Little Researchers: Addressing ISTE Standard #3 in a Young Elementary Classroom

ISTE Standard 3 addresses research and information fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. 

My question: What tools are available to help young elementary students begin to understand the process of research?

Giving young primary students a foundation for research skills is no small task in the age of Google. Not only is there a wealth of information available, there is a wealth of bad information available, and sometimes it's much easier to find than quality, curated data. Then there are the challenges of keeping children safe online as they research, which is another moving target for parents and educators alike. 

In an article for Illinois State University's Research and eData Journal, Jennifer Sharkey discusses the challenges older students face when they have not been given a strong head start when it comes to research skills: "Student search strategies are key indicators of their information fluency abilities. Perpetual commentary on the tech-savviness of today’s students creates a misperception that they also possess high information fluency competencies to function in today’s information environment. Students’ dominant use of free search engines has led to information-seeking habits comprised of only using natural language search strings, selection of top hits, and lack of intentional critical analysis in the selection process" (Sharkey, 33).

In a word: yikes. Just because someone can successfully call up the latest Beyonce video does not mean he or she is prepared for high level academic research, or even quality information for a fourth grade science project. The task, then, is to teach the basics early. Lucky for new teachers like me, there are several strong resources available to help navigate the maze of online research, making it more and more possible to give them a solid foundation.

SweetSearch aims to do exactly that. Developed by researchers, librarians, and teachers, this student-friendly search engine filters results so only the most credible sources land in the results. 

I tested SweetSearch myself to gather more information about one animal fascinating to the young learners I know: howler monkeys. Below is a screenshot of some fascinating results, which included the National Zoo, National Geographic, Science Magazine, and PBS. By comparison, Google's first result was the national-treasure-not-recommended-for-student-consumption: Wikipedia. The results also included a variety of media that kids would find engaging, from videos to Buzzfeed-style (but academic quality) "fun fact" lists. 

I can picture leading a young primary class through a search like this together using the projector, asking students to lead the way as I helped them interpret just what all the lines of jibberish lead to (links are so very ugly). Knowing we were in the controlled domain of a quality search engine like SweetSearch would make it much safer to let the children lead the exploration, giving them hands on experience that helps them grasp what it means to inquire, discover, sort, evaluate, assess--all the things that mean research!

Next, Mary Beth Hertz's article on Edutopia offers other important strategies for answering the same umbrella question: What is research? Third grade is a perfect time to start exploring because of the strength of their reading skills combined with their natural developmental curiosity. The chart below, adaptable for grades 3-7, shows the process by which students can begin learning what we mean by research. This chart in and of itself seems to be a great visual for students trying to get a grasp on what this research thing is all about! In a classroom younger than third grade, the teacher might preselect three to five sources to help narrow things down a bit first, before asking students to dig through the information and synthesize their findings. (Thanks to fellow MAT candidate Marissa for this suggestion!)

 (Links to an external site.

Although teaching internet research skills may not be as beefy, as substantial, in the early primary years, it is possible to expose kids to resources that will whet their appetite for future learning. Planting seeds and scaffolding their learning will certainly lead to a generation that knows how to think more critically and pause before believing everything they read on the Internet.

References

Hertz, M. (2012). "Doing internet research at the classroom level." Edutopia. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/elementary-research-mary-beth-hertz

O'Conor, L. & Sharkey, J. (2013). “Establishing twenty-first-century information fluency.” Reference & User Services Quarterly, 53 (1): 33–39.