Information Scotland

The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland

October 2006 Volume 4(5)

Do you have that book in red?

Laurence Patterson describes his role in the shift towards student-centric learning at Napier University.

In the education sector we are witnessing a shift in emphasis from teacher to learner, particularly in higher education. This shift is propelled by ever-changing learner demographics, technological innovation and more political aspirations such as exploring peer-based learning.

Learner and teacher no longer sit at opposing ends of the scale with the teacher delivering content, and content digested by the learner. This is evolving into an inter-dependence. Content is not only discussed and challenged, but may originate from the learner. Our teacher is no longer the ‘sage on the stage’, but rather a guide.

Projects such as TESEP (Transforming and Enhancing the Student Experience through Pedagogy) promote this concept of student-centric learning to practitioners in Scottish FE and HE institutions. The project seeks to track the understanding and use of, for example, social tools for content-based activities.

There are already pockets of good practice, although sometimes, for example, eLearning is introduced for the sake of bringing in eLearning – focusing on the method of delivery rather than on improving the student experience.

For support departments, such shifts in thinking may not be as radical as for teachers. Team working favours the approach that the student should appear to be at the centre of things. Dedicated phone lines, email addresses, websites, or purpose-trained staff usually means that the outward looking focus starts and ends with the learner.

A case in point is the Library Service at Napier University, Edinburgh. The library (NULIS) employs more than 70 people in six campuses and has a potential customer base of 17,000. Despite developments such as self-issue and online reservations and renewals, large amounts of activity continue to take place on-site. Resources are loaned and returned to issues desks and enquiries are made in person, not only over the phone or by email.

Staff embrace new technologies wholeheartedly, although with eLearning, “how does it affect the way I do my job?” is a concern for many people. I was employed as eLearning Advisor by NULIS in 2005 and one of my first objectives was to engage with staff on eLearning and blended learning. I started by ‘blogging’ everything that I did. If I’d had a meeting with a team producing an online course I would place it in the blog. If there was an interesting, relevant news story I’d place it in the blog. While this was fine, it was a one-way process, as with traditional education. How could I do it differently?

eLearning NULIS was launched in February. Providing an overview of what eLearning is, it was aimed specifically at support staff. The course which sat on the University’s VLE and included interactive examples of eLearning, tasks, quizzes and places to share ideas. In order to open the doors to eLearning for library staff, I essentially asked staff to become eLearners – the experience of which was as much a learning tool as the content of the course itself.

The course addressed the fears and concerns of the team about online learning. Motivation for change incorporated the idea of learning online. By becoming eLearners members of staff were far better placed to shift their own thinking.

In September NULIS released IN:FORM, an online resource with which students could improve their information skills. IN:FORM delivers content through the real ‘voice’ – at times literally – of the student, rather than the invisible voice of the teacher. In trials, learners had engaged much more with information when it was delivered in this way, and began to display empathy for the characters that were introduced to them. “Yeah, that happened to me, too!” was a common reaction.

Both eLearning NULIS and IN:FORM represent a collaborative effort to change from information being provided by the educator (the librarian), towards knowledge which is created and shared amongst those learning. This new style of support provision complements the pattern which typical FE and HE students face both in the classroom and using social networking technologies such as wikis and blogs.

If students are being encouraged to take a far greater role in partnership with their educator for a better learning experience, this should be mirrored in the means and methods of supporting such students, too.

Laurence Patterson is eLearning Advisor, NULIS, Napier University, Edinburgh. He was speaking in the UC&R(S) slot at CILIPS Branch and Group Day.

Bibliography
Bens, Shirley (1997). Technology and the Changing Role of Teacher-Librarians. Canada
Craver, Kathleen W. (1994). School Library Media Centres in the 21st Century. Greenwood Press
Salmon, Gilly, (2000). The Key to Teaching and Learning Online. Kogan Press.
Sheirer, Bev, (2000). The Changing Role of the Teacher-Librarian in the Twenty-first Century.

Information Scotland Vol. 4(5) October 2006

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.

Last updated: 08-Dec-2006