Information Literacy and Digital Natives: Bridging the Gap
Elizabeth Symonds, Univ. of Worcester
Sarah Kennedy, Univ. of Gloucestershire
A faculty member wanted to know about the “journey” the student took between when he gave the assignment and when they handed it in.
Focused their research on first year students, first semester.
“How do new students engage with the learning process outside the classroom?” Where do they prefer to work
who do they interect with
what technologies do they use
what do they think will be expected of them when they come into higher ed
what skills do they think they need to work on?
IDEA: compare their data to US data
How they did it: harge mandatory module; questionnaire once they received the assignment; focus groups; another questionnaie after the assignment to look at actual practices; more focus groups; faculty interview (compare faculty expectations with students’)
Findings on WHERE: home and “learning center”; they indicated that they wanted fewer distractions. Wanted more quiet. What we might think they want in more general activities might not be so in their learning spaces.
Findings on WHO: suspicious of group work. Again, assumption that because they like being social, it does not mean that they like learning in groups.
Findings on SKILLS that students bring with them:
They are good at some things but not at all. They recognize that they don’t have good researching skills.
Expectations before they did their assignments:
Student concerns on Essay Writing, Time Management, Referencing, Faculty Standards. Difference among the two student groups (Sport students v. Psychology students).
What skills do you think this assignment has asked you to use or develop?
Was this a multiple choice or did we ask students to think about it and describe it on their own?
Students were quite wary of Wikipedia. Knew how to use it appropriately.
They want their own computers.
Real concerns over time management: leaving it to the last minute. They ALL said they would start earlier on next time.
Recommendations:
Students do rely heavily on different types of university resources: digital and physical, quiet and group.
Heavy concerns over summative assessment in group work. All group members’ contributions should be assessed and held accountable.
Information services should include a range of support activities: time management, referencing, etc.
Who do you go to for support? Drawing on the LIM idea. And finding out where we can be offering additional support. They don’t know who else is available. They only think faculty.
A lot of questions here. A lot of assumptions challenged, particularly about group work. How they think about group work v. their actual experience. Faculty dealing with group work more effectively. Peer assessment.
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