Thursday, March 20, 2003

tech.life@school | Joyce Kasman Valenza

Don't Let the Net Usurp Parent's Job as a Guide for Child's Research

One of the residual effects of the Internet has been the elimination of adults from the process of student research.

Most kids I know have a strong feeling of self- efficacy. They may feel they know the turf of the Web so well that adult advice would be quite unnecessary. And that traditional lift to the library? Why bother if they can get all their resources from the Web.

As regular observer of student work, what I am seeing is a lot of “research holes”—important, but missing information and sources—while a glut of unworthy sources insidiously making their way into student bibliographies, questionable documentation ethics, and a growing number of thoughtless cut and paste efforts. 

As the first generation of teachers to teach in an information-rich landscape, those of us who “get it” are adjusting our practice –focusing our students on planning thoughtful projects, information evaluation strategies, and encouraging ethical documentation. 

But how should we respond to “the changes” as parents?  I believe we should intrude.

Ask to help as your student brainstorms potential research questions and thesis statements.  Is the question he or she develops likely to challenge and inspire critical thought?  Is it “so what” or “topical” research, the type that merely requires your child to reprocess material already beautifully covered in an encyclopedia article?  Question the value of such “topical research”—the state, country, animal, or planet report-- with your child’s teacher.

Ask your student if he or she has used subscription databases in his/her research. If your school subscribes to curricular databases, make sure your student has a password list so they can use these services from home. The Access PA Power Library databases, funded by the State Library (http://www.powerlibrary.net/) are the best bargain in town. To access the resources of the POWER Library from home, go to your public library's web page and enter the barcode number located on your valid library card. Students who rely on the free Web only ignore such wonderful databases as EBSCOHost, GaleNet, AP Photo Archive, SIRS, Facts.com, with their high quality book, magazine, newspaper and reference article content.

Ask to check your student’s works cited and works consulted pages for balance and quality.  Has he used the Web exclusively?  Has she ignored books?  Of the websites they have cited, how many appear to have been produced by recognizable organizations or institutions?  Do any of them have the suspicious domain names of free hosting services like Geocities or AOL Members?  Look for domains that originate at museums, universities, public television stations.  Good researchers evaluate for credibility, authority, accuracy, and relevance. Good searchers are fussy!

Look for “research holes.” Quite simply, kids don’t know what they don’t know. Though the Web gives them great independence, they may not recognize the best words to use in a search and they may not recognize the best documents in a result list when they see them. However clever your children are, in your travels as an adult, you are likely to know a few things your thirteen-year-old does not.  ***cut?***Encourage your student to research with “peripheral vision,” to be on the lookout for related terms, names, and organizations.  In a subscription database that means using the controlled language, or thesaurus, to find the appropriate subject headings.  In a search engine, that means browsing through annotations for additional vocabulary or making use of features like “more like this” and “similar pages” when they appear near really good results. **** Suggest names or events or keywords worth searching that might not necessarily be in your student’s realm of knowledge.  If you suspect important content has been overlooked, it is likely a teacher will too.

Is your student in a search engine rut?  Is he or she relying on a certain "fictional butler" way too much? All search boxes are not alike. Students have a wide variety of search options than they might realize: a growing number of smarter search engines (Google, Vivismo, Wisenut, Teoma); specialized search engines (like Scirus, for science); subject directories--for the one-concept search or when they want to get to the good stuff quickly; as well as those high-quality subscription databases.

When you proofread, go beyond spelling and grammar and look at documentation.  Did your student document all non-original ideas--quoted, paraphrased or summarized?  For further information on how to responsibly borrow the ideas of others visit http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/sumparquo.html Our school’s MLA Style Sheet is available at: http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/mla.html

When you proofread your student’s work, can you hear his or her own voice—the student’s own original thought and analysis--among the quotations? 

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Joyce Kasman Valenza is the librarian at Springfield High School in Erdenheim, Pa. Her weekly column in tech.life will be on hiatus this summer but will resume with the school year in the fall. Her e-mail address is joyce.valenza@phillynews.com.

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