Teaching the Big 6 through your library website

Karen Shull, Librarian

Christian Brothers Academy

kshull@cbasyracuse.org

What is research

What research is not: finding facts - either online or in a book – to answer questions for a worksheet or “report”.

Starts with an essential or probing question Project depth depends on 2 factors:

Teacher’s questions Student’s ability to analyze, synthesize, and

form new questions. Bloom’s Taxonomy

Why teach Big 6?

Can be used to solve problems, find information, answer questions

Is process driven - Scientific Method for seeking information

Incorporates critical thinking skills

Changing world

The "Big6™" is copyright © (1987) Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more information, visit:

www.big6.com

Paradigm shift

Today’s world demands a different set of information skills.

In the past, it was enough to master facts.

Now, colleges and employers want people who can find, analyze, and communicate information at a sophisticated level.

They want people who are information literate.

Teaching information literacy

Must be taught within the context of classroom lessons

Lessons in isolation – no real information need – will be useless

What is the Big 6?

Decision-making methodology Developed in the mid-1980’s in

Syracuse, NY K-20 applicability Used with ANY content area Analytical tool

the google generationwhere are the skills gaps? (quoted)

There are two particularly powerful messages emerging from recent research.

When the top and bottom quartiles of students – as defined by their information literacy skills - are compared, it emerges that the top quartile report a much higher incidence of exposure to basic library skills from their parents, in the school library, classroom or public library in their earlier years.

p.23-24 “Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future”

the google generationwhere are the skills gaps? (quoted)

It seems that a new divide is opening up in the US, with the better-equipped students taking the prizes of better grades.

At the lower end of the information skills spectrum, the research finds that intervention at university age is too late: these students have already developed an ingrained coping behaviour: they have learned to `get by’ with Google.

p.23-24 “Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future”

what are the implications for policy makers? (quoted)

Emerging research findings from the US points to the fact that these skills need to be inculcated during the formative years of childhood: by university or college it is too late to reverse engineer deeply ingrained habits, notably an uncritical trust in branded search engines to deliver quick fixes.

This will require concerted action between libraries, schools and parents.

p.32 “Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future”

Step 1: Task definition

Define the problem Identify the information

needs This is where the

student learns to define the scope of the project

The "Big6™" is copyright © (1987) Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more information, visit: www.big6.com

Step 1 results

Understands how to analyze and question the nature of a problem.

Discerns areas that need clarification. Thinks creatively regarding areas of

investigation. Sets scope of investigation appropriately. Generates key content questions for the

investigation. Understands and can list information formats

appropriate to area of investigation.

Step 2: Information strategies

Determine the type of sources that will be most useful: Book Journal Databases Internet People

Prioritize sources

Step 2 Results

Understands and can list possible sources of information appropriate to the investigation.

Understands the difference between Internet sites and databases.

Understands the pro’s and cons of various information sources, and can prioritize effectively.

Step 3: Location and Access

Locate sources Print materials Internet as access to databases Internet as research tool

Find information Use valid search terms Advanced searching

Step 3 Results

Understands how to search the library catalog and retrieve physical objects such as books, as well as electronic items.

Understands the reason to use a book source.

Understands the purpose of an encyclopedia. Understands how to choose an appropriate

database. Understands how to access, navigate, and

successfully search a database.

Step 3 Results

Understands how to use the email function of a database to email results to self.

Understands when the Internet is an appropriate choice.

Understands how search engines and directories differ, and when and how to use each one.

Understands Boolean, phrase, proximity, and other advanced searching strategies for both databases and web.

Step 4: Information Use

Engage Read materials View pictures and media Listen to audio files Interview people

Extract Make good notes Cite information sources

Step 4 Results

Skims for the main idea when first researching. Looks for key ideas, facts, quotes. Appropriately decides to invest in slower, more in-

depth reading; understands the necessity to do so. Understands the difference between fact and opinion. Understands how to authenticate/credential

information taken from the web, and the importance of this step.

Learns to use footnotes and other bibliographic tools to find more information.

Step 4 Results

Uses appropriate technology to facilitate note-taking. Understands the concept of plagiarism, and

understands the penalties for infractions. Understands and follows copyright rules, using

information in an ethical manner. Understands the purpose of citation, the various

citation forms and how to use them, including parenthetical citations; can produce citations with or without a citation generator.

Step 5: Synthesis

Organize Divide information and analysis into logical

sections Present

Develop an appropriate product Website Essay Newspaper article Play, poem, or story Film

Step 5 Results

Understands how to prioritize the information found. Understands how to integrate his own analysis within

the presentation. Has a comprehensive knowledge of different effective presentation tools. Decides appropriately on the use of a presentation

tool. Uses standard conventions of spelling and grammar

as needed in presentations. Proficient in proofreading own work; understands the

necessity to do so.

Step 6: Evaluation

Judge the product Are you satisfied with your work? Will your teacher/supervisor be happy with it?

Judge the process What could you have done better?

Step 6 Results

Critically examines the quality of work. Analyzes own strengths and weaknesses

prior to handing off work. Strategizes for next project from the

experiences of current project.

Methodology

Technology: Smart Board/projector Start with blank Step One box Librarian has copy both of the project and

teacher objectives Students are prompted to answer 1.1 and 1.2

of the Big 6 1.2: Keywords in project assignment are

identified and expanded, generating questions; also, information types identified

Same procedure for Steps Two and Three

Students brainstorm – librarian captures group work .

Students generate content for Steps 1 & 2 – questions from all classes are melded into one web page

Using the web site

Teaching the Big 6 through practice, not theory Students work out Step 1 in a group atmosphere Ideally, classroom teachers would grade students on

Step 1 proficiency by their senior year Research tools

Project page Databases MLA, MS Word help

Setting the bar

Big 6 is ineffective if students are given too much information

Instructional design is key

Bloom’s Taxonomy

UBD: Understanding By Design

Ask open-ended questions

Students need to be able to define effective criteria for themselves

Engaging curiosity stimulates thinking Student engagement rises when learning is

self-motivated; real learning is both more likely to occur and be remembered

More complex levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy are utilized

Plagiarism is much less likely with open-ended questions

Extending the lesson

Challenging your teachers: How can you use compare/contrast? Can you build a database with research

results? Research and discussion should lead into

asking and probing essential questions

UBD: Understanding By Design

What do you want your students to be able to do? (Identify desired results)

How will you know when they can do it? (Acceptable evidence)

Plan your instruction with the end in mind

Goal

Responsibility of K-12 to set thoughtful intellectual patterns

Most teachers agree that students should graduate with information literacy skills

Analyze proficiency at your campus - grading Big 6 is a decision-making tool for conducting

research Big 6 provides sound structure for intellectual

inquiry

Example: Senior Papers

Philosophy: Each student will select and discuss ONE of the following: In philosophy, ideas do not die; they go in and out of fashion. In philosophy, the questions are more important than the answers.

Morality/English/Information Literacy: Problem: You will write and research a paper in which you will

demonstrate your understanding of a moral issue as it is articulated in Roman Catholic magisterial documents, and interpreted in a significant literary novel or play and a visual text.

Example of freshman paper

Topics for the Final Assignment Paper I. Discuss Robert Boyle's experiments and the

place of natural philosophy in England's Royal Society.

II. Discuss William Harvey's physiological work in its intellectual, institutional, and political contexts.

Wrap-Up

Information literacy is a primary skill of the 21st Century

Research shows techniques learned K-12 will be dominant later in life

Online access promotes students actually using the process

Contact

Karen Shull, Libarian Christian Brothers Academy, Syracuse kshull@cbasyracuse.org http://mandarin01.cbasyracuse.org/library2/in

dex.html Google “CBA Markert Library”