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User Learning Needs Critical Literature Review
To inform the DCMS Task Group addressing the joint training of teachers and librarians as well as museums staff and archivists, CIRT was commissioned to produce a digest of research that has been undertaken on identifying users' learning needs. This critical literature review considered research, which has explored and investigated users' learning needs from a range of disciplines and covered learning of all types across the spectrum from formal to informal and all age groups and communities.
The final report was presented to the Task Group in March 2002. The evidence collected led to the identification of a number of relatively unexplored areas, often related to current policy concerns, where further work is needed.
- Motivation to learn:
- the factors motivating learners in museums, archives and libraries and ways in which this information might be applied to improve the experiences of learners.
- identification of practical methods to ensure that learners retain control of their own learning experiences.
- Barriers to learning:
- targeting specific priority groups or focusing on specific learning styles or cross-cutting themes.
- Continuity of learning:
- how the long term learning needs of users of museums, archives and libraries might be met.
- Staff training:
- drawing on techniques and approaches used in the adult education profession
- to enable staff to exploit existing resources more effectively.
- Partnership and co-operation:
- ways in which the methods of identifying learning needs found in formal education situations can be adapted to make them appropriate and meaningful in a library, museum or archive context.
- whether practices from commerce and industry might be transferred effectively to museums, archives and libraries.
- Adaptation of existing tools to identify learning needs:
- the adaptation of existing methods of user consultation, such as user surveys, focus groups or comment forms to help identify users’ learning needs.
- Key Skills assessment:
- there may be scope for libraries, museums and archives to become involved in the development of Key Skills assessment
Publications
McNicol, Sarah (2002), "Learning in Libraries: Lessons for Staff", New Library World 103(7/8) pp. 251-258.
McNicol, S., Nankivell, C' (2002)
User Learning Needs Critical Literature Review - Final Report
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McNicol, S. (2002)
User Learning Needs Critical Literature Review - Summary
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Project Team
Clare Nankivell; Sarah McNicol