New JELIS Article: By The Book

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Cover of JELIS journalAdvance access and a pre-print PDF are now available for our new article published by the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science (JELIS): By the Book: A Pedagogy of Authentic Learning Experiences for Emerging Makerspace Information Professionals.

Abstract

Can LIS curricula dedicated to makerspaces provide an authentic learning experience for future librarians interested in makerspace-adjacent careers? This article presents a case study in which an authentic learning framework is applied to a newly developed LIS graduate-level course on makerspaces. We detail how one class project—entitled “Bibliocircuitry: Old Books, New Ideas”—challenged students to use their newly learned skills to upcycle a hardcover book into a personalized artifact. This article outlines emerging patterns and themes from an analysis of survey responses from 13 of the 15 students in the course. Findings reveal the project readily maps to authentic learning standards, encourages learning, and facilitates reflection (including the negotiation of uncertainty, overcoming debilitating perfectionism, and transformative joy). The study broadens curricular design interventions for LIS educators, highlights the need for deep learning with technologies, and offers an opportunity to narrow the preparation gap between information professionals and the technical and social competencies required in makerspaces. The implications of these findings for the field of LIS pedagogy emphasize the importance of an authentic learning project both to disrupt the absence of LIS maker curricula and to reimagine current one-shot, pressured, makerspace training.

The final version of this article will be published in 2022.

Recommended citation:
Melo, M. & March, L. (2021, October 11). By the Book: A Pedagogy of Authentic Learning Experiences for Emerging Makerspace Information Professionals. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science (JELIS). DOI: 10.3138/jelis-2020-0046

 

Dr. Melo Published in Inside Higher Ed

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Dr. Maggie Melo recently published “Where’s the ‘Video Off’ Button in Face-to-Face Instruction?” on InsideHigherEd.com. This opinion piece highlights the benefits for students to turn off their computer cameras during remote instruction and questions how a similar effect could be implemented within in person learning. When teaching remotely, Dr. Melo observed ways that students benefited from being able to turn off their cameras and explore creatively by themselves, including being able to customize the environment they were working in.

 

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“Having a virtual classroom with the ability to turn off our cameras offered a generative, unusual sweet spot for learning …. It’s an environment where students were supported but also weren’t being observed by their instructor or peers — one where we could take a collective exhale from the performative demands of the classroom with a simple click of the “stop video” button.”

 

View “Where’s the ‘Video Off’ Button in Face-to-Face Instruction?” on InsideHigherEd.com.