Objective: Learn innovative ways to give students the research skills they need.
Summary:
When the student begins to organize the notecards into piles and create a working outline, they have moved into a higher level of thinking called Comprehension - the Second Level. Articles are summarized, charts and data are interpreted, sources are compared and contrasted, ideas are grouped, and pertinent information is selected, ideas are restated into a research report. This second level is where many students stop in their research writing.
Projects that teachers design which
ask students to participate in higher level thinking are expecting students
to use Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation. An
application
research project could be
Dramatize
a time in US History
Illustrate
and Label the Metamorphosis of an Insect
Solve a
Problem
An analysis research project
could be:
Compare
and Contrast Oil Fueled Electrical Power Stations vs Nuclear Power Stations
Why do We Want Students to Do Research?
We teach students
new concepts through reading books, lecturing, participating in labs and
discussions. These activities are all related to learning curriculum
objectives that students will be expected to master on state competency
exams, SAT's, and so forth. So why do research? There are many
answers, but two stand out. One reason why expect students to research
is to engage higher level thinking strategies. Remembering information
which can be re-examined under new structures - comparisons, simulations,
etc. requires students to stretch beyond simple comprehension of new material.
A second reason why we need to expect students to research is to have them
begin to contribute to the worldwide set of information available to others.
Scientists and historians research, mathematicians and writers research
and all of this research contributes to the mass of information available
to the world. We need to be sure our students know how to continue
this process.
On Line Research Sites to Help Formulate Questions, Find Resources-Organize
Ask Jeeves
http://www.ajkids.com
Students
can enter a question into the database search, Jeeves takes the key words
and turns them into further search inquiries for the student to further
clarify the information they are seeking.
Encyberpedia http://www.encyberpedia.com/ency.htm
Students can choose a subject matter
to search a collection of Internet resources: biography, English, Health,
History, Math, Money, News, Politics, Religion, Search Engines, Science,
Space, Sports, Weather.
Ask your question in Altavista http://www.altavista.com
Search Engines - using the Correct Syntax and Punctuation
and Boolean Logic
Visit the following sites for search engine information
Rockingham
Cyber Search - http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/rcps_cyberstart/search_sites.html
Virginia county Internet site with live search engines, search help,
and how to write
bibliographic citations for Internet research
Blue Ribbon Learning
Sites on the Web http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/
- places to go for help with reference, research, and many lesson
plans
Kathy Schrock's
Educator's Guide to the Internet http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/
-sites and search engine information, slide
shows for training available http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/shows.html
Community Learning
Network http://www.cln.org/searching_faqs.html#top
- Frequently Asked Questions about Internet Searches
Conducting a Proper Internet Search - Practice with Infoseek
http://infoseek.go.com/
and Altavista
http://www.altavista.com (both use "OR" as the default )
(l) What is being done by Congress to reform campaigns?
Proper search: _____________________________________
(2) I'm interested in knowing how the glut of
Ph.D. grads is affecting the job market?
Proper search: _______________________________________________
(3) How much of a problem is university crime?
Proper search: ______________________________________________
(4) I'd like for students to find information
about slavery?
Proper search: _______________________________________________
(5) Can I see the reviews of novels of Joyce Carol
Oates?
Proper search: _______________________________________________
(6) I need a picture of Bill Clinton?
Proper search: _______________________________________________
(7) What are some websites on the Holocaust?
Proper search: _______________________________________________
(8) My question: ______________________________________________
Proper search: ________________________________________________
Answer Key:
l. +campaign +reform +Congress
2. +Ph.D +glut +"job market"
3. college university campus
+title:crime
4. title: slavery
or url:slavery
5. title:"Joyce Carol Oates"
6. image:clinton.jpg
7. url:holocaust
Understanding
Copyright and Bibliographies http://www.aea2.k12.ia.us/Tutorials/tutorials.html
for Internet Activities.
Click on "To Copy or Not to Copy"
Child-proofing Search Engines
There are some ways you can add
to your assurance that your students will only go to appropriate sites.
One obvious way is to put a "Cyberpatrol" software on your computers.
Other ways include :
Using Yahooligans
http://www.yahooligans.com instead
of Yahoo
Using the family -filtered version of Altavista http://www.altavista.com
Examples of Student Searches
Students are
constantly using the Internet in their homes and the schools and libraries
for research. There are many examples of good student research published
on the web. This author has published some student research about
the Rainforest and Jason Project this spring on the
school website at Floris Elementary in Virginia http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/FlorisES/jason/jasonproject.html.
Problems with Student Searches
There are many problems inherent
in the process of requiring students to do research on the Internet.
In a library, the books and resources have been pre-screened for you to
assure appropriateness. None of this screening is set up for you
on the Internet. In the library, all the resources are centralized
in the Book Checkout Card Catalog or Online Catalog. On the Net,
resources are everywhere and can be accessed in many different ways.
In an elementary library, resource books are close to grade level reading
expectations. On the Net, there are varying readabilities, depending
upon whether you find a scientific paper intended for other astrophysicists
or a news report intended for all audiences. In the library, copying
resources is harder when students can laboriously copy word-for-word from
text or use the sometimes available xerox machine for later copying, but
on the Internet, whole passages can be easily copied and pasted into
a new student-created document.
There are similar problems with
student searches using library resources versus Internet resources, the
main problems being that students need to be clear on how to search. What
information is relevant to the paper and what information is irrelevant?
What do I know now and what do I still need to find out?
Helping Students Identify Reliable and Unreliable
Internet Sources
Students who are unsophisticated
in their use of the Internet may fall into the trap of thinking that everything
on the Internet is truthful. An example of this is the story of the
Holocaust. A young man in the Midwest published a paper using resources
published on the NET by a professor from University of California. His
paper was called, "There Was No Holocaust." It seems that this professor
was one of Engineering, not History, who was publishing pro-Nazi propaganda
on the NET and the student read the work as truthful and wrote his research
paper.
Students should be encouraged to use multiple resources and to compare the findings. They need to understand the URL information (uniform resource locator). Is this information from a university or museum or the government, versus a user on Geocities.
Avoiding the "Print" Cycle when students are researching
When students get on the Internet
at home, they frequently print everything that comes up on the screen,
buy a nice binder from CVS and turn in their report. To avoid this
happening in class, do not allow printing during researching. Have
students come to the computer with notecards and a set of questions to
answer or an outline with notes to fill in, some format for recording their
information and citing their resources. No printing today.
Developing a Sense of "Audience" for Student Research
Because researching is a long-term
activity, not a worksheet turned in at the end of the period. students
need to buy in to the time needed to spend on this research activity.
One way to assure this "buy-in" is to provide an audience for their research.
Who will read the paper? Can you find a younger class who will benefit
from the research? Can you enter it in a contest? Can you publish
books that will be used in the school library? Can you publish their
research on the school web site so other kids might find it? All
of these activities will make the student research more meaningful.
After the Research, What are the Student Products
Possible?
Research reports can take many
formats. A traditional 400 word report is still very viable because
the product expects student mastery of word processing and editing, as
well as good organization. Alternative ideas for research sharing
products could include:
Hyperstudio
Multimedia Stacks
Slide Show in Kid Pix or Clarisworks
or Powerpoint
Webpages using Netscape Communicator
Identifying Internet Resources for Energy-efficient
and
Appropriate Searches - Webpages
When you have a few periods in the school lab
to do student research, you may want to develop some strategies to help
narrow your student searches so that they get "right to the research" rather
than spend precious minutes feeling lost. One way to do this is to
create a teacher - made webpage. Use Netscape Communicator to create
a new Blank Page and place the 5-10 links that you have found which will
help your students narrow their search. This will shorten the search
process and keep it within "appropriate" boundaries.
Writing a Bibliography with Internet and Other Resources
Electronic Mail (Email)
Author of email message. Subject
line of the message. [Online] Available email:
Name@address.edu,date of
document .
Example
Miller, Judy. S’COOL NASA Project
[Online] Available email:
from jmiller@larc.nasa.gov, September
29, 1999.
World Wide Web (www)
Author. Title of item. [Online]
Available http://address/filename, date of document or
download.
Example
Boole, Jane. All about Dr.
Seuss [Online] Available
http://www.edr.net/~jboole/home/seuss.html,
January 22, 1999.
Web sites about citations
Several Web sites offer more information about citing electronic sources.
MLA
Citation Guide
URL: http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/mla.html
Launch
to Citing Online Addresses
URL: http://www.pitsco.inter.net/p/cite.html
Williams
College Library Web
URL: http://www.williams.edu:803/library/library.www/cite.html
Encyclopedias and References on the Web
Research
Resources @ http://www.simflex.com/newhome/research.htm
Encyclopedia.com
Free Online Encyclopedia http://www.encyclopedia.com
http://www.encyberpedia.com/ency.htm
Roget's
Thesaurus Free Online Thesaurus. http://www.thesaurus.com
WWWebster
Dictionary Free Online Dictionary. http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm
My
Virtual Ref Desk Super all in one ref resource. http://www.refdesk.com
ABCNews
Reference Profiles & newsmaker bios. http://www.abcnews.com/reference
Biography.com
A&E online bio database. http://www.biography.com
All-In-One
Search Online research and searches. http://www.albany.net/allinone
UNC-C
H Libraries Electronic Resources http://www.lib.unc.edu
Smithsonian
Resources and Tours http://www.si.edu/resource/start.htm
Library
Of Congress LOC Online Resources http://www.loc.gov
NCSU
Science Junction Online Science Resource http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction
How
Stuff Works Learn about how things work. http://www.howstuffworks.com
Bartlett's
Quotations http://www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett
Catalog
of US Publications- http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adpos400.html
U of
Iowa’ s Library guide http://www.sau.edu/cwis/internet/wild/index.htm
World
Fact Book(CIA ref) http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Newspapers!
http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html
How To Assess a Research Paper
Develop a Rubric for an Evaluation of the Research Report. Distribute to students before they start the research.
Top Scores
_20 complete note cards with bibliographic notes
_3 or more resources used (variety)
_Bibliography is correct
_300-500 words in report
_Report has correct format, title page, edited
_Correct, interesting scientific information shared
in report
Good Scores
_15 complete note cards with bibliographic notes
_3 or more resources used
_Bibliography is correct
_300-500 words in report
_Report has correct format, edited
_Correct, interesting scientific information shared
in report
OK Scores
_10 complete note cards with bibliographic notes
_2 or more resources used
_Bibliography is present
_300-500 words in report
_Report has correct format, some errors evident
_Scientific information shared in report