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Musemburi, Mushowani & Greengrass - Collaboration and Partnership in developing Information Literacy Pedagogy in Zimbabwe
1. Collaboration and
Partnership in developing
Information Literacy
Pedagogy in Zimbabwe
Emma Greengrass (IDS UK)
Darlington Musemburi (UZ)
Aston Mushowani (UZ)
8. Outline
1. University of Zimbabwe community
2. BLDS / UZ - IL Training Objectives
3. Changes resulting from intervention
4. Problems solved
5. Impact, lessons learnt, benefits
6. Recommendations going forward…
9. University of Zimbabwe Community
Lecturers
Students
Researchers
IIATA IMAGE LIBRARY FLICKR
10. BLDS, UZ training objectives
• To build the capacity of IL trainers to
confidently deliver learner-centred training
programmes
• To learn how to nurture independent and
critical learners through participatory training
methods
11. BLDS, UZ training objectives
• To incorporate a reflective practice into your
training practice
• To learn about conceptions of IL and how to
embed these skill-sets into your training
• To provide IL trainers with a toolkit of
techniques and approaches for delivering and
measuring training needs & outcomes
12. Changes post training include a curriculum review, a new IL
module & course outline, a paradigm shift in training
delivery & pre-diagnostic surveys
Gustavo Mazzarollo flickr
13. Problems addressed include: skills to develop IL
curricula & session lesson plans, undertake gap
analysis, consider & prepare transition to HE,
awareness of learning theories & teacher
assessments
14. Impact & lessons learnt include: assessment for & of
learning, how to develop a reflective practice (trainer &
trainee), improve feedback techniques & mechanisms,
apply learning theories and cater for learning preferences,
share knowledge, resources & best practice . Finally,
courses more effective with pedagogical element
15. Impact on our work: confidence and skills to apply
participatory training approaches, undertake
assessment, integrate technology in IL delivery,
manage large groups and observing improvements in
student IL behaviours & attitudes
Inge Petterson Flickr
16. Benefits to IL trainers: a toolkit of techniques (training &
M&E), evidence-based advocacy & training, a focus on
managing transition, forging networks and collaborations,
ongoing & continuous professional development and a
mentoring program
S Duvigneau, Zambia 2011
17. Benefits to students: improvements to transition to HE,
awareness of learning preferences, focus on self-directed &
critical learning, increased exposure to global academic
trends, contextualisation of IL lessons, subject-specific
relevance of IL, friendly feedback for shy
Jbelluch, Flickr
18. Recommendations
UZ is now spearheading the training of high
school librarians and partnering with Library
schools across Zimbabwe to foster the
development of an IL pedagogy module in LIS
curricula. We also want to continue to foster
international collaborations and relationships.
BLDS IL Programme... Commenced by trying to understand the landscape and how we could add value to the work of our partners Lots of high-quality training material available but little awareness of how to deliver the material using creative methods to build self-reliance Responding to research which showed that research is available but little uptake or use Poor comprehension of IL, problematic language / term results in low uptake amongst faculty IL wasn’t embedded in subject-curriculums but was mostly the province of librarians, who aren’t taught how to teach IL in LIS programmes – training lacks awareness of the learner and how to develop the learner Lots of ‘re-inventing the wheel’ – lack of information sharing about approaches, & best practices Capacity to translate standards into curricula not there, training focuses on what IL is without stating how to build this competency or develop curricula. Focus on library orientation skills (e.g. use of e-databases), rather than building critical thinking skills or developing the student researcher
BLDS IL programme aimed to address some of these factors: to incentivise the use of research, to solve problems and address research questions to build the training skills of IL trainers, to improve their training design / delivery and develop programmes that are situated in the real-world problems of the training beneficiary (to help them contextualise and apply the skills but most importantly to stimulate a shift in their perception of the information seeking behaviours / attitudes from those that might hinder them from using evidence in their decision-making processes or research) to broaden conceptions of IL and move away from technical skills to building the right ‘behaviours’ (critical thinking skills and lifelong, independent learners) promote a shift in language used to describe IL, make the language accessible & relevant (terms such as the ‘student researcher’ when talking to faculty as opposed to ‘information literacy’) also to introduce an evidence-based approach to training (through formative & summative assessment) Ultimately we work with partners in Sub-Saharan Africa to build their capacity to train other to access, appraise and use research (to help them make informed decisions in their work, studies or as global citizens). We are going to talk about one of our initiatives today – where we worked with senior librarians in Zimbabwe to create a nationwide curriculum for building IL skills using learner-centred and enquiry-based training approaches.
IDS – BLDS programme focused on: increasing the capacity of intermediaries (in this instance: librarians working in Higher Education) to stimulate the demand for research evidence the approach is built on the premise that if IL trainers can effectively communicate the value of building IL competencies (i.e. technical skills and soft, behavioural skills) then information consumers will understand how to apply these skills in their work, educational endeavours and as informed and responsible citizens Background – the programme was initiated by ZEPARU (Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit) in consultation with the Zimbabwean University Library Consortium. These representative bodies recognised the lack in capacity to develop and deliver IL curricula, which included a learner-centred, enquiry-based approaches. Furthermore, ZEPARU wanted to spearhead the introduction of a nationwide curriculum or approach that would help trainers apply IL standards through exposing them to international conceptions of IL (which are broader than just user library orientation skills) and demonstrate how to practically develop IL curricula. The crux of the problem is: librarians do not receive formal training in IL as part of their undergraduate / post-graduate librarian training. However, they are expected to teach IL at University level – the course aimed to provide the skills / knowledge they would need to build their capacity as trainers. Additional benefits included: an increase in the trainer’s ability to advocate for IL / raise profile through adopting an evidence-based approach to IL training (through assessment of training cohort) therefore enabling dialogue between faculty and the library to be based on tangible benefits / outcomes.
IDS / BLDS & ZEPARU developed a pedagogy of trainers programme, consisting of three stages: a pre-workshop phase (a pre-survey based on self-reporting, diagnostics and statements of practice), a 5 day intensive & reflective workshop, and ongoing mentoring and support phase (primarily through Chat Literacy CoP– Emma to come back to Chat Literacy after questions). [we will need to include something here about the rationale behind our approaches]
Darlington Musemburi:- Assistant Librarian at University of Zimbabwe Library Faculty of Science librarian Open Access Coordinator Information Literacy Trainer of Trainers Aston Mushowani:- Assistant librarian at University of Zimbabwe Library Special Collections librarian University of Zimbabwe Institutional Repository Coordinator Information Literacy trainer of trainers
MISSION AND VISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE Vision Our Vision is to maintain the University of Zimbabwe Library as the leading academic library in the country and in the region as a whole Mission The mission of the University of Zimbabwe Library is to provide access to scholarly information resources required to meet the learning, teaching, research and service needs of the University of Zimbabwe. TARGET AUDIENCE Students:- postgraduate undergraduate Lecturers:- teaching assistants tenured lecturers professors Researchers:- research fellows external researchers Administrators:- executive senior and junior administrators
Production of a detailed IL course outline (June-August 2012) Review of the IL module (June-August 2012) Design and administration of IL pre-diagnostic survey (July-August 2012) Paradigm shift in IL delivery (from teacher centred to learner centred approaches)
Curriculum development:- the BLDS helped the University of Zimbabwe contextualise its curriculum in terms of culture and learning preference of the students that make up the UZ community. This was done basing on the SCONUL seven pillars of IL ( identify, scope, plan, gather, evaluate, manage and present) Transition:- the BLDS training helped the IL trainers manage well the transition of the students from high school to University. The IL trainers prepare students on what was expected of them in tertiary education Assessment for teaching and learning:- there were no mechanisms to assess the needs of students. This was a shortcoming in the sense that there was no assessment that was being done to feed the curriculum. This went a long way in informing the trainers on what was required of them with regards to addressing the needs that were identified in students IL skills knowledge and attitudes Gap analysis:- the BLDS training program put into perspective the gaps that were there where learning and teaching were concerned. There were no mechanisms designed to inform trainers on the gaps that existed. To this end, things like pre-diagnostic surveys, mood monitors, probing techniques were designed to help identify gaps before, during and after training sessions Learning theories:- before the BLDS intervention, librarians were not trained on the methodologies used to effectively deliver IL. To this end, they were introduced to learning theories that helped them shape their delivery styles. As a result, participatory approaches (that include constructivism, behaviourism, cognitivism and experiential learning) that are enquiry based were adopted and these have proven to be fruitful as they are engaging and make students more independent learners who are critical thinkers. Lesson planning:- prior to BLDS interventions, IL trainers at the University of Zimbabwe were religiously modules that were handed to them without tailor-making them to suit the specific needs of their students. Today, lessons are being planned with students being the focal point
Last bullet supported by the level of expertise that students showed when we ran an electronic resources competition Adoption of learner centred, enquiry based, participatory approaches to IL delivery (September 2012 to Date) Impact assessment survey (February 2013- on going) Increased student appreciation as evidenced by a 70% enthusiasm and participation during training Improved IL behaviours in students
IL toolkit developed and disseminated Networking, Interacting and collaborating of librarians through Social media (Chat Literacy) IL grassroots intervention through engaging library schools (NUST and the Polytechnics) Generation of evidence to help lobby and advocate for IL embedding in the curricula
Cascading pedagogical skills to: School librarians so that they help with the transition of students and help lay the IL foundations for high school graduates Library schools – so that they establish CPD programs that foster IL pedagogy Trained librarians to mentor their peers as a way of making IL pedagogy self sustaining Influencing library school to adopt IL and IL pedagogy into their curricula. This will help in the production of librarians who a IL competent in terms of skill and delivery Maintaining a healthy working relationship with the sponsors of the initial project and look for new partners so as to make IL pedagogy perpetual
Building on the need we identified through the BLDS IL programme for information sharing about approaches, & best practices in an international context, we set up the Chat Literacy online community of practice (on Eldis Platform). We have over 450 members from 72 countries – representing Africa, Asia and Latin America. Great articles! “Young Learners”, “Future Trends”, shared practice (direct personal/professional experience), E-discussions... How to join....
We are also on Facebook – ‘like’ us to stay up to date with our informal IL-related news... Informal network You can follow us on Twitter – Chat Literacy @infolitdoodle – snapshot of all our activities (formal and informal)