Design collaborative or individual learning experiences based on learning principles and theories

Introduction

Developing standardized intelligence tests in the 1920s, Swiss psychologist
Jean Piaget realized what a child could answer spoke more about cognitive development than how they had come to the correct one. Piaget reasoned this to mean that the contexts children use to approach and learn are different than those of adults’ (Collin et al., 2018). This conceptual framework, genetic epistemology, later developed into Constructivism to describe “learning as an active process” where people create new knowledge according to what they already know and understand (Woolf, 2009).

While it is ideal for information professionals (IP) to know all current learning principles and theories, it is most essential they design learning experiences based on the pedagogical values of Constructivism. One way is to teach with infographics, where information is aesthetically enhanced to support recognition of patterns and trends. Another way is to create a LibGuide so learners can have one place with many resources to choose from.

It is also important to research what user populations already know and understand. To do this, IPs can learn to write Action Research Study Proposals (ARSP).

Infographics and Constructivism

An infographic helped me avoid a faux pas on my first Tokyo subway ride.
Sardined into Asakusa Station, I saw a black, white, and yellow poster that had on top “Please do it at the office” in Japanese and English. Understanding right away the comic underneath was of someone chatting on his phone between two annoyed riders, I turned my phone’s ringer off. Eventually moving close enough to read the subtitle, my intuition was confirmed by the also bilingual message to turn one’s phone to silent and not take calls while on the train.

Using mine and my fellow commuter’s natural inclination towards illustrations, the artist was able to easily express an appreciation for common courtesy on public transport. This is because people can process the meaning of an image faster than text, so an infographic can help make information easier to receive (Smiciklas, 2012). IPs can design lessons taught with infographics to better meet learners where they are more likely to be receptive.

LibGuide, a resource and research methods buffet

A LibGuide is a content management system (CMS) libraries subscribe to for building and organizing resource guides (Springshare, n.d.). San Jose State University’s (SJSU) King Library hosts LibGuides for 84 subjects. They are topic-based or specific to an SJSU course. Their homepages have welcome messages that describe their target users, lists to library resources, and a subject librarian’s profile, contact information, and links to other SJSU LibGuides they have created.

As impressive networks, SJSU’s Subject List and its LibGuides are not intimidating to navigate, and their designs respond well to browsing behaviors, employing both the back button and new tabs for non-Guide URLs. These features meet most researchers, students and staff, where they are already familiar with maneuvering through hyperlinks, as one does using the web. And if one gets lost or would like more guidance, there are the subject librarians to email, call, or visit at their offices.

If a Springshare subscription is not worthwhile, IPs can also build scaled-down versions of LibGuides on an open-source CMS like WordPress (WordPress, n.d.).

Researching what learners already know: the ARSP

The ARSP (Action Research Study Proposal) is a tool to discuss and propose a research method to solve an organizational issue. The Introduction states the problem and gives its historical background. Then an Annotated Bibliography summarizes peer-reviewed literature on previous research that can give insight on how to proceed designing a research method. In Methods participants, data collection instruments, and research procedure are established. It also mentions the strengths and limitations to the proposed research methods.

Writing an effective ARSP will not only help IPs get permission from their academic organizations to do ethical research, but also inform IPs on what their participants/target learners already know and understand.

Evidence

INFO 202 – Information Retrieval Systems Design – Infographic: Career in Taxonomy

I created this infographic on a career in taxonomy for INFO 202, Information Retrieval Systems Design. The assignment was to research about and promote an information retrieval design profession, so I chose taxonomists who create, use, and maintain systems that organize, index, and classify information into hierarchies.

From Canva I selected a vertical, pastel-schemed template and a non-serif font to soften the complex mouth- and brain-feel of the word “taxonomy”. Then I worded the title and five subheadings to be direct, short, and a call to arms; every panel, accompanied with an assertive graphic, not only informs but energizes viewers on how great it could be to be a taxonomist. If I had chosen instead a text-only medium, much of my target learners might not remember a thing about working in taxonomy, or worse stop reading.

This infographic is evidence I have learned to identify when information can seem beyond a target audience, and a way to present it at a level more palatable and understandable.

INFO 244 – Online Searching – LibGuide: History of Insurrections

I created this WordPress blog as a LibGuide-type resource guide for INFO 244, Online Searching. On researching the topic “History of Insurrections”, I made five posts on where to find Books, Articles, Biographies, Newspapers, and Images. The featured sources were mine to choose from the SJSU King Library’s resources online, since my Guide’s users were expected to be SJSU students.

I designed the Guide for learners who could be as lost as I was the first time seeing a university library’s online resource page. I put the text in bullet-points to not overwhelm their eyes, and kept the content’s syntax simple for ESL students or a browser’s translation algorithms to follow. I also included screenshots to show where things like query boxes, links, or buttons were. (Unfortunately, due to WordPress’s image file size allowance for free accounts, the screenshots for the second, third, and part of the fourth guides are no longer uploaded.) Should a learner have further questions, they could leave a comment on the post.

My LibGuide-type resource guide is evidence I understand online learning experiences aimed at wide audiences, like a world-class university’s entire staff and student body, are best designed with particular support for users with learning difficulties and/or little to no comfort searching online.

This is the link to the WordPress Guide: https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/info/vyeunginfo244libguide/

INFO 285 – Applied Research Methods – ARSP: Evaluating the King Library’s resources for developing undergraduate level writing skills

I wrote this Action Research Study Proposal for INFO 285, Applied Research Methods. The Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) requests that all SJSU undergraduates take a writing workshop course and pass with a “C” or better in order to graduate (SJSU, 2022). The Library offers a “Citing and Writing Help” Research Guide, online and onsite tutoring through their Writing Center, and office hours with librarians by email or phone.

Then through peer-reviewed articles on research done at SJSU and other universities, I outlined a recent history of how Western academic libraries have handled their cohorts’ writing development needs, particularly how difficult it was to put students and librarians together for information literacy instruction. In the Annotated Bibliography, I dissected five peer-reviewed articles for top university student writing issues, how their instructors and librarians have addressed them, and ideas for devising my own research method.

This Study Proposal is evidence I understand that before an IP begins to design learning experiences it is important to find out what their learners already know and have difficulties with, and how other IPs have addressed similar complications in related organizations and environments.

Conclusion

“Learning is an active process” where knowledge can only be built on what one already knows and understand. In a pinch, graphics, colors, and clear punchy sentences can make information easier to receive, and step-by-step guides can keep learners on their feet until they are comfortable enough to navigate resources on their own. However, a best way to design effective learning experiences is to carefully research a user population’s subject familiarity and favored learning methods first. To stay updated, I will return to social media to observe what makes a Tweet, TikTok, or Instagram story popular with today’s average information seeker. That way, I can use these features, like slang, graphic schemes, or linked
resource-types to make the information in my programs and services easier to learn.

References

Collin, C., Benson, N., Ginsburg, J., Grand, V., Lazyan, M., & Weeks, M. (2018). The Little book of psychology. DK Publishing.

San Jose State University. (2022). Undergraduate university graduation requirements. 2021-2022 Academic Catalogue. https://catalog.sjsu.edu/content.php?catoid=12&navoid=4149

Smiciklas, M. (2012). The Power of infographics: Using pictures to communicate and connect with your audiences. Que Publishing.

Springshare. (n.d.). LibGuides. https://springshare.com/libguides/

WordPress. (n.d.) There’s a plan for you. https://wordpress.com/pricing/

Woolf, B.P. (2009). Building intelligent interactive tutors; Student-centered strategies for revolutionizing e-learning. Morgan Kaufmann. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-373594-2.00004-6

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