using constructivist approaches to teach health librarians: a case study
DESCRIPTION
This is an early draft of our presentation at the 2009 CHLA/ABSC Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 1st, 2009.TRANSCRIPT
Are constructivist approaches used to teach health librarians effective?
a case-study on teaching a course on health librarianship
Greg RowellHead, UBC Woodward Library & Hospital Branch LibrariesAdjunct instructor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), UBC
Dean GiustiniUBC Biomedical Branch LibrarianAdjunct instructor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), UBC
Rowell, Giustini2009 CHLA/ABSC Annual Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba - June 1st, 2009
Outline of talk
• Course• Setting and participants• Course content• Goals & objectives
• What happened in LIBR534• Student reflections • Instructor reflections
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
Setting• A health information sources & services course
(LIBR534) taught by two health librarians in fall ‘08
Participants• Cohort of 28 MLIS students; • 2 instructors & practitioners; • 8 guest speakers
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
Setting & participants
Course content• Blended delivery• MediaWiki-based - UBC Health Library wiki• http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca
Content management
Discussions• Finding yourself in health librarianship• Assignments, group work, ‘peer review’, social media
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
Course content – LIBR534
Our objective and approach
• Adopt new method of teaching health librarianship
• Problem-based - where students ‘teach’ each other
• Encourage critical thinking & ‘team-based’ skills
• Constructivist approach – what is constructivism?
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
Constructivism is a learning theory
“…where students take responsibility for their own learning rather than relying on the teacher” (Giustini, 2009)
Constructivism: • encourages student enquiry & cooperation• acknowledges role of experience in learning • nurtures learners’ natural curiosity
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
Range of constructivist ideas
• Student perceptions of:• course content • in-class exercises & case-based discussions• assignments & assessment• guest lecturers• pedagogical style(s) • Instructors – us!
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
What happened in LIBR534
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Locating yourself in health libraries
• Student perceptions of:• course content • in-class exercises & case-based discussions• assignments & assessment• guest lecturers• pedagogical style(s) • Instructors – us!
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
What happened in LIBR534
• Our reflections on:• course content – was it too ambitious?• student participation in ‘case discussions’• quality of student assignments & peer evaluation• pedagogical styles – was it a good fit?
• Our course & partnership - a success!• We will offer course again in January 2010• More research needed re: constructivist methods
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
Reflections – what we would change
Greg RowellHead, UBC Woodward Library & Hospital Branch LibrariesAdjunct instructor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), [email protected]
Dean GiustiniUBC Biomedical Branch LibrarianAdjunct instructor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), [email protected]
Rowell – GiustiniCHLA/ABSC Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1st, 2009
Thanks for listening