Presentation given by Sheila Webber, Information School, University of Sheffield, coauthored with Bill Johnston, Honorary Research Fellow, Strathclyde University. Presented on 29th October 2019 as part of the University of Sheffield Information School's celebration of Global Media and Information Literacy Week. A recording of the webinar (31 minutes) is here: https://eu-lti.bbcollab.com/recording/0284c699a3784b1a9da5a632291dc8d8

1. Transformational Media and Information
Literacy learning for adult citizens: “this
street is full of heroes”
Sheila Webber (University of Sheffield) &
Bill Johnston (Strathclyde University)
October 2019

2. In this era of populism*......
*“parties and politicians that claim to represent the
true will of a unified people against domestic elites”
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (2019, p.31)
... there is a need for strategy
of resistance ......
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

4. Our purpose
• To propose a strategy for developing Media and
Information Literacy (MIL) outside formal education
– i.e. in the majority of the population!
• Draw on blend of theories from learning and information
science
– Transformational learning (Mezirow)
– Information Grounds (Fisher/Pettigrew)
– Public pedagogy
• Humanist - recognising human potential and possibilities
to be transformed e.g. into “romantics, freedom fighters
and intellectuals”
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

5. Media and Information Literacy
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-
information/media-development/media-literacy/mil-as-
composite-concept/
• “Composite concept” which combines media literacy
and information literacy
• “Media and Information Literacy recognizes the primary
role of information and media in our everyday lives. It
lies at the core of freedom of expression and
information - since it empowers citizens to understand
the functions of media and other information providers,
to critically evaluate their content, and to make
informed decisions as users and producer of
information and media content.”
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

6. Transformational learning
• Meaning making as “becoming critically aware of one’s
own tacit assumptions and expectations and those of
others and assessing their relevance for making an
interpretation” (Mazirow, 2000; p. 4)
• Transformational learning involves:
– both thoughts and feelings
– becoming aware of one’s own habits of mind
– being willing to view issues critically from different
perspectives and engage in reflective discourse
– acting on what one has learned
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

7. Public pedagogy
“refers to various forms, processes, and sites of education
and learning that occur beyond the realm of formal
educational institutions—including popular culture (i.e.,
movies, television, the Internet, magazines, shopping
malls), informal educational institutions and public spaces
(i.e., museums, zoos, monuments), dominant discourses
(i.e., public policy, neoliberalism, global capitalism), and
public intellectualism and social activism (i.e., academics
who engage with the public outside of the academy,
grassroots organizations, and social movements)”
Sandlin, Wright & Clarke (2013, p.4)
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

8. Information Grounds
“an environment temporarily created by the
behaviour of people who have come together to
perform a given task, but from which emerges a
social atmosphere that fosters the spontaneous
and serendipitous sharing of information”
Pettigrew (1999, p. 811)
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

9. Heroes &
villains
Public
pedagogy
Information
Grounds
Transformational
Learning
Racism &
hate speech
Inequalities
Social
justice
of
as
Media sphere
Local action
* Meaning schemes
changed
* Disorientating
dilemmas
Whose learning?
Critical Reflection -
on what?
Information
flow
People
Misinformation
Propaganda
Purpose
Environment
Permeates, influences
where
Physical & digital
National
populism
Our formulation of the elements which are of key importance
for developing a transformational MIL strategy
Public space
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

10. Guiding questions for strategic
interventions
• Who are the learners? (in their specific situation, context)
• What disorientating dilemmas do they face?
• What transformation is possible?
• What are the Information Grounds which would enable
transformational learning for that group of learners?
– Physical? Digital? A blend of both?
• What will be the learning design to support critical
reflection?
• Who are best placed to be involved in the teaching and
learning?
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019

11. “Heroes” by
Benjamin
Zephaniah

12. Sheila Webber
Information School
University of Sheffield
s.webber@shef.ac.uk
Twitter: @sheilayoshikawa
http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/sheilawebber/
Photos and graphics:
Sheila Webber
Bill Johnston
Honorary Research Fellow
University of Strathclyde
b.johnston@strath.ac.uk

13. • Anderson, A. & Johnston, B. (2016). From information literacy to social
epistemology: insights from psychology. Chandos Publishing.
• European Strategy and Policy Analysis System. (2019). Global trends to 2030:
challenges and choices for Europe. https://www.iss.europa.eu/content/global-
trends-2030-%E2%80%93-challenges-and-choices-europe
• Fisher, K. E. & Naumer, C. (2006). Information grounds: Theoretical basis and
empirical findings on information flow in social settings. In A. Spink & C. Cole
(Eds.). New directions in human information behaviour. (pp. 93-111). Springer.
• Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. Jossey-Bass.
• Mezirow, J. & Associates. (2000). Learning as transformation: critical
perspectives on a theory in progress. Jossey-Bass.
• Pettigrew, K.E. (1999). Waiting for chiropody: contextual results from an
ethnographic study of the information behavior among attendees at community
clinics. Information Processing & Management, 35(6), 801–817.
• Sandlin, J., Wright, R.R & Clarke, C. (2013). Reexamining Theories of Adult
Learning and Adult Development Through the Lenses of Public Pedagogy.
Adult Education Quarterly, 63 (1), 3-23.
• Zephaniah, B. Heroes. https://public-art.shu.ac.uk/sheffield/zep184a.html and
the poem embedded in the Sheffield building https://public-
art.shu.ac.uk/sheffield/zep184im.html
Sheila Webber & Bill Johnston, 2019
Bibliography