Post on 07-Dec-2014
description
Radical Change Theory
developed by Eliza T. Dresang and Kyungwon KohAn Expanded Theory
What is it?
The theory of Radical Change is based on the digital age principles of interactivity, connectivity, and access.
It provides a promising theoretical framework for explaining contemporary changes in information behavior and resources as well as for serving as a guide for investigative studies and professional practice.
Especially Important Tool for School Libraries in:
Assessing and planning for the radical changes in students
Their information needs
Expectations for resources
A Theory Expansion
Originally developed in the 1990s to explain why the watershed picture book, “Black and White” (Macaulay, 1990), winner of the 1991 Caldecott Medal winner, was not embraced by adults.
Over the course of the last decade of the twentieth century, this explanatory theory rooted in digital age principles, was developed to explain not only the changes evident in “Black and White” but also those that appeared in many other contemporary books for youth.
INTERACTIVTY
Refers to dynamic, nonlinear, and nonsequential learning and information behavior with an increasing sense of control by end-users
CONNECTIVITY
Refers to sense of community or construction of social worlds that emerge from changing perspectives and expanded associations
ACCESS
Refers to breaking of longstanding information barriers, bringing entrée to a wide diversity of formerly inaccessible opinion
Dresang’s Original Radical Change Typology Applied to
Youth Literature
Expansion of Radical Age Theory Applied to Youth
Information Behavior
1. Changing Forms of Seeking Information and Learning
How do they seek information and learn?
Obtain information through a variety of media sources Demonstrate a preference for graphic and visual
information Multitask Seek information nonlinearly and non-sequentially Develop self-defined and controlled path
2. Changing Perspectives
How do they perceive themselves and others?
Express opinions for themselves Demonstrate identity by creating information Portray flexible and multiple identities Encounter information from various perspectives
3. How Do They Access Information and Seek
Community
How do they access information and seek community?
Obtain instant access to a wide array of information Seek, share and create information creatively Form new types of social networks Participate in community engagement
What does Radical Change Theory Look Like?
The Next Step: Proof of Concept
Establish indicators for the characteristics
Identify concrete observable behavior
Using specific information seeking situations
Bayesian Network Modeling Techniques
Graphical structures that represent the relationships between characteristic behaviors by applying statistical rules of probability.
Bayesian Networks automatically update relationships and relative weights between each variable as observable data are entered.
What will Radical Change Theory do for Librarians and
Information Specialists?
Lead to an assessment of the ways in which digital age information-seeking behavior and competence in twenty-first century information-seeking skills are correlated.
Provide more evidence-based assertions about youth information behavior and on the impact of technology.
Give confidence and guidance to school librarians and teachers