LibGuides: Teaching resources for Liaison Librarians: Learning environment

Learning is effective when material is RELEVANT to the students

One way of making sure the learning experience has meaning for students is to draw on them.

Adults have lived a life before studying at Wintec. They have valuable skills, knowledge and experience that might be of value to the class.

Example 1
Invite students to contribute to lesson content:

As a warm up to teaching how to search using Google Advanced Search:

1. Ask students to pair up and share their frustrations with a recent Google search.

2. Feedback and identify the main issues with searching via a large search engine.

Example 2
Invite students to contribute to lesson content:

To frame the ease of the searching technology available at their fingertips:

1. Ask an older student how they looked up information in their school library when they were conducting research (hopefully you'll get the old index card answer).

2. Discuss how technology has moved on. This will also help establish the students' prior knowledge so that you know what information gaps they have.

AKO: Te Ngāwhā Whakatapu Core Capability (Skills: Engaging learners through interaction).

Learning is effective when students are required to PROBLEM SOLVE

This is called Experiential Learning ('doing' activities centred on working through an issue or conundrum). We already do this to some extent with our interactive tutorials.

Example
1. APA mix and match activities: have a resource and get students to construct the reference for it using segmented part of the reference on card.

2. Conduct a backwards research task: in groups students are given a set of resources and asked to work out what they thought the topic was and what keywords were used to find them. They are then given the assignment task and asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the search. The next step is to conduct their own search to try and improve on the results (find more relevant resources).

Students learn best when they understand WHY they are learning something

Start your lesson with your learning objective and outcome

Add them to your PowerPoint

Write the objective on the board and tell them the learning outcome

For example, Learning objective: to learn how to do basic APA referencing

"By the end of this lesson, you will know how to do in-text citations and full references for books, webpages and ebooks. And you'll know where to find help on APA via the LibGuides."

What is a learning objective?

The overall purpose of the lesson. It is general and brief (the overarching goal).

The language of learning objectives:

Begin with "To" + learning verb + how/what/where/when/who + overarching goal.

E.g. To + learn/understand/identify/analyse/review/recap/etc + how to + critique resources

What is a learning outcome?

The specific measurable knowledge and skills students will acquire.

The language of learning outcomes:

"By the end of this lesson you will" + learning verb + how/what/where/when/who + specifics of the lesson

E.g. By the end of this lesson you will understand and recognise the differences between referencing a digital and physical journal article AND know how to create the in-text citation and full reference for a journal article.

Learning is effective when material is put in a REAL-WORLD CONTEXT

Provide real examples for theories. Make them current. Make them interesting.

Example
Ask students to contribute to lesson content:

1. Get students into groups and get them to discuss current affairs/things going on in New Zealand/the world that affect/concern them

2. Feedback and record on the board using a brainstorm

3. Pick a topic using either consensus (topics that are common across groups, or something that is really interesting)

4. Use it as the subject

Tell anecdotes: Storytelling is one of the most powerful 'passive' tools a teacher can use.

Example

Tell the interesting or funny story about how you had to search for information in your tertiary library pre-computer days - how onerous the card system was, the difficulty of finding recent publications, the stacks and stacks of books (ham it up, exaggerate), hand-writing!! your essays. Bring in smells (the mustiness of the books), details like how the library was open til 11pm each night, because you couldn't access from home (the Internet didn't exist back then!).

Ask students to contribute to lesson content:

What are their library experiences from their childhood, their past student days? How have things changed? What developments do we have now - what services does Wintec library offer that they didn't have in the past?

AKO: Te Ngāwhā Whakatapu Core Capability (Skills: Incorporating real life examples).

Learning is effective when the learner can RELATE TO THE TEACHER

Share information about yourself so that you seem less like a distanced expert and more three-dimensional and approachable.

Example
Use your pets as subject matter (because who doesn't like animals?):

1. Introduce your gorgeous pet with a photo and/or a story about them.

2. Use their species as the subject of a search exercise:

a) After you've taught Boolean phrases, have the students conduct a race to find the least number of resources relating to your pet's species using AND, OR, and NOT in Onesearch. The exercise could be timed, or have it as a race to a particular search result number

AKO: Te Ngāwhā Whakatapu Core Capability (Behaviours/Attitudes: Putting in place strategies to grow learning relationships).

Learning is effective when the learning experience involves ACTIVITY and COLLABORATION

Cognitively, learning can be challenged when it is passive; students receive information through listening, watching or reading only. Retention and understanding of information can be limited.

Make lessons interactive. Allow tauira to have a role in the learning process by either engaging with you, fellow students, or with activities.

Examples
1. Facilitate class discussions

2. Design activities that require working in pairs, threes or groups. Māori and Pasifika students respond particularly well to collaborative learning opportunities.

3. Follow up instruction by having students complete tasks on the subject material. A database scavenger hunt, for example, or a mix and match APA task.

AKO: Te Ngāwhā Whakatapu Core Capability (Knowledge: Understanding Māori andragogies).