This study explored the way in which a group of committed library staff, working in a large FE college learning resource centre in the east of England, were working to develop their professional practice.
This Action Research project investigated the introduction, through workshop sessions, of interactive support strategies designed to develop students’ information literacy. These were based on the principle that the process of teaching and learning was likely to be more effective if it was conceived as active and reciprocal rather than transmissive. Activities were integrated into students’ regular curriculum through partnership with teaching staff.
Students worked in small groups in workshops and dialogue was recorded and analysed between students, and between staff and students. Students, working together with library staff and teachers who openly acknowledged the learning process, were beginning to discover that developing skill takes time, effort and persistence. They developed their learning skills, showing themselves to be very effective at teaching and sharing strategies with each other. Library staff showed that they welcomed opportunities to become more skilled and this growing skill was evident in both the quality and increasing number of positive interactions with students. Data was gathered from observation of practice and interview/surveys.
LSIS-IfL Research Development Fellowship