Guided Design and Information Seeking

The Guided Design method originated with Dr. Charles and his colleagues at the Center for Guided Design of West Virginia University (Casada & DeShazer, 1995). This method is "based on a hierarchical model of thinking skills...used by effective problem solvers" (Casada & DeShazer, 1995, p. 1381). The goal of this method is "not to get the correct answer, but to know the process by which one gathers information, processes information, and arrives at an acceptable solution" (Trivette, 2005). The most interesting thing about this method for me as a librarian is that it calls for learners to assess their information needs and then go out and try to gather the necessary information. Such a component to the method offers a natural place for librarians to lend their expertise to any curricula applying this method.

In conducting a synthesis of various studies on Guided Design, Trivette simplifies the characterization of the original method into four basic components:

1. a sequential process for mastering course content,
2. a team or small-group processing component,
3. the provision of verbal or written feedback from a facilitator/teacher as a professional in the field concerning the solution reached or decision made, and
4. the use of realistic problems to be solved (2005, p.2).

In this simplified form, it is possible to see the Guided Design method as building on the other two methods we've already looked at – the PSI/Keller Plan, and the A-T System of instruction. The first three aspects of the method as Trivette outlines them, are not very different from the previous methods. What has been added, is the fourth component: problem-solving. It will be interesting to know how this differs with the Problem-Based Learning model, once we get to it later in the semester.

In applying the guided design method to case studies, Wilson (2004) cites the following factors as possible barriers:

• Free riding
• Uneven preparation
• Sporadic attendance
• Plagiarism
• Opportunity cost of material replaced by the in-class group exercise (p.10).

I'm not sure if these barriers are inherent to the guided design method. They seem to be related more closely with the nature of team work in general, or academic integrity. Having fresh and real problems to solve, and preparing meaningful feedback for each one – I can see that requiring a fair amount of effort to prepare a head of time. Despite these barriers, I agree with Wilson that incorporating some aspect of guided design into the curriculum offers advantages beyond more traditional lecture based delivery of content.

Similar to how Casada & DeShazer integrated the use of the library, our engineering librarians are fairly well integrated into the engineering curriculum at NC State. I've also worked with the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program (EEP), which is basically a senior design engineering course, but instead of using a simulated problem or random product design, students work in teams to select a real problem and then build not only a prototype to address that problem, but also plan a viable business around the prototype so that it can be applied in the real world. As the business librarian I would make class visits to introduce the various kinds of business information that is available (and typically not available or expensive), as well as establish contact for them to follow up with me when they have more specific questions. I've been very impressed by the work produced by these students – some of them have also secured venture funds to continue their work beyond the scope of the course!

A couple of times I worked with the instructor to organize a scavenger hunt in the library. It took place early in the semester and served as an ice-breaker activity to facilitate team building while learning more about some of the more specialized sources of information. When the same course was offered as an online course for graduate students, I reworked the activity for online delivery. The course was hosted on Moodle so I used the quiz module to create a simple questionnaire that assessed their level of awareness in terms of the key library services available to distance students, as well as the basic aspects of the library website for finding and accessing information. At the end of the quiz the correct answers were given so that if they were not sure of their responses they could be verified with links to additional information on the library website. Then I released to each team a set of questions and clues to guide the activity, and released additional clues if they ran into difficulties. I also provided some slides that introduced secondary sources of business information – I can't remember why I didn't do a narrated presentation but it may have been because of lack of time. Once each team submitted their responses I released the answers and tabulated the scores. An additional motivation for completing the activity effectively and efficiently was that we offered prizes for the winning team. As a follow up to the activity I also asked each individual to write a brief reflective post to the discussion board – and offered specific prompts to consider:

Your reflection may include what you learned about business research, thoughts on the usefulness and limitations of the resources encountered, assessments about how well you think your group worked as a team, how decisions were made, how well you communicated, noting any problems you encountered and how they were resolved (or not).

There were some technical glitches with some of the resources that introduced unnecessary frustrations but overall it allowed the teams to work together, and nobody raised any issues around communication or team work. Some reported that they were fairly fluent with navigating the landscape of business information while others were novices that appreciated the introduction of new resources.

References

Casada, M. E., & DeShazer, J. A. (1995). Teaching professionalism, design, and communications to Engineering freshmen. In Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Division (pp. 1381-1385). Anaheim, CA.

Trivette, C. M. (2005). Effectiveness of guided design learning strategy on the acquisition of adult problem-solving skills. Bridges, 3(1).

Wilson, P. N. (2004). Mutual gains from team learning: A guided design classroom exercise. Cardon Research Papers in Agricultural and Resource Economics (No. 2004-07). Tuscon, AZ: University of Arizona.