Asking  and Answering  Questions, Setting  and Resetting 

Goals, and  Switching  Strategies in 

Virtual Reference Interactions Mary Kickham-Samy,

Librarian,Macomb Community College

Warren, MI

Purpose of this Study

To focus on VR as a learning environment

To describe how teaching and learning strategies are formed and modified through natural dialogue.

Theoretical Framework: Activity Theory

• Based on the work of Vygotsky• The Notion that consciousness is a

transformation that takes place when internal cognitive processes engage with the outside world through the mediation of tools.

Education as a Dialogue

Wells (2002) proposed that education should be essentially a dialogue, a semiotic apprenticeship.

Tutoring and VR: Similarities

1. One-on-one learning2. Focused on Problem-solving

The Impact of Tutoring

Tutoring is powerful.

Bloom (1982) andCohen, Kulik & Kulik

(1984)

Benjamin Bloom (1984), The 2 Sigma Problem: The search for methods of instruction as effective as one-to-one tutoring

Tutored students performed:• 2 standard deviations above

classroom students.• better than 98% of students taught

in a typical classroom of 30 students.

The Tutoring Environments

Tutoring has the following components:• sensitivity to individual student needs,• natural dialogue patterns,• Flexibility,• Deep explanations of real-life problems.

What makes tutoring successful? Factor #1

Sensitivity to Student Questions.

(Merrill, Reiser, Merrill & Landes; 1995)

What makes tutoring successful?Factor #2

Natural Conversation Patterns(Graesser, Person, and Magliano;

1995)

What makes tutoring so successful?

Factor #3: Flexibility

Flexibility: Understanding the Student

The number of questions the student asks is not an indicator of subject-matter competency.

(Person, Graesser, Magliano, & Kruez; 1994)

Flexibility: Understanding the Student

Students do not ask questions that point to gaps in their knowledge.

(Person, Graesser, Magliano, & Kruez; 1994)

Establishing Common Ground

Used to confirm or modify one’s knowledge and understanding

- Graesser and Olde (2003)

Summary of the Literature

1. Quantity of student questions does not give much information about the student competency.

2. Students are not good at identifying gaps in their knowledge.

Summary of the Literature

3. Tutoring is successful due toa) Sensitivity to individual student needs,b) Natural dialogue patterns,c) Flexibility

d) Deep explanatory reasoning.

Research Questions

1. What methods do librarians use to teach students and what strategies are students using to learn?

2. When a session involves several layers of questions/problems, how do the participants determine to address and in what order?

3. What cues or signs signal strategy and/or goal formation and switching?

Methodology: The Source of Data

Transcripts generated by librarians and students of the Michigan Virtual Reference Collaborative or QuestionsPoint Global service.

Sampling Procedures

Purposely selected transcripts that displayed complex interactions between the librarian and the student..

Method of Analysis:Interactional Sociolinguistics:

Examines conversation on two levels:1. Immediate situation and

surroundings2. Broader culture of the participants

(Deborah Schiffrin, 1994)

Methodology: Discourse Analysis

Interactional sociolinguists, The anthropologist, John

Gumperz,Sociologist, Erving Goffman

John Gumperz

People choose to interpret a word or phrase based on what they know, or assume, about each other.

Interactional Sociolingustics:Erving Goffman

Alignment and “Footing.”

Goffman’s Concept of Alignment and Footing

Doctor to Child: “Let me look in your ear. Do you have a monkey in your ear?”

Doctor to Mother: “What we want to look for is to see how she moves her palate…”

Doctor to Tape Recorder: “Her canals are fine, they’re open…”

- Tannen and Wallet Case Study, 1987

Findings

Transcript Analysis

Some Basic Patterns

• Establishing Common Grounds• Explaining a process• Generating Search Terms

Common Grounds : Closings

S: got itL: Yeay!S: many thanks. i appreciate your

time!L: Great job!S: Thank you. Have a great evening…

Common Grounds : Closings

L: You are very welcome.S: byeL: You're a great researcher.S: lolL: lol[….]

The Process/Chronology

L: I think you need your library card number…

S: oops got it when i go to the library…L: ...you will be prompted to insert it.S: got it […]L: Let me know if you are able to get into the

database…S: im thereL: Great!

Search Term Generation Strategy

S: got any ideas…not getting any hits with careers, job trends in 1970

L: Job outlook? L: job forecastsL: best jobsL: job growthS: got itL: Yeay!

More Complex Patterns

• Parallel Problem Solving• Using Inferences

Parallel Problem Solving: Transcript #1

S: Where can I find a list of the best jobs in 1970?

L: Hi. In the 1970s? - Let me do a search for you. Just a second...

Parallel Problem Solving

S: I'm trying to do a comparison between the best jobs listed in us news & world report for 2010

L: So, you want to compare those "best job" to best jobs of the 1970s.

Parallel Problem Solving

L: Maybe we should search the US news and world report of the 70s.

S: yes exactly. thanks.

Parallel Problem Solving

L: […] I have an idea. Let me send you the URL to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While you search that, I'll look for an equivalent article in USNews and World Report of the 1970s. […]

S: anks...great idea

Parallel Problem Solving

L: http://www.bls.gov/ .... ( A )There is an Occupational Outlook Handbook for

1970s also. ( B )S: checking it out now. ( A )L: You can try to google that. ( B )L: OK. I'm going to look in magazines… ( C )S: great thanks ( C ) googling now ( B )

Parallel Problem Solving

L: Guess what? The US News and World Report is not archived electronically back till 1970s.

L: So I'm going to join your search.S: bummer. looking at bls now

Parallel Problem Solving

L: I'm sure we can find something.S: crossing fingersL: Still looking...

Parallel Problem Solving

L: I found a document. I'll send it to you. […]

S: thanksL: [URL]S: coolL: Bingo! Look on page 79.S: you rock!

Parallel Problem Solving: Transcript #2

S: I am writing a paper and i need to know what could be some possible body paragaph topics. My thesis is: In troubled times people bail out of commitments [...]

L: Have you already researched articles, etc. …?

Parallel Problem Solving

L: […] possible topics: divorce, bankruptcy, mortgage defaults…,

S: Oh ok I understand now I just thought if I chose those they would be to broad

S: I have tryed researching articles…L: One good resource…would be "Opposing

Viewpoints…””S: Is that a website?

Parallel Problem Solving

S: Also if i go to research about these topics what am i really analzying the reason that made these people leave their commitments?

Parallel Problem Solving

L: Maybe these ideas are too broad...I would need to see your assignment to know.

L: It's a website on your school's library site….L: How long a paper is this supposed to be? L: …maybe you can focus on one area, like

marriage, political activity, etc. etc. S: I like the idea of marriage

Parallel Problem Solving

L: Opposing Viewpoints is a great resource because [it has]…opinion pieces on social issues.

L: Within marriage, you could cover, li[vi]ng with parents, delaying having kids….

S: I am not that good of writer so…L: When you looking at the articles in Opposing

Viewpoints… try to see … how those writers organized their materials.[…]

Parallel Problem Solving

L: Broadly speaking, when you write, you should …

S: my thesis will relate to why people bail out of marriage

Student: I am doing a career research project. I have already looked in OOH for information on a career as a Medical Administrative Assistant. Where else might I find information about career in the medical field? [.........]

Lib: Let me see what databases might help.

Making Inferences

Lib: Your college has "Vocational & Career Collection.” That is a great database for research into a career. Let me see what you need to access it. Just a second.

Patron: Yes it does, I search there many times already and really wasn't able to find much. I think I am having some trouble with keywords.

Making Inferences

L: Oh…It sounds like you know how to access databases, right? […]

S: Yes, we have been instructed on this in class. However, my ability to find the right keywords…is lacking. Any tips?

L: Hmm...

S: ….I search there many times already… I think I am having some trouble with keywords.

Making Inferences: Example #3

S: I am trying to start my research paper..., and I don't know where to begin.

[...]L: ...Have you searched in any of the

research databases...?

Making Inferences: Example #3

S: Yes, I have the information I need, I just don't know how to start the paper

L: Okay, let me find a source that might help you understand the different parts of a research paper...

S: thank you.

Making Inferences: Example #3

L: The Owl is a great source. Did you get the page?

S: Patron is no longer connected.

Making Inferences: Example #4

S: how do i get a full text article online that is in [my college] library that is in a periodical or journal housed in […my] library on aristotle

Making Inferences: Example #4

L: […] can you tell me a bit more about your question? Are you looking for an online version of an article that's available in print at the Library?

Making Inferences: Example #4

S: i think i go to proquest..but dont know how to know if its at [my college library].

Making Inferences: Example # 4

S: i think i go to proquest..but dont know how to know if its at [my college library]

L: you can search for articles in full text through ProQuest or other Library databases...

Making Inferences: Example # 4

• L: If you then need to determine if that article will be available in print at the Library, …From the Library Catalog there's an option to search…for Magazine/Journal Title….

• S: (Patron ended chat session.)

Research Questions

1. What methods do librarians use to teach students, and what strategies are students using to learn?

2. When a session involves several layers of questions/problems, how do the participants determine to address and in what order?

3. What cues or signs signal strategy and/or goal formation and switching?

Recommendations

Try to make our goals and strategies visible to the student by describing what we are doing.

Expose the students to deep explanatory reasoning by explaining why.

Be flexible in maintaining common ground when modifying goals and strategies.

Five-part Framework

1) A student poses a problem, 2) A goal and a strategy to solve this

problem is initiated, 3) new information is introduced,4) common ground is reestablished, 5) 5) goals and strategies are added,

deleted or modified.

List of References

Bloom, B. S. (1984). The 2-sigma problem: The search for methods of group instruction as effective as one-to-one tutoring. Educational Researcher, 13(6), 4-16.

Cohen, P. A., Kulik, J. A. & Kulik, C. (1982). Educational outcomes of tutoring: A meta-analysis of findings. American Educational Research Journal, 19(2), 237-248.

List of References

Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen & R. Punamaki (Eds.), Perspectives on Activity Theory (19-38). Cambridge University Press: New York.

Fishbein, H. D., Eckart, T., Lauver, E., Van Leeuwen, R. & Langmeyer, D. (1990). Learners’ questions and comprehension in a tutoring setting. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 163-170.

List of References

Fox, B. A. (1993). The human tutorial dialogue project: Issues in the design of instructional systems. Lawrence Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ.

Graesser, A. C. & Olde, B. A. (2003). How does one know whether a person understands a device? The quality of the questions the person asks when the device breaks down. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(3), 524-536.

Graesser, A. C. & Person, N. K. (1994). Question asking during tutoring. American Educational Research Journal, 31(1), 104-137.

List of References

John-Steiner, V. & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development: A Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychology, 31(3/4), 191-206.

Leont’ev, A. N. (1981). The problems of activity in psychology. In J.V. Wertsch (Ed.), The concept of activity in soviet Psychology (pp 37-71). Armonk, NY: Sharpe.

List of References

Merrill, D. C., Reiser, B. J., Merrill, S. K. & Landes, Shari. (1995). Tutoring: Guided learning by doing. Cognition and Instruction, 13(3), 315-372.

Graesser, A. C., Person, N. K. & Magliano, J. P. (1995). Collaborative dialogue patterns in naturalistic one-to-one tutoring. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 9, 495-522.

List of References

Morf, M. E. & Weber, W. G. (2000). I/O Psychology and the bridging of A. N. Leont'ev's activity theory. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 41(2) 81-93.

•Oakleaf, M & VanScoy A. (2010). Instructional strategies for digital reference: Methods to facilitate student learning. Reference and user Services Quarterly, 49(4), 380-390.

List of References

Person, N. K. , Graesser, A. C., Kreuz, R.J. & Magliano, J. P. (1994). Inferring what the student knows in one-to-one tutoring: The role of student questions and answers. Learning and Individual Differences, 6(2), 205-229.

Schiffrin, D. (1994). Approaches to discourse. Blackwell: Malden, MA.

List of References

Wertsch, J. V. (1981). Introduction to “the problems of activity in psychology” by Leont’ev, A. N. In J.V. Wertsch (Ed.), The concept of activity in soviet Psychology (pp 37-40). Armonk, NY: Sharpe.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press: Cambridge: MA; London: England.

List of References

Wells, G. (2002). The role of dialogue in activity theory. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 9(1), 43-66.

Wells, G. (2007). Semiotic mediation, dialogue and the construction of knowledge. Human Development, 50, 244-274.

Yasnitsky, A. & Ferrari, M. (2008). Rethinking the early history of post-Vygotskian 101-121.