Standard 3.1 Efficient & Ethical Information Seeking Behavior: Candidates model multiple strategies for students, other teachers, and administrators to locate, evaluate, and ethically use information for specific purposes.
“He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.” –Chinese Proverb. Often older children and adults are hesitant to ask questions about the research process. There are many pieces to be considered before embarking on information seeking tasks. I created a research handbook for students, teachers and administrators to aid in the research process. The guide breaks this process into six steps that are easy for students to follow. Information regarding note-taking strategies, copyright and plagiarism are also included. This handbook is a versatile tool to help teachers and administrators guide students through the process of locating, evaluating and ethically using information.
Locating materials can be a daunting and scary task for students. When students walk into the library and observe all the resources available, it’s easy to become overwhelmed! Deciding which information tool best suits the needs of the project can help students decide which materials are needed. On page 7 of the research handbook, I created a guide to narrow down information tools. For example, students should use books if they want an in-depth coverage on a particular topic whereas the Internet and magazines provide the latest information on topics as well as opinions from a variety of perspectives. Depending on what they are researching, one tool may be more effective than another; however evaluating the effectiveness of all informational tools is critical.
Information gathered from up-to-date and appropriate print resources provides researchers with accurate data. The Internet makes things a little trickier! Anyone can create a web page; therefore students need to evaluate the pages accurately. For students searching the web, I created a Web Site Evaluation tool to assess the reliability of information. Students will evaluate the accuracy of a web page by checking the URL address and validity of the publisher. Online tools such as databases offer students access to materials that have already been reviewed and acknowledged as reputable resources. My research handbook provides information to access available databases. Students and staff need to be educated on how to use information gathered from print and electronic sources in an ethical manner.
At an early age students learn it is against the law to steal; they need to realize this includes taking credit for others ideas as their own. This can include turning in someone else’s work as your own, copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit, and not using quotation marks. As students gather notes, it is vital that they know how to keep track of the sources used and where the information came from. This includes book titles, page numbers, authors and web addresses. This will help when giving credit to those sources later. In my handbook I provide information for citing sources such as books, magazines, and web sites in order to create a bibliography page.
Students are never too young to be introduced to the research process. In my handbook, I break the research process into six steps. This includes, (1) Defining the problem or question, (2) Deciding on sources, (3) Locating sources (4) Taking notes, (5) Organizing the data, and (6) Writing the paper. I think my handbook would be stronger if I changed to the Big 6 and Super 3 research models, written by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. The Big 6 model consists of, task definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis and evaluation. The Super 3 research model was designed for younger students and breaks the process into plan, do and review. I feel the Big 6 steps are clearer than mine. It's likely that when fifth graders move to middle school they will be exposed to the Big 6, giving them the common vocabulary for consistency in students’ education.
As the school librarian, I plan to use parts of my research handbook, in conjunction with the Big 6 and Super 3, to educate students on the research process as early as kindergarten. It is never to early to educate students on the ethical responsibilities of locating and using information. To ensure that my handbook is a useful tool, I will be continue to update as new resources and methods become available. Providing teachers and administrators with a copy of the handbook will model good research skills for locating, evaluating and ethically using information.
Locating materials can be a daunting and scary task for students. When students walk into the library and observe all the resources available, it’s easy to become overwhelmed! Deciding which information tool best suits the needs of the project can help students decide which materials are needed. On page 7 of the research handbook, I created a guide to narrow down information tools. For example, students should use books if they want an in-depth coverage on a particular topic whereas the Internet and magazines provide the latest information on topics as well as opinions from a variety of perspectives. Depending on what they are researching, one tool may be more effective than another; however evaluating the effectiveness of all informational tools is critical.
Information gathered from up-to-date and appropriate print resources provides researchers with accurate data. The Internet makes things a little trickier! Anyone can create a web page; therefore students need to evaluate the pages accurately. For students searching the web, I created a Web Site Evaluation tool to assess the reliability of information. Students will evaluate the accuracy of a web page by checking the URL address and validity of the publisher. Online tools such as databases offer students access to materials that have already been reviewed and acknowledged as reputable resources. My research handbook provides information to access available databases. Students and staff need to be educated on how to use information gathered from print and electronic sources in an ethical manner.
At an early age students learn it is against the law to steal; they need to realize this includes taking credit for others ideas as their own. This can include turning in someone else’s work as your own, copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit, and not using quotation marks. As students gather notes, it is vital that they know how to keep track of the sources used and where the information came from. This includes book titles, page numbers, authors and web addresses. This will help when giving credit to those sources later. In my handbook I provide information for citing sources such as books, magazines, and web sites in order to create a bibliography page.
Students are never too young to be introduced to the research process. In my handbook, I break the research process into six steps. This includes, (1) Defining the problem or question, (2) Deciding on sources, (3) Locating sources (4) Taking notes, (5) Organizing the data, and (6) Writing the paper. I think my handbook would be stronger if I changed to the Big 6 and Super 3 research models, written by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. The Big 6 model consists of, task definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis and evaluation. The Super 3 research model was designed for younger students and breaks the process into plan, do and review. I feel the Big 6 steps are clearer than mine. It's likely that when fifth graders move to middle school they will be exposed to the Big 6, giving them the common vocabulary for consistency in students’ education.
As the school librarian, I plan to use parts of my research handbook, in conjunction with the Big 6 and Super 3, to educate students on the research process as early as kindergarten. It is never to early to educate students on the ethical responsibilities of locating and using information. To ensure that my handbook is a useful tool, I will be continue to update as new resources and methods become available. Providing teachers and administrators with a copy of the handbook will model good research skills for locating, evaluating and ethically using information.