Dominique Burns e-Portfolio

Introduction

Melvil Dewey in 1876 wrote, “A library is a school, and the librarian is in the highest sense a teacher, and the visitor is a reader among the books as a workman among his tools” (Sherman, 2009, p. 36).  Libraries today continue to be information hubs of educational pursuits for both librarians and the individuals who use them. 21st century libraries provide instruction, programs, and even makerspaces that support digital and literary literacy.  As technology continues to advance, librarians are challenged with learning new skills and teaching their patrons those skills.  Librarians are also challenged with teaching their patrons how to “Seek information and determine its authenticity” in order to be information literate in the 21st century (Wright, 2014, p. 9). It is the responsibility of librarians as teachers to provide patrons with necessary information skills for the 21st century world.  This is true for school, public, academic, and even special library librarians. In order to be successful teachers in the 21st century world, librarians must understand how to successfully design instruction and understand various learning styles. This means learning principles and theories from different learning models, such as the Behaviorist Model, Cognitive Model, Constructivist Model, and Humanist Model (Booth, 2011).

 

Behaviorist Model

The Behaviorist Model is the theory that “Environments and objects are designed to create conditions under which learning is predictable, interactive, structured, and reinforced” (Booth, 2011, p. 50). This model is the idea that individual behaviors can be controlled through rewards. In this model instructors create clearly outlined instructional plans with learning targets and assessments. Learning targets are then communicated to students and afterwards students are assessed on their knowledge of those learning targets. If students reflect successful understanding of those learning targets, they are rewarded. This model also requires instructors and students to work together to meet learning targets. Schunk (Booth, 2001) believes the below are key characteristics to the Behaviorist Model.

 

1. Reinforcement should happen often and at the appropriate time.

2. Material should be presented in increments or small steps.

3. Learners should be actors rather than passive receivers.

4. Feedback should occur immediately after a learner responds.

5. Students should be allowed to pace themselves or move through content at different rates (Booth, 2011, pp. 51-52).

 

Cognitive Model

The Cognitive Model is that “Educators are the conduit through which information is organized and presented” (Booth, 2011, p. 52). Instructors in this model transfer information from one medium to their students. This model believes that every student is unique and learns differently, which means instructors must connect learning to what the students already know. Booth (2011) writes that there are five cognitive instructional strategies to be aware of, which are the following:

 

1. Capturing and maintaining learner attention.

2. Connecting learning material to existing knowledge and needs.

3. Separating content into units and models.

4. Pacing instruction to account for information-process capacity

5. Promoting metacognitive strategies (Booth, 2011, p. 52).

 

Constructivist Model

The Constructivist Model is that “Learning is contextual and social” (Booth, 2011, p. 52). This model believes that environments should match the information being learned and teachers are participants in the process. Learning is creative, exploratory, social, cultural, and collaborative (Booth, 2011, p. 52). The following are key characteristics to the Constructivist Model.

 

1. Creating authentic interactions in which learning is clearly situated within its real-world application.

2. Providing opportunities for active and peer-based communication.

3. A less prominent and more supportive role for the instructor.

4. Fostering critical awareness of the social and cultural factors affecting learning (Booth, 2011, p. 52).

 

In Table 1 below you can see Booth’s (2011) descriptions and comparisons between the Behaviorist, Cognitive, and Constructivist models.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Table 1

(Booth, 2011, p. 51)

 

Humanist Model

The Humanist Model is the most similar to the Constructivist Model, in the sense that instructors teach information differently to meet each individual’s experiences. Cox and Lindsay (2008) describe this model as an approach that “Is very much one of learner empowerment” (p. 25). Individuals learn at their own pace and “If given the right support, opportunities and encouragement” can successfully learn (Cox & Lindsay, 2008, p. 25).  In this model instructors are not standing at the front of the classroom teaching, but rather providing students with hands on learning opportunities. Hiemstra and Sisco (Brocket, & Hiemstra 1994) described this model in six steps, which can bee seen in Figure 1.

 

 

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Figure 1

(Brocket, & Hiemstra 1994)

 

 

Evidence

The following evidence includes MLIS coursework that I have completed during my time at San Jose State University.

 

1. INFO 233 School Media Centers: High School Makerspace Toolkit Website

2. INFO 250 Design and Implementation of Instructional Strategies for Information Professionals: Final Paper - Instructional Design Plan

3. INFO 260A Programming and Services for Children: Story Hour Performance

4. INFO 260A Programming and Services for Children: Story Time Programming

 

INFO 233 School Media Centers: High School Makerspace Toolkit Website

 

Evidence

• High School Makerspace Toolkit Website: http://highschoolmakerspaces.weebly.com

 

21st century libraries provide instruction, programs, and even makerspaces that support digital and literary literacy. Makerspaces are a great way to reach students through a multitude of different models of teaching.  This website is the result of a semester long group project which researched makerspaces in school and academic libraries. My parts of the website are  “School vs Academic Makerspaces,” “Types of Makerspaces,” and “Activities.” I researched the differences between makerspaces in school and academic libraries. I looked at different types of makerspaces and the different learning activities they offer students. Makerspaces are a great way to combine a learner’s prior knowledge with hands on learning experiences.

 

INFO 250 Design and Implementation of Instructional Strategies for Information Professionals: Final Paper - Instructional Design Plan

 

Evidence

• Final Paper - Instructional Design Plan

• Video – Audio Version of Instructional Design Plan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuiOFHEkn7o)

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This culminating project was to design an instructional plan for a library of my choosing. My proposed unit of instruction was to teach sixth grade middle school students how to create a WordPress.com blog and collaborate with other students to create book related content in various forms on their blogs. I also recorded an audio version of my final paper, where I read and discuss my instructional design plan.

 

INFO 260A Programming and Services for Children: Story Hour Performance

 

Evidence

• Story Hour Performance Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHqhWIQjp64

 

This assignment required me to research, design, and record a story time performance for a live audience. I filmed my video at Prospect Ridge Academy in the elementary library for a kindergarten class of 25 students (library ninjas). I planned out my instruction by following the Behaviorist and Cognitive models. I designed my instruction with a learning target, which was for students to learn the difference between fiction and non-fiction books.

 

INFO 260A Programming and Services for Children: Story Time Programming

 

Evidence

• Story Time Programming

 

For this project I designed four story times, which included one baby lapsit story time, two toddler story times, and one family all ages story time. I picked out all materials necessary to complete each story time. Since this programming plan would take place at a library, I included demographic information about the library’s community. I also included research about learning styles and developmental activities for each age group. Then I devised a programming plan that met different learning styles and supported developmental growth for kids of all ages. 

 

Conclusion

The evidence above reflects my experiences developing, creating, and designing instruction for different age groups in different libraries. Information literacy instruction is rooted in the foundations of librarianship. Librarians are information teachers and it’s important for all librarians to recognize ways of sharing and teaching information to their patrons. These theories and models of instruction will help librarians provide relevant 21st century digital, literary, and information related skills for their patrons.

 

References

Booth, C. (2011). Reflective teaching, effective learning: Instructional literacy for library educators. United States

of America: American Library Association.

 

Brocket, R. G., & Hiemstra, R. (1994). From behaviorism to humanism: Incorporating self-direction in learning

concepts into the instructional design process. Roger Hiemstra Blog. Retrieved from

http://roghiemstra.com/sdlhuman.html

 

Cox, C. N., & Lindsay, E. B. (2008). Information literacy instruction handbook. Chicago, IL: Association of College

and Research Libraries.

 

Sherman, H. (2009). Melvil dewey: Library genius. Edina, MN: ABDO Publishing.

 

Wright, A. J.(2014). So what’s the big deal with information literacy in the United States. In C. Chen & R.

Larsen(Eds.), Library and Information Sciences: Trends and Research (9-18). Springdale, MD: Springer.