The internet is an incredible source of information. However, how much information is too much information. This article discusses the latest Project Information Literacy Progress Report which was an online survey which polled 8,353 students from 25 colleges across the country. The study found that 84 percent of college students said that when it came to course related research, getting started was their most difficult part. The 3 sources that were most cited by students were required course readings. The study found that although students have access to tons of resources on the internet, they are unaware of how to effectively use them to their advantage. When researching, students find themselves in over their heads with the wealth of information on the internet. While this study was conducted of college students, Alison J. Head, co-principal investigator of the project is quoted in the article stating that, "They're basically taking how they learned to research in high school with them to college, since it's worked for them in the past."
-What do you think?
-How can we correct poor research methods in high school before students get to college?
-Is it teachers' responsibilities in high school to make sure that students have effective research methods prior to attending college?
I think that part of our jobs as teachers is to prepare our students for the future, which includes college. We should be teaching them how to research the correct way. I find that plagerism is so common, simply because students don't know what they are doing. Students should be taught from a young age how to research and how to cite sources. I just receieved an email from Domincan College on a free course on how to use EBSCO host. These are things that college students should take advantage of.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I think that the teacher has to know the proper methods of researching and how to gather information from the internet effectivly. If the teacher knows the proper researching methods they can teach and direct the students in the right direction. However the students also have to take the initiative to follow and use the methods taught by the teacher. I feel it is the teachers responsibility to show the students the right researching methods but if they themselves don't know then they should take a lesson on it before teaching the students.
ReplyDeleteWith the wealth of information and misinformation on the internet, I think it is important to teach the difference between scholarly research, like peer reviewed articles, and more general web searching. I think both are valuable but the scholarly research should be taught at the high school level, escpecially with all the AP courses being offered. The article mentioned students felt over their heads and I think that is one of the effects of having so much information available electronically. I think sites like Google Scholar can help students understand academic research better.
ReplyDelete