Wiki-ing Your Way to Collaborative Learning

Molly BeestrumKenneth Orenic

Rebecca Crown LibraryDominican University

River Forest, IL

Background English 102 includes Information Literacy Foundation

Requirement (ILFR). Librarians are paired with English 102 sections

Teach at least 2 sessions, often more Prepare students for Annotated Bibliography

Assignment Assessed by instructor and librarian Successful implementation but… …Students have consistent difficulty with

annotations Created opportunity for practice

Collaborative Learning “Most instructors have stood in front of a class only to

wonder if their only purpose on that day was to serve as a sedative for the majority of the class.” – Payne, et al (2006)

Collaborative learning can make any topic interesting by actively involving students

Group work is one example of collaborative learning practice. CL can provide: an opportunity to practice a safe environment (safety in numbers) increased communication and improved social skills and it breaks up time

Collaborative Learning

Encourages collective approaches

Enhances information retention ability to analyze,

formulate and solve problems

Improves teamwork skills critical thinking skills group processing social skills

Increases insight on and interest in

a particular topic individual accountability

Promotes better comprehension active processing positive interdependence

Stimulates deeper understanding

Benefits of collaborative learning as discussed in the literature:

Shared Workspace or Groupware One aspect of Collaborative Learning is the use of

group work. Technology provides in the form of Groupware.

Students’ attitudes toward using a shared workspace Helps support team work Facilitates and encourages sharing of resources Easy and continuous access Easy to update and share updates Limits repetition of information Reduces number of paper copies Facilitates monitoring of group or individual progress Resources available even if student doesn’t show up

- Nicol, Littlejohn and Grierson (2005)

Wikis as Groupware Pages can be easily updated in real time PBWiki: 

WYSIWYG editing available Pages can be edited collectively  Links to other websites, files, images and "widgets"

can be easily added Track history of changes  View recent changes Revert content to an earlier iteration  Alert users to any changes to the wiki  Search content by keyword  Access to wiki can be set to public or private

Using Wikis in English 102

So we gave it a shot… Designed some simple assignments to

acclimate students to wiki use Focused on creating short group activities to

provide students an opportunity to practice Reinforced learning with examples, mini

lectures, review, and demonstrations

Using Wikis in Library Instruction

Answering Specific Questions Using a Database Brainstorming for Topics and Search Terms Writing Annotations Using The CRAP Test

Searching: Locating Answers to Specific Questions

Searching: Locating Answers to Specific Questions

Annotations: Using the CRAP Test to Evaluate Information

The CRAP Test in Action

Brainstorming Exercise

Students were grouped by topic, in this case Education, and asked to brainstorm for ways to narrow the topic down

In later iterations students were asked to then create search strategies for the brainstormed topics using Or, And, truncation, phrases and nesting.

Brainstorming Evaluating Sources

Sample article provided

CRAP criteria Groups of 3-4 students Designate a scribe Asked to read aloud

later

The Resulting Annotation:

This article discusses homelessness in later life. It was written in order to find out the causes of homelessness in elderly of in selected urban areas of the United States, England and Australia. It was also written in order to prevent it from happening. It was written for society so that people can be informed.

Refining collaborative assignments

More Directions, More Options

Groups chose an article to evaluate based on a previous exercise. Mixed results.

Annotation Examples

Annotation Examples

More Brainstorming, with Search Strategies Added

Your Turn to Practice Each table has been provided with an article to

evaluate as well as the CRAP test criteria In your table groups, evaluate the article based on

the criteria provided Collectively write an annotation – 5 or 6 sentences –

providing a critical and evaluative description of the article (post top the wiki if possible!)

Spend a few minutes reflecting on the process and considering it from the student perspective

Be prepared to share with the audience – both annotations and thoughts

Your Turn to Practice – Part 2 Each table has been provided with a sample scenario As a group, brainstorm for ways to include

collaborative learning in the IL session Design at least one small group activity that could

utilize a wiki or other groupware tool Consider the following:

Time for the activity Group size Material provided: resources, instructions, guidelines,

examples, etc. Implementing and setting the tone

Be prepared to share with the audience

Scenario 1

Psychology 290 Research Methods: Students are assigned a psychological disorder (clinical depression, post traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, etc), and a treatment (drug therapy, behavior therapy, or cognitive-behavior therapy). They are asked to find three scholarly articles on the disorder and the treatment and write a critical synthesis of the three articles. The instructor would like the students to use PsycINFO and to focus on locating clinical trials.

Scenario 2 History 300 - Historiography: Students are

asked to research a topic, event or person in 20th century American history and compare the treatment through texts across three different decades. Eg. Teapot Dome Scandal in 1930s, 1970s and 1990s. Research includes critical reception of the texts which may require use of older review periodicals (on microfilm). The instructors often provide a list of topics selected by students for this project prior to the session.

Scenario 3 Business 250 - International Business: Students

are assigned a research project - the CIRCLE Project (acronym for Company, Issues, Region, Country, Leadership, and Economic environment) in which they choose any international business-related topic. Throughout the semester they explore their topic, develop a research question, and answer that question while considering recommendations and future implications. Some examples from past semesters have included: Wal-Mart and ethics, unemployment in the European Union, Foreign Direct Investment in Iraq.

Scenario 4

English 274 – Literary Criticism: Students are required to complete a research paper on one of the required texts (e.g. Othello) as examined through the lens of one area of critical theory (e.g. Feminist, Structuralist, Marxist) including at least 30 sources – scholarly articles and books only. The instructor encourages the use of MLA International Bibliography.