Exploring the benefits of user education: a review of three case studies

This paper builds on Leslie Morton's vision of enabling users through education and training. It describes three different approaches to mediated training for medical students and clinicians provided by peers, juniors (i.e. medical students) and information specialists (i.e. clinical librarians) and considers the benefits to the participants. The training was provided either on a one-to-one basis or within teams in their work environments (e.g. offices, wards, team meetings). The first two projects (peer tutoring and reverse mentoring) suggest that contextualized training, using intermediaries, provides the direct benefit of cost-effective IT skill development and the indirect benefits deriving from the interactions between the trainers and the target groups. The third project, the outreach librarian study, provides evidence of both direct benefits (i.e. time saved, quality of service, skills acquired, financial savings and improved evidence-based medicine implementation) and indirect, long-term benefits relating to more social issues (e.g. perceptions of the library, clinical teams, job satisfaction and patient interactions). The general conclusion to emerge from this review of case studies is that the concept of educational benefits is very broad and that empirical studies need to look at both obvious and less obvious benefits.     

Factors influencing student perceptions of high-school science laboratory environments

Science laboratory learning has been lauded for decades for its role in fostering positive student attitudes about science and developing students’ interest in science and ability to use equipment. An expanding body of research has demonstrated the significant influence of laboratory environment on student learning. Further research has demonstrated differences in student perceptions based on giftedness. To explore the relationship between giftedness and students’ perceptions of their learning environment, we examined students’ perceptions of their laboratory learning environment in biology courses, including courses designated for high-achieving versus regular-achieving students. In addition, to explore the relationship between students’ perceptions and the extent of their experience with laboratory learning in a particular discipline, we examined students’ perceptions of their laboratory learning environment in first-year biology courses versus elective biology courses that require first-year biology as a prerequisite. We found that students in high-achieving courses had a more favourable perception of all aspects of their learning environment when compared with students in regular courses. In addition, student perceptions of their laboratory appeared to be influenced by the extent of their experience in learning science. Perceptions were consistent amongst regular- and high-achieving students regardless of grade level. In addition, perceptions of students in first year and beyond were consistent regardless of grade level. These findings have critical applications in curriculum development as well as in the classroom. Teachers can use student perceptions of their learning environment to emphasize critical pedagogical approaches and modify other areas that enable enhancement of the science laboratory learning environment.     

Exploring the Lived Experiences and Intersectionalities of Mexican Community College Transfer Students: Qualitative Insights Toward Expanding a Transfer Receptive Culture

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study examines the experiences of six Mexican community college transfer students attending a research-intensive institution in the Pacific Northwest. Using semi-structured interviews, the objectives of this study were to 1) understand how Mexican students made meaning of their transfer experiences and 2) how those experiences could inform conceptual and practical thinking toward building a transfer receptive culture at the receiving institution. We use intersectionality as a site of material and discursive possibility to encourage predominantly White receiving institutions to recognize how they position Mexican community college transfer students on campus. Concluding are conceptual and practical recommendations that emphasize institutional and organizational responsibility in creating equitable environments for Mexican community college transfer students.     

Peter Effect in the Preparation of Reading Teachers

The Peter Effect (Applegate & Applegate, 2004 Applegate, A. J. and Applegate, M. D. 2004. The Peter Effect: Reading habits and attitudes of teacher candidates. The Reading Teacher, 57: 554–563. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) claimed that one cannot be expected to give what one does not possess. We applied this notion to reading teacher preparation and hypothesized that teacher educators who do not possess an understanding of basic language constructs would not prepare teacher candidates with an understanding of these constructs considered essential for early reading success. Results from a survey of basic language constructs revealed similar patterns in performance between teacher educators and their respective teacher candidates, which served as initial validation of the Peter Effect in reading teacher preparation.     

Online Teaching Resources

Abstract

Because of the global COVID-19 pandemic during the spring of 2020, colleges and universities found themselves rapidly moving all courses to online modalities, a format that many instructors were not experienced in or comfortable with. Academic librarians were called upon to help support faculty in this sudden transition, as well as migrating their own library services and instruction online. For many, it felt like a mad scramble to find best practices for online teaching, or even just “good-enough” practices, as well as specific tools that instructional faculty and librarians could utilize to keep their students engaged and learning during such a trying time. At the time of this writing, some universities have announced that they will continue to hold most, if not all, courses online in the fall 2020 term. Resources to support online teaching are critical now, and they will continue to be important going forward even after the global pandemic subsides. The reviews in this column cover a variety of online instructional tools and instructional support sites. The resources reviewed range from providing best practices for online pedagogy, creating engaging formative assessment tools, developing video discussion boards, creating interactive images, using virtual bulletin boards for student collaboration, and ensuring online content meets accessibility requirements. These resources will be useful for librarians and instructional faculty as they continue to teach in the online environment.     

College Drinkers’ Privacy Management of Alcohol Content on Social-Networking Sites

Alcohol-related posts on social-networking sites (SNS) can damage college students’ reputations and relationships and contribute to risky behavior. However, little is known about how college drinkers engage in privacy management involving alcohol content. Through 48 interviews and a Communication Privacy Management lens, this study uncovered criteria on which students relied to develop relatively impermeable boundaries around alcohol posts, the ways they collectively negotiated privacy with peers, and how participants implicitly and explicitly communicatively negotiated privacy turbulence. Findings suggest important connections between the co-occurrence of online privacy management and identity management, including how facework is involved in remediating privacy breaches and the co-opting of privacy. Findings also inform efforts to educate college drinkers about on-and-offline strategies to manage alcohol-related SNS content.     

Measuring the Impact of Gold and Green Open Access

Using data from Web of Science, this research investigates how physical science researchers funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research complied with its open access policy, and compares the citation counts of articles published through gold and green models.It was found that, for articles published between 2008 and 2015, 9% were available through gold open access routes and 13% were available through green routes; most were not openly accessible. Citation rates were comparable for green open access and non-open access articles, but citation rates for gold open access articles were lower. After controlling for publication year, citation rates of gold, green, and non-open access articles were comparable. Among gold open access articles, citation rates were highest for open access journals with article processing charges, but after controlling for publication year, articles published in hybrid journals, followed by those in open access journals with article processing charges, achieved the highest citation rates. Articles published in free open access journals had the lowest citation rates. The results suggest that green open access is the most economical approach to comply with open access policies, and that it provides researchers with at least as much research impact as gold open access.