Image by RLHyde. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Many librarians teach formally and informally patrons/students how to conduct research. Dawn Casey-Rowe, a high school teacher and prominent writer for Edudemic, targets best practices for educators. This October, Casey-Rowe published an article titled, 10 Web Resources to Help Teach About Primary Sources. In this post, she talks about her experience with students after assigning a research paper pertaining to current events. She stated, “There is such an overload of information. Students need to be able to identify and decode sources, then make a decision as to what they mean in terms of causes and consequences.” Sound familiar? Casey-Rowe goes on to list resources that you might also find helpful, regardless of the researcher’s age.
One of the most common stumbling blocks in research is not understanding the best practices to conduct a search. In a related article, Holly Clark talks about the new “digital divide”as it relates to students’ ability to effectively find and process information while conducting searches. Here is a link to Clark’s full article, “Do Your Students Know How to Search?” also posted on Edudemic’s site (October 2013.)
Image by Tulane Public Relations. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Many librarians assist patrons, often students, with research. As you know, it is important to take into consideration the varied skill-set for each patron and the types of resources available. In the article,Tacit Knowledge and the Student Researcher, author Barbara Fister identifies practical approaches to library instruction from the perspective of today’s researchers. Some ideas discussed in this Insider Higher Ed article (June 2013) includes:
News verses opinions
The value of a table of contents and indexes
The relationship between articles and journals
Finding facts
Tip: For those librarians that have been in the field for many years, Fister reminds us that accessing some materials has changed over time, which may not be common knowledge for all researchers.
Image by PEW Research. Retrieved online October 8, 2013.
In 2012, PEW Research surveyed more than 2,400 teachers involved in Advanced Placement (AP) and/or National Writing Project (NWP) in the United States. The study asked teachers about their middle and high school student’s writing in relation to, and perception of, the influence of digital tools/technologies.
The study findings indicated that digital tools created a wider, more diverse audience; and encouraged collaboration and personal expression across multiple platforms. Also, undesirable effects of these digital tools were noted which included the use of a more informal writing style and language. The research goes into further detail about copyrighting, plagiarism, comprehension, etc. Click here for the summary of findings, full report and additional information about survey methodology for the PEW Research study, The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in School by PEW Research’s (July 2013).
Image by Pascal Maramis. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.
Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) released a post online pertaining to a recent study exploring the various interactions librarians have with students. The article discusses what specific skills, knowledge and experience the librarian used to assist each individual student. This study evaluated the effectiveness of working with a librarian from the student’s perspective. General areas discussed included;
“What students need from reference librarians: Exploring the complexity of the individual consultation,” College & Research Libraries, 74, no 6 (June 2013): 288-29; full text article.
Image by Kjell. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.
According to a study released this summer by Connect Minnesota, digital literacy can be defined as the ability to find, understand, evaluate, create, and communicate digital information using a computer, basic software programs and the Internet. It outlines digital literacy rates among Minnesota residents. In addition, it identifies potential barriers such as training, skills, technology and access to electronic resources.
