Learning Stations: Actively Engaging Students in the E-Classroom

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Learning Stations Actively Engaging Students in
the E-Classroom

• Shelly Davis, Information Technology Librarian
• Judy Steere, Head of Technical Services
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• Mantor Library, University of Maine at Farmington

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Learning stations

• Areas where small groups of students work
  simultaneously

• Inclusion of all materials needed to explore a
  concept

• Students
• Given processes and tasks to guide exploration
• Develop/practice skills and gain knowledge
• Rotate experience all activities

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Learning stations

• New-fangled teaching method?

• Role of the instructor?
• Develops processes and tasks / provides materials
• Spends minimal time on whole group instruction
• Provides brief intro. to goals / explains
  logistics
• Circulates and interacts
• Becomes facilitator of learning

• Effective teaching strategy for library
  instruction for undergraduate students?

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Library instruction for Lit Block students

• Summer 2000
• Faculty member requested library instruction
  session
• Lit(eracy) Block undergraduate elementary ed.
  majors

• Assignment children's literature author or
  illustrator study

• The librarians

• Our task

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Mantor Librarys Peter Mills Electronic
Classroom
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Mantor Librarys Peter Mills Electronic
Classroom
Instructor station with Robotel controller box
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The library instruction session

• Lecture and demonstration
• Print resources
• Subject guides, book reviews, biographical info.
• Electronic resources
• URSUS library catalog
• Academic Search Premier periodical database
• ERIC education index
• Selected Web resources

• Independent practice

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• Reflecting on the session

• Fall 2002 - same faculty member and assignment
• New resources Gale Literature Databases,
  NoveList
• Still 75 minutes

• Why learning stations?
• Divide students into small groups
• Hands-on
• Reinforce and put into context pre-existing
  skills
• Gain new skills and knowledge

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Developing the stations

• ERIC Gale Literature Databases

• Academic Search Premier

• Selected Web resources

• NoveList

• URSUS (library catalog)

• Print resources

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Revised library instruction session

• Introduction
• Presented goals, handed out resource guides,
  explained activity
• 5 minutes

• Learning stations
• Print URSUS NoveList ERIC Gale ASP
  Web
• 10 minutes each (60 minutes total)

• Wrap up
• Neatest resource
• 5 minutes

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Reactions to learning stations

• Students automatically took turns driving and
  reading

• Many requested copies of activities

• Instructor feedback
• Felt content of session valuable
• Utilized effective active learning strategy
• Modeled importance of varying teaching methods to
  maximize student learning

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Our thoughts on the revised session

• Successful and effective instruction session

• Room for improvement
• Assess student learning
• Formal evaluation?
• Look at students finished products?
• Revise activities some too long
• Revamp the stations?

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Learning stations in the e-classroom

• Benefits to students
• Actively engaged
• Collaboratively learning

• Good match?

• Do not let e-classroom dictate teaching method

• Utilize space creatively
• Determine best teaching method
• Decide how to use e-classroom