David Owens
LIBR 250
Fall 2013
Discussion Boards 2-7
(Introduction Discussion Board not counted here)
Discussion Board 2
Guided Conversation on the Instructional Design Process and Information Literacy Readings (Facebook
Group)
Have you ever used a formal instructional design process to create a unit of instruction?
Which one did you use or describe it if you don't know what it was called if named?
If not, how do you begin informally to create a unit of instruction, that is begin to teach or create
training/learning? Please share your experience of any kind.
After you have completed the required readings, how do you understand the value of instructional
design? Which one of the readings was the most interesting to you personally or professionally?
I have never used formal instruction design and before this course, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was all
about. A need for Instructional Design in my current library and talking with a distance support coworker, I thought this class would help. So far, I’m learning a lot! Though I haven’t used any formal
instruction method, I have been instructing informally for the last 3 years or so in my library, AT Still
Memorial Library. Usually, I have to demonstrate a new software or how to access library resources
such as Ibooks author, ClinicalKey, Uptodate, and other online resources. You won’t believe how many
different resources require special little answers to issues like: renewing your mobile app every 30 days
to maintain access, only access this resource with Internet Explorer, or how to get access off campus? To
correct problems such as this, I usually talk to a person over the phone or create a step-by-step tutorial
with screenshots that can be emailed to a student.
After reading the text for this unit, especially chapter one of Grassian and Kaplowitz’s Information
Literacy Instruction, I have begun to appreciate the importance of Information Literacy. As the authors
state, “In an era of rapid change, being information literate becomes an even more critical skill”. I
learned the best way to achieve this is to reach out to others in my community in order to establish a
definition of Information Literacy that is meaningful to me and works for my specific environment. In
particular, I think reaching out to faculty and other departmental staff about library needs and resources
with Information Literacy skills would be very beneficial. In my library (AT Still Memorial Library,
Academic medical school) there is poor communication between library staff and university faculty. I
would like to utilize skills in this course to improve library-faculty communication and set forth a
foundation of communication for the future.
Discussion Board 3
Discussion of Learning Theories/Perspectives and Learning Styles (Topic 3)
In your required readings are several learning style inventories/surveys/questionaires. Choose two of
them and complete them. Report your results here. Do you think the results accurately reflect your
personal learning style? Does it help you to think about your own preferred learning modes when
you're thinking about teaching and/or when you are working in this and other online courses?
First survey: http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles-quiz
My two highest categories were Naturalistic and Musical. Naturalistic learning is about understanding
the patterns of living things, and applying scientific reasoning to the world. Nature intelligence is
particularly applicable in careers such as farmer, naturalist, animal behaviorist, and scientist.
Musical intelligence is associated with enjoying music, singing, making music, and playing an instrument.
It involves sensitivity to sounds as well as the emotions music conveys.
Second Survey: http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
Learning Styles Results
Results for: David Owens
ACT
11
9
7
5
3
11
9
7
X
5
3
11
9
7
5
3
X
11
9
7
5
3
SEN
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REF
3
5
7
9
11
3
5
7
9
11
3
5
7
9
11
3
5
7
9
11
INT
VIS
SEQ
X
1
1
<-- -->
1
1
<-- -->
X
1
1
<-- -->
VRB
GLO
1
1
<-- -->
If your score on a scale is 1-3, you are fairly well balanced on the two dimensions of that scale.
If your score on a scale is 5-7, you have a moderate preference for one dimension of the scale
and will learn more easily in a teaching environment which favors that dimension.
If your score on a scale is 9-11, you have a very strong preference for one dimension of the
scale. You may have real difficulty learning in an environment which does not support that
preference.
We suggest you print this page, so that when you look at the explanations of the different scales you will
have a record of your individual preferences. When you close the page the information cannot be
retrieved.
For explanations of the scales and the implications of your preferences, click on
Learning Style Descriptions.
For more information about learning styles or to take the test again, click on
Learning Style Page.
LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES
Richard M. Felder
Hoechst Celanese Professor of Chemical Engineering
North Carolina State University
Barbara A. Soloman
Coordinator of Advising, First Year College
North Carolina State University
ACTIVE AND REFLECTIVE LEARNERS
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Active learners tend to retain and understand information best by doing something active with
it--discussing or applying it or explaining it to others. Reflective learners prefer to think about it
quietly first.
"Let's try it out and see how it works" is an active learner's phrase; "Let's think it through first" is
the reflective learner's response.
Active learners tend to like group work more than reflective learners, who prefer working alone.
Sitting through lectures without getting to do anything physical but take notes is hard for both
learning types, but particularly hard for active learners.
Everybody is active sometimes and reflective sometimes. Your preference for one category or the
other may be strong, moderate, or mild. A balance of the two is desirable. If you always act
before reflecting you can jump into things prematurely and get into trouble, while if you spend
too much time reflecting you may never get anything done.
How can active learners help themselves?
If you are an active learner in a class that allows little or no class time for discussion or problemsolving activities, you should try to compensate for these lacks when you study. Study in a group
in which the members take turns explaining different topics to each other. Work with others to
guess what you will be asked on the next test and figure out how you will answer. You will
always retain information better if you find ways to do something with it.
How can reflective learners help themselves?
If you are a reflective learner in a class that allows little or no class time for thinking about new
information, you should try to compensate for this lack when you study. Don't simply read or
memorize the material; stop periodically to review what you have read and to think of possible
questions or applications. You might find it helpful to write short summaries of readings or class
notes in your own words. Doing so may take extra time but will enable you to retain the material
more effectively.
SENSING AND INTUITIVE LEARNERS
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Sensing learners tend to like learning facts, intuitive learners often prefer discovering
possibilities and relationships.
Sensors often like solving problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and
surprises; intuitors like innovation and dislike repetition. Sensors are more likely than intuitors
to resent being tested on material that has not been explicitly covered in class.
Sensors tend to be patient with details and good at memorizing facts and doing hands-on
(laboratory) work; intuitors may be better at grasping new concepts and are often more
comfortable than sensors with abstractions and mathematical formulations.
Sensors tend to be more practical and careful than intuitors; intuitors tend to work faster and to
be more innovative than sensors.
Sensors don't like courses that have no apparent connection to the real world; intuitors don't
like "plug-and-chug" courses that involve a lot of memorization and routine calculations.
Everybody is sensing sometimes and intuitive sometimes. Your preference for one or the other
may be strong, moderate, or mild. To be effective as a learner and problem solver, you need to be
able to function both ways. If you overemphasize intuition, you may miss important details or
make careless mistakes in calculations or hands-on work; if you overemphasize sensing, you
may rely too much on memorization and familiar methods and not concentrate enough on
understanding and innovative thinking.
How can sensing learners help themselves?
Sensors remember and understand information best if they can see how it connects to the real
world. If you are in a class where most of the material is abstract and theoretical, you may have
difficulty. Ask your instructor for specific examples of concepts and procedures, and find out
how the concepts apply in practice. If the teacher does not provide enough specifics, try to find
some in your course text or other references or by brainstorming with friends or classmates.
How can intuitive learners help themselves?
Many college lecture classes are aimed at intuitors. However, if you are an intuitor and you
happen to be in a class that deals primarily with memorization and rote substitution in formulas,
you may have trouble with boredom. Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link
the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on
test because you are impatient with details and don't like repetition (as in checking your
completed solutions). Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be
sure to check your results
VISUAL AND VERBAL LEARNERS
Visual learners remember best what they see--pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films,
and demonstrations. Verbal learners get more out of words--written and spoken explanations.
Everyone learns more when information is presented both visually and verbally.
In most college classes very little visual information is presented: students mainly listen to
lectures and read material written on chalkboards and in textbooks and handouts. Unfortunately,
most people are visual learners, which means that most students do not get nearly as much as
they would if more visual presentation were used in class. Good learners are capable of
processing information presented either visually or verbally.
How can visual learners help themselves?
If you are a visual learner, try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts,
or any other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your
instructor, consult reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course
material are available. Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or
circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections. Color-code your
notes with a highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same color.
How can verbal learners help themselves?
Write summaries or outlines of course material in your own words. Working in groups can be
particularly effective: you gain understanding of material by hearing classmates' explanations
and you learn even more when you do the explaining.
SEQUENTIAL AND GLOBAL LEARNERS
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Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in linear steps, with each step following logically
from the previous one. Global learners tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost
randomly without seeing connections, and then suddenly "getting it."
Sequential learners tend to follow logical stepwise paths in finding solutions; global learners
may be able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once they
have grasped the big picture, but they may have difficulty explaining how they did it.
Many people who read this description may conclude incorrectly that they are global, since
everyone has experienced bewilderment followed by a sudden flash of understanding. What
makes you global or not is what happens before the light bulb goes on. Sequential learners may
not fully understand the material but they can nevertheless do something with it (like solve the
homework problems or pass the test) since the pieces they have absorbed are logically
connected. Strongly global learners who lack good sequential thinking abilities, on the other
hand, may have serious difficulties until they have the big picture. Even after they have it, they
may be fuzzy about the details of the subject, while sequential learners may know a lot about
specific aspects of a subject but may have trouble relating them to different aspects of the same
subject or to different subjects.
How can sequential learners help themselves?
Most college courses are taught in a sequential manner. However, if you are a sequential learner
and you have an instructor who jumps around from topic to topic or skips steps, you may have
difficulty following and remembering. Ask the instructor to fill in the skipped steps, or fill them
in yourself by consulting references. When you are studying, take the time to outline the lecture
material for yourself in logical order. In the long run doing so will save you time. You might also
try to strengthen your global thinking skills by relating each new topic you study to things you
already know. The more you can do so, the deeper your understanding of the topic is likely to be.
How can global learners help themselves?
If you are a global learner, it can be helpful for you to realize that you need the big picture of a
subject before you can master details. If your instructor plunges directly into new topics without
bothering to explain how they relate to what you already know, it can cause problems for you.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly.
Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter
to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming initially but it may save you from going
over and over individual parts later. Instead of spending a short time on every subject every
night, you might find it more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large
blocks. Try to relate the subject to things you already know, either by asking the instructor to
help you see connections or by consulting references. Above all, don't lose faith in yourself; you
will eventually understand the new material, and once you do your understanding of how it
connects to other topics and disciplines may enable you to apply it in ways that most sequential
thinkers would never dream of.
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Click here for more information about the learning styles model and implications of learning
styles for instructors and students.
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Click here to return to Richard Felder's home page.
Do you think the results accurately reflect your personal learning style? Does it help you to think
about your own preferred learning modes when you're thinking about teaching and/or when you are
working in this and other online courses?
After taking the surveys and viewing the results, I concluded that the tests were “basically” accurate.
For the most part, I received average results for each category. The Edutopia survey put me in the
Naturalistic category. I do enjoy nature and have many houseplants, with a yard full of flowers.
Learning about my individual learning mode helped me to better relate to the different styles of learning
that I don’t usually utilize. This activity helps the teacher “put themselves in another person’s shoes”
and visualize a problem from the student’s perspective.
Discussion Board 4
What has motivated you to learn other than the requirement for a grade or degree or certificate? How
would you choose to motivate learners other than by grading, etc.? Describe specific examples if you
can. How much does marketing and promotion of an instructional unit/experience actually influence
learner motivation to begin and/or complete the unit? What is your opinion?
Show me the money! One thing that takes up a lot of time, is sometimes fun but usually not, and
requires motivation is homework. I’m speaking about college homework in particular. What has
motivated me to do homework/learning, currently, and in the past is the hope that I’ll be more
marketable and increase my salary at my current workplace, after graduation. I chose to attend
graduate school and resume learning in order to make more money and have a happier/more successful
life.
I would motivate learners by showing and/or demonstrating real-life application of what the learners
are learning. I really like learning something that I know has a use in real life. For example, many of my
student workers don’t know how to search/access all of the library resources at the beginning of the
year. I usually show them a Google search and then a library homepage search with results being more
applicable via the library home page.
I think marketing plays a big role in learner motivation and instructional units. Many times, marketing
helps remind people about a particular unit that they wish to learn. Furthermore, marketing can make
an instructional unit sound fun, exciting, engaging, and practical. Where I work, the ITS department has
a “Lunch n Learn” online session for anyone wanting to attend. Topics range from University Testing,
library resources, ipad initiatives, and many more. Suggestions on what you might learn and some fun
facts about the speaker are given in an email to all potential attendees. This marketing has persuaded
me to check out a particular session.
Discussion Board 5
Discussion of Planning for Instructional Materials and Formative Evaluation (Topic 5 )
Reflect on the classes, workshops, informal training sessions, or any learning experience where you've
been the student.
List one or two learning materials aka learning objects (hard copy, paper, multimedia,
communications tool, person to person interactions, etc.) that you remember as being the most useful
to you as a learner. In one or two sentences, describe how/why that particular learning material or
'object' was useful for you. Generalize on what kinds of learning objects you prefer to learn from and
if you'd use them for teaching when you're the teacher/instructional designer.
The University I work for routinely has Lunch n Learn sessions about every two weeks via Google
Hangouts. Learner’s may join the video conference call over the lunch hour and listen in on instructors
and other participants. Topics vary from Online Testing to Google Cloud and are designed to instruct
learners about different products and/or University protocols.
These Lunch n Learn sessions are particularly useful because they affect my motivation. They are directly
tied into my employer and, often times; reveal tips to become more efficient in the work place. They
may be accessed from anywhere in the world (with an internet connection). The ITS department also
records the sessions for viewing later, if learners are unable to attend the live session. These are similar
to online tutorials, which we as a library have been using more and more of. It seems most of our
student doctors want answers immediately and a tutorial is more readily accessed than contacting
library staff (according to our statistics anyway).
I am actually currently working on creating a few brief tutorials for resources such as Statref, Uptodate,
ClinicalKey, and others. Our Multimedia department is recording myself and one other person with a tricaster recording device, which enables viewers to see three different panels on the same screen (me
talking, my desktop, and something else, etc). I’ve begin recording tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Discussion Board 6
Discussion of Teaching in Different Types of Libraries (Topic 6)
Reflect on your own teaching and learning experiences as well as on the required readings
and share your experiences and thoughts on the following if applicable:
1. Have you ever TAKEN a course(s) or workshop(s) that was taught in or by a library?
What kind of library was it? (e.g., public, academic, special (e.g., museum, corporate,
hospital etc.))
I have only taught courses or workshops in my academic library. I haven’t taken any courses,
specifically through a library (except for SJSU).
2. Describe the library and your experiences. Specifically, why did you participate in the
course/workshop? Was it useful to you? What was the best part of the experience for you?
I always used the library remotely. Travelling to a library always seemed like an inconvenience,
especially when I had internet access from home.
3. Have you ever TAUGHT a course(s) or workshop(s) in a library context? What kind of
library was it? (e.g., public, academic, special (e.g., museum, corporate, hospital etc.))
I have taught/trained student workers to use library resources and to instruct other students on
using the library resources. Academic library.
4. If you have not yet taught in a library context, what kind of library would you like to be
working and teaching in in future and why?
I will never leave the academic library setting! I don’t have to deal with tax returns or homeless
people, noisy kids, or unruly or irate patrons (for the most part). The patrons at my current
library are all medical students. They’re the best!
5. If you answered yes to #3, Describe the library and your experiences. Specifically, why
did you teach the course/workshop? What was the best part of the experience for you?
What would you do differently if you were teaching in that context again?
AT Still Memorial Library has a staff of 8 full-time employees and 20 part-time student workers.
I teach the student workers and hire new students every year. They are instructed on using library
resources and how to navigate them. I have been doing this for three years now and the best part
about the teaching is when it’s over. Most work-study students are concentrating on surviving
medical school and studying. Motivation to use and learn library resources always seems to be
low on their priority.
6. From your experiences and readings, what do you think are the main ways in which
instructional design for teaching (and learning) will be different or challenging in each of
these three general kinds of libraries? Specifically, how will your instructional design step
1. needs assessment and instructional goals be different? How will your instructional design
step 3. entry behavior and learner characteristics be different?
Depending on the library type, the instructional design for teaching will be different. In an
academic library, the instructional goals are aligned with institutional goals, or are often the same
goals. In a public library the goals can vary more, depending on the patron/audience. In a special
library setting, instructional goals are aligned to the successful performance of job duties.
Depending on audience type, entry behavior and learner characteristics will vary. In the
academic library setting, such characteristics will depend upon age and socioeconomic status. In
a public library, the learners will be very diverse, with diverse learner characteristics. In a special
library, it would be important to consider employee skill level into consideration when designing
instruction.
Discussion of Teaching and Learning Online Readings (Topic 7)
We're returning to a more structured discussion in this weeks' topics. So many of
the self-reflection discussion questions were relevant to this particular topic
already.
There are many readings for this topic. Please share which article was the most
interesting and potentially useful to you and report why it was interesting and
useful to you. Remember to type the title and URL so everyone can go and look
on it. If someone else has already chosen the article you chose then please look
for your second best *OR* expand on what they've reported.
You MAY report on an article that is not in our required readings, but that you've
found elsewhere and found more interesting and useful than any of these articles.
In this way, I am updating my bibliography for the summer and fall semesters, so
I thank you for any of these you share.
101 Tips to Motivate the Online Learner
http://www.insynctraining.com/pages/Insync_101.pdf
I chose this article because of its conciseness and interest to me. Most of the students
in the library I work for, access items online. There are a million different resources and
sifting through them can be tedious and difficult. I see lots of tips in this pdf that could
apply to the SJSU MLS program. The author of this motivational document for online
leaners says motivation often comes down to “what’s in it for me?” A few of the tips that
I found especially helpful (to me as an online leaner) were:
#8: Include in all communications:
• What to do when a live session is missed
• What to do to prepare for the next session
• The information needed to attend the next session (URL, date, time, phone, etc.)
And
#37
Establish a makeup policy. In it include how participants can make up for
missed classes and missed work. If you have an incentive program in place,
link your makeup policy to your incentives. The fact that one has completed
makeup work is an assessment in itself.
The article states that online learning is positive, and we need to constantly reinforce
this. Initial marketing bursts quickly fade out and regular updates about what courses
are coming up are an integral part of an organization’s learning culture. Often times at
work, my co-workers who went to traditional graduate school for their degrees state how
much easier it is to have an online classroom. When I try to explain the difficulty and
motivational aspects of the learning environment, it’s lost on them. Perhaps they would
learn more about technology and online learning if I gave them more motivation? I think
tip # 51 could definitely help: Make the “What’s In It for me?” message loud and clear.
Often times, learners don’t see the benefit of new information because “they never use
things like that”. This tip could help alleviate some of those “excuses”.