RSA3: Mapping and managing knowledge and information in resource-based learning

Resources of the Week: Mapping and managing knowledge and information in resource-based learning by Sidmar-Olasf Tergan, Wolfgang Grӓber and Anja Neumann, Knowledge Media Research Centre, Tϋbingen, Germany, Leibniz Institute for Science Education, University of Kiel, Germany

Topic

The topic of this week is resource-based learning. Resource-based learning is a process that helps shift the focus of the learning environment from teacher centered toward a more student centered model. Students are given the resources prepared by a teacher, or more effectively, a collaboration of the teacher and the media specialist. This allows students to have a wide variety of resources to support their research and creation of an end product. The students are given autonomy in selecting their particular project theme and use which ever resources that they feel will best support the theme that they have selected. This is a more scaffolded research effort, where students are ensured credible resources.

Article

An article that adds an additional dimension to resource-based learning support is entitled: “Mapping and managing knowledge and information in resource-based learning” by Sidmar-Olasf Tergan, Wolfgang Grӓber and Anja Neumann (2006).  This article suggests that students need to have a clear understanding of how to deal with the complexities of knowledge and resources when engaging in resource based learning. Resource-based learning requires that students navigate a wide variety of resource to select those that are most pertinent to their task at hand. When students are faced with such a daunting task, but do not possess the information literacy necessary to effectively navigate through the wealth of resources presented to them, there arises a situation where those students become frustrated and disengaged. For resource-based learning to be successful in motivating and engaging students, teachers must be aware of ways to support information literacy growth. This article suggests the use of concept maps to help students in “overcoming problems that are due to the limitations of short-term memory in both capacity and duration of information stored” (pg. 328) The article additionally lists some concept-mapping tools shown in the following table:

(2006)

Relationship

There is a system in place to support resource-based learning as explained in the article “Resource-based learning” by Lisa Campbell, Paula Flageolle, Shann Griffith, and Catherine Wojcik (2002). The teacher and media specialist who were following the blueprint for resource-based leaning, collected materials for the theme, made various types of resources available and were ready to assist student in their research journey. These students would have the scaffolding and support built into resource-based learning, but how would the students’ journey have changed if they had additional support in organizing the new information that they garnered from the plethora of resources that were provided for them? By combining the ideals of resource-based learning with the technology tools for concept mapping, the students would have a more organized, supported research project to present in the end. This would help reinforce the research skills that educators want students to learn in developing and strengthening information literacy.

In the middle school, students are expected to do more and more research. By incorporating tools for concept mapping, we can help keep all of their thoughts and information organized. As the demands for higher order thinking press upon educators, it is important that we teach students information literacy so that can understand how to arrange the information that they find and use it to formulate new ideas and products.

References

Campbell, L., Flageolle, P., Griffith, S., & Wojcik, C. (2002). Resource-based learning. In M. Orey
             (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology 
             Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/

Grӓber, W., Neumann, A., & Tergan, S., (2006) Mapping and managing knowledge and information
             in resource-based learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. 43 (4),
             327-336. Retrieved from
             http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer
            vid=3&sid=f2374409-deab-452a-b3d5-2f8f56cd50f7%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4112