INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING: THE MODEL Kim Baker

INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING: THE MODELKim Baker ACURIL 2014 12 June 2014, Nassau, Bahamas

INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING: THE MODEL

Summary Outline of the Model • Catalysts: • The learning environment – museums (including galleries);archives;libraries • Components : • Carrier, Content and Context • Core processes and tasks: • Discover; Learn; Evaluate; Create; Share; Feedback; Modify • Generic learning outcomes: • Skills; Attitudes and values; Knowledge and Understanding; Behaviour and activity; Enjoyment, inspiration, creativity. • Measurement: Personal Meaning mapping (PMM) • Contextual fluidity: • (Allows for the model to be adapted to different cultural contexts, political environments and rapidly changing technologies and developments)

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING COMPONENTS: (Carrier, Content and Context) Carrier: • Carriers are print, analog, digital and hybrid formats which may be grouped in collections or individually, and include: books, documents, manuscripts, records, journals, diaries,maps, newspapers, television, film, radio, photographs,drawings, artworks, the Internet, web pages, databases, online catalogs and finding aids, social media (Twitter,Facebook, blogs, wikis), objects, artefacts and buildings,physical and virtual museums, archival and library collections.

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING COMPONENTS: Content: • Cultural heritage includes: • cultures, customs, beliefs, rites, rituals, ceremonies, indigenous knowledge, social customs and traditions, arts, crafts, music, political and ideological beliefs that influence culture and behavior, history, practices concerning the natural environment, religious and scientific traditions, language, sports, food and drink, calendars, traditional clothing, cybercultures in the digital world, and emerging new cultures which will become the heritage of the future. • Related issues: • contested history and conflicting narratives, cultural imperialism, memory, identity, censorship,multiculturalism, repatriation of human remains (museums), inclusion, exclusion, nationalism and national identity, culturesof practice in museums, archives and libraries, moral rights to cultural heritage, intellectual property, privacy and data security issues, ethical use of information, the role of communications media in the representation of cultural heritage, and critical thinking applied to cultural heritage.

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING COMPONENTS: Context: • This is found by asking questions: • Who created it? How was it created? Why was it created? Who decided to collect it as cultural heritage, and why? What was not collected? How does it relate to other cultural heritage practices? How is it described? Who described it and what cultural biases didthey have? What was the socio-political and economiccontext surrounding its creation? When was it created? Who contested it, and why? Who agreed with it, and why? How is it displayed? Who chose what to display, and why? Who contests the narrative in the display, and why? Whosememory and identity is represented? Whose memory and identity is excluded? Where are the linkages, and where have linkages been omitted?

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING • CORE PROCESSES AND TASKS:

Discover: Suggested tasks • Following the instruction there should be tasks for learners to practice and apply the skills. These can include questions and tasks such as: • How many museums are there in the carribean, and where are they located? • How many libraries are there in the Bahamas, and what are their names? • Find a book which describes the traditional cuisine of Hindus. • Locate a resource which has the history ofthe national anthem. • Look up and find the titles of journals that focus on the arts and crafts of indigenous people in the Caribbean. • Find an online exhibition of art on the Internet. • How many places can one find out about Junkanoo? (library catalogues, internet, archival manuscripts, museum exhibitions)

Learn: suggested tasks • Read the first three chapters of “How to be a True-True Bahamian” by Patricia Glinton-Meichols, and make notes on the key features of the influences on traditional Bahamian culture described in these chapters. • Listen to the following two recordings of speeches by the Minister of Education, Science and technology, then make notes on his key points; • Watch the following two documentaries about the tradition of Junkanooonline, make notes on their key features, and then compare the two, noting the differences and similarities. Look critically for any inaccuracies and note them. • Read the three newspaper articles about contested interpretations of Bahamian history, and note the main points of each of them

Evaluate: suggested tasks • Examples of cultural heritage chosen for evaluation and analysis should be culturally sensitive to the crystallized norms of the group. • Examples of inappropriate subject selection include: • critical analysis of the political leadership in a country that imprisons its citizens for criticizing its leaders; • the deconstruction of a religious practice in a group where some or most participants practice that religion; • Examples of appropriate subject selection include: • analyzing and deconstructing the main arguments of different eyewitness testimonies and interpretations of a historical cultural event; • exploring competing historical narratives of a colonizing event in a particular country, and identifying flawed arguments (look for examples of logical fallicies)

Create: suggested tasks • This stage invites the participants to create their own story of cultural heritage, which could be taken from their own experiences or which could be imaginary, depending on their preference for privacy. • Subject matter can include: • tracing family history from old birth and death records in the archives; • telling a story about a family tradition; • writing and sharing a recipe for preparing food for a traditional cultural event, with illustrations; • compiling an online scrapbook of memories of cultural festivals (example – Junkanoo in the Bahamas), with digital photographs); • compose song lyrics to accompany music that celebrates a cultural group.

Create (can connect cultures across the world)bahamas to and from south africa

Sharing can be speaking, presenting, singing, dancing, story telling, playing music

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING Measurement: Personal Meaning Mapping: Measures: • extent of knowledge and feelings • breadth of understanding • depth of understanding • mastery possessed by an individual on a given topic.

Personal meaning mapping (pmm) • PMM consists of providing candidates, beforetraining, with a sheet of paper with concepts listed. (Can also be done online) • Concepts can include: “information literacy;” “cultural heritage;” “museums;” “archives;” “libraries;” “critical thinking,” or any other concepts identified by course designers as important. • The concepts can be listed in one colour, such as black. The candidates then write or draw anything that comes to mind for them in association with those concepts – this could be words, images, ideas, beliefs, opinions or feelings. • The facilitator then interviews the candidate for further clarity, and makes any notes in a different colour, such as red.

Personal meaning mapping (pmm) (Cont) • The sheet of paper is kept until the conclusion of the training. • At the end of the course, candidates are asked to add new words, thoughts, opinions, images and ideas to the original sheet of paper, this time in a third colour, such as green • Finally, the facilitator interviews the candidates on the new additions, and summarizes them in a fourth colour, such as blue. The completed sheets are retained by the facilitator, and can be used for evaluating outcomes achieved and for reviewing courses and training. They can also be a source of rich qualitative data, and the public have the opportunity to include suggestions for improvements or new content to be added to the courses.

Contextual fluidity • This model is contextually fluid, and can be constantly updated, adapted and revised in response to: • country-specific contexts, languages and cultures; • feedback from learners, the changing needs of learners, different groups of learners; changes to the environment (in museums, archives and libraries) and world events globally; • new developments in the fields of cultural heritage, information literacy and lifelong learning; • new digital media and technological developments.

THE MODEL OF INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING • This presentation was based on selected • Fair Use extracts from Chapters 5 and 6 of the • book: • Baker, Kim. 2013. Information Literacy • and Cultural Heritage: Developing a • Model for Lifelong Learning. Oxford: • Chandos Publishing. • Available for online order here: • http://store.elsevier.com/product.jsp?locale=en_US&isbn=9781843347200

Thank you for your attention Kim Baker Blog: http://kimbakercapetown.wordpress.com E-mail: kbaker.research21c@gmail.com Twitter: @iKbaker

INFORMATION LITERACY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING: THE MODEL Kim Baker