Problem-Based Learning at University College Dublin

Lorna Dodd

Liaison Librarian

Human Sciences

University College Dublin,

Belfield, Dublin 4,

Ireland

Lorna.dodd@ucd.ie

Supporting Information Literacy in different educational approaches

Ursula Byrne

Head of Academic Services,

Humanities & Social Sciences,

University College Dublin,

Belfield, Dublin 4,

Ireland

Urusla.Byrne@ucd.ie

Background

• Largest university in Ireland

• Problem-Based Learning (PBL) currently in practice within several programmes

• Government funding (SIF) to support development of further initiatives across campus

What is PBL?

• Centres on the student

• Work in small tutorials

• Presented with complex, real-life „problems‟

• Identify what they know from their existing knowledge

• Identify gaps in their existing knowledge

• Formulate „learning issues‟ for next session

The flashy trainers

Why is Information Literacy important in PBL?

• Self-directed learning

• Development of life-long transferable skills

• Critical and reflective thinking

Identify an information

need

Convert Learning Issues

into search strategies

Identify most

appropriate source

Identify kind of information &

resource

Effectively retrieve relevant

information

Evaluate reliability, relevance, currency

& appropriateness

Use the informationin an ethical

way

Apply information to problem &

integrateinto existing knowledge

APPLYING INFORMATION LITERACY TO

PBL

• Anatomy of the lung

Factual Information –Textbooks

• Allergens and treatment

Current Research – Journal Articles or Websites

• Is the information reliable?

• Is the information relevant to problem?

Location

Availability of treatment

The Coughing Horse

Information Literacy Instruction in PBL

• Traditional lectures clashes with philosophical foundations of PB L

• Usefulness of traditional workshops

• In PBL context students need to use a range of information resources in order to find a range of information types

• Often need to explain to academics that a change in educational approach requires ALL aspects of student instruction to change

Workshop approach

• Keep students in their PBL groups

• Identify common “Learning Issues” across all groups

• Let students search for information without any guidance or instruction

• Each group reports back

Which resources they used

Why they chose each resource

How useful each resource was

What strategy/language they used

Workshop approach

• Librarian then looks at “Learning Issue”

Identify which „type‟ of information is required

Identify appropriate sources

Think about language, keywords, alternative terms

• Students then repeat exercise and report back

• Students also asked how the information they find appliesto the problem

Using a „problem‟ approach

The M50 - Europe’s Largest Car park?

Using a „problem‟ approach

• Psychology/sociology

Research on stress associated with long commutes

• Environmental Studies

Comparative literature on impact of new motorways on developing countryside

• Planning & Policy

Government reports in infrastructure planning

• Economics

Current Irish & European statistics

Conclusion

• Information Literacy is increasingly consciously developed encourage students to think about information they need challenge students to critically evaluate the information

they find and the source

• Information Literacy is often: Included as a learning outcome An assessment criteria

• Librarians are more involved in curriculum development: Ensure there are sufficient resources Help students develop necessary skills

Conclusion

• Introduction of PBL can dramatically change library & librarian‟s role

• Librarians often act as group facilitators in PBL

Significant departure from their traditional role

New skill set

• Information literacy essential component

Many academics begin to understand the importance of IL and librarian as a result of PBL

This often leads to a „spill over‟ effect

How do we strike the balance between taking advantage of new opportunities and managing growing workloads?