How they learn/How you teach:
Building Library Instruction
Sessions for Multiple Learners
Jeff Newman
The University of Toronto Libraries
Pia Russell
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at
the University of Toronto
Multiple Challenges
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Environmental Challenges
Content Challenges
Environmental Challenges
Imagine you are in a classroom with twenty
computers running Windows XP.
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Keyboard and mouse skills
Operating systems – Mac, PC, Linux?
Jargon and terminology
Policies, passwords, proxies, etc.
A metaphor…
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Insurance company sends you on a
mandatory defensive driving course.
Instructor’s car has standard transmission
You hear the instruction and work through the
lessons
How much time and effort was spent trying to
master the clutch?
Content Challenges
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What is the best way to teach to your group
Age, gender, discipline and years of study are
important factors.
Are there anxieties or prior experiences that
you will need to confront or avoid in your
session?
Consider…
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Searching a catalogue or database is a
procedural task
People’s information needs are often
conceptual
We teach users to satisfy conceptual
information needs using procedural tools
Making these two objectives meet can be
challenging
Consider…
Be realistic with what you can accomplish in
a one-shot in terms of:
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Content
Instructional delivery
Objectives
Time
Consider…
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Students are not blank slates
Students are individuals
Each learner is unique
age,
short term goals vs. long term goals,
traditional vs. nontraditional students (undergrad and grad),
prior expertise or lack of,
level of pragmatism (product vs. process),
learning styles, language,
culture,
motivation,
external demands,
perception of libraries and librarians,
classroom dynamics,
learning disabilities,
faculty's understanding of the librarian,
urban vs. rural,
Not only what, but how
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Cognitive consideration: “How we think”
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Cognitive load theory
Learning consideration: “How we learn”
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Awareness of Learning Styles
Cognitive Load Theory
Idea, Task,
Concept
Working
Memory
(Short Term)
Long Term Memory
(successful learning)
Cognitive Load Theory

There are two ways into Working Memory
Visual
Idea, Task,
Concept
Working
Memory
(Short Term)
Aural
We process text in
our aural channel!
Cognitive Load Theory
Working
Memory
(Short Term)
Schema
formation
(integration in
prior knowledge
frameworks)
Long Term Memory
(successful learning)
Instruction design
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How can I design and deliver a class that will
A) not overload their working memory
B) stand a better chance of getting into long
term memory?
The SCILL Model of
Instructional Considerations
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Subject
Community
IT Skills
Library Awareness
Learning Styles
SCILL: Subject
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Domain Knowledge
What are the students’ goals?
Appropriate resources
Appropriate exercises and techniques
Domain experts
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Are better at formulating keywords
Are better at identifying related and alternate
terms
Are better at assessing relevance
Strategies
working in groups,
thesaurus, analogies,
prior knowledge,
question,
Subject Strategies
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Give students a list of pre-defined keywords
Try using exercises mirror activities that
experts in the field would engage in
SCILL: Community

Who are you teaching?
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What is the range of years of study?
Majors?
Are there any mature students?
What about First-years?
Community Strategies
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Identify ways to gather information about your
students.
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Teach to the appropriate level
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Survey them in advance
Ask their professors
Talk to undergraduate coordinators
Choose suitable activities and examples
Recognize the high school to university transition
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Be aware of high school curriculum
Liaise with high school educators
SCILL: IT Competency
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Are IT skills a prerequisite for participation?
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Operating systems
Keyboard and mouse ability
Prior Knowledge of your website/resources
Knowledge of what a database is
Downloading, pop-ups, proxy servers, pdfs, plugins, helper applications
Accessibility needs
IT Skills
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The more a student is concentrating on the
mechanics of the computer the less they are
concentrating on the lesson of the session.
Cognitive Load
Listening to you
Watching you
Looking at
your screen
Looking at their
own screen
Visual Channel
Reading your
screen
Engaged in
heavy sensemaking
activities
Reading their
own screen
Aural Channel
Suggestions
synchronize,
demos,
give students choice,
cover conceptual material without using technology,
use a whiteboard,
group work,
students are self-directed,
time between steps
IT Strategies
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If possible, ask about student comfort level using IT.
Use “worked examples” printed on a handout.
Devise strategies to ensure core class objectives
are highlighted
Consider using the space differently
Standard Classroom setup
Computer
Student
Modified set up
Modified Set-up
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Pairs experts and novices
Facilitates collaborative learning
Novice users can see process and participate
where desired
Reduces extraneous cognitive load
Enhances class flow because novices can
direct help questions to their expert peers.
SCILL: Library Awareness
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Familiarity
Regular library users?
Library Anxiety
Research indicates library awareness
impacts overall student achievement
Strategies
Telling stories.
Do roving reference.
Be careful of body language and the signals we send.
Library Awareness Strategies
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Consider adding an item on the questionnaire
about previous library session attendance
When using examples or exercises build
them upon prior knowledge and library
experience
Try to identify areas that create anxiety
Use student feedback to improve overall
library services in the long term
Advantage:
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You spend less time telling people things they
already know
Can focus on dispelling any myths if
necessary
SCILL: Learning style
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Addressing learning styles can increase task
success and decrease computer anxiety
Research indicates that matching instruction
method to learning style increases learning
performance
Learning Theory
Commonalities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Learners progress through stages
Material should be presented in small steps
Learners require practice and feedback
Social models facilitate learning and motivation
Motivational and contextual factors influence
learning
(Schunk, 2000)
Framework for Learning Styles
Learner
CHOICE
Teacher
DECISION
MAKING
Sternberg, 2001
Kolb’s Learning Styles Model
Concrete Experience
(exercises)
Processing
Continuum
ACCOMODATORS
Active
Experimentation
(forming new
questions)
CONVERGERS
DIVERGERS
ASSIMILATORS
Reflective
Observation
(discussion)
Perception
Continuum
Abstract Conceptualization
(readings)
Learning Preferences
Learning Style
Divergent
History, English, Political
Science & Psychology
Convergent
Engineering, Accounting,
Medicine, (Physics)
Accommodative
Business, Education
Assimilation
Mathematics, Economics,
Sociology, Chemistry, (Physics)
Learning Practice
Imaginative and value-aware
Observation rather than action
Generating ideas
Problem solving
Decision making
Practical application
Doing
Adapts themselves to the situation
Rely on others for information
Inductive reasoning
Creating theoretical models
People less, concepts more
Learning styles strategies
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Does the professor have a teaching style he
or she finds successful with that group?
Being aware of your own learning styles and
what bias this may bring
Plan sessions that are instructionally diverse
Recap
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SCILL
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Cognitive Load

Learning Styles
Cognitive Load Theory
Working
Memory
(Short Term)
Schema
formation
(integration in
prior knowledge
frameworks)
Long Term Memory
(successful learning)
Thank you!
[email protected]
[email protected]