Ashton Speaker Series, Spring 2024

Tuesday, April 16th
Waters Room, Zimmerman Library

9:30 - 10:00 AM: refreshments
10:00 - 11:00 AM: lecture

Much of our work in higher education assumes a type of rationality in how our students understand and incorporate information sources. Advances in neuroscience and psychology reveal a different picture in how the mind processes information. Current theories in neuroscience emphasize that our minds work as “an orgy of utter chaos” drawing on the feeling of knowing to make decisions. This talk explores these ideas and connects them with information and digital literacy and the work of academic librarians. How can we better understand the influence of unconscious mental processes and break away from more traditional models of rationality and critical thinking? How can we use this to change our practice into something more reflective and in alignment with the lessons in psychology and neuroscience?

Speaker biography

Troy A. Swanson is Teaching & Learning Librarian and Library Department Chair at Moraine Valley Community College. Troy is the author or editor of several books and articles including Knowledge as a Feeling: How Neuroscience and Psychology Impact Human Information Behavior and co-editor of Not Just Where to Click: Teaching Students How to Think About Information which received the Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award from ARCL’s Instruction Section. His Ph.D. research focused on the management of technology policy in higher education. He served on ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Task Force which issued the Framework for Information Literacy in 2016.  Over his tenure as a librarian and educator, Troy has won his campus’ Master Teacher and Innovation of the Year awards, as well as the ProQuest Innovation in College Librarianship award from ACRL. Additionally, he serves as Legislative Chair for Cook County College Teachers Union which serves 5,000 community college employees.