Transcript

Pilerot & Hiort af Ornäs- Design for information literacy

DESIGN for INFORMATION LITERACY - Towards embedded information literacy education for product design engineering students

Ola Pilerot, University of Skövde, [email protected] Viktor Hiort af Ornäs, University of Skövde, [email protected]

ABSTRACT

This paper describes improvements in how information literacy is taught on a design methodology course. The change is presented in the light of four approaches to information literacy education suggested by Bundy (2004). Our guiding principle has been that information literacy should be contextualized and embedded in the curricular activities of design. There are parallels in the design process and the information seeking process, and using these is one way to help students relate to the subject. Statements indicate that the students found the assignments worthwhile and became familiar with resources that they will use in the future. While we have strived for an embedment of information literacy, the course is probably more correctly described as one in which information literacy has been integrated. We describe how the course has developed over years and point to potential future improvements that may lead to a design of the course where information literacy can be seen as truly embedded.

KEYWORDS: Information literacy, Education, Design, Engineering

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INTRODUCTION Presenting information literacy in connection to students’ core subject may motivate students and make it easier for them to relate to the subject. This text addresses the development of information literacy education for product design engineering students. These students need background material on design problems and potential sub-solutions to create new products. Proficient use of information may help the student become a better designer. However they often focus on the act of creation and do not always perceive a need for information literacy education. To be successful then, it must be presented in a way that is meaningful in relation to their goals.

Information literacy is difficult to clearly define. In this paper we use the following working definition:

Information literacy can be understood as the approach and frame of mind of an individual or a group that, based on context and needs, leads to efficient, wise and ethical use of, and understanding of, relevant information (oral, printed, electronic, visual, etc.), and knowledge of the channels through which this information can be obtained.

Aims & Objectives We want to improve the information literacy education on a course in design methodology. Previous years’ students have experienced problems with referencing and using theory in presenting their design work. They have made less reference to the available information sources than we would have wanted. We want the students to realise the value of information literacy and develop their knowledge and skills further.

INFORMATION LITERACY EDUCATION Information literacy education can be approached in several ways. These may be classified by their focus, as well as to what extent they present information literacy within other curricular activities.

Different approaches to information literacy education Sundin (2005) did an empirical study of Scandinavian academic libraries’ web-based tutorials for information literacy. He identified four different approaches: one Source approach, where descriptions of information sources and their areas of use are central; one Behaviour approach, which can be seen as a prescription of normative character in which order information sources should be used, this approach also focuses on search techniques; one Process approach aiming at the thoughts of the seeker, in which the meta-cognitive perspective is central: the seeker shall understand the process; and one Communication approach where the social aspects of

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information seeking and use are emphasized. Of these the latter one was the least common.

Different levels of curricular integration The presentation of information literacy can be integrated with other subjects. Current literature available on the subject is a profusion of texts advocating and providing examples of embedded information literacy education (cf. Ambery, Manners & Smith, 2005; Hine et al., 2002; Abbott & Peach, 2000). Hepworth (2002, 16) argues that strategies for information literacy education should be tied to situations and not conveyed in isolation. Bundy (2004, 6) draws upon Bruce’s (2004, 17) “Critical components of an information literacy program” in his overview of varying program components. He identifies four levels, with an increasing amount of sophistication: extra curricular classes and/or self paced packages (generic); extra curricular classes and/or self paced packages that complement the curriculum (parallel); classes and packages that are part of the curriculum (integrated); curriculum design where students have ongoing interaction and reflection with information (embedded). The idea of embedded information literacy could be seen as closely related to a view of learning as a process of acculturation into communities of practice. Simons et al. (2000, 124) presents the idea of the “learning library”, a concept based on a set of components where active programmatic partnerships; curricular integration; sustained interactions among students, faculty, and librarians, are in focus. The learning library also “…seeks to embed information literacy in the foundations of coursework at a programmatic level so that students have repeated varied experiences with information seeking” (Ibid., 125). The idea of the learning library corresponds with the Communication approach as described by Sundin, in that both imply a situated understanding of learning.

The information seeking process Information seeking can be seen as a process; to speak with Kuhlthau (1996) “as a process of learning in which users are actively constructing meaning”. The information seeking process (ISP) as modelled by for example Kuhlthau (1993) has had great influence on information literacy education. Her model consists of six stages: Initiation, Selection, Exploration, Formulation, Collection and Presentation, but the model also depicts associated feelings, thoughts and actions.

By using the ISP-model as a normative matrix, educators sometimes tend to present a panacea for all information seeking, but as shown by Foster (2004) the ISP can also be perceived as non-linear. Foster describes the behavioural patterns of the information seeker as “analogous to an artist’s palette, in which activities remain available throughout the course of information-seeking” (2004, 228).

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Figure 1. Cross simple model of the design process.

EXPLORATION

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Learning Information literacy education aims at helping students expand their knowledge. This can be either procedural or declarative, and in education we need to be able to tie the two together. While skills are essential, generic knowledge may be valuable across contexts and activities.

The students’ own views on knowledge and learning may change throughout higher education. Ramsden (2003, 27) makes reference to a study by Säljö who found that students progress from seeing learning as a quantitative increase in knowledge to learning as “understanding reality in a different way”. As a consequence we may face students with different views and expectations on how we should present the subject, ranging from an expectancy of facts and truths to reflection on perspectives.

An assumption here is that learning is supported by reflection, understood as an active process of exploration and discovery. Another aspect of learning is that it could be said to take place in practice; in communication between people (Säljö, 2000, 105). It can also be noted that from a library and information science perspective it has been claimed that information seeking and use can be seen as a part of a learning process, a way of creating knowledge (Limberg, Hultgren & Jarneving, 2002, 16). The idea of a meta-cognitive and reflective viewpoint also complements Limbergs’ (2000) conclusion that a description of variation in information seeking and use contributes to a “deeper, richer and more complex understanding of information literacy” (Ibid., 204).

THE PROBLEM AT HAND This section gives a brief overview of the subject design, the course and the students. We also identify some challenges in teaching information literacy.

Design In a broad sense, design is a prescriptive activity aimed at changing a current situation into a desired one (Simon 1969). This is common to the various design disciplines, e.g. architecture, industrial design, engineering design. Design can also be seen as a process in which a solution to a problem is developed in increased detail, going from an information-poor stage in which little has yet been decided to a stage in which the product is fully specified. This

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development can be described as a design process. In theory this is often presented as being comprised of a number of stages. For example Cross (1989) describes it as consisting of exploration, generation, evaluation and communication (see figure 1). Whereas this description of the design process focuses on the nature of the different activities, other models focus on the level of detail of the design problems; e.g. market investigation, specification, concept design, detail design, manufacture, and sales (see figure 2). Designers need information to specify problems, identify potential solutions, select the best solution and communicate the results.

Information in design We can make some distinctions between different types of information needed in design work. Information can be either process or product related, and either general or specific. Process related information refers to procedures, methods etc. Product related information refers to problems, solutions etc. General information is often available through documented sources, e.g. generally applicable theories. Specific information is that which cannot be derived from literature, e.g. the specific context in which a product will be used, the performance of a specific solution etc. Product related information, e.g. about requirements and potential solution principles, is central to a design project. Process related information is central to knowledge development in design, as well as to how one goes about designing. Table 1 below exemplifies some questions that need clarification in a design project.

Product related information Process related information

Problem specification

What problems are we trying to solve?

How does one identify and describe design problems?

How does one identify existing solutions?

Idea finding What solutions are there?

How does one generate new solutions?

How promising are the different solutions?

How can we evaluate the solutions?

Concept selection

What combination of sub-solutions lead to the best overall solution

How does one synthesise solutions?

Communication How shall the results be communicated?

How should design solutions be presented/communicated

Table 1. Examples of product- and process related information needed in different design activities.

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In reality there are of course vast lists of questions depending on the nature of the design project and to what stage it has been taken. Information is thus a necessary input for the different design activities. Questions in design evolve with solutions and there will always be issues that pertain to the specific conditions of a design project. Primary research is therefore often required to develop an understanding of a design problem. However, research consumes a great deal of resources. A more efficient way is to utilize information that has already been published. Examples of sources for information are given in figure 2.

The information literate designer Our vision is to enable students to become information literate designers. Wise and efficient use of information may help the designer propose more well-founded products because of better awareness of both requirements and potential solutions. The information literate designer may therefore be able to make the process more efficient (in terms of less effort spent) and more effective in terms of a better outcome. We believe the information literate designer to be a competent learner in finding and applying relevant information.

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Figure 2. Information in Pugh’s model of the design process. Based on Wright (1998)

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The course and the students The course is a module on design methods, requiring the students to work for the equivalent of five full-time weeks. The main theme of the course is methods for undertaking design work. Methods here refer to a systematic way of performing a task; e.g. identifying problems (user research), structuring problems (e.g. documenting relevant information in a product design

specification), generating potential solutions (e.g. creativity methods), selecting and synthesising solutions. The class consists of 20-30 persons, with an equal gender distribution. Students are typically second year undergraduates in their early twenties enrolled in a Product Design Engineering program.

Teaching is arranged as lectures by academics on theory and methods, and guest lectures by professionals from industry. Examination is based around a small design project in which the students are given a prescriptive design process to follow. Working in groups of two to three, students are required to use a number of methods and write three reports about their projects. In these assignments the students develop a design concept in increased detail. Each assignment consists of the steps Problem specification, Idea generation, Concept selection, and Communication. Examples of material from these assignments are found in figures 3-10.

Information Literacy teaching in the past Information literacy was not always a part of the module, but was taught as an extra curricular activity. Based on a conviction that it would be highly useful for the students, it was included in the curriculum, initially as a guest lecture. Our ambition then was to make the students more familiar with sources that could be useful for their design work, and hopefully get them to continue exploring these sources Figure 4. Early explorations

of ideas for an alarm clock

Figure 3. Requirements tree for an alarm clock. The tree structure is used to break down the problem into sub-problems and constraints.

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on their own. As we discussed the teaching more, information literacy began to be presented in increasing relation to design and the design process. However we still felt that the subject could be integrated better within the course.

Challenges We believe information literacy may help the students create better products, and create them more efficiently. However, this connection does not always seem clear to the students, or at least their work does not show it as a central component.

Since information literacy education has not been embedded in earlier years, students have not had ongoing interaction and reflection with published scholarly and professional information through, for example, bibliographic databases. Information-related issues have not been approached in connection to situations where they have made sense to students.

Conflicting goals Our first challenge has to do with students’ motivation for engaging in information literacy education. We assume that students engage in activities either because they are interested in a given subject or because they are interested in the credentials to which the course leads. The students are taking a program in design, and while information literacy may be useful in this, the students do not always develop an interest in information literacy per se. This may pose a challenge to extra curricular information literacy education.

Students are also continuously engaged in various compulsory educational activities and have a number of subjects that they are in which they are obliged to perform. It is likely that they give priority to “musts” and a few subjects that they find interesting. If we introduce information literacy as a compulsory “must” and motivate the students with credentials, they may still see this as something that takes focus away from other goals, e.g. their core activity of designing things. We would, in this case, have a hard time getting them to explore and reflect upon their approaches.

Figure 6. Conceptual designs of power drills made by one of the student groups.

Figure 5. Idea sketch for an alarm clock concept that wakes the user by vibrating the bed and turning on the bedside lamp.

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Figure 8. Computer generated rendering of an alarm clock concept intended to communicate the final concept

Because of this, we want to present information literacy in relation to design, as a means to create better products, rather than as a subject on its own. The challenge then becomes to present information literacy in a way that makes sense in relation to the activities in which the students are engaged. We need to present them with resources and approaches that they perceive as useful.

Awareness of need Even if students realise a need to search for information, they do not necessarily turn to the resources most useful to them. Students indicate that they feel fairly comfortable with their information seeking skills, and they also have a great deal of experience searching for information, e.g. via the internet. Consequently they have easy access to a vast amount of information and it may be that they are reluctant to learn new approaches to find what at first may seem like just “more information.” Additionally we need to consider the students’ subject knowledge; encouraging students to search is only meaningful if they know what information is needed. As the students do not necessarily think in terms of the quality of the information, we may need to teach the students attitudes and approaches to information before they are aware that there is a problem. We may need to discuss the importance of a critical stance towards information with the students; an area in itself perhaps large enough to go beyond the treatment of information literacy within the course. Development of information literacy includes developing skills that go beyond information searching. It also involves skills pertaining to how this information is later handled, i.e. we need to contextualise the information.

Figure 7. Concept selection chart used to select solutions for a detail on one of the student concepts. (Alternative solutions are listed as columns and then rated with respect to different criteria, e.g. ease of use).

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Awareness of resources We would like students to make use of the information sources available, and have an idea about their content. A prerequisite of this is that they are actually aware that the resources exist, and preferable also their respective benefits and drawbacks, (or at least have an ability to judge this). Developing an understanding of the resources may require the students to pay attention to these resources and explore them in a way that goes beyond what they would do to achieve a passing grade in the course.

Ability to handle resources Efficient and wise use requires that one can actually handle the resources. Learning a new way of doing something is necessarily uncomfortable and requires effort. In this case students need to develop both an approach and grow within a frame of mind. While we want students to learn their own ways of doing things, we may have to present them with a basic process to follow.

Implications We believe that if we are to succeed in teaching information literacy for design it must be presented in relation to design, and not as a subject on its own. This means learning how to seek out product-related information for design (e.g. background information relating to the specific product) as well as process related information about design.

We believe our students to have a need for different perspectives. Throughout the work with the design of the course, efforts have been made to link the features of the course content with varying information behaviour strategies. We want to present students with approaches and examples of sources but also encourage discussions and experiences that lead to collective reflection.

We believe that education in information literacy needs to be presented at a point where it is meaningful for the students. From our point of view, the way Bundy (2004) describes embedded information literacy education appears as the most appealing and plausible way to achieve this. Information literacy should be presented at a point where it can act as a tool for

Figure 9. Detail solutions from one of the student groups.

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assignments and projects in the students’ main subject, i.e. in this case as an aid in developing new products. Our strategy for embedding information literacy is based upon the assumption that different areas can be compatible in a pedagogical sense, depending on how the two are joined together. We must find or develop interfaces, or hooks, where the two subjects can meet. We will have to create situations in which the students become aware of the importance of information literacy and the sources available to them. In order to teach the students information literacy, we need to create situations in which they need to be information literate.

THE INTERVENTION In order to present information literacy in a meaningful way, we set out to include it in the syllabus showing the value of taking advantage of the available resources, and relating to the activities in which the students engage. Information literacy was given a greater part of the course than in previous years. Students were given a lecture followed by an assignment, and later a seminar in which they presented their results.

Relating to the subject The idea of embedding information literacy education is closely related to an ambition of enabling the student to relate to the subject.

We have tried to present information literacy as a natural part of design work in the context of the design process. To get the students’ attention we wanted to present them with information literacy not as a separate subject but as a tool for their design work. By discussing the use of information in different design activities, we have also strived to encourage students to seek out process-related information, i.e. using information to learn about how they can approach design problems.

We have tried to make it easier for the students to relate to the subject by presenting the information retrieval and use process as a parallel to the design process. We have also tried to present students with a holistic approach by encouraging them to engage in a sequence of activities consisting of 1) Establishing a goal 2) Identifying alternative means of getting there 3) Choosing means 4) Application 5) Reflection on outcomes, see table 2.

With this we want to achieve proactive and retrospective reflection. We want them to consider alternatives, analyse and argue for their chosen solutions.

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Generic process

Design process Information seeking process

Establishing goal

Decisions on what problems to solve. Identifying goals and constraints

Formulating research question

Identifying alternative means

Finding alternative sub-solutions. Creating new sub-solutions. Exploring variations of sub-solutions

Identifying alternative ways of phrasing search questions. Identifying alternative sources. (Choosing sources)

Choosing means

Selecting and synthesising sub-solutions

Selecting and synthesising information

Application Detailing the product concept Usage of the information

Table 2 Parallels in processes

The parallels between the design and information search and use processes are numerous. Both processes involve intentional problem solving in that one sets out to achieve certain goals, and the way these are chosen has impact on the final outcome. Setting up objectives is followed by a more explorative activity that is directed at finding alternative means of reaching the goals. Differences here occur in that information seeking may focus more on finding information while design work may involve also making variations of ideas, see e.g. figure 10. Hence there may be a greater amount of creativity involved in design work at this stage. Granted that one finds a number of sources containing relevant information or a set of more or less promising design concepts one still needs to try to synthesise whatever is good out of them. In design work this may involve some empirical testing. In information seeking on the other hand, judgements needs to be made about what information is actually relevant as well as what sources are reliable; herein lays a difference. Insuring quality of information may to some extent

Figure 10. Systematic explorations of alternative spatial arrangement of components for a vacuum cleaner concept.

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be done in advance, for instance by limiting searches to more or less reliable sources. Design work on the other hand, gains its qualities from some novel combination of sub-solutions and these qualities emerge first as elements are combined why evaluation needs to occur at a later stage. To stimulate creativity, it is argued that designers should explore solutions that at first come of as irrelevant, or even unrealistic (De Bono 1990). The reason for this is that the exploration as such leads to new insights about the design problem, and that unfeasible ideas may act as a springboard for good thoughts. However, designers do also at some point need to reach a level of reality. Both processes involve a stage of synthesis of what is relevant. In many cases the vast amount of information collected and generated in both processes needs to be turned into something that can be communicated to others.

By emphasizing the information seeking process perspective there is a risk of students understanding it as normative. We are aware of the limitations of linear process models but still believe that they may fulfil a pedagogic function. We have used the process as a predominant feature of the course, i.e. as a means to focus on the various stages in the process of designing a product; stages that can be used as interfaces, or links, between design methodology and information literacy. In the context of this course, a conscious deconstruction of the design process and of the information seeking process leads to a meta-cognitive viewpoint that enhances reflection.

We believe talking about processes is beneficial as long as they are not presented as normative without alternatives. While freshly arrived undergraduates want “truths” and to be told the right way of doing things, more advanced students may be more open to critical discussions on a subject (cf. Ramsden,2003, 27). We believe students on the course to span over both of these; some want clear directives about what needs to be done, while others take a more critical stance. It is important to encourage both these groups of students. While we have presented them with approaches (both in relation to design, and to information seeking and use) we also want them to reflect. Students have been given an approach to follow but have been free to deviate from it, if they could argue why. For example, students were presented with the Introduction-Method-Results-Analysis & Discussion structure for writing reports. However, we also told them that what was important was that they communicated their process - why they did it, how they did it, and what it resulted in. Some students consequently chose to structure their reports in other ways.

We should give the students recommendations about how to realise goals. We should respect their ideas about how to realise these but also help them develop a critical stance by raising questions about limitations in their approaches. We believe that through relating to interests and prior

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knowledge, we have a greater chance of motivating and helping students become information literate designers.

The assignments The information literacy assignments where connected to the same projects the students worked with in the rest of the course. To let the students work in groups was a way of encouraging discussions and experiences that lead to collective reflection. The librarian presented an overview of information seeking and use in the context of engineering design. He also gave an introductory lecture at the beginning of the course, in which he introduced the assignments to the students. Each group was expected to find information related to the product they where working with. They were also required to document their information seeking and to reflect on insights, problems and other findings. In addition to this they also had to choose one particular source of information and orally present it in detail for the other students. To focus on the design process, each group also had to search for a scholarly1 journal article related to at least one of the methodological issues that were discussed throughout the course. Examples of these methodological ideas where: creativity, concept selection, user studies, design as problem solving, and communication. In connection to this assignment they where also requested to give an account of how they found their article and for why it was chosen. From there, students were given two weeks to hand in, and then present their work in two seminars.

A complementary web site was created in which the students could find texts on information seeking and a list of potentially useful information sources2. The list was divided into the following sections: Inspiration (with recommendations of a broad spectrum of design journals); Market information; Material information; Patents and standards; Information about rules and regulations; Library catalogues; Bibliographic databases with references to journal and conference articles. There was also a short section with the heading Web resources under which Google Scholar and Scirus3 were listed.

The assignments were formulated in such a way that the students had the opportunity to experience information seeking in many different ways. Working together in groups gave them the opportunity to experience social

1 During the course we had an organized discussion about what is meant by scholarly. 2 In retrospect, it is seems as if it might have been a mistake to have given the students a list of potential sources: i.e. if it is a common problem for students to find useful sources (which is suggested by Anderson (2006)) maybe one, as a teacher, should not present sources but rather discuss the choice of sources. 3 Scirus is a “science-specific search engine on the Internet” run by Elsevier. URL: http://www.scirus.com/ [Acc. 2006-05-08].

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and communicative aspects of information seeking. By having to present written accounts of their work, the students needed to employ a reflective and meta-cognitive perspective, i.e. ask themselves what has been done, how it was done, what could be improved, etc. In investigating, evaluating and choosing different information sources, they had to develop a critical stance in relation to various information sources. In our work we have strived for a variation of presentations of information seeking and use, a variation that has contained elements of all the approaches identified by Sundin (2005): the source approach, the process approach and the communicative approach. We have, though, made an effort to avoid the normative aspects of the behaviour approach.

The outcomes In the context of this course there has been a shift in perspective from information literacy as an “add-on” to an integrated part of the teaching. By presenting information literacy as a tool rather than a goal we managed to catch the students’ attention and make them explore different information sources available to them. We also succeeded in our ambition to make the students reflect on their information seeking behaviour. The awareness of different resources within the group increased and we hope that the students will continue to learn from each other.

Resources used From the list of resources that was compiled by the librarian, students used at least one item from each heading. For example there were several references to the database ScienceDirect. A few groups made use of a number of governmental bodies as information sources, such as The Swedish Work Environment Authority and the National Institute of Economic Research. Two of the groups tried to use MatWeb, a searchable database of material data sheets, for their research but found it difficult to use. SIS, Swedish Standards Institute was referred to by more than one group. However the dominating source of information was clearly the search engine Google.

Student voices Even though the students were not directly asked to express their opinion about the information literacy component of the course, several explicitly commented in their reports that the assignments had been rewarding and of interest. In one report the students write: “This assignment has actually been surprisingly rewarding”4. Another group of students state that “the assignment gave us a good opportunity to learn more about information

4 All the quotations are translated by the authors

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seeking.” Some students were more critical and expressed that it was difficult to understand the guidelines for the assignments and that the assignments were not clearly connected to the design projects. An interesting point of view was expressed by a group of students who said that “this assignment was rather time consuming; it took us long to find a relevant article.” However, from our experience, it seems as if the students found it easier to actually search for and find information than pursue the process of evaluating information, which is confirmed by the students who state that “it wasn’t difficult to find an article, we knew already before how to do that, but to establish whether it was a scholarly article was very difficult.” Finally we would like to quote a group that described the assignment as “relevant, and hopefully we will use the resources at our disposal in our future studies.”

DISCUSSION We feel that the change was successful but that the ideas explored can be taken further. Information literacy has, in recent years, moved from being taught as an extra curricular activity to being taught within the course. After a number of years where information literacy was presented more and more in relation to design, it moved on to a new stage where it became integrated with the core subject, see table 3. In order to develop the students’ information literacy skills, we extended this part of the course.

The integrated approach works in that the students are exposed to information literacy assignments tailored to the subject. However, they were still perceived as a parallel exercise to the other assignments. In the future, we plan to make information seeking and use a part of all of the assignments in the course. We believe this to be the main difference between embedded and integrated teaching, i.e. making information literacy a natural a part of the everyday work rather than something that is presented as important but separate. This means that students will be expected to do more thorough research for their other assignments and that we will have more rigid requirements on the quality of these reports, while ensuring that they can get relevant support from teachers.

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Year 0? 1-2 present Future

“Teaching method”

Information literacy taught as an extra curricular activity

Compulsory guest lecture within the design methods course

Lecture Exercise Assignment Seminar

Design assignments requiring information literacy. Compulsory discussion on information retrieval. Continuous information search support

Classification (Bruce/Bundy)

Generic Integrated Integrated Embedded

Table 3. The progress of teaching methods over years.

REFLECTION Though we cannot generalise from one set of students, the change in curricular design has been positive.

The improvements in how we teach information literacy are part of an ongoing process and we still have not reached our goal. We will continue to refine the way information literacy is taught. We believe we are on the right track by presenting information literacy in a context. We believe we can reach even further by embedding information literacy in the teaching of the core subject design. By presenting students with information literacy in situations where it is needed instead of as an extracurricular activity, we can reach further. However, this requires a holistic view of the students’ education and future professions. The development of these type of educational activities is resource demanding, and requires that information literacy is taught in a way that is closely tailored to the rest of the curriculum.

As much as we would like to propose a solution for how information literacy should be taught, we do not believe in universal panaceas. Our teaching has moved from generic towards embedded in the Bruce/Bundy classification scheme. However, this has taken time and we think this time has been necessary. Just like we are trying to address the learning process of the students, we are, ourselves, part of a learning process. Through working together and reflecting both prospectively and retrospectively we have learned a great deal. This learning about the context and resources of each other’s subjects has helped our teaching evolve. We believe this evolution has been necessary. We could not have gone from the initial generic teaching to embedded assignments over night. We feel that the development points out a very positive direction, and hope that it will continue to evolve.

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Through working with changes in curricular design we as teachers have managed to keep an open dialogue that we have found both pleasant and mutually beneficial. Our hope is that the chosen direction will lead to a future curriculum design where students, in Bundy’s (2004) words, have “ongoing interaction and reflection with information,” or as expressed by Simons et al (2000, 12), “repeated varied experiences with information seeking.” We are striving for a curriculum design where the “information literacy parts” are not experienced as mere parts but as natural features that appear seamlessly embedded into the course work. We want to allow students to be “entrapped in a web of consistency” (Biggs, 1997, 26, cited in Lupton, 2004, 25).

CONCLUDING REMARKS This course has focused on the information literate designer rather than on the information literate student. Emphasis has been on information in design work rather than on information in general and the assignments have been situated in the course context.

If we can help the students to make wise and efficient use of information, we can help them become better designers. To catch the students’ attention we should present information literacy in context, as a tool for design activities. Looking at activities and processes may be a means for educating information literate designers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the students who participated in the course. Especially warm thanks go to the students who contributed material to this paper;

Figures 3, 4, 5, 8 courtesy of Fredrik Holmberg, Karin Svantesson and Patrik Svensson. Figure 6, courtesy of Karin Flodin, Robin Holmgren and Johan Olsson. Figures 7, 9 courtesy of Fredrik Blomgren, Ylva Jarlsson and Lina Olofsson. Figure 10 courtesy of Mikael Bogren, Daniel Hellström and Björn Jansson.

REFERENCES Abbott, W. and Peach, D. (2000). Building info skills by degrees: embedding information literacy in university studies. Paper presented at IATUL Conference Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 3rd - 7th July, 2000. URL: http://www.iatul.org/conference/proceedings/vol10/papers/Abbott_full.html [Acc. 2006-05-09]

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Ambery, D., Manners, J. and Smith, K. (2005). Embedded information literacy: A collaborative approach. Paper presented at LAS 2005, Critiquing and reflecting: LAS profession and practice. The Australian National University, Canberra. Biggs, J. (1999). Teaching for quality learning at university. Buckingham : Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press. Bruce, C. (2004). Information literacy as a catalyst for educational change: a background paper. In: Lifelong learning: whose responsibility and what is your contribution, proceedings from the 3rd International lifelong learning conference. Edited by Danaher, P.A.; Macpherson, C., Nouwens, F. and Orr, D. Yeppoon, Central Queensland, Australia. Bundy, A. (Ed.) (2004) Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework. 2nd ed. Adelaide : Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL). Cross, N. (1989). Engineering Design Methods. 1:st ed. Chichester: Wiley. de Bono, Edward (1990) Lateral thinking : a textbook of creativity, London : Penguin Books Foster, A. (2004). A nonlinear model of information-seeking behavior. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 55(3), 228 – 237. Hepworth, M. (2002). Information literacy from the perspective of learners: implications for teaching information literacy and skills. Paper presented at IT&ILit 2002, 1st International Conference on IT & Information Literacy, Glasgow the 20th – 22nd March 2002. Hine, A., Gollin, S., Ozols, A., Hill, F. and Scoufis, M. (2002). Embedding information literacy in a university subject through collaborative partnerships. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 102-107. Kuhlthau, C. (1993). Seeking meaning : a process approach to library and information services. Norwood, N.J. : Ablex. Kuhlthau, C. (1996). Information needs and information seeking. Discussion Paper for UCLA - National Science Foundation Workshop. URL: http://is.gseis.ucla.edu/research/dl/kuhlthau.html [Acc. 2006-05-09]

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Limberg, L. (2000). Is there a relation between information seeking and learning outcomes?. In C. Bruce & P. Candy (Eds), Information literacy around the world: advances in programs and research. Wagga Wagga. Centre for Information Studies, Charles Stuart University. Limberg, L., Hultgren, F. & Jarneving, B. (2002). Informationssökning och lärande – en forskningsöversikt. Kalmar: Liber. Lupton, M. (2004). Curriculum alignment and assessment of information literacy learning. In: Bundy, A. (Ed.) Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework. 2nd ed. Adelaide : Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL). P. 25-28. Simon, H. (1969). The sciences of the artificial. Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Press. Simons, K. Young, J. and Gibson, C. (2000). The learning library in context: community, integration, and influence. Research Strategies. 17(2-3), 123-132. Sundin, O. (2005). Webbaserad användarundervisning: ett forum för förhandlingar om bibliotekariers professionella expertis. Human IT - tidskrift för studier av IT ur ett humanvetenskapligt perspektiv. 7(3). URL: http://www.hb.se/bhs/ith/3-7/os.pdf [Acc. 2006-05-09]. Ramsden (2003) Leaning to teach in higher education. 2nd ed. London : RoutledgeFalmer. Säljö, R. (2000). Lärande i praktiken: ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Stockholm : Prisma. Wright, I.C. (1998) Design methods in engineering and product design, London : McGraw-Hill


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