Blended learning and the flipped classroom
Library information skills sessions
The library staff often go into different classes and
lessons to help introduce different information and research skills to students. At the end
we ask everyone to fill in a feedback questionnaire. Overall the responses are positive with a majority saying they feel more confident in researching after the session. When we ask them to say how the session might be improved we sometimes get a suggestion about making them “more
interactive”.
Our sessions are very hands-on and involve various
activities and discussions, but these comments have led us to start thinking
about how we might develop more blended learning activities to improve how we
introduce information literacy skills.
So what is blended learning and what is meant by the flipped classroom?
Jisc defines blended learning as providing “a
combination of face-to-face learning and dynamic digital content that
facilitates anytime/anyplace learning”.
For more information see - https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/creating-blended-learning-content.
The flipped classroom or flipped learning is part of this approach. Jisc quotes Educause -
"The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture
and homework elements are reversed”
The Higher Education Academy has a page about this at https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/enhancement/starter-tools/flipped-learning-0 with the following 1 minute explanatory video: Flipping your Class: What is a Flipped Class? from Texas' Learning Sciences.
Some of you may also find the Digital
Technologies Network website interesting
for some practical resources and ideas.
Library induction on Kahoot
So, next year we hope to offer a library induction on
Kahoot for teachers to use in the classroom which will help free up library staff to
deliver more in- depth sessions on our electronic resources, for example. Please contact library staff if you have queries about this and want to know how to use this with your groups.
We have also already created a Harvard Referencing and Plagiarism blended learning package with accompanying quizzes so tutors can check
knowledge. Find it on our 24/7 page. This can be used instead of or in addition to a librarian-led session - lecturers have the choice and know what works best for their groups.
This is the last blog post of the academic year. When we publish our next post, we should be back in our newly refurbished space and we will be known as the Learning Resource Centre (or LRC for short). For those of you here next year, do come in and use us and enjoy the new surroundings.
