PreSearching and Searching With and Without Technolgy
by Nancy Grant, Information Librarian, SAD #41
Computers and the Internet are being 'sold' as the answer to all information needs. Computers have increased the speed of information searching. The Internet can give relatively easy access to a greatly expanded universe of information. Speed and size combine to form a complex web of facts and opinions, details and abstracts, and multiple images. This necessitates dealing with the information flow.

Schools and libraries are moving rapidly to create an environment where students can learn how to live in an information-rich world. Whatever your school's level of access, your students can begin learning these necessary skills. Your library program can include a foundation of information skill development, based on books, that can be expanded and refined to include other resources as acquired.

The focus of libraries has changed from a place to store information to a program to facilitate using information. This program teaches the process for accessing, interpreting, and producing information. This process can be daunting at first. For ease of teaching the skills, I found it helpful to break the information skill process into four broad areas - Presearch, Search, Interpretation, and Communication. This chapter describes approaches I have used with the first two areas. It includes bridging activities to using computerized resources. See Information Skills Guide for Maine Educators for extended descriptions of these areas.

Presearch

Teachers can discover that the librarian's expertise is valuable in starting the students on a research process. I request that the teachers do the presearch steps with my help BEFORE sending the students to search. I explain or model the steps in their classroom or in the library. After one or two times of modeling some teachers do their own presearch steps with or without my help in classroom and/or in the library.

The first step is an overview of the topic and the resources available for that topic. Some teachers are ready to allow topic choice by the students, others have definite topics in mind. A resource overview when done with teacher and students will point to the vast array of topics available on the Internet and include suggestions for higher level thinking topic questions

(The above flyer is adapted from Polette, p. 13.)

First Steps to Upgrade Presearch From Topic to Focus

Make such a page, with your own fun graphics, and help teachers recognize that their assignments can provide the best incentive for students to apply the information they gather, instead of just copying it.

Relating this to the current type of MEA questions and to Bloom's Taxonomy helps to encourage teacher choice of products hard to plagiarize. See Taxonomy in Appendix C. I also give teachers samples of quality thinking questions, often geared specifically to their curriculum area. Additionally helpful to the teachers may be a reminder that even evaluation level questions usually need knowledge level facts from the library. The final product may move from knowledge levels of information through comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and into evaluation using the gathered information.

To help teachers do presearch with students, I prepare a typical "Research preparation" sheet and suggest/request each student fill one out. (The spacing has been condensed.)

MSAD # 41 INFORMATION CENTER.................Name:_________________

Research Preparation Before Searching

Have the following ready:
1. Topic in a question form:

Example: What is the weather in Poland?
2. What do I already know about the question>
Example: Poland is in Europe.
Weather includes rain, snow and changes of temperature.
3. What subquestions can I ask about the topic? What gaps are there in my knowledge?
Example: What nearby land formations might affect the wind patterns?
Does the prevailing wind flow over an ocean?
Is the temperature cold enough for the weather to bring snow?
How do the land formations near Poland affect the temperature?
4. What key words do I need to know and how can I organize them?
Example: Europe; Poland; Central Plains; Central Europe; Polish Uplands; climate; weather; wind patterns; temperature.
5. What information Center resources are best to use?

This is a knowledge level sample for the novice teacher. It should be modified to match each teacher's needs/subject/age level. It assumes that the students and teacher have had an overview of their library's resources. A fast overview exercise is the typical scavenger hunt done with a map of your library and a matching list of all possible resources.

The second step of the presearch is recognizing prior knowledge, usually done as classroom work. This is labeled as "preknowledge" on the charts in my library. The students write what they know about their topic. Double entry journals work well for this. Or use a brainstorming session and webbing as a way to organize what is known and to see the gaps. (See DOUBLE ENTRY JOURNALS AND LEARNING LOGS chapter and WEBBING chapter.) This preknowledge piece is a valuable place for developing subtopic questions and for finding key words.

Sub-topic questions, as the third step, are also usually classroom work, with the teacher and other students helping. Sometimes I recommend using the encyclopedia outlines and/or the World Book brief facts to help a student gain a broader grasp of a topic, see the gaps, and develop subquestions. Often, it helps to work through a list of questions with the teacher ahead of time. One assignment was "Which U.S. President was the most important and why?" Most books on presidents will give a short opinion on this, easy to plagiarize. Using Cutlip's Questions for quality thinking, page 59, and Blooms taxonomy of thinking levels, appendix C, the following list of questions was developed:

1. List the character qualities most often mentioned for U.S. Presidents.
2. Produce a chart showing how many presidents had each quality.
3. For the top 10 qualities, explain why each was significant for being president.
4. Who was the most important 20th century president? What evidence can you present for this decision?
5. Create a priotized list explaining the top 6 qualities for choosing a 21st century president. Formulate a plan for you to gain the top three qualities within the next ten years.
6. Decide which ten current national leaders have the necessary qualities to become a president, including reasons for your choice.

This list of questions would be more effective if done by teams of students. The focus could shift to comparing 20th and 19th century presidents, or U.S. Presidents and leaders of other nations.

==== Before you search for facts that relate to the questions, you need to develop the ability to shift between narrow and broad focus subject searches. Just as the words for topic search vary between the World Book and the Britannica, so do they vary from one computer database to another. Both the size and the focus of the resource have to be considered as you search.

MSAD #41 Information Center

Focusing the Topic.............Name:_______________________

BROADEN TOPIC NARROW
pet
mammal
animal		 dog Irish setter
schnauzer
training
.cat.
.(your topic here).

In working with the fourth step, students learn to look at the focus and size of the resource before picking key words that will be the most efficient for that resource. Collecting key words can be done with the help of Sears (my older copies are on hand for student use), the card catalog, CD-ROM indexes like TOM, descriptors from URSUS or ERIC, encyclopedia or book indexes, words in heavy black type in books, and linking words or phrases on Web pages (underlined or in color). The worksheet above is a simple lesson to develop keywords that broaden or narrow a topic.

As the final step before starting the search, the students note which resources will be best for their topic. The initial overview and the search for subquestions and key words have given them a feel for this. At this point the students are ready for independent research, and have some direction/focus which helps prevent information overload and/or getting lost on the net. These presearch strategies need to be revisited regularly during the entire research process.

SEARCHING

The process of searching includes the following strategies:

The mechanical searching techniques vary depending on the resource. Following are some of the techniques that can affect the search:
Sometimes it is hard to keep the big picture in mind while narrowing a search because online resources are so vast. Beginning search strategies and some techniques can be taught using CD-ROM magazine indexes. Following is a lesson I use with 6-12 graders on searching Infrotrac's TOM. Each student has a page of subtopics listed under the main subject: FRANCE. I then give the students a series of questions, adapted for the age level. I start with simple knowledge questions and move toward more complex questions.

FRANCE
accidents flora foodsagriculture
architecturegeologyhistory art
athleticshotels & motels automobileslanguages
bookslibraries buildingsmusic
canalsnewspaperscastles palaces
civil rights pollutioncommerce presidents
crime religionculture schools
description and travelservicesecologysocial life & customs
education stormsemploymentstudents
energy taxationfauna transportation

Questions #1, "You are traveling to France for a week. Circle the subtopics that might lead to articles for help in planning your trip." After each has circled at least ten, I usually give the obvious 5-6 subtopics as "These would be the most effective to try first, because...." (This is modeling the decision making process.) Then I request one answer from each student, with careful listening to avoid no repeats. (Listening skills and effective use of time) The oral sharing helps everyone see the vast possibilities available on this one topic.

Question #2, "What is school like for teenagers in France? and be ready to defend why you choose that subtopic." I let volunteers give their reasons.

Question #3, "Find reasons why students in European countries do better than the US on standardized testing. Suggest solutions for changing this." By this time most students can readily defend their choices.

This last queston leads to looking at the actual citations for education in France, printed on the back of the subtopic page. I include several citations, one abstract, and part of one full text article. I go over the parts of the first citation with "Underline the magazine title, circle the date, box around the page numbers" to make sure everyone can find those. Usually I comment on the differences between magazines (review if we have already done magazine comparisons, expand if we haven't), thus revealing that the title is important in deciding if you want the whole article. Date and page numbers are important if you need to interlibrary loan, and useful for evaluating currency of the article and amount of material it contains.

Comparing one citation with the matching abstract and the full text allows you to model how to scan the citation and the abstract to decide whether or not to read the full text. This is more instructive if you can start with specific questions that have answers in the samples you are using.

Boolean searching is a critical skill for electronic searching. TOM'S expanded searching give you a chance to see how this works. The subject 'France' with subtopic 'Education' gave 9 citations, but moving to the expanded search, 'France and Education' gives 44 citations. This leads to the need to narrow the topic. Adding 'Children' to 'France and Education' narrows to 3 citations. Adding 'Preschool' to 'France and Education' narrows to 3 different citations.

Assessment

Assessment comes at every stage of the research process. Locate a student's topic question and subquestions within Bloom's taxonomy. The student's ability and willingness to change to a higher level question can be a first assessment point.

Key words are another early assessment point. Students keep a list of key words and their source. Educator and/or students apply a checklist to assess their use of key words. Points to consider in designing your assessment:
1) StudentÍs thoughts about topic for gathering key words
2) Checking all the resources available (working from a prepared list of resources from their topic)
3) Moving beyond the initial key word (Horse leads to Racing leads to Jockey leads to Career training)
4) Applying key words for developing subquestions 5) Adding more key words during the whole searching process.

In Conclusion
The School and Library Network being installed in Maine will take the sting out of long distance rates for a few years. However, many schools and libraries will have a minimum of Internet workstations, and online time will still be at a premium. Even schools with networked labs will not be able to allow every student to spend hours searching, nor would that be a productive goal. Information searching that is efficient and effective are more productive goals, requiring sound information skills foundations with special emphases on the strengths and weaknesses of electronic searching. An early step toward these goals is the need to dispel the solve-all misconceptions that are blurring an honest look at Internet access.

Bibliography

California Media and Library Educators Association (1994). From library skills to information literacy: a handbook for the 21st century. Castle Rock, CA: Hi Willow Research And Publishing. ISBN 0-931510-49-X

Chapters include stages of research with strategies and visuals for mini-lessons, planning for integrating the lessons into curriculum, sample scenarios of integrated units, and integration with local, state, or national standards

Crumlish, C. (1996). Internet for busy people. Berkeley, CA: Osbourne/McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-882108-8, $22.95.

Shortcuts, techniques, tips, and timesavers presented in both a visual and a printed format.

Cutlip, G. (1988). Learning and information. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 0-87287-560-6

Includes specific teaching strategies for information skills along with several visuals. The detailed model program improvement guide lists characteristics of an effective school-wide information skills program.

Dickie, C. (1995). The learning highway: a studentÍs guide to using the Internet in high school and college. Toronto, Ontario: Key Porter Books Limited. ISBN 1-55013-713-1 $16.95.

Internet tools and how to use them. Educational resources and how to find them.

Information Searcher. Datasearch Group, Inc, 14 Hadden Rd, Scarsdale, NY 10583. Five issues, $34.00.

Newsletter for CD-ROM, on-line searching, and Internet. Originally strictly for High School level Dialog users, now covers broad range of products and search techniques, K-12.

McKenzie, J. (1995) "Preparing for the great hunt." Technology Connection. 2:11-13.

Specific research skills needed for searching the Internet and CD-ROM sources.

Polette, Nancy. (1988). Research without copying. O'Fallon, MO, Book Lures. ISBN 0-913839-69-8

Technology Connection. Linworth Publishing, 480 E Wilson, Bridge Rd Ste L, Worthington, OH, 43085-9918. 10 issues, $39.00.

Magazine for K-12 school media and technology specialists. Features introductions to and overviews of emerging technologies, specific teaching tips for using computer resources, and resource reviews written by school library media specialists.

Turner, P. (1985). Helping teachers teach. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 0-87287-456-7 (pbk)

For the LMS with minimal teaching background, this book provides a foundation in curriculum planning and lesson design. The LMS role in teaching is integrated in all steps of instructional design, with specific examples provided.

Winn, P. (1991). Integration of the secondary school library media center into the curriculum. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 0-87287-866-X

December 1997
Maine Educational Media Associaton

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