Introduction

Information professionals sometimes act as educators or instructional designers in their organizations, so an understanding of learning theories can be very useful. Instructional designers make “pedagogical choices appropriate to the educational environment, taking into consideration audience, culture, and accessibility dimensions … to design learning experiences that integrate information literacy and enhance instruction” (ACRL, 2017). Learning theories provide a framework for designing learning experiences.

Behaviorism

Behavioral theorists believe “we can change people’s behavior by manipulating the environment in order to encourage certain behaviors and discourage others,” also known as conditioning (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 38). Learners are blank slates and the teacher is centered in instruction. This is no longer a popular theory, but some aspects of modern education “are based in a behaviorist approach to learning,” such as the gamification of learning (p. 39).

Humanism

In contrast to behaviorism, humanism is centered on learners and their needs. Recognizing students as whole people with emotional needs who need to be treated with empathy is a core part of humanist theory. Self-directed learning empowers students and leads to their self-actualization. Educational philosopher Paulo Freire “insists that learning must be relevant to the student’s life and the student should be an active participant in order for learning to be meaningful” (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 41).

Cognitivism & Constructivism

Cognitivism is focused on the mental processes involved in learning. The brain is viewed “as an information processor somewhat like a computer that functions on algorithms that it develops in order to process information and make decisions” (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 42). While cognitivism is focused on the learner’s mind, “it does not account for the role of emotions in learning,” and can overemphasize the importance of memorization and recall of facts (p. 43). This approach is considered teacher-centered, since it focuses on the instructor’s role. Constructivism is closely related to cognitivism, except it is learner-centered. The theory “posits that individuals create knowledge and meaning through their interactions with the world” (p. 43).

Motivation

It is important to understand what motivates people when designing learning experiences. Motivation can be thought of as intrinsic, “when the activity itself is experienced as exciting, interesting, or intrinsically satisfying,” or external, when the motivation is “tied to an action’s consequences” (Urhahne & Wijnia, 2023, p. 12-13). Many educational theories address motivation; behaviorism has a focus on external motivators, such as getting a good grade, while humanism focuses on internal motivators, like self-actualization (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 52).

Active Learning

Learning can be classified as active or passive. In active learning, a learner has “direct engagement with course material, such as discussion, debate, role playing, and hands-on practice” (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 59). Active learning can also be out-of-classroom experiences like internships or service-learning. Passive learning is “where students listen and watch but do not actively participate,” like lectures or demonstrations (p. 59).

Active learning is less focused on content itself, but on skills and concepts. It centers the learner’s experience. Three components of active learning are intentional engagement (hands-on practice, like role playing a situation), purposeful observation (demonstrations of skills or tasks), and critical reflection (metacognition, making connections to deep learning) (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 60).

Instructional Design

The first step in instructional design is understanding the audience of the instruction: “their interests, needs, and information behaviors” (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 119). Backward design is an approach that “shifts the focus of the design process from content and teaching to outcomes and learning” (Saunders & Wong, 2020, p. 137). Three steps to backward design are identifying desired results, determining acceptable evidence, and planning learning experiences and instruction. Designing in this manner ensures the learning activities are directly tied to the desired results.

Evidence

Artifact 1

Assignment: Discussion: Consider What We Can Learn From Games
Course: INFO 287, Gamifying Information
Description: This assignment asked me to write a discussion post defining what a game is and how learning from games differs from other kinds of learning.

My post discusses gamification as a tool for learning. Games need goals, otherwise it is just play. A good game, especially one designed for learning, needs well-structured goals. I discuss the importance of motivation in game design, referring to the ARCS (attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction) model of motivation. I applied ARCS to an experience I had in law school, demonstrating my understanding of this model.

Artifact 2

Assignment: Arkhivist Dreidel
Course: INFO 287, Gamifying Information
Description: One aspect of this class is the creation of games. One of those has to be a game that has badges or rewards in some form. I decided to put an archival learning spin on the classic Jewish game of dreidel, where the reward is often pieces of chocolate. Gamification can be applied to many learning domains, including declarative knowledge, “any piece of information that can only be learned through memorization,” and conceptual knowledge, based on “similar or related ideas, events, or objects that have a common attribute or a set of common attributes” (Kapp, 2012, p. 167, 171).

This game demonstrates my ability to apply instructional design and game design principles as a means of teaching information. Instead of just spinning a dreidel to get chocolate, players who get Gimel ג or Hey ה need to answer a question relating to archival practice correctly. The game ends when all question cards have been used. The questions I wrote test players’ declarative and conceptual knowledge about archives; if a player doesn’t know the correct answer, they have an opportunity to learn about the subject. One declarative question gives players four options of file extensions and asks which are used for digital video files; this is information that can only be memorized. One conceptual question asks players which of four factors would be most likely to oppose fair use, a concept important to information professionals.

Artifact 3

Assignment: Music Lesson Plan
Course: INFO 220, Music Librarianship
Description: This assignment asked me to design a lesson plan for information literacy using music research sources. Using an information literacy lesson plan template, I had to apply my understanding of music information sources and the ACRL Information Literacy Framework. This framework is “based on a cluster of interconnected core concepts, with flexible options for implementation” (ACRL, 2016).

Since I’m interested in citation styles, I chose to create a lesson plan teaching students in higher education how to cite music sources in APA format. Citing music sources, especially more obscure items like a deluxe album, can be confusing to learners who are unfamiliar with APA format. This lesson plan addresses the ACRL concepts “information has value” and “scholarship as conversation” (ACRL, 2016). “Information has value” refers to learners respecting the original ideas of others and valuing the time and skills needed to produce knowledge; this applies to citations because properly citing sources is a necessary part of knowledge work. “Scholarship as conversation” refers to learners citing others’ works and contributing to scholarly conversation. My lesson plan demonstrates my ability to apply an information literacy framework to instructional design. After my lesson, learners would understand how to correctly cite albums, songs, and scores, including more complicated sources, like deluxe albums, songs not on albums, and republished scores.

Conclusion

I will use my knowledge of instructional design in my future as an information professional to ensure any learning experiences I craft are centered on learners and their needs. I will continue to learn instructional design through professional development and reading articles from publications like Journal of Applied Instructional Design.

References

Association of College & Research Libraries [ACRL]. (2017). Roles and strengths of teaching librarians. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/teachinglibrarians

Association of College & Research Libraries [ACRL]. (2016). Framework for information literacy for higher education. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Kapp, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. Pfeiffer.

Saunders, L., & Wong, M. A. (2020). Instruction in libraries and information centers: An introduction. Windsor & Downs.

Urhahne, D., & Wijnia, L. (2023). Theories of motivation in education: An integrative framework. Educational Psychology Review, 35(45), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09767-9