meaningful learning through inquiry: the lights come on dr ross j todd center for international...
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Meaningful Learning Through Inquiry:The Lights Come On
Dr Ross J ToddCenter for International Scholarship in School Libraries
Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyNew Brunswick NJ USArtodd@scils.rutgers.edu
www.cissl.scils.rutgers.edu
An age is called "dark," not because the light fails to shine but because people refuse to see it. ~James Michener
Learning through School Libraries
Melbourne, Australia
Bogota, Colombia
Port of Spain, Trinidad
Malmo, Lund Sweden London, England
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Eupen, Belgium
Istanbul, Turkey
How do we build meaningful learning experiences through the school library?
Respond innovatively to needs of learnersCommitment to all children developing strong learning foundationsIncrease intellectual engagement and relevance Equipping students with the skills and knowledges—cognitive and cultural, social and linguistic—that have power and salience in the world - living, workingCulture of high expectations for optimal student learning outcomes, supported by teachers’ continuous professional developmentShared understanding of the theory and practice of curriculum, pedagogy and communityWork collaboratively in teams across learning areas and develop strong links with their communities
Education: Key Challenges
Possibilities Founded on Evidence-Based Education
Developing educational practice on research-based interventions
Students encouraged to value excellence, innovation, inquiry, and curiosity, by thinking critically, creatively, and reflectively
Students encouraged to value diversity, equity, community and participation, integrity, and respect
Focus on developing knowledge, attitudes, and values in ways that lead to action
Learning in the School Library
Students actively engage with diverse and often conflicting sources of information and ideas to
discover new ones, to build new understandings, and to develop personal
viewpoints and perspectives.
KNOWLEDGE OUTCOME--------------------------------------------------------------
It is underpinned by stimulating encounters with information – encounters which capture their
interest and attention, and which motivate and direct their ongoing inquiry.
INFORMATION FOUNDATION
USA Standards for the 21st Century Learner
The Standards describe how learners use skills, resources, and tools to:inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge; draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge; share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society; pursue personal and aesthetic growth.
Student Centered – Teacher Directed
Carefully planned, directed, targeted intervention(s) of an instructional team of teacher librarians and teachers to guide students through curriculum based units that gradually lead towards personal deep knowledge and understanding.
Constuctivist approach to learning: staged, guided
Develops students’ competence with learning from a variety of sources; goal is deep knowledge
Students not abandoned in the research process
Focus on deep learning, competence, mastery, and self empowerment
Two Concerns
Pervasive use of simplistic models of information literacy – in an educational environment that is increasingly focusing on evidence-based education
Strong educational movement on the use of research-based instructional models and research-based instructional interventions
Project based learning through the school library, rather than authentic learning tasks that focus on the development of deep knowledge
Information Search Process
Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services. 2nd edition. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
1. Qualitative exploration of search process of high school seniors (1983)
2. Qualitative study of original sample after 4 years of college (1988)
3. Longitudinal study (1988)4. Qualitative and quantitative study
of high, middle and low achieving high school seniors (1989)
5. Validation Study: 385 academic, public, and school library users in 21 sites (1989)
Tasks Initiation Selection Exploration Formulation Collection Presentation----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------→Feelings uncertainly optimism confusion clarity sense of satisfaction or(affective) frustration direction/ disappointment
doubt confidence
Thoughts vague-------------------------------------→focused(cognitive) -----------------------------------------------→
increased interest
Actions seeking relevant information----------------------------→seeking pertinent information(physical) exploring documenting
Information-to-Knowledge Journey
Zone of Intervention: the critical point / need for instruction
Instructional Interventions
The stages of the knowledge building process, and the affective, cognitive and behavioral needs of learners determine the instructional interventions – move away beyond the fixed scope-and-sequence approach to implementing discrete lists of information skills
Interventions are much more diverse than the standard information literacy interventions
Instructional Interventions
Initiation: Building engagement; developing curiosity and motivation; dealing with mostly negative emotions ; task organization, time, process and effort management; know when, where, and how to get help and guidance ; understanding knowledge requirements of task; establishing existing / prior knowledge
Selection / Exploration: choosing and justifying broad topics; building background knowledge; selecting appropriate sources to build background knowledge; Encountering multiple viewpoints and perspectives; dealing with conflicting knowledge;
Focus / Formulation: Developing the focus question(s) and formulating personal knowledge outcomes; constructing the abstract / knowledge plan / statement of intention of the inquiry; planning the structure of the inquiry
Instructional Interventions
Collection: selecting pertinent, complex information matched to specific focus; Collecting and engaging with data from disciplinary specific modes of inquiry: interviews, surveys, experiments, observation, journaling; transforming other people’s ideas into personal knowledge; use of a variety of analytical methods; forming evidence-based opinions / viewpoints; developing conclusions & positions; posit actions, implications and solutions; reflect on these in terms of original knowing
Presentation: Representation of new knowledge in meaningful ways; understanding how to construct meaningful textual, visual, graphical representations, Structuring ideas into a coherent, integrated body of knowledge; using ICT tools to construct appropriate representations of new knowledge; using ICT tools, techniques and critical thinking skills to communicate new knowledge in appropriate ways – appropriate to the discipline
CRITICAL THINKING AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS: META-COGNITIVE
Chronological order/stagesPro’s/con’sMain ideas/supporting evidenceCauses/effectsSimilarities/differencesProcedures/stepsProblems/solutionsRelationships (human/spatial)Themes / PatternsPerspectivesBest-worst / Most-leastDefining characteristicsHow it works
represent/display data?
classify/categorize?
generalize?
find exceptions?
predict what is next?
imagine what if...?
determine what’s wrong?
HOW CAN I...LOOK FOR...
Project VS Authentic Learning Task
PROJECT
Choose a country from the list provided and research how a tsunami affected that country. Include physical, geographical and economic effects. Use note cards to record information and sources. Write a 2-3 page paper using at least 4 sources, including two sources from the WWW.
Project VS Authentic Learning Task
AUTHENTIC LEARNING TASK
You are a member of a team of relief workers to help victims of a tsunami. Your job is to help plan the govern-ment’s recovery program. Read descriptions, interviews, and personal accounts of tsunami victims on the Internet. From these accounts, determine how the tsunami affected physical, geographical, and economic conditions of people. Use current sources to find information and data on recovery efforts.Create graphic organizers (including charts, graphs) that document your findings. Write an executive brief to your government agency that explains and justifies relief measures you recommend and sets priorities for action. Use citation; create a reference list of sources used
Hall of Fame Research “Greatness”
Where/when born, died, livedEducation/Jobs/CareerChallenges overcomeQualities that led to greatnessAwards/Commendations Political offices heldBest remembered for whatConnection to NJ
Critical thinking and Deep Knowledge?
Walt Whitman (Camden) Considered by many to be the most influential poet in U.S. history
Lonely, Nervous, Brave, Determined, SassyDaughter of parents who filled their house with musicMusic must have filled her loneliness when her father diedMoved to New York for a better life.Who loved the night magic of Harlem, Who loved the celebrities and begging for autographs with her friendsWho really loved singing and scatting Who loved her Aunt that took care of her as a child.Who felt loss, when her mother died Who felt anger when she was put in an orphanageWho felt trapped in those walls but they couldn’t keep her down because she felt the pull of her song and the night magic of Harlem.Who felt nervous and fear at auditionsWho feared not being able to sing because she had no one to care for her Who feared dying from diabetes and possibly going blind, Who feared whom she would pass her singing crown down toWho wanted to see someone take over her singing crownWho would have liked to have spent more time with her late parentsWho wanted to work with the best bandsWho changed the world of jazz and swingWho was very proud of her awards and achievementsShe was “The First Lady Of Song”; she was “Sassy” and a Legend of JazzBorn in Virginia, grew up in New York, adopted by the world.Ella was greatFitzgerald
Ella
SLAV Pilot Project Goals
To understand the dynamics of developing and implementing collaborative Guided Inquiry units, based on the Information Search Process model: learning, instructional, collaborative
To track and understand how students build on their existing knowledge of a curriculum topic and how their knowledge of a topic changes in the context of a collaborative guided inquiry unit;
To examine the transformation and integration of found information into existing knowledge, and the creation of new personal knowing
To use some school-based tools for measuring and charting knowledge development
Evidence-based Practice
Measuring Knowledgein a School Setting
Use of verbal, visual and written protocols such as essays, projects, exams, presentations and knowledge objects.
Amount and nature of knowledge of a topic is determined primarily in classroom settings by subject experts (teachers) who match the nature of ideas to some expected target or expert conception (typically curriculum content requirements), and within a prescribed boundary (eg word / page count)
Little measurement of change of knowledge in terms of initial existing knowledge
Little understanding of how library-based learning impacts on knowledge development
Gaps in our Understanding
Mapping the actual knowledge output as students progress through the stages of a library-based research task has been given limited attention.
Need to develop more accurate techniques for representing and measuring conceptual structures and how they change
Schools Context & Sample
5 Victoria state schools
Experienced and expert teacher librarians
Diverse school communities
5 teacher librarians working on curriculum projects with classroom teachers
Students in range of disciplines
Guided Inquiry training: July 2007 overview and critique of units, use of data collection instruments, procedures and ethical guidelines
Measuring Students’ Change in Knowledge
Substance of Knowledge: content of relational statements
Structure of Knowledge: the way ideas are organized
Amount of Knowledge: Quantity of relational statements recorded
Extent of Knowledge: Personal assessment of extent of knowledge
Title of Knowledge: How do the students’ titles given to their topics change as they undertake guided inquiry project?
Data Collection Instruments
Key data collection instruments used to collect the data from the students:
1. Writing Task 1 (at initiation of inquiry unit)2. Writing Task 2 (at midpoint of inquiry unit) 3. Writing Task 3 (at conclusion of inquiry unit)
The instruments consisted of a combination of qualitative and quantitative questions.
Writing Tasks
Writing task 1 and 2 consisted of the following questions
1. Write the title that best describes your research project at this time.
2. Take some time to think about your research topic. Now write down what you know about this topic.
3. What interests you about this topic?4. How much do you know about this topic? Check () one box
that best matches how much you know. Nothing, Not much, Some, Quite a bit and A great deal
5. Write down what you think is EASY about researching your topic.
6. Write down what you think is DIFFICULT about researching your topic.
7. Write down how you are FEELING now about your project. Check () only the boxes that apply to you. Confident, Disappointed, Relieved, Frustrated, Confused, Optimistic, Uncertain, Satisfied, Anxious or Other.
Additional Questions at Writing Task 3
1. What did you learn in doing this research project? (This might be about your topic, or new things you can do, or learn about yourself)
2. How did the TEACHER LIBRARIAN help you?
3. How did the TEACHER help you?
EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE
Substance of knowledge
Classification of Statements: based on nature of relationships between concepts
Graesser & Clark (1985) Structures and procedures of implicit knowledge. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex.
Properties: statements describing characteristicsManner: statements describing processes, styles,
actionsReason: statements of explanations of how and whyOutcome: statements providing end resultCausality: statements showing some event causally
leads to anotherSet Membership: statements about class inclusionImplication: statements showing predictive relations,
inference, implied meaningValue judgment: statements presenting personal position or viewpoint
Classification of Statements
Properties: The color of Valentine’s day is redManner: People drive aggressively in USAReason: The wall was constructed to block invadersOutcome: (People eat too much) As a result, people
got very sick Causality: Too much alcohol can lead to liver failureSet Membership: Michelangelo created works such as statue of David, Sistine Chapel and the famous PietaImplication: He was suspected of poisoning himValue judgment: That’s not right
FACTS: property, manner, set membershipEXPLANATION AND RESULTS: Reason, outcome, causalitySYNTHESIS: conclusions, positions, viewpoints
Structure of Knowledge
Ideas are discrete and unrelated.
Some limited structure evident –meaning more than one instantiation- some ideas are joined or linked (grouped) while others are discrete or unrelated.
Contiguous ideas are associated; set of ideas may be somewhat continuous.
Overall, ideas are interrelated and continuous.
Ideas are integrated and unified; there is structural centrality, and overall unification.
PATTERNS IN CHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE: Initiation
Lists of unrelated statements, and generalities, language associations
Statements were primarily property (is a), manner (describe how something happens)
Low number of statements
Random representation: unstructured, no clear sequence or organization; guess work “I think that…”, or at best chronological / historical
Some indication of inaccuracy / misrepresentation
Acknowledge that students knew very little
Motivated to learn: personal experiences/ connections, intriguing facts about topic, curiosity, recommendation
PATTERNS IN CHANGE OF KNOWLEDGEMidpoint – Focus Formulation
Dramatic increase in number of propositional statements
Focus on Properties: describes characteristics; Manner: describe processes, styles, actions; Reason: explanations of how and why
Some evidence of organizational structure of ideas; some attempt to develop conceptual groupings
Cognitive intents: From initiation to formulation : getting a bigger picture (building background) getting a changed picture (correcting misinformation); getting a clearer picture
PATTERNS IN CHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE: Conclusion
Clear and precise listing of properties, manner and increasing use of set membership
Final representations also stronger on reasons, outcomes, causality, implications, predictive, reflective (increased complexity)
Dramatic increase in number of statements
Some students showing decrease in number of statements: reflect higher levels of synthesis
Higher levels of structural centrality and conceptual coherence -ie. overall integrated and interlinked structure, yet subgroups of ideas
Reflective, comparative, positional: personal ownership
INTELLECTUAL QUALITY
Higher order thinking: Movement from description to explanation and reflection Evident in increased specificity of topic focus Deep understanding: Evident in extent of recall and in the types of causal and predictive relationships portrayed Substantive conversation: Valuing of dialogue between teacher, teacher librarian and students; fluency in written statementsKnowledge as problematic: In some cases, students identified dealing with dealing with factual conflict or conflicting viewpoints and formulating their own (choice of topic); also evident in constructing arguments that show a basis for the claims they were makingMeta-language: Use of language specific to the topic domain: not just provision of terms, but clarity of understanding these termsIncreasing complexity of the language used to describe their knowledge, and the ordering of this knowledge into conceptually coherent units
The Emotional Rollercoaster
Very distinctive ebb and flow of emotions following the demands of the research process
Initial feelings: varied from a state confidence to slight hesitation/uncertainty
Increase in optimism and confidence as they identify a general topic and begin to investigate sources for relevant information
As in-depth investigations begin, students report a decline in confidence, and an increase in feelings of frustration and uncertainty
Some frustration with sources and deadlines and achieving focus
Increase in negative emotions—often reported here as stress, anxiety, and pressure—just as the deadlines approach
End of task / Submission: relief, confidence (because of level of research done); acknowledge that it was “hard work” but worthwhile
Enablers of Learning
Instructional intervention: providing the intellectual scaffolds for connecting with, interacting with and utilizing information
3 kinds of scaffolds valued by students: Reception Scaffolds: assist learners in garnering information from the diverse sources; direct the learner's attention to what is important, and to help them organize and record what they perceive. (Perceive structure in information)
Transformation Scaffolds: assist learners in transforming the information they've received into some other form. This involves imposing structure on information
Production Scaffolds: assist learners in actually producing something observable that conveys the complexity and richness of what they have learned.
Guided inquiry: not abandonmentModeling the process and Feedback
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