Type of Presentation
Panel (1 hour and 15 minutes presentation total for two or more presenters)
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
Room 210
Abstract
Chances are that at some point in your career, you have heard a student ask, “When will we use this in real life?” For most instructors, those can be hard words to hear, especially after careful thought and planning has gone into developing a library session geared toward a class assignment or project. One way to decrease questions about real world applicability is to incorporate aspects of problem-based learning in library instruction. Problem-based learning (PBL) has been defined by Berkel and Schmidt as “an approach to professional education that stresses the use of real-life problems, encourages learners to discuss them, and makes the learning opportunity constructive and meaningful.” Library involvement can consist of supporting problem-based learning in the classroom or modeling real world problems in information literacy sessions.
This session will provide background on the pedagogical approach of problem-based learning in the context of academic library instruction. Special emphasis will be placed on how this approach increases student engagement. The presenters will share experiences from information literacy instruction involving problem-based learning in the disciplines of business, pharmacy, and nursing. Recommendations and considerations will be provided for those interested in incorporating PBL concepts in library instruction including issues in student transfer of IL knowledge/skills from academia to the working world.
Presentation Description
Have you thought about using real world problems in your library instruction classroom? Modeling real world scenarios can increase student engagement and provide context to show students how they can use library skills after graduation. This session will discuss problem-based learning and its use in business and health sciences library instruction.
Keywords
problem-based learning, library instruction, business, health sciences, real world, university
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Farrell, Bridget S. and Grabowsky, Adelia B., "When Will We Use this in Real Life?: Problem-Based Learning and Its Use in Effective Information Literacy Instruction" (2014). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 27.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2014/2014/27
When Will We Use this in Real Life?: Problem-Based Learning and Its Use in Effective Information Literacy Instruction
Room 210
Chances are that at some point in your career, you have heard a student ask, “When will we use this in real life?” For most instructors, those can be hard words to hear, especially after careful thought and planning has gone into developing a library session geared toward a class assignment or project. One way to decrease questions about real world applicability is to incorporate aspects of problem-based learning in library instruction. Problem-based learning (PBL) has been defined by Berkel and Schmidt as “an approach to professional education that stresses the use of real-life problems, encourages learners to discuss them, and makes the learning opportunity constructive and meaningful.” Library involvement can consist of supporting problem-based learning in the classroom or modeling real world problems in information literacy sessions.
This session will provide background on the pedagogical approach of problem-based learning in the context of academic library instruction. Special emphasis will be placed on how this approach increases student engagement. The presenters will share experiences from information literacy instruction involving problem-based learning in the disciplines of business, pharmacy, and nursing. Recommendations and considerations will be provided for those interested in incorporating PBL concepts in library instruction including issues in student transfer of IL knowledge/skills from academia to the working world.
