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This paper identifies the need for developing new ways to study curiosity in the context of today's pervasive technologies and unprecedented information access. Curiosity is defined in this paper in a way which incorporates the concomitant constructs of interest and engagement. A theoretical model for curiosity, interest and engagement in new media technology-pervasive learning environments is advanced, taking into consideration personal, situational and contextual factors as influencing variables. While the path associated with curiosity, interest, and engagement during learning and research has remained essentially the same, how individuals tackle research and information-seeking tasks and factors which sustain such efforts have changed. Learning modalities for promoting this theoretical model are discussed leading to a series of recommendations for future research. This article offers a multi-lens perspective on curiosity and suggests a multi-method research agenda for validating such a perspective.

This study explored the motivational aspects of information literacy skills instruction delivered by librarians in community college libraries. Librarians and students at seven community colleges were interviewed and observed. Involvement of faculty, use of technology, and students' on-and off-task behaviors also were investigated. Data analyses used Keller's ARCS Model, ACRL standards, and Small and Arnone's Motivation Overlay for Informa tion Skills Instruction. The majority of strategies used were to gain and main tain students' attention. The range of strategies, rather than the number of strategies, appeared to positively affect student motivation.he ALA defines information literacy as the ability "to rec ognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." 1 Information lit eracy (IL) has been a "hot topic" in aca demic library literature for the past ten years with the teaching of IL skills an in creasingly important component in twenty-first-century higher education, central to the mission of lifelong learn ing. 2,3Abby Kasowitz-Scheer and Michael Pasqualoni have stated that the teaching of IL skills "requires a shift in focus from teaching specific information resources to a set of critical thinking skills involving the use of information." 4 They cited three methods currently used to deliver IL skills: online, in a separate course, and integrated across the curriculum. The lat ter is preferred because it ties information literacy to students' other learning, thereby making it a just-in-time teaching strategy as opposed to a just-in-case one.The teaching of information literacy may be particularly critical for students at the community college level. 5 The teaching of IL skills, including research and critical thinking skills, has been de scribed as a primary role of library fac ulty in community colleges. 6 With emphasis on IL skills instruction gaining importance in and centrality to instructional programs in higher educa tion, the need for research on best prac tice becomes essential. Instructional meth ods used to effectively present informa tion and motivate student learning are the focus of this study. University; e-mail: drruth@syr.edu. Nasriah Zakaria and Houria El-Figuigui Ruth V. Small is a Professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse 96 Motivational Aspects of Information Literacy Skills Instruction 97 Statement of the ProblemCharles Hayes has stated that first-year college students frequently lack the li brary research skills required to do a col lege-level research paper. 7 The role of teacher has become a fundamental re sponsibility for librarians. 8 According to Carla J. Stoffle, the challenge to academic librarians is to "learn how to be effective teachers and designers of assignments in more systematic ways than the hit-or miss methods in vogue today." 9 Michele Mednick has described academic librar ians as key members of instructional teams and instructional partners with fac ulty. 10 This involves mo...

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