Irene Lopatovska and Deanna Sessions
A study examined reading strategies in relation to information-seeking stages, tasks and reading media in an academic setting. Understanding reading practices and needs in the…
Abstract
Purpose
A study examined reading strategies in relation to information-seeking stages, tasks and reading media in an academic setting. Understanding reading practices and needs in the context of information-seeking can refine our understanding of user choices and preferences for information sources (e.g. textbooks, articles, multimedia content) and media (e.g. print and digital tools used for reading). It can also help to examine the changes in reading practices brought about by digital devices and content.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected via an online questionnaire from a sample of graduate students over the course of two months. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics.
Findings
The authors found that all information-seeking stages and all academic tasks were characterised by a combination of “deep” and “surface” reading and a use of both print and electronic resources. Contrary to previous studies that linked digital media to “surface” reading (e.g. skimming, searching for keywords), the participants reported a high number of “deep” reading tactics (e.g. annotating, connecting text to prior knowledge) while using digital resources.
Research limitations/implications
The study relied on a convenience sample of library and information science students, so some findings can be attributed to the sample’s demographics and academic demands. The findings imply that at all stages of information-seeking for all academic tasks, graduate students were engaged in both deep and surface reading using both print and electronic resources.
Practical implications
The findings show that students read print and digital texts, suggesting that it might be premature for academic libraries to part with their print collections. Understanding relationships between academic task, information-seeking and reading can aid students in choosing the right reading resources for their academic tasks, educators in assigning appropriate materials for course projects, libraries in providing appropriate resources to their readers and information retrieval system designers in offering useful features for different reading needs and styles.
Social implications
The findings indicate a shift in academic work culture and reliance on digital texts for deep and surface reading.
Originality/value
The study produced preliminary support for the development of a unified information-seeking and reading model.
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Rachel Wishkoski, Katie Strand, Alex Sundt, Deanna Allred and Diana J. Meter
This mixed-methods study assesses a pilot library curriculum in a general education English composition course. Case-based learning (CBL), a form of problem-based learning (PBL)…
Abstract
Purpose
This mixed-methods study assesses a pilot library curriculum in a general education English composition course. Case-based learning (CBL), a form of problem-based learning (PBL), was used to scaffold information literacy skills and concepts across sessions. This article explores the approach's impact on student learning and engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were enrolled in four sections of an undergraduate composition course. Two sections were taught with the CBL library curriculum, and two with the standard library curriculum as a control. Pretest/posttest surveys included quantitative and qualitative measures to assess students in several areas of information literacy. Weekly reflections from a subsample of students were analyzed, and the research team conducted structured classroom observations and teaching reflections.
Findings
Quantitative survey results did not support the hypotheses that the CBL curriculum would increase students' confidence and skill levels compared to their control section peers. Although there was no significant difference between sections in measured information literacy outcomes, students generally agreed that the case studies used in the CBL curriculum taught skills applicable to their research. Teaching observation data revealed the cohesion of the curriculum across library sessions and increased student engagement in classroom activities. However, some of the case studies could be improved, and some limitations in study design point to the need for further research.
Originality/value
This study addresses a gap in the literature through a mixed-methods assessment of CBL pedagogy using a control group, contributing to an understanding of the role of PBL pedagogies in information literacy curricula.
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Deanna Chaukos, Sandalia Genus, Timothy Guimond and Maria Mylopoulos
Care of complex patients requires collaboration across hospital and community settings. Yet there is little recognition of the capabilities that healthcare workers need to…
Abstract
Purpose
Care of complex patients requires collaboration across hospital and community settings. Yet there is little recognition of the capabilities that healthcare workers need to effectively implement integrated care. An adaptive expertise theoretical framework can inform educational efforts that aim to give providers the abilities to navigate complexity and ambiguity in the healthcare system, including across hospital and community settings. Prior education research in the HIV sector has demonstrated that adaptive expert skills can be cultivated through education that emphasizes perspective exchange, inviting uncertainty in practice and integration of diverse perspectives on care.
Design/methodology/approach
These principles informed the creation of an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) in HIV Psychiatry – the first ECHO directed at a non-clinical, community health worker (CHW) audience. The goal was to improve informal collaborations across hospitals and communities.
Findings
Participation in the ECHO was robust, with significant on-camera engagement. Participants attributed success of the ECHO to key themes: explicit value placed on all kinds of knowledge (not simply clinical knowledge), emphasis on approaches for navigating ambiguity and complexity and engagement in perspective exchange for provision of integrated, team-based care. Future cycles of ECHO HIV Psychiatry are being pursued, with a focus on the development of adaptive expert capabilities and the impact on integration of care between community and hospital services.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, this is the only ECHO that is specifically aimed at frontline CHWs.
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Nick Kelly, Claire Brophy, Lisa Scharoun, Melanie Finger and Deanna Meth
The paper discusses the use of co-design for staff professional learning within higher education. It suggests that three distinct approaches to professional learning can be…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper discusses the use of co-design for staff professional learning within higher education. It suggests that three distinct approaches to professional learning can be characterised as help-yourself platforms/services, drive-by workshops and co-design workshops. It makes pragmatic suggestions for where co-design might be used and heuristics for its successful use, based upon the authors' collective experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
This practitioner paper presents a case-study of co-design in a university context. Staff from across disciplinary boundaries were brought together to co-design novel learning experiences for students for a non-traditional context.
Findings
Findings from a case study are used to highlight the strengths of a co-design approach, as understood through the lenses of networked learning and self-determination theory. It juxtaposes co-design for staff learning with other approaches and finds it to be valuable and underutilised.
Research limitations/implications
The research discusses a single case study involving two workshops with a sample size of 112 participants. It is included as an example of co-design for professional learning in higher education.
Originality/value
Co-design for professional learning in higher education is poorly understood and presently underutilised. This paper addresses this gap by presenting an example of co-design for professional learning in higher education and theorising its significance.
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Cheryl Desha, Savindi Caldera and Deanna Hutchinson
This study aims to explore the role of planned, sudden shifts in lived experiences, in influencing learner capabilities towards improved problem-solving for sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the role of planned, sudden shifts in lived experiences, in influencing learner capabilities towards improved problem-solving for sustainable development outcomes. The authors responded to employers of engineering and built environment graduates observing limited “real-life” problem-solving skills, beyond using established formulae and methods, in spite of attempts over more than two decades, to train engineers and other built environment disciplines in areas such as whole system design and sustainable design.
Design/methodology/approach
A grounded theory approach was used to guide the analysis of data collected through ethnographic methods. The process involved reflecting on authors’ efforts to develop context appreciation within a course called “International Engineering Practice”, using two years of collected data (archived course information, including course profile; completed assessment; lecture and field visit evaluations; and focus groups). The study is built on the authors’ working knowledge of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Threshold Learning Theory, and the well-established role of “context appreciation” in complex problem-solving. After the first iteration of the course, the authors looked for additional theoretical support to help explain findings. The Cynefin framework was subsequently used to augment the authors’ appreciation of “context” – beyond physical context to include relational context, and to evaluate students’ competency development across the four domains of “clear”, “complicated”, “complex” and “chaotic”.
Findings
This study helped the authors to understand that there was increased capacity of the students to distinguish between three important contexts for problem-solving, including an increased awareness about the importance of factual and relevant information, increased acknowledgement of the varying roles of professional practitioners in problem-solving depending on the type of problem and increased appreciation of the importance of interdisciplinary teams in tackling complex and complicated problems. There were several opportunities for such courses to be more effective in preparing students for dealing with “chaotic” situations that are prevalent in addressing the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals (UNSDGs). Drawing on the course-based learnings, the authors present a “context integration model” for developing problem-solving knowledge and skills.
Research limitations/implications
The research findings are important because context appreciation – including both physical context and relational context – is critical to problem-solving for the UNSDGs, including its 169 targets and 232 indicators. The research findings highlight the opportunity for the Cynefin framework to inform holistic curriculum renewal processes, enhancing an educator’s ability to design, implement and evaluate coursework that develops physical and relational context appreciation.
Practical implications
The study’s findings and context integration model can help educators develop the full range of necessary problem-solving graduate competencies, including for chaotic situations involving high degrees of uncertainty. Looking ahead, acknowledging the significant carbon footprint of global travel, the authors are interested in applying the model to a domestic and/or online format of the same course, to attempt similar learning outcomes.
Originality/value
Connecting Bloom’s taxonomy deep learning and threshold learning theory critical path learning insights with the Cynefin framework context domains, provides a novel model to evaluate competency development for problem-solving towards improved holistic physical and relational “context appreciation” outcomes.
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Gloria Thomas, Lahna Roche, Melissa Brocato and Saundra McGuire
The Center for Academic Success (CAS) at Louisiana State University (LSU), certified as a Center of Excellence by the National College Learning Center Association, has utilized…
Abstract
The Center for Academic Success (CAS) at Louisiana State University (LSU), certified as a Center of Excellence by the National College Learning Center Association, has utilized Supplemental Instruction© (SI) for the past 20 years to provide student support for historically difficult courses – those courses with D, F, or withdrawal rates of greater than 30%. In this model, peers called “SI leaders” facilitate study sessions outside of class time to help the enrolled students develop effective learning strategies and better understand and master course concepts. SI relies upon collaboration with faculty and is supported by cognitivism and social constructivism learning theories.
Benefits of the successful model include supporting students to become self-directed independent learners, reducing the stigma associated with using academic support and reducing the demands for tutoring. Outcomes observed at LSU include positive correlations between the course-passing rates and six-year graduation rates of women, underrepresented minorities and first-generation college students who participated in SI compared to the peers who participate less frequently and those who do not participate.
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Clare Watson, Lizette Nolte and Rachel Brown
Trusting and empathic relationships between project workers and people experiencing homelessness (PEH) form the cornerstone for their needs to be met. However, under the UK…
Abstract
Purpose
Trusting and empathic relationships between project workers and people experiencing homelessness (PEH) form the cornerstone for their needs to be met. However, under the UK austerity agenda project workers practice in a context of increasing pressure and limited resources; with relationships often characterised by conditionality and disconnection. The purpose of this paper is to report on a study investigating project workers’ experiences of building relationships with PEH living in supported housing projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative design was employed in which focus groups were carried out in six projects, using an opportunity sample of 22 project workers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, within a social constructionist epistemology.
Findings
Three main themes were identified: “Working hard to build connection”, “Supporting each other within an unsupportive context” and “Draining but sustaining”. Project workers acted out of strong value systems in building relationships with residents against a backdrop of systemic disconnection.
Originality/value
Clear clinical implications are put forward with in a Psychologically Informed Environment framework. Services supporting PEH need to be psychologically informed and organisations need to embed reflection within their policies and every day practice. In developing services for PEH interdependence not in/dependence needs to be the aim. Finally, the responsibility for improving the lives of PEH should be placed back on society to provide a context in which PEH can thrive.
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This paper aims to report on the China‐North America Library Conference held in Beijing, China. The conference theme is Sharing Digital Resources: Challenges and Opportunities…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on the China‐North America Library Conference held in Beijing, China. The conference theme is Sharing Digital Resources: Challenges and Opportunities. Six sub‐themes are also intertwined with the conference theme: Resource sharing policies and perspectives; Digital infrastructure and repository technology; Research data sharing; Sharing digital preservation methods; and Shared digital access, retrieval and use.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper summarizes several important presentations at the conference.
Findings
The shared projects in this report include: National Cultural Information Resource Sharing Project; Multicultural Canada Project; Data Conservancy; National Library Digital Exchange Services; and Digital Museum Platform.
Originality/value
This is an original conference report which would help those who are interested in sharing digital resources on a global scale to understand the challenges, issues, and opportunities on that aspect.
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Feedback is usually given for the primary benefit of the feedback recipient and often involves the unidirectional delivery of information. The purpose of this paper is to reverse…
Abstract
Purpose
Feedback is usually given for the primary benefit of the feedback recipient and often involves the unidirectional delivery of information. The purpose of this paper is to reverse this emphasis and examines the impacts on students of giving feedback to staff as an ongoing dialogue in the delivery of a teaching unit.
Design/methodology/approach
This novel study uses surveys and focus groups for an in-depth case study of the impact of students giving feedback to staff. It examines different aspects of students’ experiences related to their sense of being supported and valued, together with issues of relevance, timeliness and the actionability of feedback.
Findings
Results show that the regular giving of feedback by students and their subsequent academic actions can help increase students’ sense of being supported and valued. The strongest correlations occurred between the responses of those who felt valued and supported and their perception that their own feedback was acted upon during the semester. There is also some evidence suggesting that students felt valued when observing that other students’ feedback was acted upon either immediately or in the future.
Research limitations/implications
The single case study approach to this research means that only one cohort of students was tested. Research on further cohorts would help to validate the findings.
Practical implications
This study could have implications for teaching quality and practice in better directing, communicating, engaging and following up on student feedback.
Originality/value
Whilst the benefit to the staff of student feedback is well documented, there is little evidence documenting benefits to students. This study addresses this gap in existing research.
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Pow-Li Chia, Deanna Rapi Santos, Tit Chai Tan, Candice Leong and David Foo
This article aims to explore coronary care unit (CCU) extubation structures, processes and outcomes. There were 13 unplanned-extubation cases (UE) among 251 intubated patients…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to explore coronary care unit (CCU) extubation structures, processes and outcomes. There were 13 unplanned-extubation cases (UE) among 251 intubated patients (5.2 per cent) in a cardiologist-led CCU in 2008. Seven did not require re-intubation, implying possible earlier extubation. A quality improvement project was undertaken with a goal to eliminate CCU UE within 12 months.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the clinical practice improvement (CPI) method, the most significant root causes were missing sedation/analgesia protocol, no ventilator weaning protocol and absent respiratory therapist during the CCU morning rounds. Non-physician directed sedation/analgesia and ventilation weaning protocols were created and put on trial in Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles before formal implementation. Arrangements were made to allocate a respiratory therapist to the CCU daily for morning rounds.
Findings
For 12 months after fully implementing the interventions, UE incidence dropped from 5.2 per cent to 0.9 per cent (p=0.006). There were no adverse outcomes, re-intubation and/or readmission to CCU within 48 hours.
Practical implications
Through a multi-disciplinary CPI approach, adopting non-physician directed protocols has successfully streamlined and improved airway management in mechanically ventilated patients in a cardiologist-led CCU.
Originality/value
There is little published data on improving intubated patient care in cardiologist-led CCUs. Previous studies centered on intensive care units managed by critical care specialists.