Journal of Education for Library and Information Science (JELIS)

Summer 2005: Volume 46, Number 3

ISSN 0748-5786

Building Bridges Between Students and Practitioners

Odin Jurkowski, Patricia Antrim, & Jennifer Robins

Students learn more when they have the opportunity to teach others. Constructivist and social learning theories support the idea that learning is an inherent social activity. One way teachers involved in the scholarship of teaching can blend social activities with aspects of professionalism is by involving their graduate students in conference presentations. This opportunity to demonstrate expertise engages learners, first as an incentive to learn, and second, as a reward for exemplary performance.

This paper describes how library science faculty at Central Missouri State University co-presented with eight graduate students at the Missouri Association of School Librarians conference in April 2004 and plan to do so again in the future. Students gained conference speaking experience, were able to network and meet other professionals, and increased their visibility for potential job openings. Conference presentations are an option that can benefit students, practitioners, and teachers.

Education for Information Literacy Instruction: A Global Perspective

Heidi Julien

Information literacy instruction is a core activity in academic libraries, and an increasingly important focus in public libraries. To explore the degree to which professional librarians are trained for this work, the curricula at ninety-three schools of library and information science around the world were examined using content analysis of the schools' Web pages. A majority of the schools appear to offer no course in information literacy instruction. In existing courses, a range of topics was included: instructional strategies (pedagogy), program planning and implementation, assessing instruction, learning theory, instructional design, basic information literacy concepts, outcomes evaluation, needs assessment, and Web-based instruction strategies. Only one school in the world makes its instructional course core (required) for the training of its graduate librarians. These results reveal inadequate formal preparation for professional librarians doing instructional work. It is hoped that the results may provide some guidance to curriculum development in the area of instruction, by assisting programs to address the core competency of instructional skills in their graduates.

A Framework for Technology Selection in a Web-based Distance Education Environment: Supporting Community-Building through Richer Interaction Opportunities

Scott Nicholson

Librarianship, as a profession, relies upon a strong network of colleagues outside the institution for collaboration. The seeds for this collaboration culture are planted in library school; however, in an online environment the challenges are greater when creating that sense of community. By supporting more ways to allow students, faculty, staff, and alumni to communicate in a distance education environment, the sense of community of the school can be raised. This community building can be done wither within the confines of a course (internal) or outside the course structure (external). In both cases, the concept is the same – develop more pathways through a “communication scaffold” that allow individuals who are part of the community of the school to connect. There are three dimensions to consider in developing this scaffold: Synchronous vs. Asynchronous; Facilitated vs. Non-Facilitated; and 1-way vs. 2-way. By being conscious of these choices, those working to improve interaction can try to incorporate different types of experiences in order to encourage a larger group of people to participate.

Understanding Student Learning in Undergraduate Information Studies Internships

Cecelia M. Brown and Teri J. Murphy

A case study of undergraduate information studies (IS) interns was undertaken to improve the understanding of the learning that takes place during their required internship experience. Three sources of data – written objectives, written evaluations, and post-internship interviews – were analyzed for three primary issues relating to 1) learning objectives, 2) factors influencing the internship, and r) transfer of learning experiences. The interviews allowed a unique in-depth look at the interns' experiences by giving them the opportunity to tell the story of not only what they did in their internship but also what they thought and felt about their experiences. Results indicated the high value that interns ascribe to doing the tasks associated with information work. In addition, it was clear that the interns were well aware of the worth of well-developed interpersonal communication skills to their success in the information workforce. This suggest that IS programs should prepare their graduates for their careers by providing education and development in human interaction as well as a set of specific skills, which can then be polished and refined during their internship. Toward understanding and improving the IS internship experience, it is suggested that IS students not only complete a written evaluation but also discuss their experiences with IS educators.