In the latest Online, William Badke published a letter from a student in which he described the research process he followed to complete an assignment. Although it made me smile, it poses a definite challenge to all information specialists preparing for information literacy training. I want to reiterate Badke's challenge that our training should not only be to teach students how to use the tools but that students should discover that research is fun. If we can help them understand why they are doing it, namely to discover and solve problems and not simply to get a pass rate, our information literacy training will really add value.
Badke, W. (2009). The Great Research Disaster. Online, 33(6), p 48-50.
3 comments:
Thanks, Hilda. So many of our students are simply doing research to order for their professors, enduring it because they need the grade, but never appreciating the real joy of finding a problem to address and harnessing the best resources to address it. It really and truly is fun. And it's one of the few life skills that is transferable to almost any occupation.
Our library needs librarians focusing on training. Librarians who have a skill for lecturing, building interesting presentations and transforming the information literacy class into a lively session to capture students attention. If you do not have that gift, improvise, be innovative!! Develop DVDs with a narrator voice full of energy and enthusiasm. We must make the best of the information literacy classes to capture researchers minds and open a world of WOW information.
I really hope the game will add to the "fun experience" and make a difference in student's life.
I cannot agree more with Badke about the "fun" part in research.
I will keep you posted regarding the research findings.
Librarians can play it!
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