Margie Wallin

Information Literacy and Flexible Delivery: Creating a Conceptual Framework and Model.

Despite the growing recognition of the importance of information literacy education, there are few working models for curriculum integration within the Australian higher education sector. Librarians, in conjunction with faculty at Central Queensland University, developed a framework that assist in the planning and evaluation of information literacy programs.

Information Literacy and Flexible Delivery: Are We Meeting Student Needs?

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the impact of flexible delivery on the creation and delivery of information literacy programs. By focussing learning on the needs of the learner, libraries have had to adapt traditional services to meet the needs of a diverse and dispersed client group. On campus students visit the library and have the opportunity to attend face-to-face classes. Librarians can discuss their needs, demonstrate products, offer alternatives, ascertain appropriate levels of service and negotiate solutions until their information needs are satisfied For students who choose not to visit the library, interpersonal communication, non-verbal cues, immediate feedback, human intervention and negotiation is limited, making it difficult to attain an equivalent level of personalised service.

Applying an alternative mathematics pedagogy for students with weak mathematics: meta-analysis of alternative pedagogies

ABSTRACT Student mathematics performance and the need for work-ready graduates to be mathematics-competent is a core issue for many universities. While both student and teacher are responsible for learning outcomes, there is a need to explicitly acknowledge the weak mathematics foundation of many university students. A systematic literature review was undertaken of identified innovations and/or interventions that may lead to improvement in student outcomes for university mathematics-based units of study. The review revealed the importance of understanding the foundations of student performance in higher education mathematics learning, especially in first year. Pre-university mathematics skills were identified as significant in student retention and mathematics success at university, and a specific focus on student pre-university mathematics skill level was found to be more effective in providing help, rather than simply focusing on a particular at-risk group. Diagnostics tools were found to be important in identifying (1) student background and (2) appropriate intervention. The studies highlighted the importance of appropriate and validated interventions in mathematics teaching and learning, and the need to improve the learning model for mathematics-based subjects, communication and technology innovations.

CHEMPAGE: a model for exploring the Internet for professional development

In early 1996 the Professional and Graduate Education Consortium (PAGE) of Central Queensland University (CQU) called for expressions of interest from individual staff members willing to write subjects and professional development units to be delivered in 1997. Several members of the library staff had been involved with the creation and delivery of programs at the university and were interested in producing a series of professional development courses on access to and searching resources on the internet. This also involved staff from the Division of Distance and Continuing Education (DDCE). It was decided to target chemists as the first professional group and to create and deliver a program (known as CHEMPAGE) via the world wide web. However, the model developed for CHEMPAGE can readily be adapted to other disciplines.