religious information literacy: using information to learn in church community
TRANSCRIPT
RELIGIOUS INFORMATION LITERACY
USING INFORMATION TO LEARN IN CHURCH COMMUNITY
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AuthorsLyndelle Gunton | Christine Bruce | Ian Stoodley
CC Image courtesy of Leonard John Matthews on Flickr
Information literacy
Informed learning is...“a way of using information to
learn”
Christine Bruce, “Informed Learning”, 2008.
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Research goals
Discover and describe the different ways members of church community experience informed learning
Explore variations between these experiences
Identify tangible ways in which awareness and use of information can enhance learning experiences in church communityRA
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What is a church community?“A religion is a unified
system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden--beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.”
Émile Durkheim, 1912. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, Book 1,
Ch. 1
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“The church is... Christ existing in community“
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1954, Life Together
Religion as social phenomenon Religion as theological concept
Relevant literature
Contemporary IL research in community contexts (Bruce, 2000; Lloyd, 2005; Partridge, Bruce & Tilley, 2008; Yates, 2009 )
Research in learning & church community(Harris, 1989; Seymour, 1997)
Research in Christian education (Everist, 2002; Littleton, 2008; Saines, 2009)
Research in IL & church community (Wicks, 1999; Teske, 2002; Brunton, 2005; Delamarter, 2005; Phillips, 2007; Lambert, 2010)
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Research methodology
PhenomenographyResearch focus = variation in experience
“both process of construction and a process of discovery.”
Christine Bruce, 1997, The Seven Faces of Information Literacy, p. 103
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Data collection
Semi-structured interviews
Purposive sample taken from Uniting Church in Australia(14 interviews)
Question 1: Describe your experience of using information as a member of the church community.
Question 2: Describe your experience of using information to learn as a member of the church community.
Question 3: Describe an experience you’ve had of using information to help others to learn in the church community.
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Data analysis -categories of
description
Informed learning is experienced in church community as using information
to learn about:
Growing faith Developing relationships Managing the church
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Form
s of
info
rmat
ion
Informed learning in church community is about growing faith
Text
Audio
Visual
Digital
Spiritual
“A lot of those songs will possibly speak to me more than the sermon that evening if there’s a really good song in there because I will go away singing that for the rest of the week and you’ll be singing it... and can sort of reflect on that.” (Int.2)
Kinaesthetic
Personal study
& reflection
Group discussion
Formal education
Artistic expression App
roac
hes
to le
arni
ng
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Planned activities-pastoral care
Informal activities-Kinaesthetic
Web 2.0 technologiesForm
s of
info
rmat
ion
Informed learning in church community is about developing
relationships“I actually probably think of the relationships that we made with people above the knowledge that it gave me of the Bible. There were people there that we would never have met. They go to the early morning service and they've become really good friends... just got to know other members of the congregation at a really personal level.” (Int.7)Audio
Visual
Digital App
roac
hes
to le
arni
ng
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Form
s of
info
rmat
ion
Informed learning in church community is about managing
the church
Text
Audio
Digital
Visual
Spiritual
“I actually find often conversations that happen informally inform me of a lot more because people are much more willing to be a lot more honest in verbal conversations than they are through the printed report.” (Int.4)
App
roac
hes
to le
arni
ng
Listening
Personal study
Group interaction
“As an extrovert, I learn best outside of my head. So, as much as I think dynamically inside my head, I then need to bounce that off people to understand and, I guess, qualify my own thinking and so the divergence of the process is really beneficial to me in a sense.” (Int.1)RA
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Informed learning in church community may also be about…
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• Responding to religious knowledge
• Service to the church community
• Mission beyond the church community
Research outcomes
Strong relationship between developing relationships and growing faith
Suggestion of a preference for interactive learning through planned and informal conversation and discussion
Contrasts with current preference in church community to direct resources towards print and auditory delivery of information
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Significance
Insights for church communities Lay people Church leaders and those in ministry
Greater awareness for information professionals
Church & theological libraries Wider industry
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Future directions
Exploration of potential further research
Web 2.0 in the church community Wider sample expanding into other Christian
denominations Broader age group
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In summary…“The church should be that space where learning is a dynamic engagement of ideas, information and building a place where there’s an ability for people to have that engagement...in an affirming kind of context. So, regardless of the questions, regardless of the direction a conversation might take, a course of study might take, an engagement with the world might take, it’s a space in which that engagement is valued.” (Int.1)
[All images used with permission from The Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod unless otherwise acknowledged.]
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Lyndelle Gunton
Email: [email protected]
Information Studies GroupFaculty of Science & TechnologyQueensland University of TechnologyTwitter: lyndelleg
Contact information
Professor Christine Bruce
Email: [email protected]
Information Studies GroupFaculty of Science & TechnologyQueensland University of Technology
Dr Ian Stoodley
Email: [email protected]
Information Studies GroupFaculty of Science & TechnologyQueensland University of Technology
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