Experiences of informed learning in the undergraduate classroom

This chapter discusses using phenomenography to study information experience. Phenomenographers aim to investigate people’s experiences of the world around them, which is comprised of the interrelationship between an individual and a phenomenon they are focusing on. Phenomenography has been identified as a research approach suited to the study of information experience. Phenomenographic research investigating experiences of using information in different contexts has led to the development of informed learning, which is an approach to information literacy that emphasizes learning as an outcome of using information. Recent research focusing on information experience has been referred to as informed learning research. The preliminary findings from a current informed learning study illustrate the educative benefits of researching information experience. This study investigates a classroom lesson, in which a teacher outlines an assignment that requires the students to understand a language and gender topic by investigating the evolution of research on the topic. The lesson is experienced in multiple ways by the students and the analysis suggests a way of enhancing the lesson to enable more students to experience it in the way intended by the teacher.