In June 2015 Sheila Webber and Marshall Dozier gave a workshop on Running a Journal Club, at the EAHIL+ICAHIS+ICLC 2015 conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland. The powerpoint and handout are available here and the handout is also embedded below. The handout has a bibliography of articles about librarian journal clubs and journal clubs in the healthcare sector (as well as listing the links given below). We thought it would be useful to have the links to journal club websites etc. available online for easy clicking, so here they are:
Journal clubs
- Blog post Information Literacy journal club (i.e. this!) http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/
- HLA Journal Club [wiki] (health librarians, Australia: appraisal) http://hlajournalclub.pbworks.com/w/page/71018035/HLA%20Journal%20Club
- Oxfordshire librarians journal club: journal club for health care librarians and information specialists. [website] (appraisals) Latest activity in 2012 http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/hcl/oxfordshire_librarians_journal_club
- University of Saskatchewan. Centre for Evidence Based Library & Information Practice C-EBLIP Journal Club http://library.usask.ca/ceblip/activities/c-eblip-journal-club.php (not an online club, but useful blog posts from each session)
- University of Western Australia Librarians Journal Club [Mendeley list of articles: https://www.mendeley.com/groups/5083741/uwa-librarians-journal-club/]
- ACRL Maryland chapter online [Blackboard Collaborate] journal club: April meeting https://acrlmd.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/journal-club-discussions-april-edition-2/
- Information Literacy Journal Club in Second Life, dates: http://infolitischool.pbworks.com/Calendar+of+events and an archive of papers here https://www.mendeley.com/groups/1930661/cilr-journal-club-archive-of-selected-papers/
Journal clubs in library and information schools
- Example report from the journal club at University College London http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/dis-studentblog/2014/12/05/journal-club-2/
- At Sheffield University Information school we have a monthly discussion of articles relevant to critical librarianship. They are face to face but usually there are some tweets using #critLIS
Support for Journal Clubs
- Basildon Healthcare Journal Club Support Service http://www.btuheks.nhs.uk/Journals/Journal_Club.html (useful templates)
- University of Texas http://www3.mdanderson.org/library/education/journal-clubs.html
- Cochrane Journal Club page (support material for clinical articles) http://www.cochranejournalclub.com/
- HLwiki International web page with guidelines for journal clubs etc. http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Journal_clubs
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
Next discussion: 3 June on Information literacy learning design
Next discussion: Wednesday 3 June, 8pm GMT
Article: McNicol, S., & Shields, E. (2014). Developing a new approach to information literacy learning design. Journal of Information Literacy, 8(2), 23–35. http://doi.org/10.11645/8.2.1911
Thank you to Sarah and Emily for writing this introductory blog post and joining in our discussion.
How does this discussion work?
Anyone can join this discussion! Participants aim to read at least some of the article in advance, then come along at 8pm GMT and join in the discussion by adding comments to this blog post. You can see how this works by looking at previous discussions (just scroll down the blog for previous posts).
Sarah McNicol is a researcher in the Education and Social Research Institute (ESRI) at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and Emily Shields is a librarian in the same institution, with responsibility for the library’s Information Literacy offering, InfoSkills. In the article we’ll be discussing, we reported on the development and early testing of a new model for information literacy learning design called InFlow.
InFlow has been designed to encourage students to engage with information in a variety of ways as they map, explore, ask, make, reflect, imagine, show and collaborate. As Sarah’s background is in school libraries, at first, the model was intended as one for schools, but it was clear at an early stage that there was a lot of interest from other sectors, including librarians at MMU. So Emily and her colleagues trialled the model in their information skills sessions for final year undergraduates to help to investigate how it might be used in non-school settings.
InFlow was created as part of iTEC (2010-14), a European project focused on redesigning teaching and
learning. The model is closely based on a series of learning activities that
were piloted among primary and secondary teachers in 19 European countries. So InFlow’s
starting point is a series of practical activities which have already been
tested with, and well-received by, large numbers of teachers (something we feel
may be an important advantage given the challenge librarians often face when
trying to engage educators in IL).
InFlow consists of eight elements (ask,
collaborate, explore, imagine, make, map, reflect, show) which can be
undertaken in any order and an iterative approach is strongly encouraged as
students may return to a particular element several times. Unlike many models,
there is no single ‘correct’ order of activities; instead, librarians, teachers
and students can design different options which are best suited to their
environment, student needs, resources available and so forth.
The research that supported the development of InFlow raised fundamental
questions about current teaching practices in relation to IL, such as the need
to encourage collaborative working; the role of students as producers of
information as well as consumers; and the privileging of particular types of
information sources and outputs. The resulting model suggests ways to
address these. For example, while InFlow can be used to produce traditional outputs
such as essays or presentations, it is equally applicable to making more
creative outputs such as games, videos and artefacts (digital or non-digital). The
model also encourages students to engage with primary information sources, by
interviewing people or observing aspects of their environment for example, as
well as using more traditional secondary sources. And collaboration is a key
component of InFlow: it is designed to support social constructivist pedagogies
and group projects and to help develop students’ team-working skills.
Of course, the development of
InFlow didn’t happen in isolation; there’s growing recognition that IL
frameworks need to change to ensure they are relevant for twenty-first century
society, and for the types of pedagogies which are becoming increasingly common
in today’s classrooms, such as collaborative learning, creativity,
problem-solving and authentic learning tasks. Similar issues have been
recognised in work such as ANCIL (Secker and Coonan, 2014) and the revised ACRL
Framework (ACRL, 2014).
We welcome discussion on any issues
or ideas related to the article, but questions we’ve been thinking about while
we’ve been working on this include:
- How can we involve as students active participants/co-designers in IL design? (We’ve been thinking about ways InFlow could be used to do this.)
- What are the benefits of using IL theory to help inform practice and refresh your teaching?
- Do you need the theory or is it better to get out there and throw yourself into teaching? How can we bridge the divide between pedagogical (teacher) language and IL (librarian) language? (Teachers in the iTEC project were often teaching aspects of IL, but were unaware of it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Next blog-post journal club: 18 February on Fostering the integration of information literacy and journalism practice
Next discussion: Wednesday 18 February, 8pm GMT
Article: Fostering the integration of information literacy and journalism practice: a long term study of journalism students (http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/8.2.1941)
Huge thanks to Margy MacMillan for writing this blog post and agreeing to join us in the discussion!
When I first received the invitation to the Journal Club, I had to read it a few times to make sure I wasn`t hallucinating (in my defence, it was 5 a.m. my time). I am so honoured to be part of this as I have enjoyed lurking or catching up on discussions after the fact and find them fascinating. I’m really looking forward to this! Thanks to those who set up these events, and also to previous authors for providing excellent model blog posts.
The article in question is Fostering the integration of information literacy and journalism practice: a long term study of journalism students (http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/8.2.1941), based on a project that ran from 2003-2013. The project has used a simple résumé format that asks students to annually reflect on and record their experience with information. In the first half of that study I looked at what students decided to include in their information skills, and how they described what they knew or could do. In reviewing data from 2008-2013 for similar data, I saw a more interesting story in how they were blending their information skills and knowledge into their journalism work. Many students went beyond listing resources they used to articulating how they used them, providing a window into the transfer of knowledge between their personal, academic and professional domains.
Students used information skills and knowledge for a number of journalistic processes: finding story ideas, identifying sources to interview, fact-checking, and reviewing the work of others to use as models, or identify gaps in coverage. Intriguingly, they included personal traits among their information skills such as curiosity and persistence – equally useful in journalism and IL. Comments throughout the résumés included many indications of knowledge transfer from one information task or ecosystem to another, and some students were explicit about this, perhaps exhibiting metaliteracy.
While I was writing the article, the ACRL was developing a new Framework for Information Literacy, informed by Hofer, Townsend and Brunetti’s work on threshold concepts. I had seen their early work and was really intrigued by this approach. Many Twitter discussions of the Framework centred around assessment and it occurred to me that the longer term, qualitative data I had might provide evidence of threshold crossing. I think it does… and I’m REALLY interested to hear what YOU think. Where I see the data being useful is in providing examples of how students describe threshold knowledge. They might not come right out and say “Authority is Constructed and Contextual”, but when they talk about finding new voices to add to a story, or bringing conflicting expert opinions together, or understanding biases in information I think they’re talking about this concept.
I don’t want to anticipate or pre-direct where the discussion will go – but here are some things that I’ve been thinking about since I hit the send button on the final copy of the article…
How much of a role did the discipline play in knowledge transfer? I was very interested to read the last discussion of Michelle Dalton’s work on healthcare professionals, and wonder what integration looks like in practical and academic work across disciplines. What does it look like for you?
What can we do in our teaching to promote this integration? – or is it just a factor of time and practice?
If this kind of evidence hints at threshold concepts, are there ways of developing assessment that will capture students’ understanding. (My mind went to the trailcams we use here for wildlife – if only we could do something similar to capture threshold crossing)…
What questions do you have about the study?
How does this discussion work? Anyone can join this discussion! Participants aim to read at least some of the article in advance, then come along at 8pm GMT and join in the discussion by adding comments to this blog post. You can see how this works by looking at previous discussions (just scroll down the blog for previous posts).
Article: Fostering the integration of information literacy and journalism practice: a long term study of journalism students (http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/8.2.1941)
Huge thanks to Margy MacMillan for writing this blog post and agreeing to join us in the discussion!
The article in question is Fostering the integration of information literacy and journalism practice: a long term study of journalism students (http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/8.2.1941), based on a project that ran from 2003-2013. The project has used a simple résumé format that asks students to annually reflect on and record their experience with information. In the first half of that study I looked at what students decided to include in their information skills, and how they described what they knew or could do. In reviewing data from 2008-2013 for similar data, I saw a more interesting story in how they were blending their information skills and knowledge into their journalism work. Many students went beyond listing resources they used to articulating how they used them, providing a window into the transfer of knowledge between their personal, academic and professional domains.
 |
| Because it isn't research unless there are at least 4 colours of highlighter... |
While I was writing the article, the ACRL was developing a new Framework for Information Literacy, informed by Hofer, Townsend and Brunetti’s work on threshold concepts. I had seen their early work and was really intrigued by this approach. Many Twitter discussions of the Framework centred around assessment and it occurred to me that the longer term, qualitative data I had might provide evidence of threshold crossing. I think it does… and I’m REALLY interested to hear what YOU think. Where I see the data being useful is in providing examples of how students describe threshold knowledge. They might not come right out and say “Authority is Constructed and Contextual”, but when they talk about finding new voices to add to a story, or bringing conflicting expert opinions together, or understanding biases in information I think they’re talking about this concept.
I don’t want to anticipate or pre-direct where the discussion will go – but here are some things that I’ve been thinking about since I hit the send button on the final copy of the article…
How much of a role did the discipline play in knowledge transfer? I was very interested to read the last discussion of Michelle Dalton’s work on healthcare professionals, and wonder what integration looks like in practical and academic work across disciplines. What does it look like for you?
What can we do in our teaching to promote this integration? – or is it just a factor of time and practice?
If this kind of evidence hints at threshold concepts, are there ways of developing assessment that will capture students’ understanding. (My mind went to the trailcams we use here for wildlife – if only we could do something similar to capture threshold crossing)…
What questions do you have about the study?
How does this discussion work? Anyone can join this discussion! Participants aim to read at least some of the article in advance, then come along at 8pm GMT and join in the discussion by adding comments to this blog post. You can see how this works by looking at previous discussions (just scroll down the blog for previous posts).
Monday, January 12, 2015
#ILread in 2015: have your say
We're starting the new year with good intentions and we've asked three of our regular contributors to try and inspire you to take part in the Information Literacy Journal Club this year by explaining why they got involved and what they'd like to see discussed this year.
We'll be posting the schedule for the next three discussions at the end of January, but please do add a comment below if there's any particular article or book you'd like to be discussed.
When Niamh floated the idea of an online information literacy journal club, I volunteered to help facilitate it. Marshall Dozier and I have run a monthly infolit journal club n the virtual world, Second Life, for several years and I’ve found it enjoyable and useful. It means I read articles I might not have done, and it’s interesting hearing different perspectives. However, not everyone wants to use Second Life, and so I liked the idea of participating via another channel as well. I’ve led several of the discussions on this blog: I particularly enjoyed this one, on a paper by Barbara Fister: http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/journal-club-meeting-24-july-barbara.html
I’ve looked at some of the chapters in the book edited by Christine Bruce and her colleagues on Information experience (and their webcast provides a good introduction ), but this year I want to work through it more carefully. I also want to read Ference Marton’s latest book, Necessary conditions of learning. Marton is the ‘godfather’ of phenomenography (the research approach for investigating variation in conceptions or experience of a phenomenon) and variation theory (an approach to teaching and learning, which maintains that (to quote the book blurb) “in order to learn we have to discern, and to discern the intended ideas we must be presented with carefully structured variation”). His ideas have been very important for my research, but also have influenced my teaching practice. Finally, I discover new reading through my students, and last week Jess Elmore shared an article with me on information literacy and identity which sounds fascinating.
Caidi, N. and Allard, D. (2005). Social inclusion of newcomers to Canada: An information problem? Library & Information Science Research, 27 (3), 302-324.
Bruce, C., Patridge, H., Davis, K., Hughes, H. and Stoodley, I. (Eds.) (2014). Information experience: approaches to theory and practice. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN: 9781783508150
Marton, F. (2014). Necessary conditions of learning. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415739146.
Like Jane, I’d like to revisit the ACRL information literacy framework, which seems to have hit heavier opposition just as it was about to get to the final stage! I’m interested in MOOCs and information literacy and MOOC pedagogy at the moment, so something on that would be good. I would also like to see discussion of articles of information literacy from different cultures and countries.
We'll be posting the schedule for the next three discussions at the end of January, but please do add a comment below if there's any particular article or book you'd like to be discussed.
Niamh Tumelty
What is your involvement or interest in the infolit journal club?
I was a teacher before becoming a librarian and chose to focus on information literacy for my Masters thesis. I was conscious of the gap between research and practice in librarianship so wanted to find a way to keep in touch with current research while working full-time. I put out the idea of a blog-based discussion group and was delighted at the enthusiastic response to this idea!
What articles or books are on your personal reading list for 2015?
I'm currently reading and learning a huge amount from Fosmire, M., editor, & Radcliffe, D. F., editor. (2014) Integrating information into the engineering design process. My current role is managing library and information services for an Engineering Department so I think I'll be reading this book from start to finish and then going back to key bits over the course of the year.
What would you most like to see discussed as part of the info lit journal club in 2015?
One of the things I really like about this discussion group is the diversity of topics covered. Some topics that would be particularly interesting for me include:
- Preparing students so they can apply information skills to their work after graduation
- Support and training for postdoctoral researchers
- Developing teaching skills among librarians
Jane Secker
What is your involvement or interest in the infolit journal club?
As the Editor of the Journal of Information Literacy, I'm keen to encourage the articles that we publish be read and discussed widely by researchers and practitioners. The articles are meant to push the boundaries of research in the field and to stimulate new research and improved practice. I've taken part in several of the information literacy journal club discussions and really enjoyed them. I find that discussions are a great way to discipline yourself to read the literature and to really engage with an article. As a history student I actually really enjoyed seminars, so these online discussions are an opportunity to meet virtually with those interested in information literacy.
What articles or books are on your personal reading list for 2015?
I've always got a fairly long list of things I want to read, but in the IL field I am looking forward to reading Drew Whitworth's latest book on Radical Information Literacy. At the moment, I'm desperately trying to finish reading Thinking Fast and Slow, by the economist Daniel Kahneman and have a book called Essentialism: the disciplined pursuit of less by Gary McKeown lined up to read after that.
What would you most like to see discussed as part of the info lit journal club in 2015?
I'd really like to schedule another discussion about the ACRL standards when the revised final draft come out later in 2015. I'd also like to widen our discussions to include some authors from outside the UK to get a more international perspective on information literacy. And it would be great if we could have a discussion about IL in schools to tie in with the special section we had in the December 2014 issue of JIL.
Helen Blanchett
What is your involvement or interest in the infolit journal club?
I got involved in the IL journal club after being asked to write a post for the a discussion on TeachMeets and I'm now involved as a regular contributer. I always have good intentions to read more research and this provides the motivation to do this, along with encouraging me to think more deeply about what I'm reading in order to take part in the discussion.What articles or books are on your personal reading list for 2015?
At the moment my reading is being driven by my studies for a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, with the current module being related to design of teaching and learning. I'm particularly focussing on threshold concepts so Ray Land and Jan Meyer feature prominently in my reading list, with their books "Overcoming barriers to student understanding : threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge" and "Threshold concepts within the disciplines"[PDF].
What would you most like to see discussed as part of the info lit journal club in 2015?
Like Jane, I'd like to see another discussion on the ACRL standards, perhaps looking more broadly at the idea of thresholds concepts. I have a keen interest in workplace information literacy, so that would be high on my list too. I'm always interested in any aspect of teaching information literacy, but at the moment the idea of students as co-creators of IL teaching & learning resources fits with a project I'm due to start soon.
Sheila Webber
What is your involvement or interest in the infolit journal club?
When Niamh floated the idea of an online information literacy journal club, I volunteered to help facilitate it. Marshall Dozier and I have run a monthly infolit journal club n the virtual world, Second Life, for several years and I’ve found it enjoyable and useful. It means I read articles I might not have done, and it’s interesting hearing different perspectives. However, not everyone wants to use Second Life, and so I liked the idea of participating via another channel as well. I’ve led several of the discussions on this blog: I particularly enjoyed this one, on a paper by Barbara Fister: http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/journal-club-meeting-24-july-barbara.html
What articles or books are on your personal reading list for 2015?
I’ve looked at some of the chapters in the book edited by Christine Bruce and her colleagues on Information experience (and their webcast provides a good introduction ), but this year I want to work through it more carefully. I also want to read Ference Marton’s latest book, Necessary conditions of learning. Marton is the ‘godfather’ of phenomenography (the research approach for investigating variation in conceptions or experience of a phenomenon) and variation theory (an approach to teaching and learning, which maintains that (to quote the book blurb) “in order to learn we have to discern, and to discern the intended ideas we must be presented with carefully structured variation”). His ideas have been very important for my research, but also have influenced my teaching practice. Finally, I discover new reading through my students, and last week Jess Elmore shared an article with me on information literacy and identity which sounds fascinating.
Caidi, N. and Allard, D. (2005). Social inclusion of newcomers to Canada: An information problem? Library & Information Science Research, 27 (3), 302-324.
Bruce, C., Patridge, H., Davis, K., Hughes, H. and Stoodley, I. (Eds.) (2014). Information experience: approaches to theory and practice. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN: 9781783508150
Marton, F. (2014). Necessary conditions of learning. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415739146.
What would you most like to see discussed as part of the info lit journal club in 2015?
Like Jane, I’d like to revisit the ACRL information literacy framework, which seems to have hit heavier opposition just as it was about to get to the final stage! I’m interested in MOOCs and information literacy and MOOC pedagogy at the moment, so something on that would be good. I would also like to see discussion of articles of information literacy from different cultures and countries.
That's what some existing contributers would like to see discussed - what would you like? Please add a comment with your suggestions below.
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