Sohair F. Wastawy, Ph.D. Dean of Libraries Illinois Institute of Technology June 2003

1. Learning Communities:A Fundamental shift in the Learning ProcessAn Investigative Study into their Impact on Library Services Sohair F. Wastawy, Ph.D. Dean of Libraries Illinois Institute of Technology June 2003

2. "Great Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution. He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties, and his death came as a great shock."

3. New-Employee Skills Sought by Employers • Communication • Computer/Technical aptitudes • Leadership • Teamwork • Interpersonal abilities • Personal traits (Ethics) - 2002-2003 Recruiting Trends, Michigan State University

4. Universities’ Response Development of: • Formal Learning Communities • Collaborative Learning Programs • Residential Colleges • Inter-professional Programs

5. Learning Models are Changing • Campus-based to asynchronous to ubiquitous learning • Solitary learning to interactive, collaborative learning • Linear, sequential curricular to hyper learning • Classroom learning to learning communities • Faculty centered to learner-centered learning • Passive students to active learners

6. Information Age Mindset • Computers aren’t technology • Internet better than TV • Reality no longer real • Doing rather than knowing • Nintendo over logic • Multitasking is a way of life • Typing rather than handwriting • Staying connected • Zero tolerance for delays • Consumer/creator blurring - Frand, 2000

7. Students Attitudinal Drivers • Impatience with bureaucracy • Self-service and self-control • Desire to be “connected” • Demand for immediacy • Integrated environment • Customer-service - Adapted from Kvavik, 2001

8. What Students Value • Making connections between in- and out-of-class activities • Working and studying in groups • Mentored internships • Being exposed to people of diverse backgrounds • Participating in extra-curricular activities - Light, 2001

9. Disconnect in Libraries • Continue to operate in the same fashion while the education, management, psychology, technology, information science and social science literature and research tell us that so much have changed • There is a huge void in the library literature regarding transformative services to the new information age generation

10. The “Learning Communities” Concept • Somewhat vague • Defined as formal and cross-disciplinary approach • Community of Practice (professionals)

11. Study Definition Fundamentally self-selected, independently organized, student centered groups who form their own networks to achieve a specific academic purpose. Learning community systems are continually renegotiated by members who function in mutual engagement that binds them together into a social entity. They share resources and norms that they developed over time.

12. Hypotheses • Students are developing new study groups that are different in scope, purpose, and techniques than the ones they are assigned to by their professors, • Students are bypassing library resources in favor of instantaneous answers to their queries regardless of the quality of information, and • Students lack understanding of the differences among many library resources and therefore follow the principle of least effort and use.

13. Study Methodology • A call for participation resulted in 4 groups and 61 individual responses (total of 81 individuals) • Questionnaires - tested, retested, and approved • Observation sessions • Interviews

14. Study Findings Group anatomy: • 79% study in groups • 92% of the groups are self-selected • 91% highly benefited from group experience • 8% work with students from other universities

15. Study Findings Communications: • 97% use email as a communication method followed by chat and instant messaging at 62% • 76% always or often meet face to face (92% prefer meeting face-to-face) • 56% of these meetings take place with some members participating on a virtual basis • 46% meet completely virtually through a chat room

16. Study Findings Study Locations: • 46% meetings occur in labs around the university • 68% take place at the residence halls and homes • 29% of meetings take place at the library

17. Study Findings Information Sources: • 80% always or often search the Internet • 68% use group mates as source of info • 38% ask upperclassmen • 29% go to library • 5% ask a reference librarian

18. Study Findings Internet Usage: • 98% look for the info first in Google • 55% use library website (2nd option) • 40% search class homepages (3rd option)

19. Study Findings Rating of Sources: • 59% rated their peers good or excellent • 79% ranked faculty as good or excellent • 53% ranked experts in their field as good or excellent • 40% considered the Library a good to excellent source while 26% thought it is fair to poor • 16% felt librarians were a good to excellent source while 53% rated librarians fair to poor

20. Recommendations • Acknowledge the presence of Learning Communities • Restructure librarians assignment to work with the groups • Rewrite library material with groups, not individuals, as the target audience • Reconfigure the library’s physical spaces to restore the “human moment” in education • Reexamine the use of collections and adjust services accordingly • Federated search engines should be seriously examined and made available

21. Recommendations • Offer better availability of “gray literature” in technical fields • Reorganize information literacy instruction with faculty “buy-in” as a vital component for its success • Instruction needs to be related to coursework – current instructional model does not tie library instruction to class projects • Conduct similar study on your community and address trends • Learn to see differently

22. Remember In a time of dramatic changes it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. - Eric Hoffer

23. Study will be published in Science and Technology Libraries, Vol. 22, 2003 For additional information contact Sohair F. Wastawy wastawy@iit.edu Thank you