I am a information literacy teacher and researcher. Currently I live with my wife in West Lafayette, IN, where I am an associate professor and the Information Literacy Specialist at Purdue University. My research focuses on how undergraduates experience using information to learn, and of course, my scholarship underpins my approach to my practice and teaching. I use an "informed learning" pedagogic approach developed by Christine Bruce (2008) in my work, which is a way of teaching the intentional use of information to learn about a subject.
Of course, I should probably confess that I started off life as a poet, and my views of artistic discovery often influence my understanding of learning. In the 2000's I began working on a Masters in library and information science at San Jose State University (SJSU) and owing largely to Dr. Mary Somerville, a wonderful mentor and teacher I met there, I became interested in the role of information literacy in shaping our world. With Mary's guidance, I came to understand information literacy as central to learning. Studying with Christine Bruce and Mandy Lupton from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Kristen Rebmann (SJSU), I completed the Gateway PhD program in 2015. My thesis, titled: Informed Learning in the Undergraduate Classroom: The Role of Information Experiences in Shaping Outcomes, explores how information is used to learn in an undergraduate language and gender course.
Reference
Bruce, C. (2008). Informed learning. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.