Teaching 21st Century Students How to Research

        In my previous post, I discussed some challenges that students encounter when trying to locate information on the internet. In this post, I want to elaborate on ways teachers can help their elementary students learn how to research using the internet. In Digital Writing: A Guide to Writing for Social Media and the Web, Lawrence has a section on the ease of information “searchability” in Google. Lawrence (2022) writes, “It matters how easily a user can find life-saving information about a pandemic or a flood. If they type common keywords into Google, will they be able to find reliable and accurate information?” (p.83). I would venture to say many adults do not know how to effectively use key words and punctuation to narrow down their search results. In the video below, content creator, Dan Spada, demonstrates several ways to help students with using the Google search engine.

(Dan Spada, 2019)

      Another skill that students need to develop is the ability to evaluate the authenticity of websites. In her article “Teaching Students the Skills to be Savvy Researchers”, O’Hanlon (2013) mentions steps that students can take to dissect a website by considering the author, their purpose, and the domain. Websites that end with edu, org, or gov usually can be considered more trustworthy.  

      Recently, I worked with a fourth grade classroom on an alternative energy research project. I began the unit with a two day lesson on how to effectively use written and digital sources to research a topic. I knew I needed a way to visually present the steps for research to the students. I wanted something small that they could keep on their desks as a reminder during the project. After reading Lawrence’s section (2022) on graphic design and Adobe, I decided to apply his suggestions to the Canva software. I am fairly new to Canva but I really enjoy the large database of graphics and templates that it has. I created the research infographic below and used it as a tool to guide the lesson.

(How to Research a Topic via Canva by Brianne Gilliland)

      As part of my lesson on research, I modeled the five steps on my infographic with the class. Together, we walked through the steps to research nuclear energy. While this took some time, I felt that it was time well spent and it gave the students opportunities to ask questions about using Google, finding information on websites, and recording their sources. O’Hanlon states, “Teachers should give credit to the process of searching, not just for the final product, she added. Students can turn in search logs or annotated bibliographies to emphasize that process” (2013, p.16). I agree with O’Hanlon. As part of their research project, I required students to list their online sources on their organizer and on their final Google Slide presentation.

I have done this alternative energy project several times in the past without the research lesson at the beginning. I could tell a huge difference this time in the confidence of my students as they were researching their energy topics. They would tell me things like “this website gave me information on the benefits of solar energy” or “I didn’t find any information on this website on how wind energy affects the environment”. The research infographic helped guide students as they were researching. As I was conferencing with students, I would ask which research step were they currently on. Students would often quickly glance at the infographic and then respond. In the past, I have also noticed students’ final presentations containing a lot of misinformation. I was delighted to see that this group of students was much more successful in finding accurate information and being able to share their learning with others. “Teaching students solid online search skills is important not only because it will help them produce better work, but also because it prepares them to judge the validity of all sorts of information and to be critical thinkers” (O’Hanlon, 2013, p.16).

References

      Gilliand, B. (2024). How to research a topic [Infographic]. Canva.

https://www.canva.com/design/DAF5ZruVQhA/rGYmibeWg2Z7IruEtSmgxg/view 

      Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.    

     O’Hanlon, L. (2013). Teaching students the skills to be savvy researchers. Education Week, 32(32), 12-16, https://www.edweek.org/technology/teaching-students-better-online-research-skills/2013/05

Spada, D. (2019, March 3). Teaching students how to research. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmRakMppVtw