Information activities and appropriation in teacher trainees’ digital, group-based learning

Introduction: This paper reports results from an ethnographic study of teacher trainees’ information activities in digital, group-based learning and their relation to the interplay between use and appropriation of digital tools and the learning environment. Method. The participants in the present study are 249 pre-school teacher trainees in Sweden. Three key informants and their teams were followed during a course module using online and offline participant observation. The produced material includes transcribed interviews with nine students, recorded digital interactions from Facebook, Google Drive and Prezi, field notes and a field diary. Analysis: The material was read repeatedly, coded and comparatively analysed using the lens of information literacy and the concept appropriation. The analysis generated recurring themes. These themes emerged as phases of the group-based learning process. Results. The results illustrate how information activities during teacher trainees’ digital, group-based learning are performed during four phases: setting the scene, negotiating the topic, gathering material and presenting the assignment. Conclusions: Crucial aspects of an information literacy of digital, group-based learning in teacher training are identified. The learning environment of teacher training constrains and enables use and appropriation of digital tools in terms of flexibility, lack of participation and transparency.

[I]nformation activities during teacher trainees’ digital, group-based learning are performed during four phases: setting the scene, negotiating the topic, gathering material and presenting the assignment.... [T]he appropriation of digital tools for conducting group-based learning empowers the students and gives them agency (cf. Francis, 2010) in relation to the university and to the software companies. This power is not evenly distributed, and not always used for the purpose of improving learning.... Overall, the ability to use and appropriate tools in a way that is meaningful for the information activities necessary for learning is a key feature of information literacy in digital, group-based learning." (Author, no pagination)