Breakout session for Illinois Information Literacy Summit 2014

1. Application of
Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CA)
to Library Instruction
Elizabeth Tompkins
Kingsborough Community College
Information Literacy Summit 2014
April 25, 2014

2. CA Defined
Learning theory that unites how students
learn in traditional apprenticeship programs
(e.g. construction trades, arts, and crafts)
with typical classroom practices

3. Presentation
• Path to CA
• Background of CA
• CA and library instruction
• Discussion
• Wrap-up

4. Path to CA

5. Research Interest
• Instructional improvement
• Professional development of
librarians as teachers
• Inspired by Scott Walter’s writings
(2006 and 2008)

6. Kingsborough Community College
• Public two year college founded in 1963
• One of 24 campuses of the City University
of New York
• Located in the borough of Brooklyn
• Enrollment of nearly 19,000 students
• Nearly 55% of students are foreign born
• 73 languages spoken on campus

7. Library Instruction at Kingsborough
Community College
• Invitation of professor
• Single or double sessions
• First year or second year English
composition
• Most students have not had any
experience using a library

8. Instructional Development
• Goal to create a greater awareness of my
classroom practice
• Keep a reflective teaching journal
• Recorded and analyzed written
reflections after completing a series of
library classes

9. Outcome of Journaling
• Fully hands-on sessions were most
effective for engaging students
• Modified instruction from mostly an
instructor-led lecture to a student-
centered workshop (Tompkins 2009)

10. Question
• How does one structure and guide a
student-centered workshop?
• Cook and Sittler (2008) contend
that how one teaches informs what
the students will come to learn

11. Developing a Teaching Perspective
Unified collection of beliefs and
intentions that work together to form
actions in the classroom (Pratt 2005).

12. Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI)
• http://www.teachingperspectives.com/drupal/
(Pratt and Collins 2014)
• 45 questions that assesses one’s
orientation to teaching
• Inventory revealed my inclination for
apprenticeship perspective based upon
Collins, Brown, and Newman’s work
(1989)

13. Background of CA

14. CA Defined
Method that unites how students learn in
traditional apprenticeship programs (e.g.
construction trades, arts, and crafts) with
typical classroom practices

15. Goal of CA
Reveal the thought process of
teachers or other experts as they
deliver instruction

16. Theoretical underpinnings
• Developed by Collins, Brown, and
Newman (1989)
• Based on Jean Lave’s (1977 and 1982)
fieldwork

17. Jean Lave
• Studied apprentices working in a
traditional West African tailor shop
• Evidence gathered indicated that
apprenticeship training builds aptitude
for problem solving
• Determined that apprentices acquire
knowledge by observing, imitating, and
getting feedback

18. Collins, Brown, and Newman
• Incorporated Lave’s findings into a classroom
setting
• Apprenticeship learning strategies
– Observing
– Imitating
– Feedback
• Translated into classroom practices
– Modeling
– Scaffolding
– Coaching

19. CA Dimensions
• Method
• Content
• Sequencing
• Sociology of a learning
environment

20. CA and Library Instruction

21. Method Dimension
Instructor behaviors:
•Modeling
•Coaching
•Scaffolding
•Fading
•Encouraging articulation
•Fostering reflection
•Urging exploration

22. Methods for Library Instruction
• Create a model of search strategies using electronic
databases
• Demonstrate the research model in class
• Provide coaching
• Step away when the student understands searching
concepts
• Encourage students to talk about their essay topic
• Urge students to reflect upon their results
• Foster further exploration

23. Content Dimension
• Domain knowledge – concepts and facts
associated with a particular discipline
• Heuristic strategies – approaches to
solving problems often thought of as
“tricks of the trade”
• Control strategies – methods for selecting
the best problem-solving strategies
• Learning strategies – techniques for
acquiring new knowledge

24. Content for Library Instruction
• Introduce subject headings for topic
• How to limit results
• Best “tricks of the trade” for searching a
topic
• Select the best database for the research
topic

25. Sequencing Dimension
• Global versus local skills (i.e.
scaffolding to assist problem
solving)
• Increasing the complexity of tasks
• Increasing the diversity of skills

26. Sequencing for Library Instruction
• Present hands-on database searching
early in session
• Start with basic search platforms first
• Introduce alternative databases and
search strategies

27. Sociology of a Learning Environment
Strategies that create a community of
interactive learners
•Exploiting Cooperation
•Situated Learning
•Community of Practice
•Intrinsic Motivation

28. Creating Community during
Library Instruction
• Encourage students to help each other
• Relate research to topics presented in
class
• Encourage sharing of information
• Connect library research to personal
meaning

29. Benefits of CA
• Assists in working with students with
various skill levels
• Adaptability to a variety of classes and
topics
• Helps to correct misunderstandings
• Students have opportunity to obtain
relevant research
• Fosters collaboration with faculty

30. Difficulties
• Planned library session does not match
assignment
• Weak collaboration with faculty member
• Lack of student cooperation

31. Further Inquiry
• What more can librarians can learn about
instruction from CA?
• Can we borrow protocols from other
academic disciplines?
• How can librarians use CA to introduce
the new IL threshold concepts?

32. Additional Exploration
• Reexamine the method dimension to
focus on modeling
• Learning how other fields of study use
modeling techniques

33. Learning from Composition
Studies
• Think Aloud Models
• Verbal protocols used in writing
instruction (Duncan 1996)
• Use to introduce IL threshold concepts

34. Learning from Composition Studies
• Templates to assist modeling of library
research
• Inspiration from They Say/ I Say (Graff
and Birkenstein 2009)
• Incorporate IL threshold concepts

35. Discussion
• CA Worksheet
• Integrating CA into your instruction
sessions

36. Wrap-up

37. References
Collins, Allan, John Seely Brown, and Susan E. Newman. 1989.
"Cognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the Crafts of Reading,
Writing, and Mathematics." In Knowing, Learning, and
Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser, edited by
Lauren B. Resnick and Robert Glaser, 453-494. Hillsdale, NJ:
Laurence Erlbaum.
Cook, Douglas and Ryan Sittler. 2008. Practical Pedagogy for
Library Instructors: 17 Innovative Strategies to Improve
Student Learning. Chicago: Association of College and
Research Libraries.
Duncan, S. L. S. 1996.” Cognitive apprenticeship in classroom
instruction: Implications for industrial and technical teacher
education.” Journal of Industrial Teacher Education 33(3),
66-86.

38. References (Continued)
Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. 2009. “They say/I Say": The
Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.
W.Norton.
Lave, Jean. 1977. "Cognitive Consequences of Traditional
Apprenticeship Training in West Africa." Anthropology &
Education Quarterly 8 (3): 177-180.
Lave, Jean. 1982. "A Comparative Approach to Educational Forms
and Learning Processes." Anthropology & Education Quarterly
13 (2): 181-187.
Pratt, Daniel D., ed. 2005. Five Perspectives on Teaching in Adult
and Higher Education. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing
Company, Inc.

39. References (Continued)
Pratt, Daniel D., and John D. Collins. 2014. "TPI- Teaching
Perspectives Inventory."
http://www.teachingperspectives.com/drupal/.
Tompkins, Elizabeth K. 2009. "A Reflective Teaching Journal: An
Instructional Improvement Tool for Academic Librarians."
College & Undergraduate Libraries 16 (4): 221-238.
Tompkins, Elizabeth K. 2014. “Application of Cognitive
Apprenticeship Model (CA) to Library Instruction.” Manuscript
submitted for publication.
Walter, S. 2006. Instructional improvement: Building capacity for
the professional development of librarians as teachers.
Reference & User Services Quarterly 45:213-218.
Walter, S. 2008. Librarians as teachers: A qualitative inquiry into
professional identity. College & Research Libraries 69:51-71.

40. Contact Information
Elizabeth Tompkins
Assistant Professor/ Reader Services
Librarian
Kinsgsborogh Community College
2001 Oriental Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11235
718-368-6541
Elizabeth.Tompkins@kbcc.cuny.edu