students claimed to have used more academic-oriented resources such as: library web site – 61% electronic magazines/journals – 58% topic specific web sites – 50% online database – 34% Students' preference for the Internet over academic resources is accompanied by less developed critical and strategic approaches to using information (Armstrong et al, 2001;Becker, 2003;Brown, Murphy & Nanny, 2003;Edwards 2006;Jones, 2002;Logan, 2004;Melgoza, Mennel & Gyeszly, 2002;Paris, 2002;Ray & Day, 1998). Although many younger students, who belong to the so-called Net Generation, are at home in the digital world they are not necessarily savvy in interacting critically, safely and ethically with information in the online environment: ...
... Some researchers suggest that it is important to consider the affective, cognitive and cultural influences that may impact on individuals' educational experiences (Kuhlthau, 2003;Mehra & Bilal, 2007;Ramsay, Barker, & Jones, 1999;Robertson, Line, Jones & Thomas, 2000). Consequently, the complexity of student needs calls for a whole learning approach that encourages students' independent, self-directed learning, through critical information-use (DiMartino and Zoe, 2000;Edwards, 2006;Jackson, 2005;Liao, Finn and Lu, 2007). A whole learning approach is curriculumcentred and integrates language learning, information use and academic practices into students' wider learning (Baron & Strout-Dapaz, 2001;DiMartino & Zoe, 1996). ...
... The quilt-like combination of concepts and strategies that I was developing would not mesh with the seamless phenomenographic approach, which integrates theory, method, outcome space and learning theory. While a phenomenographic study represents the ways in which people experience a particular phenomenon, such as searching the internet (Edwards, 2006), I sought to investigate how students actively use online information resources. Moreover, phenomenographic findings are collective, separating the participants from the research outcomes, whereas I was interested in exploring the individuality and diversity of international students and their experiences. ...
This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that investigated 25 international students’ use of online information resources for study purposes at two Australian universities. Using an expanded critical incident approach, the study viewed international students through an information literacy lens, as information-using learners. The findings are presented in two complementary parts: as a word picture that describes their whole experience of using online information resources to learn; and as a tabulated set of critical findings that summarises their associated information literacy learning needs. The word picture shows international students’ resource use as a complex interplay of eight interrelated elements: students; information-learning environment; interactions (with online resources); strengths-challenges; learning-help; affective responses; reflective responses; and cultural-linguistic dimensions. In using online resources, the international students experience an array of strengths and challenges, and an apparent information literacy imbalance between their more developed information skills and less-developed critical information use. The critical findings about information literacy needs provide a framework for developing an inclusive informed learning approach that responds to international students’ complex information using experiences and needs. While the study is situated in Australia, the findings are of potential interest to educators, information professionals and researchers worldwide who seek to support learning in culturally diverse higher education contexts.
... In line with the Relational perspective promoted by Bruce (1997), , and Edwards (2006), the Information Literacy Relational model presented in this paper is influenced by the Phenomenographic view of learning which states that the way of experiencing something is characterised by the internal relationship between subject and object (Marton, 1994). It is a contention of this paper that the Relational model identifies information as the 'object' in the subject-object relation. ...
... This is in line with Bruce's claim that a Relational approach requires: "Descriptions of these conceptions, or experiences, reveal variation in the internal relation between subjects (people) and some object (in this case information) [...] internal variation suggests that the meaning of Information Literacy is derived from the ways in which people interact with information [..]." (Bruce, 1997, p. 9) This view is also promoted by Bruce, Edwards and Lupton (2006) where their Relational frame describes Information Literacy as a "complex of different ways of interacting with information" (Bruce et al, 2006, p. 5). Drawing from Marton and Booth's model of experiencing learning 3 , Edwards (2006) provides a detailed account of what a Phenomenographic investigation of Information Literacy entails. This starts with the identification of the structure of awareness, consisting of internal and external horizons which depict the dynamic relationship between learner and information (Diagram 2). ...
... Diagram 2: the dynamic relationship between learner and information (Relational model) The diagrammatic representation of the internal and the external structures of awareness shown in this diagram is based on the concentric circles analogy initially devised by Bruce (1997), and later implemented by Edwards (2006). The circle at the centre represents the focal awareness of the learner (the information goal). ...
This study explored the use of a community of practice for teaching information and communication technology (ICT) skills to graduate students. Two questions were posed. The first addressed the ICT skill needs of 15 students enrolled in a research methods course in chemistry education. The second focused on the use of a community of practice to facilitate ICT skill acquisition. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. Results indicate that ICT instruction was most useful when: 1) students defined/interpreted information needs by recalling prior knowledge and experiences; 2) those interpretations were tested, refined, rejected, or revised for a specific purpose; 3) access to resources and tools (artifacts, symbols, and language) were readily available; and 4) formative feedback supported critical thinking about the information retrieval process. These findings provided important insights into using a community of practice to facilitate and reinforce learning.
... In line with the Relational perspective promoted by Bruce (1997), , and Edwards (2006), the Information Literacy Relational model presented in this paper is influenced by the Phenomenographic view of learning which states that the way of experiencing something is characterised by the internal relationship between subject and object (Marton, 1994). It is a contention of this paper that the Relational model identifies information as the 'object' in the subject-object relation. ...
... This is in line with Bruce's claim that a Relational approach requires: "Descriptions of these conceptions, or experiences, reveal variation in the internal relation between subjects (people) and some object (in this case information) [...] internal variation suggests that the meaning of Information Literacy is derived from the ways in which people interact with information [..]." (Bruce, 1997, p. 9) This view is also promoted by Bruce, Edwards and Lupton (2006) where their Relational frame describes Information Literacy as a "complex of different ways of interacting with information" (Bruce et al, 2006, p. 5). Drawing from Marton and Booth's model of experiencing learning 3 , Edwards (2006) provides a detailed account of what a Phenomenographic investigation of Information Literacy entails. This starts with the identification of the structure of awareness, consisting of internal and external horizons which depict the dynamic relationship between learner and information (Diagram 2). ...
... Diagram 2: the dynamic relationship between learner and information (Relational model) The diagrammatic representation of the internal and the external structures of awareness shown in this diagram is based on the concentric circles analogy initially devised by Bruce (1997), and later implemented by Edwards (2006). The circle at the centre represents the focal awareness of the learner (the information goal). ...
... Learning requires students to use information creatively and reflectively. A growing body of research shows that students use information with more sophistication when focused on particular aspects of disciplinary content (Andretta, 2012;Edwards, 2006;Limberg, 2000;Lupton, 2004Lupton, , 2008. Building on these studies, a recent investigation portrays how learning outcomes may be enabled (or disabled) through the ways that students engage with information (Maybee, Bruce, Lupton, & Rebmann, 2017). ...
... It re-conceptualizes information literacy from mastering a set of skills to experiencing using information to learn in increasingly complex ways. Informed learning builds on the findings from several phenomenographic studies revealing how educators (Bruce, 1997;Webber, Boon, & Johnston, 2005) and students (Andretta, 2012;Edwards, 2006;Limberg, 2000;Lupton, 2008) experience information literacy. These studies show that both educators and learners tend to experience using information with more sophistication when focused on learning about a disciplinary subject. ...
While higher education teachers are able to use information in sophisticated ways to learn and communicate within their disciplines, they may not be accustomed to teaching their students to use information creatively and reflectively to support their work in a course. This article introduces informed learning design, a curriculum design model by which teachers specifically enable students to learn course content through intentional engagement with information. Drawing from informed learning pedagogy and the variation theory of learning, the design model outlines an instructional pattern for enabling student awareness of critical aspects and features of the object being studied related to both information use and course content.
... A major assumption in phenomenography, then, is that people differ as to how they experience the world (or more specifically a given phenomenon in their world) and that these differences can be described and communicated by them and understood by others (Marton & Booth 1997). Phenomenography is a descriptive approach to looking at and describing in different categories the ways of experiencing the phenomena being studied (Edwards 2006). ...
... The other aspects of the experience are clearly perceived, but they are not the central focus and are represented in the 'thematic field'. The 'margin' represents the other aspects or features of the experience that may, in fact, be relevant, but they are not perceived to be so from this person's particular point of view (Edwards 2006). ...
Evidence-based practice is increasingly being recognised as an important issue in a range of professional contexts including education, nursing, occupational therapy and librarianship. Many of these professions have observed a relationship or interface between evidence-based practice and information literacy. Using a phenomenographic approach this research explores variation in the how library and information professionals are experiencing evidence-based practice as part of their professional work. The findings of the research provide a basis for arguing that evidence-based practice represents the professional's enactment of information literacy in the workplace.
... Based on different theories, different research methods are used in IL research. These research methods range from survey (Korobili, Malliari & Christodoulou, 2008;Mittermeyer & Quirion, 2003;Selematsela & Du Toit, 2007), Delphi study (Doyle, 1992;Saunders, 2009), case study (McAdoo, 2008;Serotkin, 2006), testing (Dunn, 2002;Gross & Latham, 2009;Mittermeyer & Quirion, 2003), to interviews (Critchfield, 2005;Gross & Latham, 2009;McGuinness, 2006), focus group studies (Dunn, 2002;Valentine, 1993), document analysis (Wright, 2007) and phenomenography (Bruce, 1997;Edwards, 2006;Lupton, 2008;Maybee, 2007), and approach (Elmborg, 2006;Mutch, 2000), and critical incident technique (Hughes, 2007;). ...
... Lazarow (2004) applied Vygotsky's approach to facilitate an IL class. Smith (2004) Edwards (2006) applied the Relational Frame to an online tutorial design. ...
... A clear line of scholarly investigation supports the need for educational approaches in which students learn to use information in ways that are part of discipline-focused learning outcomes (Andretta, 2007;Bruce, 2008;Limberg, 2008;Lloyd & Williamson, 2008;Lupton, 2008;Maybee, 2007;Webber & Johnson, 2000). Extending the phenomenographic line of scholarly investigation supporting this idea (Bruce1997; Edwards, 2006;Limberg, 1999;Lupton, 2004Lupton, , 2008Maybee, 2007), Bruce (2008) developed informed learning, a pedagogy that focuses on learning subject content through engagements with academic or professional information practices. Informed learning provides a framework that emphasizes both information use and subject content. ...
... They hold that attribute and process models are not capable of supporting learners engaging with information to construct new knowledge (Bruce, 1997;Kapitzke, 2003;Lloyd, 2010;Webber & Johnson, 2000;Whitworth, 2011). Two influential approaches have emerged that focus on information literacy in context: 1) a relational approach which views learning as becoming aware of new ways of understanding a topic (Bruce, 1997(Bruce, , 2008Edwards, 2006;Limberg, 1999;Lupton, 2004Lupton, , 2008Maybee, 2006Maybee, , 2007, and 2) a socio-cultural approach which emphasizes the role of social construction of meaning in learning (Lloyd, 2007(Lloyd, , 2010Wang, Bruce, & Hughes, 2011). ...
Informed learning is a pedagogy that focuses on learning subject content through engaging with academic or professional information practices. Adopting the position that more powerful learning is achieved where students are taught how to use information and subject content simultaneously, the research reported here investigated an informed learning lesson. Using phenomenographic methods, students' experiences of the lesson were compared with observations of how the lesson was enacted in the classroom. Based on an analysis of student interviews using variation theory, different ways of experiencing the informed learning lesson emerged. Some students understood the lesson to be about learning to use information, i.e., researching and writing an academic paper, while others understood it as focusing on understanding both subject content and information use simultaneously. Although the results of this study are highly contextualized, the findings suggest criteria to consider when designing informed learning lessons.
... Academics set about investigating the variety of ways that students (and teachers) understood various topic areas in order to design better learning experiences. Some early examples were the mole concept in chemistry (Lybeck et al., 1988) and recursion in programming (Booth, 1992) : a more recent example is web-based information seeking (Edwards, 2006). This research was supported by studies that looked at students' (and teachers') experience of entire subject areas such as science (Prosser, Walker & Millar, 1995) and mathematics (Crawford et al., 1994): a more recent example is computer programming (Bruce et al., 2004). ...
... They illustrate the notion that similar results can be obtained from more than one theoretical base. This leaves us with the impression that much more could be achieved in the field of statistics education using phenomenographic approaches (in comparison, many more phenomenographic studies have been carried out in the area of computer education, including programming and information technology, from Booth, 1992to Edwards, 2006. ...
In this paper, we summarise several components of our recent research into students' conceptions of statistics, their learning of statistics, our teaching of statistics, and their perceptions of their future professional work. We have obtained this information on the basis of phenomenographic analyses of several series of interviews with students studying statistics, both as statistics majors and as service students. In each of these cases, the broadest views relate in some way to personal connection, growth and change – in other words, they contain a strong ontological component above and beyond the standard epistemological component of learning. We discuss the importance of personal change in becoming a statistician – or an informed user of statistics – and investigate the pedagogical conditions under which such change is likely to occur. PRELUDE: LEARNING STATISTICS – KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS Teaching and assessing statistical thinking at tertiary level is a very broad theme, and one, we believe, that can be addressed by looking at information from studies carried out both within the field of statistics education and also from beyond this particular field. In the broad endeavour of understanding and improving statistics pedagogy, different research questions and different research approaches shine the spotlight on different facets – for instance, important technical content, effective teaching techniques, valid and reliable assessment, characteristics of statistical thinking, anxiety about statistics, or conceptions of statistics and learning statistics. We would agree with Ramsden (1992, p.5) that "the aim of teaching is simple: it is to make student learning possible " and also with Barnett (2007, p.10) that: "a part – perhaps the main part – of teaching is that of nurturing in the student a will to learn." So we find ourselves focusing less on teaching and assessment, and more on learning itself, and particularly on students' views of learning. When we have discovered what makes it possible for a student to learn statistics and how to nurture in a student the 'will to learn' statistics, we have gone a long way towards answering any questions about teaching and even assessment of statistical thinking. In the last decades of the 20 th century, a sector-wide interest in improving the quality of learning and teaching in higher education resulted in research that was aimed specifically at identifying those features of learning that could be linked with improvement in learning and teaching. From the phenomenographic tradition, the description of surface and deep approaches to learning, originally identifie d in the context of reading a text, was already developed (Marton & Säljö, 1976), and the relation between this and conceptions of learning (Marton, Dall'Alba & Beaty, 1993) formed the research basis for Ramsden's (1992) book, Learning to Teach in Higher Education, and was summarised in Marton and Booth's (1997) Learning and Awareness. Academics set about investigating the variety of ways that students (and teachers) understood various topic areas in order to design better learning experiences. Some early examples were the mole concept in chemistry (Lybeck et al., 1988) and recursion in programming (Booth, 1992) : a more recent example is web-based information seeking (Edwards, 2006). This research was supported by studies that looked at students' (and teachers') experience of entire subject areas such as science (Prosser, Walker & Millar, 1995) and mathematics (Crawford et al., 1994): a more recent example is computer programming (Bruce et al., 2004). Some of these and other studies also investigated the ways that students understood learning in their discipline. Prosser and Trigwell based their text Understanding Learning and Teaching (1999) on empirical explorations of aspects of students' learning, incorporating Biggs' presage-process-product model of learning (for details see Biggs, 1999), to develop "a constitutionalist model of student learning" (Prosser & Trigwell, 1999, p.17) that indicated that a student's learning situation simultaneously included his or her prior experience, approaches to learning, perceptions of the situation and learning outcomes.
... The third claim, which gives the title to the chapter, proposes that variation in the way this phenomenon is experienced by the learner must be the starting point of any information literacy provision (be it social, educational or work-related). This final claim is based on the Relational model of information literacy (Bruce, 1997;Edwards, 2006;Bruce et al., 2006;Andretta, 2008 in press) applied to a study of post-graduate students at the School of Information Management, London Metropolitan University, UK. To familiarise the reader with the Relational model a brief account of this is given here, while the findings from the study demonstrate that by starting from the point of view of the learner information literacy can become a powerful pedagogical tool and fulfil its role as the catalyst for educational change (Bruce, 2002). ...
Information Literacy is a multidimensional phenomenon, which has been intensively discusseci in the literature as a skill and from the library perspective.
According to the EnIL (European network on Information Literacy) research perspective, the volume "Information Literacy at the crossroad of Education and Information Policies in Europe" alms at improving our understanding of the strategy and policy dimensions of Information Literacy, with a special focus on developments in Higher Education.
More specifically, the volume attempts to further discussion on themes affecting Information Literacy inclusion into university curricula, and crossing education and Information policy issues.
Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
• national policies and programs;
• academic policies and Higher Education penetration;
• curriculum design;
• disciplinary differences;
• recommendations and standards;
. national Information Literacy "readiness";
• research activities;
• assessment procedures;
• teacher education;
• barriers and enabling factors.
... Bogel (2008) calls for critical appraisal of research to improve student achievement. It is outside the scope of this paper to detail the range of seminal studies in information literacy, and the findings from recent research and scholarship on information literacy and student learning in varied academic environments ( for example Bruce, 2007;Edwards, 2006, Heinstrom, 2006a, 2006bHultgren andLimberg, 2003, Hyldegard, 2006;Kuhlthau, Caspari, and Maniotes, 2007;Limberg and Sundin,2006;Lupton, 2004;Maybee, 2006;Thomas, 2004;Todd, 2006;Todd and Kuhlthau, 2004). However it is clear that findings from these research studies may also influence the design of information literacy programs. ...
What values, beliefs and conceptions (espoused theories) underpin and shape professional practice (theories-in-use) in information literacy education? This study investigates relationships between espoused theories and theories-in-use of information literacy in academic libraries. The paper reports preliminary findings from an in-depth comparative analysis of one library’s official policy documents and its instruction resources including an online research tutorial. The findings indicate varying patterns of congruence and incongruence between the library’s espoused theories and theories-in-use with incidents of significant gaps. The process of examining espoused theories and theories-in-use provides an evaluative framework for critically analyzing practice with the view of aligning practice more closely with stated goals and rhetoric. The study is therefore presented as a practical method for evaluating tools of information literacy practice in the school library.
... IL has also been researched within different contexts: educational, workplace and community. Much of the research on IL has focused on its application in academic and educational contexts (Edwards, 2006;Maybee, 2006;Lupton, 2008), where IL is investigated in a specific discipline or how university students experience IL. However, little research in IL focuses on exploring how other groups of the population experience IL within other contexts. ...
This article presents the findings of a constructivist grounded theory study that explored older Australians’ information literacy (IL) experience using mobile devices in their daily lives. Australians aged 65 years of age or older who use mobile devices took part in an in-depth semi-structured interview. Analysis of data from twelve interviews gave as result a substantive theory consisting of six interconnected categories: ageing; learning to use and manage mobile devices; being entertained; enacting everyday life; learning; and managing relationships. Examination of these categories revealed the different ways in which older adults experience IL using mobile devices through their engagement with information in their daily life. Furthermore, these categories supported that the degree of older adults’ IL exerts a significant impact on the level, and way of use and adoption of mobile devices. This study provides new knowledge and understanding about how older adults experience IL and how their IL experiences are socially and culturally influenced by their interactions within that community.
... Phenomenographers reject these critiques on the premise that talk is informed by the speaker's experience and internal relationships with the external world (Marton & Booth, 1997). In phenomenography's favour, Edwards (2006) found that her research subjects' conceptions easily matched their experiences. ...
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant public health problem with serious consequences for human and socioeconomic development. In Nicaragua there is a dearth of information about CSA in relation to the health sector. The purpose of this study was to assess the Nicaraguan health sector's most fundamental capacity to respond to CSA, by way of investigating the conceptions constituted amongst health personnel in regards to CSA and CSA health services. The study was guided by phenomenography, a qualitative research approach used to reveal and describe conceptions from a second-order perspective. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with governmental and non-governmental health personnel in the Nicaraguan city of Estelí. They revealed that interviewees conceptualized CSA as Pathology, Crime and Devastation. The same personnel conceptualized CSA services as Extraneous specialty, Desired specialty, Professional duty and Human duty. The interviewee sample was found to demonstrate desire and will to serve CSA survivors, although further training was required. The two sets of conceptions were consolidated to form a framework for understanding health personnel conceptions of CSA and CSA services. This framework should be useful for future health sector decisions, particularly regarding the promotion, design and evaluation of future CSA training for health personnel.
... This is a very necessary section as the concept of 'the relational approach' is not an easy one to grasp even for someone familiar with Bruce's work. She also notes that Bruce's work was based on research with academics and so, to broaden this perspective, also consults work by Lupton (2004) and Edwards (2006). ...
... Phenomenography has been since used as one of the methodologies to explore information world phenomena (e.g. Edwards, 2006;Maybee, 2006;Yates, 2015;Forster, 2013). ...
The qualitative research reported here identifies how web designers and developers experience information literacy. Using a phenomenographic approach, this cohort's experience is presented through a map of variation, which includes four different ways of experiencing information literacy. Analysis of 23 in-depth interviews with web workers from different stages of the web design and development process suggested the four ways web workers experience information literacy: staying informed, building a successful website, solving a problem or participating in a community of practice. The study advances the existing understanding of the concept of information literacy, especially in a professional context and from a relational perspective. Additionally, using the web professionals' world as the context of the study, the research contributes to the field of website design and development by shedding light on less-researched information experiences of people involved in the web industry.
... It was first developed in the 1970s as a phenomenographic conceptual framework, applied to information literacy in the late 1990s, and received more and more attention in the early 2000s. The authors who contributed to the discussion of this conceptual model include Bruce (1997), Lupton (2004) and Edwards (2006), among others. The phenomenographic, or relational, approach "focuses on the relationship between people and information to investigate the phenomenon of information literacy from the perspective of people who experience it" (13). ...
This review examines the structure, contribution and key insights of S. Andretta's book Ways of Experiencing Information Literacy: Making the case for a relational approach. It focuses on detailed examination of the relational approach – a relatively new concept in information literacy which establishes a conceptual framework for the relationship between a student and information based on the learner's perspective.
... Andretta (2007), from a phenomenographic perspective, appears to have a more comprehensive and relational view of information literacy based on Bruce's (1997) faces of information literacy. Additionally, the idea of connecting information literacy to students' learning experiences (Lupton, 2004) also backs up such perspectives, which are also complemented by the information-literacy net-based angle (Edwards, 2006). ...
This article reports on a longitudinal study that seeks to understand university students' information-literacy profiles in Colombian universities. The study draws on an understanding of information literacy based on a semiotic and sociocultural framework. Data was gathered at two moments between 2009 and 2012 using an information-literacy-profile questionnaire (ILPQ), and out loud protocols while doing an academic task and in-depth interviews. Findings demonstrate that university students tend to remain in the same information literacy profile during their university studies. Results also show a tendency to move between profiles qualifying processes of access , evaluation and use of information for academic tasks. These findings bring in a number of recommendations for higher education discussed at the end of the article.
... This idea of information literacy as being contextual, depending on the person and their changing relationship to information have been taken up and developed by many researchers since, including (Andretta, 2012;Boon, Johnston, & Webber, 2007;Bruce & Hughes, 2010;Edwards, 2006;Lloyd, 2010;Williams, 2007). ...
It is often difficult to address higher level information literacy skills in Higher Education. This paper argues if we see information literacy as contextual rather than an absolute list of competencies, then play can give us a route to developing those higher level skills.
It takes a social constructivist approach in defining information literacy, before going on to define play and games as belonging on a wide spectrum between completely free or open play and highly structured games.
Using examples from the literature, the paper builds the argument that play is one answer towards meeting the need to develop high level information literacy in students, even though there is limited empirical research into adult play and information literacy development.
... Marton and Booth (1997; see also Bruce, 2008, p. 11) use the term, "pedagogy of awareness" to describe the approach to teaching which Bruce (2008) believes is most appropriate for the relational frame of IL. Edwards (2006) points out that particular views of the world, or of a phenomenon under investigation, lead the learner (researcher, educator) to view the world through a set of "lenses" which establish what will be attended to, or focused on, and what is more in the background of awareness, not being attended to closely. Learners occurs when learners can be made aware of these different lenses and changes thereby take place in perceptions and worldviews. ...
The shift in perception, from librarians as providers of information to librarians as educators in the effective use of information, requires the profession to become aware of differing approaches to the development of teaching and of the professional consciousness of educators: also of the way certain forms of teaching and CPD are privileged over others within higher education institutions, and why. This paper reports on and synthesises a range of theoretical works in this area, to explain how becoming an effective information literacy educator requires not just an awareness of practice, but developing it, through a continous interaction between theory and practice. The librarian-as-educator must engage in professional development practices which, ultimately, require the continuous questioning of the very foundations of IL, and work actively towards raising awareness of these processes throughout their institutions.
... This body of work over the last ten or more years has confirmed the view raised in the ALJ 2000 article at the turn of the decade, that information literacy does not have a life of its own, its many dimensions are closely related to the contexts in which it is experienced. For example, students learning to search the internet (Edwards, 2006), firefighters using information (Lloyd 2007(Lloyd , 2009), students learning tax-law and music composition (Lupton, 2008), teachers of specific disciplines (Boon, Webber & Johnson, 2007), international students at university (Hughes, 2010), older Australians using health information (Yates, 2009;Yates et al 2012), information use in the church community (Gunton, 2011), and teen content creators using information to learn (Harlan, Bruce &Lupton, 2012). Also of importance have been the development of the Six Frames for Information Literacy Education (Bruce, Edwards & Lupton, 2006), and the idea of informed learning (Bruce, 2008) which highlight the value of the phenomenographic approach to information literacy education. ...
Although in the late 1990s there was much discussion as to whether the idea of information literacy was necessary or had longevity, global interest in the phenomenon has increased rather than diminished. Information literacy standards have been developed and become widely accepted in educational systems. Research centres for information literacy have been established. Conferences continue to be held around the world with information literacy as a special focus. In Australia a series of Information Literacy conferences was followed by the Lifelong Learning Conferences, and presently early research in the field is being showcased at the RAILS conferences. The Prague Declaration (National Forum on Information Literacy 2003) and the Alexandria Proclamation (National Forum on Information Literacy 2005) were issued from expert meetings convened jointly by UNESCO, the US National Commission for Library and Information Science and the National Forum for Information Literacy. More recently, the International Federation of Library Associations collected and presented international perspectives (Lau 2008); UNESCO issued papers (Catts & Lau 2008; Horton 2007) and conducted many train-the-trainer programs under its auspices. In 2009, US President Obama established October as an information literacy month and Purdue University created an information literacy endowed chair held by Professor Sharon Weiner.
... se identifican más de 60 modelos a escala internacional. Dentro de los que se encuentran: Modelo de Marland (Marland, 1981); Recalling, Explaining, Analyzing, Challenging, Transforming and Synthesizing (REACTS) (Stripling, y otros, 1988); Information Seeking Process (ISP) (Kuhlthau, 1989); Big Six Skills Information Problem-Solving (Eisenberg, y otros, 1990); Modelo de Doyle (Doyle, 1992); Pathways of knowledge, Pappas y Tepe (Pappas, y otros, 1995); Purpose, Location, Use and Self-evaluation (PLUS) (Herring, 1996); ´Las siete caras de la alfabetización informacional´ (Bruce, 1997); HEBORI (Benito, 2000); The Learning Connection Information Literacy and the Students (Lupton, 2004); Panning for Gold: Influencing the Experience of Web-based Information Searching (Edwards, 2006); Modelo de Markless (Markless, 2008). ...
The topic of competencies in university teaching radiates from it is essential to bring in students the knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to what society needs. Among these are information skills and their management is a challenge for information professionals. This paper demonstrates that budget from the published literature and field research conducted by the author in his doctoral thesis. This information skills are defined and what its management from the explanation of each of its stages. And develops management information skills considering different areas: information professionals, teachers and students.
... The relational perspective has received considerable recent support in information literacy research (Boon, Johnston, & Webber, 2007;Bruce, 1997;Edwards, 2006;Limberg, 1999;Lupton, 2008;Maybee, 2007;Webber, Boon, & Johnston, 2005). Bruce, Edwards and Lupton (2006) promote a relational perspective as the frame most suited to viewing and teaching information literacy as people experience information literacy in different ways. ...
... Searchers use appropriate tools to locate information and personal reflections to filter the retrieved search results and find the required information of high quality. Edwards's (2006) 'Net Lenses' model differs from the previous ones (Ingwersen, 1996;Saracevic, 1997;Wilson, 1997) in that it refers specifically to Web searching and emphasises the cognitive process as an important aspect of the users' information searching experience. Edwards' model reveals that students' information searching experiences can be classified into four categories. ...
... The third claim, which gives the title to the chapter, proposes that variation in the way this phenomenon is experienced by the learner must be the starting point of any information literacy provision (be it social, educational or work-related). This final claim is based on the Relational model of information literacy (Bruce, 1997;Edwards, 2006;Bruce et al., 2006;Andretta, 2008 in press) applied to a study of post-graduate students at the School of Information Management, London Metropolitan University, UK. To familiarise the reader with the Relational model a brief account of this is given here, while the findings from the study demonstrate that by starting from the point of view of the learner information literacy can become a powerful pedagogical tool and fulfil its role as the catalyst for educational change ). ...
... The phenomenographic approach has been adopted as the basis for several studies in the field of contemporary information literacy research, including Limberg (2000b), Edwards (2006), Lupton (2008), Yates et al (2009), Maybee (2007, and Boon, Johnston and Webber (2007). ...
This paper reports an exploration of religious information literacy in terms of how people use information to learn in the context of church communities. The research approach of phenomenography was used to explore Uniting Church in Australia members' experience of using information to learn as participants in their church communities. Five ways of experiencing religious information literacy were identified, using information to learn about: growing faith, developing relationships, managing the church, serving church communities and reaching out beyond church communities. It is anticipated that such findings will be of interest to information professionals, including information literacy specialists, as well as leaders and members of church communities.
... That is, phenomenography will help tease out the full spectrum of experiences or conceptions of EBL by LIS practitioner; and not just the " average " or " typical " experience or conception. Phenomenography is a method that has been used Partridge, Thorpe, Edwards & Hallam The practitioner's experience and conception of EBLIP 7 within the IT domain to explore conceptions of information systems (Cope, 2000), information literacy (Bruce, 1997) and information seeking (Edwards, 2006). ...
Purpose: This paper presents a study that explores the way in which library and information science (LIS) practitioner's experience and conceive evidence based library and information practice (EBLIP). Design: Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The interviews were designed and conducted using the phenomenographic approach. Phenomenography is an interpretive research approach that looks at the different ways people experience or conceive a range of phenomenon. The intent of phenomenographic research is to understand variation in the collective experience of a group or community in regards a particular phenomenon. Six participants took part in a 30-60 minute audio recorded interview. The goal of each interview was to understand the variation in each participant's experience of EBLIP. Findings: The results suggest that LIS professionals have four different ways of experiencing evidence based practice. The four different ways or categories are (i) EBLIP is not relevant; (ii) EBLIP is learning from experience; (ii) EBLIP is service improvement; and (iv) EBLIP is all consuming. It should be noted that this framework is fluid and will evolve as the research project continues. Value: The study is significant because it provides the first model or rich description of EBLIP as understood by the library and information practitioner. This model can assist library educators, associations and others involved in supporting and preparing current and future evidence based professionals, so that an evidence based culture can be firmly established within the profession.
... The third claim, which gives the title to the chapter, proposes that variation in the way this phenomenon is experienced by the learner must be the starting point of any information literacy provision (be it social, educational or work-related). This final claim is based on the Relational model of information literacy (Bruce, 1997;Edwards, 2006;Bruce et al., 2006;Andretta, 2008 in press) applied to a study of post-graduate students at the School of Information Management, London Metropolitan University, UK. To familiarise the reader with the Relational model a brief account of this is given here, while the findings from the study demonstrate that by starting from the point of view of the learner information literacy can become a powerful pedagogical tool and fulfil its role as the catalyst for educational change (Bruce, 2002). ...
Diffusing a Culture of Information (Information Literacy, IL) is crucial in the global Information Society. The book is a result of the European network on Information Literacy (EnIL), a research initiative by the Ceris Institute of the CNR www.ceris.cnr.it/Basili/EnIL/index.html. The introductory section illustrates the position of IL policies at the crossroad of Education and Information, and a view over the main Europe-wide policies affecting national developments. The second section offers a review of national and academic IL policies in 10 EU countries.
... In the area of health phenomenography has been used to explore how people experience health education (Abrahamsson, Springett, Karlsson & Ottosson, 2005;Ringsberg, Lepp & Finnström, 2002), how people conceive health (Fagerlind, Ring, Brülde, Feltelius & Lindblad, 2010;Hsu, 2007) and the experience of care giving for health (Wang, Barnard & McCosker, 2004). Phenomenography has similarly been used in information literacy research for a range of investigations including students' experiences of web--based information searching (Edwards, 2006), the relationship between approaches to information seeking and learning outcomes (Limberg, 1999), senior managers' experiences of information use (Kirk, 2002), the experience of information literacy among higher educators (Bruce, 1997), and the relationship between information literacy and learning (Lupton 2008). Furthermore, the value of phenomenography as an approach for undertaking research in each of these fields has been recognised by various authors, for example Barnard, McCosker andGerber (1999) in health, andBruce (2000) and Limberg (2005) in information literacy. ...
Exploring information use within everyday or community contexts is a recent area of interest for information literacy research endeavors. Within this domain, health information literacy (HIL) has emerged as a focus of interest due to identified synergies between information use and health status. However, while HIL has been acknowledged as a core ingredient that can assist people to take responsibility for managing and improving their own health, limited research has explored how HIL is experienced in everyday community life. This article will present the findings of ongoing research undertaken using phenomenography to explore how HIL is experienced among older Australians within everyday contexts. It will also discuss how these findings may be used to inform policy formulation in health communication and as an evidence base for the design and delivery of consumer health information resources and services.
... Perceived R ealworld Problem S ituation R elevant models of purposeful activity, each based on a declared world -view y ields choices of 'Comparison' of models and perceptions Action to improve find Accommodations which enable ence, perceive, apprehend, understand, and conceptualize various phenomena in and aspects of the world. Since Bruce (1997a) introduced it into educational research in Australia, Lupton (2004) and Edwards (2006) in Australia and Limberg (1999) in Sweden have used the methodology to investigate students' conceptions of information literacy, information searching, and research processes. ...
Within the context of a three year applied research project conducted from 2003-2006 in a North American university library, staff were encouraged to reconsider organizational assumptions and design processes. The project involved an organizational leader and an external consultant who introduced and collaboratively applied Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) practice. Project results suggest the efficacy of using ‘soft’ systems thinking to guide interaction (re)design of technology- enabled environments, systems, and tools. In addition, participants attained insights into their new roles and responsibilities within a dynamically changing higher education environment. Project participants also applied SSM to redesign ‘in house’ information systems. The process of employing systems thinking practices to activate and advance organizational (re)learning, and initiating and elaborating user-centered interaction (re)design practices, culminated in a collaborative design (co-design) approach that readied participants for nimble responsiveness to continuous changes in the dynamic external environment.
... That is, phenomenography will help tease out the full spectrum of experiences or conceptions of EBP by LIS practitioners; and not just the " average " or " typical " experience or conception. Phenomenography is a method that has been used within the IT domain to explore conceptions of information systems (Cope, 2000), information literacy (Bruce, 1997) and information seeking (Edwards, 2006). ...
Evidence based practice (EBP) is recognised as a way of improving the quality of professional practice in many disciplines however its adoption within library and information sciences (LIS) has been gradual. The term was first introduced into the library and information profession‟s vocabulary a decade ago but an impediment to its uptake is the lack of clear understanding regarding how LIS practitioners understand the concept. Partridge, Thorpe, Edwards and Hallam (2007) identified the need to understand how LIS professionals experience or understand evidence based practice and proposed a model of four categories of experience to describe how LIS professionals experience EBP. This paper extends that framework by refining the different conceptions of evidence based practice and identifying relationships which exist between the categories of experience to provide a rich description of the EBP phenomenon. The paper also argues that the phrase “evidence based librarianship” and its variations be abandoned as practitioners do not see a distinction between EBP as applied to librarianship and information practice and industry specific jargon like “evidence based library and information practice”. This research will help current and future LIS practitioners, leaders and educators engage more actively in the establishment of an evidence based culture to improve library and information practice in Australia and internationally.
Play is often seen as frivolous, childish, suitable only for young children. In contrast, this paper will discuss the idea that using playful learning approaches is often a good fit for the development of information literacy in all ages. To do this, it will outline the meaning of information literacy that the author takes, explain where playful learning is placed within learning theories and pedagogies, and show why and how they fit together. Examples of playful practice in library and information literacy training will be given to illustrate current practice, together with gaps within that practice. It will briefly address some of the barriers to using playful learning approaches in information literacy development, and offer some ways forward for information literacy practitioners.
In this chapter the subject field of Information Literacy is reviewed and related to holistic themes of digital capability, agency, and personhood as preferred characteristics of the digital university. Information in society (Buckland, Information and society. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA/London, 2017) and Information Literacy in the curriculum (Anderson and Johnston, From information literacy to social epistemology: insights from psychology. Chandos Publishing, Kidlington, 2016; Webber and Johnston, J Inf Lit 11(1), 2017) are discussed as being at the intersection of economy, education, and democracy and not simply as a set of information and digital skills. Information Literacy is a key quadrant of the Matrix detailed in Chap. 3; however it is seen as marginal in university academic development and in need of significant attention at all levels of digital university organisation. Related literacies—digital and media—are discussed and related to Information Literacy (Koltay 2011). The UNESCO programme of Media and Information Literacy is proposed as an emerging focus for curriculum development work on critiques of the globalisation of the information industry and the implications of monopolistic ownership for democracy.
Information literacy is an issue of growing global concern. Amidst changing technologies, our information worlds intersect with all aspects of our lives. This chapter introduces the relational approach to information literacy, its evolution, application in contemporary research, and emerging directions. It presents the approach, as introduced by Australian researchers, as an integration of experiential, contextual, and transformational perspectives. The chapter first reflects on the wider information literacy domain and then addresses the development of the relational approach, its fundamental elements and characteristics, as well as its adoption in key contexts. The chapter also explores significant studies that have contributed to its evolution and considers the impact of the development of the relational framework and related research. The chapter concludes with a focus on new directions emerging from the relational understanding of information literacy.
In this paper I explore some experience-based perspectives on information literacy research and practice. Approaching information literacy from the point of view of those experiencing it, is very different from the standard interpretations of information literacy as involving largely text based information searching, interpretation, evaluation and use. It also involves particular understandings of the interrelation between information and learning experiences. In following this thread of the history of information literacy, I reflect on aspects of the past, present and future of information literacy research. In each of these areas I explore experiential, especially phenomenographic, approaches to information literacy and information literacy education, to reveal the unfolding understanding of people's experience of information literacy. The evolution and development of the phenomenographic approach to information literacy, and the associated growing attention to a dual focus on information and learning experiences are highlighted.
This paper presents the findings from the first phase of a larger study into the information literacy of website designers. Using a phenomenographic approach, it maps the variation in experiencing the phenomenon of information literacy from the viewpoint of website designers. The current result reveals important insights into the lived experience of this group of professionals. Analysis of data has identified five different ways in which website designers experience information literacy: problem-solving, using best practices, using a knowledge base, building a successful website, and being part of a learning community of practice. As there is presently relatively little research in the area of workplace information literacy, this study provides important additional insights into our understanding of information literacy in the workplace, especially in the specific context of website design. Such understandings are of value to library and information professionals working with web professionals either within or beyond libraries. These understandings may also enable information professionals to take a more proactive role in the industry of website design. Finally, the obtained knowledge will contribute to the education of both website-design science and library and information science (LIS) students.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the idea that information searching and use may vary with the widespread use of internet capable mobile devices.
It highlights areas of existing literature that report variation in information searching and use on mobile devices, in addition to reporting on the results of a small set of semi-structured interviews. This was a small qualitative study, interviewing five experienced and confident users of mobile devices, which will not show the full range of mobile behaviour in seeking for and using information on the move.
It gives a starting point to consider how information behaviour may change between fixed and mobile environments.
This chapter discusses using phenomenography to study information experience. Phenomenographers aim to investigate people’s experiences of the world around them, which is comprised of the interrelationship between an individual and a phenomenon they are focusing on. Phenomenography has been identified as a research approach suited to the study of information experience. Phenomenographic research investigating experiences of using information in different contexts has led to the development of informed learning, which is an approach to information literacy that emphasizes learning as an outcome of using information. Recent research focusing on information experience has been referred to as informed learning research. The preliminary findings from a current informed learning study illustrate the educative benefits of researching information experience. This study investigates a classroom lesson, in which a teacher outlines an assignment that requires the students to understand a language and gender topic by investigating the evolution of research on the topic. The lesson is experienced in multiple ways by the students and the analysis suggests a way of enhancing the lesson to enable more students to experience it in the way intended by the teacher.
The use of a practice perspective in the analysis of information literacy represents a shift in attention towards the enactment of information literacy as a social practice, and away from the information skills approach that has dominated information literacy research and education. The sociocultural perspective that underpins a practice-oriented approach highlights the role of practice and co-participation of the community in shaping the production, reproduction and circulation of knowledge, including knowledge about the appropriateness of information skills in relation to the context in which the skills are practised. This emerging view contrasts with the conventional approach to information literacy that has focused on the information skills of individuals as something that can be learned and transferred independently of context. This paper explores two questions: what is information literacy and, how does it happen? It then goes on to identify the implications of this approach for librarians and researchers.
This article reports on a study investigating academic librarians' varying experiences of archives in order to promote understanding and communication among librarians and archivists. A qualitative, phenomenographic approach was adopted for the study. Three different ways of experiencing archives were identified from analysis of interviews. Archives may be experienced by academic librarians as 1) a place which protects collections; 2) resources to be used in accomplishing tasks such as teaching, research, or outreach; or 3) manifestations of politics. The third way of experiencing archives is the most complex, incorporating both the other experiences. The results of this study may help librarians, especially academic librarians, and archivists communicate more clearly on joint projects involving archival collections thereby enabling more collaboration.
This paper presents the results from a study of information behaviors, with specific focus on information organisation-related behaviours conducted as part of a larger daily diary study with 34 participants. The findings indicate that organization of information in everyday life is a problematic area due to various factors. The self-evident one is the inter-subjectivity between the person who may have organized the information and the person looking for that same information (Berlin et. al., 1993). Increasingly though, we are not just looking for information within collections that have been designed by someone else, but within our own personal collections of information, which frequently include books, electronic files, photos, records, documents, desktops, web bookmarks, and portable devices. The passage of time between when we categorized or classified the information, and the time when we look for the same information, poses several problems of intra-subjectivity, or the difference between our own past and present perceptions of the same information. Information searching, and hence the retrieval of information from one's own collection of information in everyday life involved a spatial and temporal coordination with one's own past selves in a sort of cognitive and affective time travel, just as organizing information is a form of anticipatory coordination with one's future information needs. This has implications for finding information and also on personal information management.
Information literacy is an issue of growing global concern. Amidst changing technologies, our information worlds intersect with all aspects of our lives. This chapter introduces the relational approach to information literacy, its evolution, application in contemporary research, and emerging directions. It presents the approach, as introduced by Australian researchers, as an integration of experiential, contextual, and transformational perspectives. The chapter first reflects on the wider information literacy domain and then addresses the development of the relational approach, its fundamental elements and characteristics, as well as its adoption in key contexts. The chapter also explores significant studies that have contributed to its evolution and considers the impact of the development of the relational framework and related research. The chapter concludes with a focus on new directions emerging from the relational understanding of information literacy.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption of a phenomenographic conceptual framework to investigate learning from the perspective of the learner, with the aim of reflecting on the features that this approach shares with information literacy education in general, and with the relational model in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
– The study offers an analysis of phenomenographic research on learning undertaken by Marton, which is further elaborated by examples of collaborative work by Marton and Booth, as well as by Fazey and Marton. The relationship between understanding and learning, promoted by this perspective, is explored in this paper to illustrate its impact on retention and transfer of the learning process. This is compared with the iterative and independent learning approaches promoted by information literacy education, and specific examples are used to illustrate the pedagogical overlap between phenomenography and information literacy. In addition, the paper examines the relational approach of information literacy promoted by the individual and collective works of Bruce, Lupton, and Edwards to demonstrate how the person‐world relation, advocated by phenomenography, is used to examine the learner‐information relationship promoted by the work of these authors.
Findings
– The paper reflects on the potential impact that phenomenography and the relational perspectives have on pedagogical practices in Higher Education. In particular, it aims to demonstrate how the relational approach, together with the learn‐how‐to‐learn ethos of information literacy, is fundamental in promoting a framework for lifelong learning that leads to the empowering of the learner through an iterative cycle of reflection and practice, i.e. what phenomenography defines as variation in practice to foster the ownership of learning.
Originality/value
– In line with the person‐world relation, the paper explores the relationship between learners and information by outlining its internal/subjective and external/objective dynamics. Claims that the learner's ability to reflect on these dynamics enhances his or her independent learning attitude are explored in the light of current phenomenographic and information literacy research.
What values and frameworks underpin professional practice in information literacy education? Is practice aligned with mission and goals?
The poster documents the preliminary findings of a research study which investigates the relationships between espoused theories and theories-in-use of information literacy (IL). The study asks if and how, the foundational beliefs and values of information literacy as expressed in official policy documents including mission statements in academic libraries (espoused theories), guide and are realized in the practice of information literacy in these institutions (theories-in-use). The research is guided by the theoretical framework of Argyris and Schön (1974), theory of action, in which contrasting theories, namely espoused theories and theories-in-use are used to examine professional practice.
The poster highlights the process and findings of the in-depth analysis of one library's policy statements and online tutorial, which employed a comparative questioning approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). The analysis uncovered statements and concepts relating to teaching and learning outcomes which were labeled, compared, and grouped into broad categories and emergent themes. The findings indicate varying patterns of congruence and incongruence between the library's espoused theories and theories-in-use of information literacy.
The research is presented as a model for reflecting on and evaluating tools of practice in information literacy education.
In this paper, we highlight some qualitative facets of the discipline of statistics and argue that a qualitative approach, in particular a qualitative methodology known as phenomenography, allows us to research important aspects of statistics pedagogy. We summarize several components of our recent research into students' conceptions of statistics, their learning of statistics, our teaching of statistics, and their perceptions of their future professional work.We have obtained this information on the basis of analyses of several series of interviews with students studying statistics, both as statistics majors and as service students. In each of these cases, the broadest views relate in some way to personal connection, growth, and change. In other words, they contain a strong ontological component-focusing on being or becoming a statistician-above and beyond the standard epistemological component-focusing on the knowledge required to do statistics. We discuss the importance of personal change in becoming a statistician, or an informed professional user of statistics, and investigate the pedagogical conditions under which such change is likely to occur. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation
The idea of informed learning, applicable in academic, workplace and community settings, has been derived largely from a program of phenomenographic research in the field of information literacy, which has illuminated the experience of using information to learn. Informed learning is about simultaneous attention to information use and learning, where both information and learning are considered to be relational; and is built upon a series of key concepts such as second-order perspective, simultaneity, awareness, and relationality. Informed learning also relies heavily on reflection as a strategy for bringing about learning. As a pedagogical construct, informed learning supports inclusive curriculum design and implementation. Aspects of the informed learning research agenda are currently being explored at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
The course Facilitating Information Literacy Education (FILE) was commissioned by the London Health Libraries (http://www.londonlinks.ac.uk/) as part of its Learning Support Programme and developed by the School of Information Management at London Metropolitan University as a continuing professional development (CPD) course which is also accredited as a postgraduate module. The main aim of the course is to equip information practitioners working in the health sector with the competence and confidence required to facilitate information literacy education.
The provision of FILE is based on a blended provision involving face-to-face intensive sessions and e-learning activities supported by a dedicated webpage (http://www.ilit.org/file/indexfile.htm) and a blog (http://facilitatingileducation.blogspot.com/). The website is designed to host the learning resources that the participants produce as part of a professional portfolio assessed during the course. This is complemented by the blog employed to foster reflective learning and peer-based evaluation. The long term goal of FILE is to create a web-based repository of information literacy resources (drawn from the existing resources which are customised by the participants as well as the materials they develop as part of the portfolio). The underlying aim is to encourage effective sharing of good practice amongst the authors and enable further dissemination of information literacy education to a wider health-information community of practice.
The main aim of the paper is to present an overall evaluation of the participants’ testimonials on their professional development as facilitators of Information Literacy Education following the delivery of the course in January to March 2007. As the title suggests we shall explore the impact of FILE on its participants in terms of developing fluency in Information Technology (FIT) to enhance their Information Literacy practice by identifying and addressing the needs of a diverse user population within the health care sector (including home care workers, NHS support staff, clinical researchers, and perioperative staff ranging from nurses to surgeons). Examples of IT competences presented here include the use of PowerPoint to maximise communication with the users, the use of online surveys to support effective evaluative strategies and of the blog to promote peer-based evaluation and reflective practice by the FILE participants.
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