Building Online Scenarios for Library Instruction

Objective –This study compared the effectiveness of simulation-based and didactic instructional approaches in improving students’ understanding of information literacy (IL) concepts and practices. Methods – The instructional approaches were implemented with two groups of middle school students (i.e., seventh and eighth grades) over a 4-week period. During the implementation period, all students were required to maintain a portfolio of their work. The portfolios were designed to capture students’ actions as they engaged in a common set of information-based problems. The contents of the portfolios were analyzed to examine the research questions that guided the study. Contingency tables demonstrated observed patterns of difference from week 1 to week 4. Chi-square analysis helped to determine whether a significant relationship existed between instructional approach and shifts in IL proficiency levels at the .05 level. Results – There was a significant relationship between the simulation-based approach and increases in students’ ability to 1) recognize the need for information, 2) formulate specific questions that would help in finding needed information, 3) identify a range of information sources for meeting needs, 4) explain successful strategies for accessing needed information, 5) judge the accuracy, relevance and completeness of sources and 6) analyze information from a variety of sources to determine its applicability to a specific problem. Four major distinctions are believed to have caused the students within the simulated instructional environment to experience more proficiency level shifts: situated practice, authenticity, community of practice and an expanded landscape of resources. Conclusion – The results of this study suggest that simulation-based instructional approaches have the potential to augment IL learning. The technology-based approaches may provide powerful learning environments (virtual worlds) that allow students to engage in the activities and practice of information specialists, instead of simply learning the facts associated with the discipline.

Background: Traditionally, teaching hospital staff to search for medical information relies heavily on educator-defined search methods. In contrast, the authors describe our experiences using real-time scenarios to teach on-call consultant pediatricians information literacy skills as part of a two-year continuing professional development program.
Case Presentation: Two information-searching workshops were held at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. During the workshops, pediatricians were presented with medical scenarios that were closely related to their clinical practice. Participants were initially encouraged to solve the problems using their own preferred search methods, followed by group discussions led by clinical educators and a medical librarian in which search problems were identified and overcome. The workshops were evaluated using questionnaires to assess participant satisfaction and the extent to which participants intended to implement changes in their clinical practice and reported actual change.
Conclusions: A scenario-based approach to teaching clinicians how to search for medical information is an attractive alternative to traditional lectures. The relevance of such an approach was supported by a high level of participant engagement during the workshops and high scores for participant satisfaction, intended changes to clinical practice, and reported benefits in actual clinical practice.

Despite coming of age with the Internet and other technology, many college students lack the information and communication technology (ICT) literacy skills—locating, evaluating, and communicating information—necessary to navigate and use the overabundance of information available today. This paper presents a study of the validity of a simulations-based assessment of ICT literacy skills. Our overall goals for the assessment are to support ICT literacy instructional initiatives at colleges and universities.

What do students know about finding, evaluating, and using information? What can we learn about how to evaluate complex constructs presented as information literacy standards or competencies? This article is a progress report on an ongoing, innovative assessment project that aims to discover answers to those questions and many more.