Learning to Search before Research
In elementary school, I can remember going to the library and learning how to search for books. I remember learning the Dewey Decimal system and how to look up authors by their last name. I even remember the little plastic bookmark we had with a sticker on one end that you would slide between the books when you took one off the shelf so you knew were to put it back when you were finished. Man, how times have changed....right?
Today searching means something completely different. If you ask a student to find information on any given topic how many of them would head to the library? Not many I'm guessing. We all know where they will go, but who is teaching them how to search once they get there?
Research projects usually start around third grade. That was about the same time I received my first lesson on finding books in the library and how to navigate a library successfully. Today I gave a lesson on searching for reliable information on the Internet to sixth graders. There is a growing disconnect here that we need to face. We still expect students to be able to research, but who's teaching them how to search?
Clarence Fisher, a 7/8 English Teacher in Northern Canada, is. He is taking the time to teach searching skills. Skills like:
How can you tell if things on the Internet are true?
Do you believe everything you read online?
How can you tell the difference between a reliable site and a non-reliable site?
What is the difference when searching for "Technology and Learning" and "Technology + Learning"
Clarence has sacrificed content teaching time to teach these new searching skills. In an education system where content rules (Standards and test scores based on content knowledge), skills like teaching students to search and navigate the web successfully some how slip through the cracks. How many English, Social Studies, Science, or Math teachers take the time to teach the skill of successful searching for valid information? Not many I would guess, but we are quick to say that students don't know how to research. I was taught by my librarian how to search and find books, these same skills are taught today in most libraries, complete with the plastic bookmark. So is it the librarian's job to teach these new searching skills? Is searching a library full of books in the 1980s when I was in school the same as searching the web in 2006? If so, are librarians responsible for these new search skills?
We teach students to sound out letters before they learn how to read, but we do not teach students how to search before they research. The skill of learning to search will benefit our students more than any content we can teach them. Content changes, but the skill of learning to search successfully in a digitally connected world is a 21st century skill our students need.
A student just turned to me and said "This is tough!" So I guess it's my job to teach these skills at my school, who does it at yours?
Comments
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