Finding, Sorting & Evaluating Web sites as research resources

When searching the internet for resources that will be used in a subject area project or report, students must know how to focus on a topic, find reliable,trustworthy sites and then evaluate them to determine how useful they are. These are skills that should have been introduced in middle school and are now used extensively in high school.

Classroom teacher-technology specialist-outside expert

3-4 hours of class time

4-5 class meetings

Students faced with a research project often times don't know where to start. This unit of study will walk students through the steps to conduct and complete a research project. I have compiled a number of powerpoint presentations, practice worksheets and web quest sites that will familiarize them with the primary steps to conducting meaningful research.

 

It will use materials I have used from a program developed by Kent State University. This is how the project is described on their website:   TRAILS is a project of Kent State University Libraries. It was envisioned as a tool that would provide a snapshot of high school students’ understanding of basic information literacy concepts and as a fitting complement to Libraries’ high school outreach program. TRAILS has since expanded its reach to cover grades 3 through 12.   Initial support for TRAILS  was provided through the University Libraries’ grant partnership with the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education (ILILE), which was a Federally funded initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the U.S. Department of Education. ILILE was established to provide local, regional, and national leadership in fostering successful collaboration among K-12 teachers and school librarians who are concerned with advancing library and information literacy in the K-12 school curriculum. Grant partners at Kent State University include the College and Graduate School of Education, Health, and Human Services; the School of Library and Information Science; and University Libraries. Development on the 9th grade version of TRAILS began in 2004, and it was made publicly available in 2006. This was followed by the creation of a 6th grade tool that went live in 2008. With support from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation and an LSTA grant from the State Library of Ohio, the 3rd and 12th grade tools were developed in 2009-10 and went live in Fall 2010. Since its inception and by Fall 2010, TRAILS has been used by over 8,900 librarians throughout the United States and 30+ countries and administered to more than 288,000 students. The Web-based system was developed to provide an easily accessible and flexible tool for school librarians and teachers to identify strengths and weaknesses in the information-seeking skills of their students. It is made available at no cost to users. The specific components of the research skills addressed in the assessment project are:  The unit activities will develop skills in the following areas:   1. Develop topic Recognize need for information to address assignment. Develop questions to clarify and focus topic. Identify individuals and resources to help develop manageable topic based on the parameters of an assignment. Recognize the hierarchical relationships of broader and narrower topics to aid in revising the topic. 2. Identify potential sources Understand information comes in various forms: textual, visual, audio, or data. Appreciate that each form offers differing types of information sources produced in a variety of formats (e.g., print or electronic books, film or streaming video). Understand the roles and limitations of differing types of information sources and the finding tools needed to access them (e.g., libraries, search engines, online catalogs). Select the most appropriate information sources and finding tools to address a given information need. 3. Develop, use, and revise search strategies Create and revise search strategies. Understand how to use the features of an information source in order to retrieve the information needed (e.g., index and table of contents in a book, database filters). Develop a search strategy fitting for the given finding tool. Choose appropriate terms and keywords for searching a topic. Understand how to use search expanders and search limiters (e.g., logical operators) when too few, too many, or irrelevant results are returned. 4. Evaluate sources and information Be able to determine the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose of information or information sources. Recognize divergent perspectives. Recognize bias. Differentiate between fact and opinion. 5. Use information responsibly, ethically, and legally Understand the concepts of intellectual property (especially copyright, fair use, and plagiarism) and of intellectual freedom. Understand how to cite and list sources using an appropriate style manual. Recognize how to take notes and paraphrase correctly.   The files and links to materials needed complete the unit of study are listed in the Supporting files section below.

Because this lesson is connected to a class on Differentating Instruction, this is where I want to incorporate the additional activities for varying levels of students. One idea/concept stressed throughout the course reading materials was the importance of beginning instruction with a pre-assessment. This gives the teacher a baseline or idea of what his/her students prior knowledge or understanding of the basic tenets of the unit of study. That way you can get an initial readiness and ability gauge. That will also help you better know when a student might be at the point when s/he is ready to move to another group.

 

When you get a chance to see the presentations, worksheets and other activity documents I've included with the lesson plan, you'll see that they are also at different levels of ability. The worksheet activities and adjusting questioning are additional ways to differentiate the work load.

 

The pre-assessment will also give a teacher feedback that can allow for compacting the curriculum materials. It would also help me identify students who might be a "ready" group leader (one who already knows the material well). An advanced assignment for that student might be to create an infogram on a related topic or one on a concept that other students in the class are struggling with. The advanced student or group leader provides an opportunity for peer teaching. Those experts gain valuable practice explaining the concept or skill to those not quite up to speed. Another tech skill I have used with students is for them to create a Voice Thread presentation in which they illustrate a particular skills or explain a concept being used. 

 

There is also quite a variety of presentation explanations and activities that accompany the TRAILS assessments. If a teacher wanted to, s/he could create a series of stations around the room where students would complete a specific unit concept activity. The learning centers would be largely student-directed and all lead to the same unit standards.

 

The other strategies that should work with this unit of study are the flexible grouping, study buddies, and reading buddies.