Title
Practicing Information Literacy: Practicum students negotiating information practice in
workplace settings.
Keywords:
Information literacy
Information literacy instruction
Practicum students
Field education
Work placements
Phenomenography
Abstract

This study explores practicum students' experiences of information literacy (IL) in work
placement settings and describes the various ways they experience IL while learning in these
settings. Using phenomenography to conduct and analyze interviews with practicum students in
health and community programs at an undergraduate university, this study finds that in practicum
settings, learners understand and practice IL not only from their perspectives as students but also
as employees and future professionals. This exploration of student IL experiences in learning
contexts beyond the classroom presents insights that can inform and strengthen IL curriculum
and pedagogy for students in professional programs.

Introduction
This study explores the information literacy (IL) development of students preparing for
professional roles in health and social care settings. Given that most students in undergraduate
professional programs are likely to enter the workplace after graduation, rather than pursue

1

further academic study, the current lack of scholarly inquiry into preparing students for
workplace and professional information literacy is noteworthy. The dearth of research into
connections between IL and practice learning, especially in those types of professional and
vocational programs where practice learning is foundational and fundamental pedagogy,
suggests a significant gap in academic librarians understanding of predevelopment, and an opportunity to gather more research evidence to inform practice in this area.
Existing research on IL instruction for these students has focused largely on assessing their use
of information resources. However, s
their setting as well as

8a,

p. 196), so these settings, and student learning in these settings, deserve more attention in the
literature. Hicks (2018a) also suggests that

in terms of

how it is shaped rather than how it is taught, emphasis moves from the measurement and
description of learner attributes to an examination of the ways in which a community engages
with knowledge within a

p. 196) (emphasis added). This study aims to

examine IL in these terms and demonstrate the value of this type of examination for teaching and
learning.
This study employs phenomenography as a method to describe information literacy as a
lived experience among students in order to reveal a variety of ways in which students
experience IL in workplace learning contexts: as students, as employees, and as burgeoning
professionals. Listening to how students describe their information practices in their own words
helps LIS practitioners and researchers to set aside the heuristics and models we currently use to
define, measure and assess IL, and uncover various ways that IL can be perceived, understood
and experienced. This qualitative study aims to bridge the gap in practitioner research that tends

2

not to theorize the concept (Hicks, 2018b) and is prone to assess rather than explore IL (Lundh et
al., p. 2013). The focus of the discourse in academic librarianship on information resources
rather than the context of their use, and on cognitive, individual academic skills rather than
socially and culturally informed lived experiences, leaves a gap to be explored with qualitative
research methods. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how some students
develop information literacy and draws insights from some specific contexts where this
development happens. To do this, this study asks: How do practicum students in health and
human services programs describe their workplace information practices and behaviors during
practicum placements? W
a workplace setting that will help us design relevant IL instruction interventions and incorporate
them effectively into their curriculum?

Literature Review
Workplace and Professional Information Literacy
There is a large body of research on workplace information literacy that examines the
ways people acquire and apply information practices and behaviors in health and social servicerelated workplace settings. This research has established some significant features of workplace
information literacy: it involves engagement and interaction with textual, social, and physical
information sources; it is developed through a wide range of experiential, tacit, and embodied
types of knowledge types that are developed through practice in a social setting; it is mediated
and negotiated through social interaction with coworkers and professional communities; and it is
developed through reflective practice (Abdi & Bruce, 2013; Bonner & Lloyd, 2011; Forster,
2016; French & Williamson, 2016; Lloyd, 2009, 2010 2011; Lloyd & Williamson, 2008).

3

While there has been some acknowledgement that this workplace research has improved
post-

017),

this literature on workplace IL has yet to be fully explored and applied in academic settings. In
general, insights developed from this research about IL as a sociocultural practice have not been
usefully applied in the literature of academic librarianship to provide librarians with evidence to
inform instruction with these students (Julien & Williamson, 2011). More research is needed that
can help academic librarians apply these insights to adapt and improve approaches to IL
instruction to prepare students to be information literate in a variety of contexts outside the postsecondary setting.
In health and social care disciplines specifically, studies of current students and recent
graduates have helped identify information practices, behaviors, and learning needs of future
practitioners (Diekema, 2019, Ivanitskaya et. al., 2012; Wadson et al., 2018; Wahoush &
Banfield, 2014). This research has explored the idea of a research to practice gap (Bingham et
al., 2016; Eyre, 2012; Wahoush & Banfield, 2014; Witek & Dalgin, 2019) suggesting that
students and new graduates experience difficulty in transferring skills from school to the
workplace and in perceiving the relevance of academic research skills to practice. From their
research, Wadson et al. (2018) have concluded that
provided by libraries and educational institutions is either inadequate or not well suited to the

(p. 147-148).

Information literacy instruction in pre-professional programs

4

Teaching IL either within, alongside, or in preparation for practicum or field courses has
been studied in undergraduate programs including nutrition (Ingalls, 2018; Horseman, 2015),
nursing (Kolstad, 2017, 2015), social work (Bingham et al., 2016; Doney, 2018; Plaice, Lloyd, &
Shaw, 2017), and rehabilitation therapy (Witek & Dalgin, 2019). These studies demonstrate the
value of authentic assignments and assessments
can be incorporated into online and in-person classroom settings. Other studies of IL instruction
in practicum courses reveal the challenge and the value of these courses for describing, and
demonstrating IL in a way that is relevant to the disciplines and professions, either through
alignment with disciplinary methods like EBP (Bingham et al., 2016, 2017) or through
disciplinary epistemologies and ways of knowing (Doney, 2018; Bingham et al., 2016).
Many of these studies refer to a research-to-practice connection but approaches to
thinking about and applying this connection to the practice of IL instruction vary. Some
researchers see this as an opportunity to seek out and use student evidence from practice to
inform their teaching content and approach (Horseman, 2015; Ingalls, 2018; Kolstad, 2017),
while others present IL skills as a preparation for practice but firmly rooted in an academic
context and for academic purposes. (Bingham at al., 2016). Authors offer insight into the best
way to integrate IL into the curriculum that best supports students for practice in terms of timing
(Spring, 2018, Bingham et al., 2016), content (Doney, 2018; Ingalls, 2018) and curricular
alignment (Doney, 2018). Overall, this research suggest that librarians working with these

p. 82), and describe attempts to do this through relationship
building (Kolstad, 2015, 2017), evidence gathering (Stevenson, 2012), and exploration of theory
(Kolstad, 2017; Stevenson, 2012).

5

Like much of the IL literature from educational settings, these studies present IL as a
predefined set of traits or abilities that can be measured or evaluated against established norms,
signaling a library-centric approach to IL. However, as Lundh et al. (2013) suggest, there is
potential to learn from an approach to studying IL in other contexts where librarian expertise and
accepted wisdom do not influence how we identify and evaluate IL. In addition, the idea of a
one-way trajectory for students from theory to practice, and its impact on teaching and learning
IL, remains unexamined in much detail. Finally, a noteworthy gap to explore is the significance
for teaching and learning of the specific contexts of the practicum placements where these
students are learning IL and the sociocultural influences in those settings that mediate this
learning. More research is needed to explore the role that authentic, situated practice in
experiential learning environments plays in the formation and development of information
literacy in students.

Methods
Participants and Setting
This study took place with students at an undergraduate university in Treaty 7 territory in
Alberta, Canada
Ethics Board. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six students from three
programs in the faculty of Health, Community and Education, where practicum learning is a
degree requirement: Social Work, Child Studies, and Nursing. The work placements where
students completed their practicum included an out-of-school childcare program, two community
resource centers, and several general hospital wards. Students were recruited through posters

6

around campus, in-class recruitment visits, and recruitment messages shared in the Learning
Management System sites of relevant practicum courses.

Methodology
The object of phenomenography is the variation of human experience of the world (Given,
2008, p. 2). This approach explores ways that people perceive, know, or understand a
phenomenon, defined as

that is shown, or revealed, or manifest in experience

(Blackburn, 2016). The fundamental aim of [phenomenographic] studies is to determine
through an analysis of the range of experiences of a sample of participants what IL means in

2016, p. 354). The value of using this methodology in LIS research to provide rich details of the
various ways groups of people experience and understand IL in context has been established
(Bruce, 1999; Diehm & Lupton, 2012; Forster, 2016; Yates et al., 2012). Phenomenography

particular context, and a different context may bring different aspects of the phenomenon into
Exploring how information literacy is experienced,
demonstrated, and understood in workplace learning environments helps bring to light different
aspects of this phenomenon experienced by post-secondary learners, beyond the ways that we
observe it in academic environments.
Phenomenographic data is normally gathered through semi-structured interviews, a
method well suited for descriptive, exploratory studies where research questions are what and
how, rather than why or how much (Johnson & Rowlands, 2012), and a useful way for
researchers to gather rich data representative of diverse understandings of IL. There is no firmly

7

established sample size for phenomenological studies, and it has been argued that the number of
participants is not significant as long as thematic redundancy is reached (Beitin, 2012). This
can be reached via long, in-depth interviews that produce relatively large amounts rich data from
fewer participants. In this study, interviews lasted approximately one hour and were audio
recorded (see Appendix for the interview script).
conceptualization of information literacy informed the construction of the interview questions
and the interpretation of responses, the interview questions were designed to be open to all
possible experiences with information that might be described by participants (Given, 2008).
A phenomenographic approach to analyzing the transcripts meant identifying concepts
drawn from both the data collected and

understanding of and experience with

IL-related concepts, and then grouping and regrouping those concepts to develop categories of
description that reveal differences in the ways that participants experience the phenomenon of
information literacy (Forster, 2016; Given, 2008). The analysis uncovered three related
categories that describe increasingly complex ways learners experience this phenomenon in their
practicum placements: as students, as workers, and as helping professionals.

Results
Categories of information literacy experience
Student - IL is experienced with the awareness of learning skills, meeting program
requirements, and being assessed. This category demonstrates developing IL in terms of decision
making, information seeking strategies, selecting sources, gathering information, and attempting
to apply it in an unfamiliar and dynamic environment. Descriptions of IL focus on developing
individual skills and knowledge.

8

Employee - IL is experienced with awareness of the self as part of an information
ecosystem whose nature is specific to the workplace (for example, collaborative or hierarchical).
IL here is expressed as building awareness of the context in which information can be used,
sought, and applied, and developing contextually relevant information seeking strategies. IL
practices are applied externally, beyond individual needs for coworkers and clients or patients.
Professional - IL is practiced through the lens of professional identity and awareness of
actions regarding scope of practice and professional issues and ethics. IL demonstrates
awareness of the ethical implications of information practice with clients or patients as well as
the social and cultural influences on professional information use.

Student Information Literacy
The nature and scope of information seeking and use was greatly influenced by
awareness of being assessed by instructors and supervisors. Students articulated struggles with
the limitations of their own knowledge, the uncertainty of what and how much they were
expected to know, and when and how they were expected to apply that information. Student #5
described the work of preparing for a shift during their clinical course:

medications. So typically you write it on cue cards, or you write it on paper, and like, you

Students described the transition from academic to professional information use as they
learned to assess the practical value of their trusted and familiar information sources, like

9

textbooks, while navigating either the lack or abundance of new information sources available to

solve a specific clinical problem:

your nursing textbooks. It seems crazy, but you are going through every single textbook
because I think I had one patient, I had and I could not find one thing about this one
aspect, so I had to go through
there I went to Google, because some of these medications are so new that sometimes the

ly

more appropriate and valuable to their work. They described their experience of negotiating the
different values that they, their colleagues and coworkers assigned to different sources. As
center, they
made connections between their information use and the social work value of empathy:

to go for the people who have developed programs, who have found activities that work.
But even when you are looking into those when developing a program - like I did in my
groups class - yeah, you do all that official research and read through all the official
articles, but the resources are sometimes those unofficial resources! When it comes to
activities that you are going to do you may do that independent research that is not using
those main sites or things, and then justify it through your official research. So I think if
you are creating a program or trying to introduce a new practice you need those articles

10

that have best practice behind them, but if you are gaining a better general life
understanding of your clients, working on gaining more perspective, more understanding,
working towards empathy, if you are working with a clientele that you find it really hard
to connect to, I feel like the unofficial things, like The Mighty or Ted Talks, etcetera, that
kind of come from that side of things, that speak to the other side of things in a more

These comments indicate that learners experience growth in their critical thinking and their
ability to determine the value of information in different contexts. Immersed in a practice
environment working for and with other people, they were able to make authentic evaluations of
relevance, significance, authority and value of the information they need that was quite different
from the way they used information in other, more formal learning contexts.

Employee Information Literacy
The significance of practicum placement contexts for developing IL through practice is
clear in the experiences learners have as employees in a workplace. In this category of
experience they developed their understanding of the impact of their information practices and
behaviors beyond their individual course or program learning outcomes. They took advantage of
the information resources they had available to them as students and used them in the workplace
for the benefit of others, both clients and coworkers. Student #1 described a challenging situation
with problematic behavior in a child under their care:
... we went to that professor as well because she is
teaching us how to guide behaviors, so we asked her for her input!... We also have a
seminar for practicum ... so there are about twelve students and my supervisor. Her and I

11

brought it up because
s],

This same student described doing extra research on topics that arose during their work
experience for the benefit of the organization and their coworkers:
ten during the week I just do my own research to get any kind of extra
information that I am interested in or that I would find helpful based on a kid, or that I
think some of the staff would enjoy. For example, I am really passionate about the topic
of physical literacy and the girl who runs the physical literacy activities in the center is as

As employees, learners also described their developing awareness of their workplace
information environment and how that environment impacts the type, amount, and nature of
information that is required, available and usable. Student comments reflect how this awareness
of the sociocultural context of the workplace, and its limits and opportunities, helped them
decide when existing information will suffice and when they must dig deeper. Student #4
identified the limitations of the training materials available to them at a community resource
center, hinting at an awareness of practical reasons for these limitations:

had a few other things in there too, like showing a few of their online systems a bit, but
not everything was up to date - I think that is the hard part about case work. And then
really it was about job shadowing and I had a notebook and I would just write things
down because they gave a lot of processes that you di

12

Similarly, Student #5 articulated their feelings about a work environment where the availability
of information needed to do their job was dependent on other people:

them electronically and then we also have them handwritten and we had a surgeon that

just would forget. So often some of that information would be lost because there are some
of us that just look at solely just the computer. But then I think with practice and with the
clinical instructor, part of that is taking that initiative to look into the files to see what
information is going around, and then looking and contrasting what is missing from the

Students described how they learned to recognize that there is sometimes no clear
authority to be found in any form, whether a document, a coworker or personal experience. Their
comments reflect a growing understanding that authority in the workplace is mediated by the
context of professional hierarchies, interpersonal relationships, and workplace culture. In
describing a case of an information need at work, Student #4 commented on their frustration at
having no authoritative or reliable source for information, even though they had the research
skills to find it.

help and feeling like it was there and not being able to find it, even through Google
searches or knowing how to search it. Like even people needing winter coats - that is one
example -

13

there
information about that, or a response, like from other agencies that offer them. Whether

that was tough to find. ... So some very specific resources and not having a place - and
that would be so hard to do, I have been thinking about it - like how would you maintain
a list of that? No matter what someone has to maintain the agency list and description of

When asked about how the resources for clients at the workplace are evaluated, collected, and
shared, Student #1 described the selection process:
behavior, or it is
mandated, like they have some articles where they are supposed to show the parents
based on what management has told them, or something, for example, physical literacy or
literacy one and how it has declined within young kids due to screen time -- that one is
more situated to society today so they would make sure that is in circulation somewhere.
... Whatever management gives them has to be on there [the parent resource board], but
with regards to extra resources I think they pick and choose based on the kids they see
and their behaviors that they document, and the families and the background that they
know of. Instead of it being kind of generic it is more situated toward a number of the

These comments reflect awareness of the realities not only of their workplaces, but also the
larger social systems and structures that impacted their abilities as practitioners to find and apply
needed information to help their clients.
Professional Information Literacy

14

The way that learners in practicum settings interact with information reflects their ability
to apply discipline-specific ways of knowing to professional practice. For students learning to
become helping professionals, this meant that they experienced information literacy in the
context of relationship-based, client-centered
well:
services it is really about
people and not everyone can have all the knowledge on everything, and that is what I saw
too. I like the idea of people having different skill sets or knowledge or places that they

This statement implies that information is seen as organic, moving, and embodied in people
rather than documents, and suggests an
can change between and among people. This student also expressed her awareness of how
situation, privilege, access, background impacts information literacy, both for themself and for
their clients when they
might say they need something,

. [...] They
y need is a food bank referral.

Related to this professional awareness of how they and their clients or patients recognize,
articulate and act on information needs, these students were also aware of how information
behaviors were bound up in professional ethics. In describing their work with clients as a
community resource center, Student #2 articulated a strong sense of ethical information practice
at a community resource center:

15

We are not necessarily the ones with the professional information and we may not be
able to deliver that information without bias, which is why places like the sexual health
center, or SCOPE, they have trained professionals to deliver information without bi
their
experiences with information:

handling and things like that that we either have something to work off of, workshop
wise, or is fairly clear put, we can do that. But when it comes to more opinion-based
subjects, or subjects that may have a lot of value conflicts those are where those
boundaries are drawn, because we get into the more c

Other learners were not so confident and expressed practice boundaries as a source of anxiety.
Student #6 described such an experience:

me questions that should be for the doctor, and then just to give him some reassurance I
tried to answer it from like, also going on the internet, and my instructor told me that is

reason why I became really hesitant to teach patients because I am not sure when it
comes to my scope, and also

the sociocultural context of their information practices, especially perceptions of their role as

16

experts. Student #1 reflected on how the nature of information sharing with clients and the
impact this might have on them:

negative behaviors for one child we will write it down in that observation book and then
we will post something, either in the weekly newsletter or on the board that is associated
with that behavior, but not calling anyone out. Parents already have enough stress and we

comments also reflected an awareness of the larger culture in which they
used information in a professional capacity. They noted experiencing the challenges around the

as an information resource for clients:
ents versus
educators and both the positive and negative side of things. ... So instead of giving advice
we try and have an open dialogue, ask questions, or maybe if they come to us for
resources, that is why we try and build that connection because we have people come to
us at my practicum and ask for resources for like, speech therapists, or [child
psychologists] and stuff like that. ... Unfortunately I think it is kind of sad because there
are some very good resources out there for parents, and you can see when the parents
start to get stressed out or burnt out and it would be like, we would be able to help you so

For these learners, professional IL was fundamentally a relational experience. Experiencing IL in
this category means reflecting on the outcome of their information practice on the people they
were helping.

17

Discussion
Supporting Reflective Information Practice

professional ethics and standards, influenced their information practices during their practicums.
The ways that these students engaged with IL concepts specifically as employees and
professionals offer clues librarians can use to incorporate workplace experiences into instruction
practices to address IL concepts in meaningful, relevant ways that support future praxis.

self-awareness of their different roles in workplace settings. Their comments show evidence of
reflective information praxis, and suggest that they negotiate IL in workplace settings, rather
than simply apply it, across all categories of experience. As students, they demonstrated
awareness of their learning process and the related enablers and barriers to their learning; part of
this metacognitive development was knowing that the student experience was temporary and
constrained by specific factors related to their program. By contrast, when learners described
their practices as professionals, they spoke in the present or future tense, as though the
information practices they described were connected to the ongoing practice of being a nurse,
early childhood educator, or social worker. In terms of implications for academic librarians,
these findings suggest that it we

to

learners, then the professional category of experience offers us clues as to how to do this.
Across categories of experience, learners described ways that their information literacy
was tied to their work helping others. These

descriptions provide evidence that the

practice of information literacy for helping professionals is significantly influenced by
understanding not only of their own information needs but those of the clients or patients with

18

whom they work (Sharun, 2019). These l

were closely connected

to their understanding of their professional roles and the impact of their practices on others in
their environment. They described their experiences with a professional perspective, highlighting
how the concepts of scope of practice, ethical boundaries, and client-focused practice impacted
their use of information. This suggests that IL instruction must address the interpersonal, social
and cultural aspect of information literacy wherever possible, rather than the purely cognitive
and individual skills, and that learning activities for pre-professional students should address the
fact that the practice of professional information literacy is entirely tied to work with clients.
Teaching concepts like information authority, context, creation and access should incorporate
their practice learning and be done in a way that helps them in their future work as information
mediators, navigators, and purveyors of information about the health, education and social care
systems.
Training in reflective practice is integral to the education of students in allied health and
helping professions. There are opportunities for librarians to help students develop reflective
information practice and metacognitive awareness of IL in professional practice by building on
existing practicum assignments and assessments. IL assignments and assessments that are tied to
professional practice learning, like reflective journals, can also provide evidence of student
learning helpful for effectively describing and demonstrating IL not only in a disciplinary
context but also in a vocational or professional context that makes the concept meaningful to
instructors in these programs. Despite the practical challenges of doing so, librarians should look

faculty and field instructors. More formative assessment of IL in settings beyond the library
classroom can provide for more meaningful and impactful involvement of IL in the curriculum.

19

Expanding the Framework
some of skills, practices and
dispositions outlined in the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education (2016) and
offer examples that could be used to illustrate these frames for students who may not relate to the
academic context in which this framework is often taught. These students described how they
internalized and applied concepts of information privilege, information value, strategic
information seeking, and the contextual nature of information authority. The practicum
experience provides authentic learning opportunities for educators to address IL knowledge
practices and dispositions (ACRL, 2016) and relate them to practice; librarians can leverage
examples from practicums in their demonstrations, class discussions, and activities to help
students make connections in their information seeking, evaluation and use inside and outside the
classroom. Seeking more examples of the Framework concepts in workplace learning
environments can provide librarians with additional evidence to communicate the significance of
IL concepts with faculty and help move IL instruction beyond the one-shot session. Rich and
varied qualitative descriptions of workplace experiences can provide evidence not just of
developing knowledge practices, but also the dispositions, values and mindsets that are
both influenced by disciplinary cultures and more difficult for librarians to authentically observe
and assess (Rutledge & LeMire, 2017).

Embedding IL into the Curriculum
The idea of negotiating IL that was illustrated by these students may be useful in helping
educators account for workplace and everyday life realities in teaching IL concepts, and equip
students who are becoming practitioners rather than academics. These learners transferred their

20

IL skills and knowledge quite easily between the classroom and workplace, and applied
experiences from one setting to help them learn in the other. Contrary to many of the IL
instruction approaches described in the literature, t

suggest that this

instruction should not culminate when practice begins but be connected to practice-related
learning throughout the curriculum. The ways that learners described crossing boundaries as they
sought and used information in the classroom and in the workplace provides hints for IL
instruction that is integrated not just into practicum courses or research methods courses, but into
other courses in these programs, such as policy, advocacy, interprofessional communication or
other methods courses, that connect to and prepare students for practicum placements.
Practicing IL is not a straightforward application of theory, skills, or knowledge in a new
environment, but a negotiation of the sociocultural context of that environment and an awareness
of how that context constrains and shapes the way IL is demonstrated. For librarians, attempts to
curriculum map or scaffold IL skills and concepts in a program without considering the
significance of practicum experiences

learning and its relationship to the rest of the

courses in a program may miss opportunities to address important learning outcomes, or worse,
may neglect to effectively prepare students for information literate professional practice.

Conclusion
In their examination of workplace and educational IL studies, Limburgh et al. (2013)
concluded

not

p. 11) beyond the classroom, in workplaces or everyday life. They note the differences
academic librarians teach to
and suggest that this understanding of contextual information seeking can inform IL education
efforts. This study has added a small piece to a body of empirical research that takes up their
21

suggestion and illuminates one way that investigating IL from a workplace perspective can
inform IL teaching for post-secondary students in professional and vocational programs.
This study has also provided some preliminary thoughts on the value of exploring the
various learning environments where students practice IL beyond the classroom and suggests
that IL instruction can be more deeply embedded in experiential learning opportunities for
students. Stev
knowledge and the impact the learning has on the work environment; it is also necessary to
evaluate how the work environment influences the learner and identify potential and actual
p. 82). Qualitative studies of experiential learning in work
environments allow us to learn from students by listening to their voices instead of simply
learning about students by measuring their performance of defined tasks. There is an opportunity
for future studies to validate and build on the ideas presented here by examining the nature of
different types of practice environments where learners develop their information literacy.
As a key pedagogy in professional and vocational programs, practicum learning needs
more attention from LIS scholars and academic librarians. More research is needed to show the
teaching and learning implications of addressing practical learning in library instruction
programs that aim to achieve learning outcomes by scaffolding or mapping IL in the curriculum
of these programs.
The conclusions that can be made from this study are limited by the small number of
participants and the limited range of workplace experiences they described. Future research can
explore these categories of experience in other contexts or apply this methodology in studies of
other student groups to uncover new categories of experience to help librarians understand a
greater variety of ways that students understand and practice information literacy. More research

22

that provides evidence of the connection between workplace and classroom IL can help
librarians communicate to instructors that IL
isolated skills but a way of gaining a better understanding of the world in which students find

With more evidence of how students practice IL, librarians can communicate effectively with
faculty, demonstrate the significance of IL for professional students beyond academic research
skills, and continue to make connections between IL, disciplinary ways of knowing and

can help librarians integrate IL with experiential or practice learning and develop teaching and
learning opportunities that are relevant to how pre-professional students experience and engage
with information in practice.

Funding
This study was supported by an Essential SoTL Grant from Mount Royal University Institute
for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

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Appendix
Interview Guide
1. Describe your experience of orientation or training during your practicum placement.
2. Describe how you use or interact with information sources in your practicum
organization.
a. What/who are your go-to sources while on practicum?
b. What specific resources do you see being used to do the work of the
agency/organization?

27

c. What kind of information have you been asked to use or find during your
practicum?
d. How do you decide what information to use or not to use in a given situation?
3. Describe a situation where you had to find an answer to a question or solve a problem,
either for yourself or for a client.
a. What was the problem? What skills, knowledge or experience did you use to
answer questions, solve the problem, or find information?
b. Describe your experience using information resources with or for clients.
c. How do you see information being used for clients and with clients?
4. How would you describe your approach to getting and using information at work?
a. What resources do you use? What strategies do you use?
b. What type of information do you have trouble finding?
c. How much time do you spend looking for or using information sources?
5. How is your previous learning, education or experience particularly helpful in learning at
work?
6. What is one question you have, or one thing you would like to know more about, based
on your practicum experience?
a. Where/to whom would you go to find answers to that question?
7. Is there anything else you would like to share?

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