The Learning & Teaching Office Monthly Digest

June 2011

Issue Number 13

The Monthly Digest is produced by Ryerson University's Learning and Teaching Office for distribution via the LTO's Teachnet mailing list. It highlights new scholarly publications in learning and teaching, as well as recent news from the world of higher education.

In this issue...

• Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice
• Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Journal of Academic Librarianship
• Educational Research Review
• Journal of Web Librarianship

Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice

Active Tasks to Change the Use of Class Time within an Outcomes Based Approach to Curriculum Design

By Diane Salter , Marco Y.C. Pang, Piyush Sharma

"This paper describes how new roles for instructors and learners can be integrated into course design and delivery by rethinking course design as part of a process-based staff development program. The goal of incorporating online learning tasks was to engage students with course resources prior to class time through active learning. The staff development program guided faculty to consider ways to "rethink" the use of student and teacher time to engage students in learning tasks to prepare for class time. In this way, students were able to use class time for active discussion rather than listening to a traditional lecture in the classroom. This paper reports on the overall results of this project and provides specific suggestions on how teachers can consider technology options within an outcomes-based approach to curriculum design."

Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Teaching Research to Teachers: A Self-Study of Course Design, Student Outcomes, and Instructor Learning

By Susan A. Turner

"This description of a teaching self-study focuses on a graduate research course for classroom teachers in which two issues central to improving teaching practice were addressed. First, it details the process of examining course design and curriculum in search of the most effective strategies for training classroom teachers to do research. Second, it explores what can be learned about the teaching process by methodically examining student feedback, course outcomes, and instructor learning during three course iterations. The results of the study include a description of the teacher-as-researcher course design, a summary of student feedback and outcomes, and a report of instructor learning that grew out of engaging in the self-study process."

Journal of Academic Librarianship

Participation and Pedagogy: Connecting the Social Web to ACRL Learning Outcomes

By Greg Bobish

"This article examines the connection between ACRL information literacy standards and constructivist pedagogy. This connection is used to support use of Web 2.0 tools for information literacy instruction. Sample exercises using these tools are provided for each ACRL learning outcome, and the tools' suitability for the constructivist approach is reasserted."

Educational Research Review

The use of weblogs in higher education settings: A review of empirical research

By Jeffrey Wee Sing Sim and Khe Foon Hew

"'Weblogs' or 'blogs' are increasingly visible in higher education settings. Some scholars suggest that blogs are useful because of their reflective nature. However, as this review indicates the research regarding blogs is largely self-report data (surveys, interviews) or content analyses. This review summarizes results of this existing research on weblogs in higher education settings. Limitations of existing empirical studies are discussed and some directions for future research related to the use of blogs in higher education settings are suggested."

Journal of Web Librarianship

Evolution of an Information Competency Requirement for Undergraduates

By Tiffany R. Walsh

"University at Buffalo undergraduate students are required to complete a non-credit-bearing information competency assessment prior to graduation, preferably within their first year of study. Called the 'Library Skills Workbook,' this assessment has evolved from a short, print-based quiz into a sophisticated, multi-module tutorial and assessment on the Blackboard courseware platform. The author presents a case study describing the usefulness of a large-scale, online information competency requirement to meet the developing research needs of undergraduate students. The case presented includes specifics of measured information proficiencies, the benefits and challenges of using Blackboard courseware, student learning outcomes, user and faculty feedback, and the introduction of a new, alternate version of the Workbook that is targeted to engineering students. Practical issues regarding the administration, maintenance, and marketing of the requirement are addressed as well. The author details her efforts and those of university administrators to enforce Workbook completion in students' initial year of study, as well as ongoing plans to rename the Workbook to better demonstrate the currency and relevance of its measured competencies. Future projects are also discussed, including the author's collaboration with her colleagues to create additional discipline-specific Workbook versions and, where possible, to integrate those directly into undergraduate coursework and curricula."

Bringing Information Literacy into the Social Sphere: A Case Study Using Social Software to Teach Information Literacy at WFU

By Erik T. Mitchell and Susan Sharpless Smith

"This article presents an approach to teaching information literacy in an academic course from a socio-technical perspective. It includes an overview of the course framework, a review of course contents, and an analysis of student responses provided through pre- and post-course surveys. The premise of the course design was that students bring a set of technical and information skills to class that address specific but not generalized information literacy goals. By designing a course to engage students from this perspective, the instructors hoped to find a new method for approaching information literacy instruction."

The Monthly Digest is compiled by Michelle Schwartz.

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The Learning & Teaching Office, Ryerson University, Kerr Hall West, Room KHW373, 416 979 5000, Extension 6598, michelle.schwartz@ryerson.ca