Original citation:
Dr Sarah Pittaway (2019) From information literacy to the learner journey: aligning academics and librarians
through pedagogic research, New Review of Academic Librarianship, DOI: 10.1080/13614533.2019.1589542
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1
From information literacy to the learner
journey: aligning academics and librarians
through pedagogic research
Abstract
Definition – the learner journey is here defined as the study, information and research skills that a
student brings to university with them and develops throughout the course of their degree
programme
Scope & methodology – research on academics’ perceptions, expectations and assumptions about
the learner journey was conducted via semi-structured interview, in order to underpin a refreshed
library teaching ‘menu’ at the University of Worcester
Results – consistencies and differences in approaches to levels of study, and a number of common
themes, including student independence, transition, and technology were revealed
Outcomes – from the evidence base, the project yielded both tangible outputs (the teaching menu,
a self-audit tool, a PGCert session) and less quantifiable ones, such as positioning Library Services as
pedagogic partners and researchers
Introduction
The University of Worcester has the strategic aim of being an outstanding university at which to be a
student (University of Worcester, 2013, p. 4). The 2013-18 Learning and Teaching strategy expands
on this aim, including strategic goals which focus on ‘progressive and inspirational curricula’ and
‘academic progression and achievement’ (University of Worcester, 2015, p. 2). Central to these aims
is the development and scaffolding of students’ study, research and information skills to support
their development as independent, lifelong learners. In 2016, Library Services at the University of
Worcester began a project designed to refresh the teaching offer in line with this and an associated
with a strategic priority from the 2016/17 operating statement:
Develop a clear policy and programme of scaleable teaching for on and off campus-based
students, integrated in the curriculum and delivered face to face and online as appropriate.
(University of Worcester Library Services, 2018a, p. 3)
The Academic Services team responsible for delivering this initially proposed a teaching ‘menu’ that
would articulate exactly what teaching was on offer, in order to help academic colleagues
understand what could be taught, with the ultimate aim of delivering more embedded, timely and
collaborative information literacy teaching. A menu approach has been adopted at a number of
institutions (Drill Hall Library, 2016; Royal Holloway Library, 2018; University of Birmingham Library
Services, n.d.). Like these other menus, an early draft was very library-centric, offering such sessions
as ‘planning the literature search’ and ‘the principles and basics of referencing’ (University of
Worcester Library Services, n.d., p. 18). At this stage, the University Librarian challenged the team to
develop a more student-centric model, which aligned library skills with student and curriculum need.
Although we had some ideas ourselves about what these needs were, the team decided that the
best way to identify and articulate them was to speak to academic colleagues, and thereby develop
an evidential base that could underpin the new menu. This developed into the learner journey
project, a piece of pedagogic action research that aimed to uncover the expectations of academic
staff about the learner journey, or rather, the study, research and information skills that a student
brings to university with them and develops throughout the course of their degree programme.
Although the ultimate menu or toolkit to be developed would focus around Library Services’
information literacy offer, the research undertaken spoke to the full set of skills and capabilities that
students require at university, setting information literacy firmly in context.
Setting the learner journey in context
The definition of the learner journey in these terms sets it apart from other works on the student
journey which take a holistic approach, covering every element of the student lifecycle. For example,
an special issue of the New Review of Academic Librarianship documented ‘the extended role of
academic libraries (and their staff) in developing and supporting students across the entire student
lifecycle—from pre-entry to post qualification’ (Weaver, 2013, p.99). JISC uses a similar definition,
defining the student journey ‘from first thoughts about choosing a course through to leaving and
looking for a job’ (Lincoln, 2018). Such definitions cover everything from wellbeing to academic
success to interaction with learning spaces, enabling librarians and other practitioners to deliver
interventions and programmes of work aligned to stages in the lives of students (Weaver, 2013, p.
100).
The learner journey research conducted at Worcester takes a different tack. First it focuses
specifically on the learning that is expected to take place, in terms of skills and capabilities
development, enabling students to become independent learners. This is, perhaps, a more
traditional approach and Weaver, for example, argues that the ‘institutional drivers to attract, retain
and progress students across their entire lifecycle’ means that a more holistic view is needed (p.
103). This is not to suggest that Worcester is not interested in this more holistic viewpoint, as
initiatives such as Study Happy - a programme of light touch wellbeing events - indicate (University
of Worcester Library Services, 2018b). For the purposes of the proposed teaching menu, however, a
focus on the learning and teaching experience on courses was key.
Second, the research maps the learner journey as seen through the lens of academic expectation
and assumption, rather than interrogating the student viewpoint. This was to develop a evidence
base to underpin the teaching menu aimed at staff, to ensure that Library Services were meeting
expectations. However, there was also an interest in uncovering whether staff articulated their
expectations amongst course teams and to students, as there was a suspicion this was not the case.
These have now been proven to be accurate, spurring conversations at all levels throughout the
university about how to address this, and thereby improve the student experience. A third reason
for working with academic staff was to highlight the roles that librarians play as both teachers and
researchers, raising our internal profile with our academic colleagues.
Librarians have long been interested in faculty’s understanding of information literacy and the
expectations and assumptions they hold about what students understand, and what librarians can
do to support this (Bury, 2016; Dubicki, 2013; McGuinness, 2006; Miller, 2010; Nilsen, 2012; Webber
et al., 2005). This is valuable research, both in terms of the output and the research process itself, as
academics play a vital role in facilitating student access to information literacy development (Boon,
Johnston, & Webber, 2007; Bury, 2016) and such research highlights the role of the librarian directly
to staff. In contrast, the learner journeys project deliberately covered a wider spread of study skills
and academic literacies. The information literacy focus was re-introduced in the subsequent
teaching menu that was delivered, but the aim of the initial research was to ensure that our
information literacy work was set in the broader context of the student experience and complete
learner journey. As Bury (2016) notes, ‘faculty see IL as fundamentally intertwined with other
academic literacies…Moreover, it is very common for them to speak of these literacies as linked to
the ultimate goal of developing students’ confidence and ability to navigate and work effectively in
the scholarly information landscape’ (pp. 237, 243). As such, although librarians tend to only deliver
the information literacy component, it is difficult to separate this from broader academic literacies in
conversation.
The student perspective is a valuable corollary to this research and was always intended to be
undertaken, though funding for the project was sadly lacking. Subsequently, one team member
undertook her dissertation research on the topic of mapping student perspectives of the learner
journey (Devine, 2018) and found that students themselves reflect on similar themes to those raised
by academics, considering their transition to and general preparedness for university, progression