Research Interest and Writing
Mediated Communication and Information Science:
Media and digital literacies are an essential part of the current school library curriculum. In order to understand how teens and teen culture are impacted by interacting with various media, I chose mediated communication as my outside area of study. Many mediated communication theories overlap with theories of human information behavior and theories of human computer interaction, two important theoretical fields important to my professional and academic life. Nigel Ford, in Introduction to Information Behavior (2015), explains that researchers “need to avoid restricting information behavior to its relatively narrow library-based origins and to embrace its increasingly expansive coverage” (10). I believe that a great deal of information is gathered by students and educators through informal media interaction. I believe the study of informal media interaction is a component of the expansive coverage Ford is referring to. This is the behavior I am interested in studying.
As a mediated communication student, I studied education Twitter influencers utilizing the #edtech hashtag and proposed an analysis of their impact on and interconnection in the educational technology community. (Interestingly, a report was released this January by the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado posing the same questions.) My inability to figure out how to analyze a large data set (tweets connected to a hashtag over the course of a year) led me to apply for the LEADS Fellowship to learn how data science can be used to understand "information practice", a term Reijo Savolainen (2008) prefers over the more formal idea of information behavior. There is a great deal to study in this area.
Media is integrated and analyzed daily in K-12 curriculum. This includes formal instruction in media literacy, the use of film as informational text and social media as a means of student and teacher communication. In particular, I am interested in the persuasive power of media for learning. Media literacy education is based on the idea that by thinking critically, the viewer can determine the credibility and reliability of media messages. According to Miriam Metzger, et al instruction focused on teaching students how to make a “holistic and situated assessment (2015, p. 340)" of information is more effective than the checklist model often employed in classrooms. I am interested in best practice in educational settings so that students will apply these skills to informal information practices outside of school.
This "situated assessment of information" is also necessary when considering the narrative effects of media. Several theoretical models exist to help explain and predict the effects of narrative persuasion. By providing information, media can help youth determine their personal view of the world. This concept is characterized as the eudaimonic effect of media -- otherwise known as the enjoyment of media deemed good for you. In 1994, in an early overview of a new field called entertainment theory, Zillman and Bryant theorized that the "exploration of media enjoyment" is a "pursuit worthy of intellectual energy" (Bryant, et al 2020, p. 258). In subsequent years, media effects researchers have studied the outcomes of media experiences in terms of "meaningfulness, connectedness, and well-being" (Bryant, et al 2020, p. 258). Hobbs, et al. in The Library Screen Scene (2019) declared that it is time we admit that film and audiovisual media are texts worthy of the same value as print media. "The rise of audiovisual media as a central part of cultural life amply demonstrates that the concept of literacy is expanding as new forms of expression and communication continue to be developed and shared" (Hobbs et al 2019, p. 9). Media, especially media with an eudaimonic effect, can assist youth in developing empathy for others and understanding about the world around them, thus helping them learn to cope with challenging future circumstances.
Another theoretical model that could be applied when trying to understand how media helps students determine a worldview, is the Extended Elaboration Likelihood Model. This model posits that "intense mental and emotional experience in a narrative" leads to increased absorption of persuasive media messaging (Bryant, et al 2020, p. 131). High quality, engaging media is more likely to impact the future beliefs and actions of students. A genre particularly suited to this task is that of non-fiction film, often identified as documentary films for mainstream releases. Non-fiction films, feature-length and short pieces, are regularly used in K-12 classrooms as informational texts. These highly engaging narratives, told with artifacts of real life, are really persuasive non-fiction meant to change beliefs and future actions. Teachers should consider this power when including media into teaching and learning. Often, the teacher as leader, is how this engagement and immersion is possible. Hobbs et al. (2019) explain that a key theme in the use of films in school is the emotional power of film to develop student curiosity and learning. The shared viewing experience in these settings "can contribute to the formation and maintenance of shared cultural values" (Hobbs et al. 2019, p. 16). It is my belief that high-quality narrative media in addition to effective instruction leads to student academic and emotional engagement. As a researcher, I want to know more about how this happens.
Bryant, J., Raney, A. A., & Oliver, M. B. (2020). Media effects : advances in theory and research (Fourth Edition). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Hobbs, R., Desluauriers, L. & Steager, P. (2019) The Library Screen Scene: Film and Media Literacy in Schools, Colleges, and Communities. Oxford University Press.
Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., Markov, A., Grossman, R., & Bulger, M. (2015). Believing the unbelievable: understanding young people's information literacy beliefs and practices in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 9, 325-348.
Saldaña, C., Welner, K. G., Malcolm, S., & Tisch, E. (2019). Examining the New Phenomenon of Teachers as Brand Ambassadors. National Education Policy Center. https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/brand-ambassador
Savolainen, R. (2008). Everyday Information Practices. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Media and digital literacies are an essential part of the current school library curriculum. In order to understand how teens and teen culture are impacted by interacting with various media, I chose mediated communication as my outside area of study. Many mediated communication theories overlap with theories of human information behavior and theories of human computer interaction, two important theoretical fields important to my professional and academic life. Nigel Ford, in Introduction to Information Behavior (2015), explains that researchers “need to avoid restricting information behavior to its relatively narrow library-based origins and to embrace its increasingly expansive coverage” (10). I believe that a great deal of information is gathered by students and educators through informal media interaction. I believe the study of informal media interaction is a component of the expansive coverage Ford is referring to. This is the behavior I am interested in studying.
As a mediated communication student, I studied education Twitter influencers utilizing the #edtech hashtag and proposed an analysis of their impact on and interconnection in the educational technology community. (Interestingly, a report was released this January by the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado posing the same questions.) My inability to figure out how to analyze a large data set (tweets connected to a hashtag over the course of a year) led me to apply for the LEADS Fellowship to learn how data science can be used to understand "information practice", a term Reijo Savolainen (2008) prefers over the more formal idea of information behavior. There is a great deal to study in this area.
Media is integrated and analyzed daily in K-12 curriculum. This includes formal instruction in media literacy, the use of film as informational text and social media as a means of student and teacher communication. In particular, I am interested in the persuasive power of media for learning. Media literacy education is based on the idea that by thinking critically, the viewer can determine the credibility and reliability of media messages. According to Miriam Metzger, et al instruction focused on teaching students how to make a “holistic and situated assessment (2015, p. 340)" of information is more effective than the checklist model often employed in classrooms. I am interested in best practice in educational settings so that students will apply these skills to informal information practices outside of school.
This "situated assessment of information" is also necessary when considering the narrative effects of media. Several theoretical models exist to help explain and predict the effects of narrative persuasion. By providing information, media can help youth determine their personal view of the world. This concept is characterized as the eudaimonic effect of media -- otherwise known as the enjoyment of media deemed good for you. In 1994, in an early overview of a new field called entertainment theory, Zillman and Bryant theorized that the "exploration of media enjoyment" is a "pursuit worthy of intellectual energy" (Bryant, et al 2020, p. 258). In subsequent years, media effects researchers have studied the outcomes of media experiences in terms of "meaningfulness, connectedness, and well-being" (Bryant, et al 2020, p. 258). Hobbs, et al. in The Library Screen Scene (2019) declared that it is time we admit that film and audiovisual media are texts worthy of the same value as print media. "The rise of audiovisual media as a central part of cultural life amply demonstrates that the concept of literacy is expanding as new forms of expression and communication continue to be developed and shared" (Hobbs et al 2019, p. 9). Media, especially media with an eudaimonic effect, can assist youth in developing empathy for others and understanding about the world around them, thus helping them learn to cope with challenging future circumstances.
Another theoretical model that could be applied when trying to understand how media helps students determine a worldview, is the Extended Elaboration Likelihood Model. This model posits that "intense mental and emotional experience in a narrative" leads to increased absorption of persuasive media messaging (Bryant, et al 2020, p. 131). High quality, engaging media is more likely to impact the future beliefs and actions of students. A genre particularly suited to this task is that of non-fiction film, often identified as documentary films for mainstream releases. Non-fiction films, feature-length and short pieces, are regularly used in K-12 classrooms as informational texts. These highly engaging narratives, told with artifacts of real life, are really persuasive non-fiction meant to change beliefs and future actions. Teachers should consider this power when including media into teaching and learning. Often, the teacher as leader, is how this engagement and immersion is possible. Hobbs et al. (2019) explain that a key theme in the use of films in school is the emotional power of film to develop student curiosity and learning. The shared viewing experience in these settings "can contribute to the formation and maintenance of shared cultural values" (Hobbs et al. 2019, p. 16). It is my belief that high-quality narrative media in addition to effective instruction leads to student academic and emotional engagement. As a researcher, I want to know more about how this happens.
Bryant, J., Raney, A. A., & Oliver, M. B. (2020). Media effects : advances in theory and research (Fourth Edition). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Hobbs, R., Desluauriers, L. & Steager, P. (2019) The Library Screen Scene: Film and Media Literacy in Schools, Colleges, and Communities. Oxford University Press.
Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., Markov, A., Grossman, R., & Bulger, M. (2015). Believing the unbelievable: understanding young people's information literacy beliefs and practices in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 9, 325-348.
Saldaña, C., Welner, K. G., Malcolm, S., & Tisch, E. (2019). Examining the New Phenomenon of Teachers as Brand Ambassadors. National Education Policy Center. https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/brand-ambassador
Savolainen, R. (2008). Everyday Information Practices. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Information Science and School Libraries:
Information policy as it relates to technology usage in K-12 schools, a big component of school library leadership, should also be studied academically. As a PhD student, I proposed a study of the effectiveness of the formal Guided Inquiry Design model, how students navigate dana boyd’s “networked publics”, how school districts are limiting student and teacher choice by requiring the use of specific technology platforms, and the prevalence of advertising in applications designed for use by children. Each of these explorations and potential research opportunities reveal interconnections between information, media and youth.
I am also interested in the academic study of effective library programs. I work with school libraries, but the academic study of effective public libraries is applicable to my learning. In particular, I am interested in information policy as it applies to collection development and technology integration into teaching. I am interested in the training and development of school librarians as leaders. In general, I am more interested in professional school librarians and their teaching and learning than the development and collection of library resources. The two are intertwined, but I believe the professional is the heart of an effective program.
As a PhD student I studied current research regarding reading in a print format versus reading in a digital format, primarily comprehension and interaction with text formatted as an eBook from the perspective of literacy researchers as well as from the field of educational technology research. I studied how best to create library collections focused on racial and gender equity. In my first year, I proposed the study of how school library evaluations can be used to develop school library leadership skills. I still think this study would be worthwhile and hope to revise and enact this proposal eventually. Finally, I am currently working on a research team exploring how school librarians can serve as mental health supports in rural communities. Any study of libraries and users is very practically applicable to my work as a practitioner and I hope that my work is helpful to other school library leaders as well.
Boyd, D. (2014). It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press.
Information policy as it relates to technology usage in K-12 schools, a big component of school library leadership, should also be studied academically. As a PhD student, I proposed a study of the effectiveness of the formal Guided Inquiry Design model, how students navigate dana boyd’s “networked publics”, how school districts are limiting student and teacher choice by requiring the use of specific technology platforms, and the prevalence of advertising in applications designed for use by children. Each of these explorations and potential research opportunities reveal interconnections between information, media and youth.
I am also interested in the academic study of effective library programs. I work with school libraries, but the academic study of effective public libraries is applicable to my learning. In particular, I am interested in information policy as it applies to collection development and technology integration into teaching. I am interested in the training and development of school librarians as leaders. In general, I am more interested in professional school librarians and their teaching and learning than the development and collection of library resources. The two are intertwined, but I believe the professional is the heart of an effective program.
As a PhD student I studied current research regarding reading in a print format versus reading in a digital format, primarily comprehension and interaction with text formatted as an eBook from the perspective of literacy researchers as well as from the field of educational technology research. I studied how best to create library collections focused on racial and gender equity. In my first year, I proposed the study of how school library evaluations can be used to develop school library leadership skills. I still think this study would be worthwhile and hope to revise and enact this proposal eventually. Finally, I am currently working on a research team exploring how school librarians can serve as mental health supports in rural communities. Any study of libraries and users is very practically applicable to my work as a practitioner and I hope that my work is helpful to other school library leaders as well.
Boyd, D. (2014). It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press.