Last December, I held a report writing seminar at the Kanazawa University Learning Commons, primarily targeting library staff and student volunteers from the library volunteer group “Tobora.” While it is difficult for me to teach things like word choice, I conducted a seminar on what should be done when writing reports, points to be aware of, how to approach information sources, structure, texture, and logical thinking.
This movement is now spreading among our university’s Learning Commons and library staff. Starting on the 17th, library staff will take the lead in holding a seminar for five days, building on the content of my report writing seminar while adding methods for literature searching. Five days is wonderful. Although the content is the same each day, the major benefit is that students can participate whenever they like.
I previously wrote an entry about the current state of Learning Commons and libraries, and it is currently being argued in library-related academic societies and information journals that library staff need to be actively involved in learning support, rather than just being professionals in book management and information searching. However, very few library staff members have been involved in educational research. In such a situation, I think it is wonderful to collaborate effectively with educational researchers, especially those in Educational Technology, to build libraries as learning support environments.
However, I also think there are organizational issues. Libraries are generally managed by information-related administrative departments, while educational affairs are often under the jurisdiction of academic affairs departments. How to overcome this barrier is, I believe, a headache. It is very difficult to build a learning support environment with only information management and library researchers, so it would be good if we could cooperate effectively. Education is often discussed based solely on experience. This is because everyone has the experience of having received an education. Also, it seems that education in general is often discussed based only on the experience of having taught. But that is not enough. I believe it is important for researchers with a track record in educational research and research intuition to be involved.
I look forward to future developments. Personally, I hope that we can form a research group or study group related to Learning Commons within the Japan Society for Educational Technology. However, having had a painful experience last year where I caused trouble for my former supervisor, Professor Yamauchi at the University of Tokyo, I hope to start with a small, voluntary research group.
Now, at the end of this month, I will be holding a presentation seminar at the Learning Commons. I will be the instructor. Unfortunately, this is an event limited to those within the university. I hope that by holding various learning support seminars in addition to writing and presentation, the circle of events will expand, and a fulfilling learning support environment can be built in the Learning Commons.