• The Regents Research Paper is an opportunity for students to demonstrate Common
Core college and career readiness skills in writing and research that are necessary for
success in college, careers, and civic life.
• “…cite a minimum of four information texts as sources gathered from multiple
authoritative print and/or digital sources.”
• “…encourages interdisciplinary teacher collaboration in this process, as research cuts
across disciplines and learning standard areas.” (Non-ELA content areas.)
• “…is heavily dependent on adherence to a systematic research and writing process that
is inquiry-based and aligns with the Common Core Learning Standards.”
The State Education Department/The University of the State of New York. “Proposed addition of 100.5
(a) (9) of the Regulations of the Commissioner, relating to a Regents Research Paper requirement for
a Regents or local diploma”. September 9, 2013
Goals for Today
• Gain insight into how students search and how to help them become smart users of
information
• Provide you with the skills and knowledge to guide students through the various stages
of the research process
• Become aware of a whole school approach to the research process
• Encourage collaboration between school librarian and content area teachers
Symbiotic Relationships
Information Searching
Cece Fuoco
October 3, 2014
My generation
portercowboys.wikispaces.com
The new generation
www.indiavision.com
Digital Natives
• Digital natives can find information quickly
• Are sophisticated and savvy
Information is easily accessible. What do we need librarians for?
Executives look for seven survival skills
1. Critical Thinking and Problem-solving
In order for companies to compete in the new global economy, they need every worker to
be a “knowledge worker”. Over and over again, executives told me that the heart
of critical thinking and problem-solving skills is the ability to ask the right questions.” 1
Dr. Tony Wagner
2. Collaboration and Leading by Influence
“Technology has allowed for virtual teams….” 1
Christie Pedra, CEO
Siemens
Mike Summers “Kids just out of school have an amazing lack of preparedness in general
leadership skills and collaborative skills,” he explained, “They lack the ability to influence
versus direct and command.”1
Mike Summers, V.P., Global Talent Management
Dell Computers
3. Agility and Adaptability
“I can guarantee the job I hire someone to do will change or may not exist in the future, so
this is why adaptability and learning skills are more important than technical skills. 1
Clay Parker,
BOC Edwards
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
“I say to my employees if you try five things and get all five of them right, you may
be failing. If you try ten things, and get eight of them right, you’re a hero. If you set stretch
goals, you’ll never be blamed for failing to reach a stretch goal, but you will be blamed for
not trying.” 1
Mark Chandler,
Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Cisco
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication
“We are routinely surprised at the difficulty some young people have in communicating:
verbal skills, written skills, presentation skills. They are unable to communicate their
thoughts effectively.” 1
Mike Summers,
Vice President for Global Talent Management
Dell Computers
6. Accessing and Analyzing Information
“There is so much information available that it is almost too much, and if people aren’t
prepared to process the information effectively it almost freezes them in their steps.”1
Mike Summers
7. Curiosity and Imagination
“I want people who can think—they’re not just bright—they’re also inquisitive. Are they
engaged, are they interested in the world?” 1
Clay Parker
BOC Edwards
“For businesses it’s no longer enough to create a product that’s reasonably priced and
adequately functional. It must also be beautiful, unique, and meaningful.” 1
“Developing young people’s capacities for imagination, creativity, and empathy will be
increasingly important for maintaining our country’s competitive advantage in the future.” 1
Daniel Pink
Author, A Whole New Mind
The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach
the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and what We Can Do about it
by Dr. Tony Wagner (2010)
College graduates – 54% average debt of $30,000 cannot find
employment
Drop in unemployment – People have stopped looking
Students prefer the Internet to school. Internet allows for
connecting, collaborating and creating.
Students who can figure it out are Creative Problem Solvers
This is what students need to know for employment:
1. Critical thinking and problem solving
2. Collaboration
3. Note taking
4. How to research
5. Ethics
6. Using information effectively
7. Curiosity and imagination
• “After a year-long information literacy program, most 5th grade students continued to
rely entirely on Google and never questioned the reliability of the websites they
accessed.” 1
•
•
Vrije University Netherlands (2008)
• High school students are not aware of when they locate a usable source of
information, do not recognize it and continue searching.
• “Students’ high level of browsing…at the expense of thinking about information,
need planning for strategies and evaluating obtained information.” 2
Shu-Ssien L. Chen (2003)
“Students’ level of faith in their search engine of choice is so high that they do not feel
the need to verify for themselves who authored the pages they view or what their
qualifications might be.” 3
Eszter Hargittai (2010)
https://illumin.usc.edu
How do middle school and high school students
begin a search for information?
•
•
•
•
“I type a question.”
“If that doesn’t work I think real hard.”
“I focus on the encyclopedia.” 4
“I go to google.”
How do these same students decide if an online
article is a good source to use?
• “If it has the information I need, then it’s good for me.”
• “If it sounds good, I know it’s right, and it has good vocab.”
• “I don’t know. I just go with it.” 4
How much attention is given to reliability?
• Two-thirds of students rarely or never check the author
• Two-thirds of students rarely or never check the date of an article. 4
Students must learn through their teachers and
librarians
• Working together uses time efficiently and effectively
• Model the behavior you expect your students to use
• “Students with access to librarians teaching Web research skills take prize of better
grades in college.” 5
Searching skills
• Cannot be taught in one day, one week, one month
• Must be continually reinforced
• “Parents, teachers, librarians, friends, need to play a role in scaffolding a learning
environment.” 6
Citations
1. Wagner, Tony. "Rigor Redefined: The Seven Survival Skills for Careers, College, and Citizenship." Advisor's Corner. Vermont
Department of Education, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. <http://education.vermont.gov/documents/EDUPLP_Seven_Survival_Skills.pdf>.
2. Els Kuiper, Monique Volman and Jan Terwel. “Students’ use of Web literacy skills and strategies; searching, reading and
evaluating Web information.” Information Research: Vol. 13, no. 3, September 2008. http://www.informationr.net/ir/133/paper351.html
3. Shu-Ssien L. Chen. “Searching the Online Catalog and the World Wide Web.” Journal of Educational Media & Library
Sciences, 41 1 (September 2003) 29-43.
4. Eszter Hargittai, et al. Northwestern University. “Trust Online: Young Adults’ Evaluation of Web Content”. International
Journal of Communication. 4 (2010) 468-494. http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/636
5. Moran, Mark and Shannon Firth. “A Study of Students’ Online Behavior”, March 2010.
http://blog.findingdulcinea.com/2011/06/a-study-of-students-online-research-behavior.html
6. UCL Information behavior of the researcher of the future. 11 January 2008.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/reppres/gg_final_keynote_11012008.pdf
7. Project Information Literacy Smart Talk, no. 3, John Palfrey, “Rethinking Plagiarism in the Digital Age?” September 1, 2010.
http://projectinfolit.org/st/palfrey.asp
Citations Continued – Photos
Ries, Austin. “What Recruiters Can Learn From Crocodiles and Plovers.” Zoho Recruit. September 30, 2013.
Accessed March 24, 2014.http://blogs.zoho.com/author/austinries/page/2
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Educaton. “The Cleaner Shrimp”. Accessed March 25, 2014.
http://coglab.hbcse.tifr.res.in/teacher-resources/multimedia-resources/symbiosis/the-cleaner-shrimp