Search engines can simplify the process of teaching basic research to students who require guidance on how to navigate the Web. Students start using search engines early on, making elementary school the perfect time to teach research skills. Sorting through content for relevance and accuracy will provide students researching skills that become a foundation for a lifetime of learning.
According
to Concordia Online Learning there are five ways teachers can help improve
research skills in elementary age children: define the task; discover keywords;
use appropriate tools; teach about source hierarchy and evaluation; and take
notes and compile information.
It
is pertinent for teachers to discuss with their students exactly what is to be
researched and how to get specific results.
It is too easy for students to get lost while researching if they don’t
know exactly what they are looking for.
From
my personal experience, discovering keywords is a struggle for elementary
students to grasp. Some search engines
will only find results if the correct keyword(s) are used. Students need to learn how to come up with
those words to get the results on the topic they are researching. Teachers can
create an entire lesson around keywords, including what they are, how they
work, and how to find them.
The
most popular search engines are Google and Bing; however, they may not be the
best for teaching research skills to students. Google is my personal favorite. Designed
specifically for students and educators iSeek is a non-commercial search engine
that delivers editor-reviewed results from universities, government sites, and
other noncommercial providers.
Students
can comprehend the tiers of validity related to information gathering. Teachers will need to explain about the
primary courses, original research and the reliability of information found on
the web. This will give students the
opportunity to learn how information travels from research papers to news
sources to blogs and so on.
The
complexity of note taking skills will depend on the grade level of the
students; however, even younger students can learn to take notes. Note-taking will become easier when the
students get better at finding quality sources.
Citing sources appropriately is important for students to learn.
Learning good researching skills will give students a skill that will serve them over a lifetime. This skill will be useful in their everyday lives.
Concordia
Online Learning. Five Ways to Teach Research Skills to Elementary School Children. 2013.
Retrieved for the World Wide Web on September 7, 2015 from http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/reference-material/five-ways-to-teach-research-skills-to-elementary-school-children/
I am glad you included the component in your paper about how teachers can help students improve research skills from Concordia University. I think the list you put forth is very relevant and easy to understand. I especially like the idea of a whole lesson revolving around key words. I have had numerous occasions myself where my key words were not specific enough to get the results I was looking for. It drives me crazy how just adding or subtracting an “s”, to make a noun plural, in a search will yield different results. I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to a young student trying to sift through all the information available to them today. Thank you for sharing your ideas.
ReplyDeleteTami,
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree more with your thoughts that we need to teach students how to use search engines at an early age and that it is a lifelong skill. As a middle school teacher, it is easy to assume that because my students use technology everyday that they know how to enter keywords into a search engine or to evaluate the information on the website. Although I am still learning and trying new resources, I do my best to provide my students with examples of appropriate links when researching for specific projects. I have found that modeling how I would enter words into a search engine and how to determine if the material is reliable has opened several students’ minds to what it means to research effectively. I also like to provide approved links through my classroom website or using google classroom. Do you have suggestions for other strategies for teaching students to research effectively?
Sara V
Yes, indeed! Students need to be taught how to search. There are many good search lessons that focus on keywords available on the web. Here are a few:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/the-key-to-keywords-3-5
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/keywords-learning-focus-internet-1122.html
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-strategies-internet-research
Dr. Dell