Using Active Learning to Enhance Classroom Objectives

THE INFORMATION LABORATORY

Adam BeauchampHoward-Tilton Memorial LibraryTulane University

NOLA Information Literacy Forum 2013

“I AM HOPING TO GET THEM TO THINK ABOUT

USING ARCHIVAL MATERIALS.”

Sociological Abstracts (database):

7,003 abstracts include “content analysis”

Teaching Sociology (journal):

30 abstracts include “content analysis”

WHAT DOES SHE MEAN, ARCHIVAL?

“Content analysis is a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the context of their use” (Krippendorff 2010:234).

CONTENT ANALYSIS IN TEACHING SOCIOLOGY

Eisen, Daniel B. 2012. "Developing a Critical Lens: Using Photography to Teach Sociology and Create Critical Thinkers." Teaching Sociology 40(4):349-359.

Finley, Laura L. 2004. "Using Content Analysis Projects in the Introduction to Criminal Justice Classroom." Teaching Sociology 32(1):129-137.

Messinger, Adam M. 2012. "Teaching Content Analysis through Harry Potter." Teaching Sociology 40(4):360-367.

Rushing, Beth and Idee Winfield. 1999. "Learning about Sampling and Measurement by Doing Content Analysis of Personal Advertisements." Teaching Sociology 27(2):159-166.

My Experience

Students ask for help to fi nd primary sources…,

but don’t always know how to use what they find.

History – primary sourcesInt’l Dev. – data sets

ACRL Standards

NeedAccess

EvaluateUse

Be ethical

This order better suited to secondary sources.

WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT THIS?

The “content” in content analysis = primary source materials

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

(Vygotsky)

Experts v. Novices with primary sources

(Wineburg)

Scaffolding (Bruner)

PEDAGOGY

ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Distance between what can be done

independently, and what can be done with

guidanceConcept development

(scientific knowledge) is first

on the social level, and second

on the individual level

Experts & Novices

Students read for basic comprehension, acquire facts

Experts employ more critical reading of texts

Author, Audience, Context, Subtext

READING PRIMARY SOURCES

Sam Wineburg Stanford University

Relationship between expert and novice in

the process of acquiring new skills

Expert creates “reduction in degrees of

freedom”

Break down into steps

Focus on one task/concept at a time

Sequence of active learning methods

SCAFFOLDING

Jerome S. Bruner (1915 -)

SCAFFOLDING

Modeling

Class Discussion

Group Exercise

Exam

The Information Lab(at the library)

Modeling Do students engage during in-class lecture? Do students demonstrate understanding of the readings

(textbook, assigned article, and independently discovered article)?

Class Discussion Did students find studies that use content analysis? Can students identify types of content, relevant sociological

questions, and evaluate the success of the study?Group Exercise

Did groups come up with viable research designs using content analysis methodology on their sample “texts”?

Could groups answer questions about their proposals?

ASSESSMENT

FEEDBACK

“I think it went really well ... I really think students ‘get it’ when they do something hands-on, and the wide range of materials you picked was fun and creative.”

Post-session, 3/6/2013“Based on their exam performance and in-class discussion following the content analysis exercise, this group of students definitely understood what it took for them to use these data for research. It has inspired me to do more hands-on exercises in class on other topics in the future.”

End of semester, 5/8/2013

For situations involving primary sources:Make sure students know how to use before you

ask them to find.Highlighting unique and interesting collections is

secondary to teaching students how to use them.Restrict degrees of freedom. Less is more for

the novice researcher, so limiting # of decisions/tasks can help focus on the important ones.

Think about ways to apply this to other disciplines in both class instruction and one-on-one research help.

TAKE AWAYS

Adam BeauchampResearch & Instruction Librarian (Social Sciences)

Howard-Tilton Memorial LibraryTulane University

abeaucha@tulane.eduhttp://libguides.tulane.edu/soci3030

WORKS CITED

Krippendorf, Klaus. 2010. “Content Analysis.” Pp. 234-39 in Encyclopedia of Research Design, edited by Neil J. Salkind. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Vygotsky, Lev. 1978. Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Winburg, Sam. 2001. Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Wood, David, Jerome S. Bruner, and Gail Ross. 1976. “The Role of Tutoring in Problem Solving.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 17(1):89-100.