Evidence Summary
Situated Cognition Principles Increase Students’ Likelihood of Knowledge
Transfer in an Online Information Literacy Course
A Review of:
Catalano, A. (2015). The effect of a situated learning environment in a
distance education information literacy course. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(5), 653-659. http://dx.doi:org/10.1016/j.acalib.2015.06.008
Reviewed by:
Peace Ossom Williamson
Director for Research Data Services
University of Texas at Arlington Libraries
Arlington, Texas, United States of America
Email: peace@uta.edu
Received: 24 June 2016 Accepted: 14 Oct.
2016
2016 Ossom Williamson. This is an Open
Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons‐Attribution‐Noncommercial‐Share Alike License 4.0
International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial
purposes, and, if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the
same or similar license to this one.
Abstract
Objective – To assess the efficacy of the application of
situated cognition principles in education students’ transfer of knowledge to
practice in an online information literacy course. “Situation cognition” refers
to a theory in which expert behaviour-modeling, authentic activity and
apprenticeship, and learning environment are integral in learning.
Design – A randomized controlled trial.
Setting – A small private university in New York State.
Subjects – 85 education college students in 7 sections of a 1-credit
online course titled Introduction to Library Research and Technology.
Methods – Each course section was randomly assigned via
cluster sampling to “situated cognition” treatment (n = 48) or control conditions (n
= 37). The treatment sections provided students with expert modeling,
scaffolding, authentic activity, and problem-based assessments according to the
principles of situated learning and teaching for transfer; while the control
sections provided students with traditional instruction of lectures and
handouts.
A pretest and posttest were given to students in order
to assess improvement in knowledge of the five categories for evaluating
resources: currency, relevance, authority, credibility, and audience. The
pretest was a survey administered during the first week of the course, and the
posttest questions were included in the final exam. The researcher also used a
final assignment to evaluate students’ improvement on the far transfer task (i.e.,
their ability to transfer a skill learned in one context for use and
applicability in other contexts). The task was to create a resolution for one
of three concerns raised to a School Board, to write a statement addressing the
received concern, and to articulate a recommended solution. Two raters independently
graded tasks on a scale using a rubric based on information literacy
principles, including incorporating some corroborating sources, evaluating of
source information, and determining a solution based on source credibility.
Main Results – The researcher compared the impact of the situated
cognition teaching on retention using the posttest and on far transfer task of
the 85 students in both treatment and control groups using multivariate
analysis of variance (MANCOVA). The MANCOVA analysis found no significant
difference between scores based on belonging to treatment or control groups.
However, because far transfer occurred in 59 cases based on scoring of the
tests, the researchers performed a logistic regression analysis and found the
group variable (i.e., belonging to the situated cognition treatment group or
control group) provided a significant prediction of transfer (p < .05), when controlling for
engagement, self-regulation, and motivation. Potential confounding due to
variation in motivation, self-regulation, and engagement were ruled out by
using the Motivated Strategy for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and by recording
of participation in weekly assignments. Furthermore, presence in the treatment
group increased the odds for the incidence of far transfer by a factor of 2.90.
Conclusion – When testing the use of principles of situated
learning (e.g., problem-based learning and cognitive apprenticeship in library
instruction), the study results indicated an increase in the likelihood of
students being able to practise knowledge in various situations and apply what
they have learned in real-life examples. While the majority of students in both
treatment and control groups demonstrated the skills of far transfer, the study
provides evidence to support situated cognition, an understudied set of
principles, and the study also utilizes quantitative methods to further
strengthen this support.
Commentary
The article largely pioneers the concept of
integrating situated learning in library instruction. Nichols (2009) discussed
the teaching of information literacy behaviours through situated cognition
strategies and identified themes in students’ transitions from action to
cognition and participation in which actions (e.g., searching and taking notes)
progress to cognition direction (i.e., becoming more knowledgeable about a
subject) and leading to participation in the academic community and engaging in
successful scholarly communication. This article furthers the aims of the
proposed model Nichols (2009) presented because it provides more concrete
evidence due to research design moving from case studies to a randomized
controlled trial.
Strengths of the study include its detailed background
and investigation into current research and practice around implementation of
situated cognition principles. The author’s use of concepts from problem-based
learning and cognitive apprenticeship reveal the ability to integrate various
models in order to establish an intervention meaningful for the population
being studied. In addition, the use of all sections of a course prevents bias
due to self-selection, which often occurs when students choose whether to
participate in a research activity. A limitation of the study is that it has
limited generalizability due to its occurring within one course and with a
smaller sample size.
Furthermore, data collection, analysis, and coding
methods were clearly defined. The author also provides the details of the
assignment to allow for replication. The logic behind the assignment, its coding,
and the analysis tools being used were well described, and evidence documenting
the support for these practices was included; however, data loss is a
possibility when the assignment submissions were coded into binomial scores.
Confounding variables, including engagement assessed by weekly participation
and motivation assessed using the MSLQ, were accounted for, strengthening the
validity of the outcome. Based upon calculations from the EBL critical
appraisal checklist (Glynn, 2006), validity overall and for each section was
over 85%, clearly meeting the established 75% threshold for validity in study
methods and reporting.
The study contributes to evidence supporting situated
learning and problem-based learning as effective methods for teaching information
literacy skills in education students. One outcome of the research is that it
provides new methods for developing curriculum for librarians who teach
information literacy. The study also presents several effective strategies for
providing students with skills applicable for work within their disciplines and
the ability to build upon these skills using methods taught by frameworks and
models arising out of the field of education. Most evident is the clear need
for continued research in this realm.
References
Glynn, L. (2006). A critical appraisal tool for library and information
research. Library Hi Tech, 24(3),
387-399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/07378830610692154
Nichols, J. T. (2009). The 3 Directions: Situated information
literacy. College & Research Libraries, 70(6),
515-530. http://dx.doi.org/10.5860/crl.70.6.515