Scaffolding and supporting use of information for ambitious learning practices
| Pages | 39-58 |
| Published date | 14 January 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-08-2018-0087 |
| Date | 14 January 2019 |
| Author | Krista D. Glazewski,Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
Scaffolding and supporting use of
information for ambitious
learning practices
Krista D. Glazewski and Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver
Indiana University Bloomington School of Education, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to lay out the goals and challengesin using information for ambitious learning
practices.
Design/methodology/approach –Through a review of the literature, the authors integrate across
learning, informationsciences and instructional design to identifychallenges and possibilities for information
searchingand sense-making in ambitious learning practices (ALPs).
Findings –Learners face a number of challenges in usinginformationinALPssuchasaproblem-
based learning. These include searching and sourcing, selecting information and sense-making.
Although ALPs can be effective, providing appropriate scaffolding, supports and resources is
essential.
Originality/value –To make complexALPs available to a wide range of learners requiresconsidering the
information literacy demands and how these can be supported. This requires deep understanding and
integrationacross different research literatureareas to move toward solutions.
Keywords Problem-based learning, Information seeking, Resource integration, Sense-making,
Scaffolding, Ambitious learning practices, Complex problem solving, Problems of practice
Paper type Conceptual paper
True knowledge –understanding –develops through exploration, rumination, interpretation,
judgment, and the application of information. Thoughtful work on projects and problems
requires roaming through complex resources, seeking inspiration, messing around, making
missteps and mistakes, and experiencing serendipitous discoveries. This kind of student
learning and the in-depth interactions with teachers that it entails requires time. (Hawkins,
1997).
Meaningful information problem solving in the classroom involves specificand
intentional pedagogies, requiring of instructors and facilitators the type of classroom
practices that are ambitious in goal, scope, and enactment. As Hawkins (1997) asserted,
deep meaning-making and learner agency are critical to learning and knowledge
building. We argue that such classroom pedagogies are ambitious in scope and
substance and here use the term ambitious learning practices (ALPs) to reflect these
substantial goals. Furthermore, we use problem-based learning (PBL) as an example of
ALP, which involves scaffolded inquiry as students engage collaboratively in a
meaningful task. PBL tasks with scaffolding support are intentionally designed as part
of a well-established signature pedagogy (Hmelo-Silver et al., 2018b). PBL is
particularly apt as an ALP example because learners rely on successful information
seeking to address the inquiry task. Thus, there is value in what can be learned from
This research was supported by NSF grant DUE#1561486.
Ambitious
learning
practices
39
Received18 August 2018
Revised9 November 2018
23November 2018
Accepted24 November 2018
Informationand Learning Sciences
Vol.120 No. 1/2, 2019
pp. 39-58
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-08-2018-0087
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2398-5348.htm
research that explores these different aspects from the perspectives of learning
sciences, instructional design, and the information sciences.
Although ALP, PBL and informationseeking have been explored in disparate literatures,
the time is ripe to bring them together and explore their conceptual intersections. For
example, although some information scientists have considered scaffolding (Kuhlthauet al.,
2015), this concept, which is long inherentto learning sciences work, has been less of a focus
in information science where scholarship has been more about free and open search. In
contrast, learning sciences and instructionaldesign have prioritized understanding a range
of practices, processes, and outcomesof learning in designed environments, without special
consideration for how to integrate critical information literacies. When considering this
interdisciplinary scholarly nexus, it is important for those in the information sciences to
learn more about ALPs, PBL and scaffolding,and it is important for LS researchers to learn
from information scientists about search research. One aim of this article is to invite these
interdisciplinaryconversations and conceptual explorations.
In classroom applications, ALPs represent a range of approaches that are inherently
collaborativeand engage learners in authentic, meaningful work coupled with:
an enabling context that fosters disciplinary grounding;
the ability to make meaning from resources; and
guidance in the form of scaffolds along with other support systems (Hmelo-Silver
et al., 2018b;Knight and Mercer, 2017;Puntambekar and Kolodner, 2005;Tabak,
2004).
In this authentic, meaningful context, learners are meant to take an active role, one that
involves enacting agency toward pursuing learning goals and deep information seeking
(Bridges et al., 2012). Thus, in defining features of ALPs, it is important to look across
different research domains to surface common problems and solutions associated with
creating the conditions for ambitiouslearning to occur in the classroom. For example, when
presented with a problemor issue to consider, learners may not know how to what they need
to learn. This poses significant challenges because they have to operate without relevant
contextual knowledge, and it is difficult for learners to know where to start (Derry et al.,
2006). However, one importantkey to successful learner engagement in ALP is being able to
initiate and sustain information seeking, and integrate across multiple forms of information
(Reynolds, 2016). To explore these issues further, we draw primarily from illustrative PBL
examples focusing on features common across ALPs: enabling contexts, making meaning
from resources, and scaffoldingsupport for the learner.
Ambitious learning practices: an overview
Enabling contexts
The enabling context is a critical feature of ALPs serving to organize, motivate and frame
the learning experience. More specifically, the enabling context is composed of practices,
situations, and processes, and offers learners opportunity to develop and apply deep
understanding in the discipline(Hmelo-Silver et al.,2007;Hannafinet al.,2014).For example,
an instructor of medieval history engaged undergraduate learners in a complex experience
that began with a close reading of a biographical text of a military leader during the Third
Crusade (Craig, 2017). Through text, document analysis, geographic information systems
and other digital tools, teams of students created maps to depict travel times based on
medieval travel methods,scale, or relative importance of a geographic location that reflected
emotional experience from the texts. Students relied on a variety of resources to construct
ILS
120,1/2
40
To continue reading
Request your trial