Information Literacy and the IRC
Collaborative Instruction for Your Students
Happy New Year!
Research Projects - HELP!
Are you planning a research project for the third 9 weeks? Would you like some help teaching your students basic skills in finding and using resources? The IRC is here to help! This newsletter contains some of the topics that are offered for your students. Contact Mrs. Ingram if you have scheduled time in the IRC and would like customized instruction and resource ideas for your students.
The Big 6 and Information Literacy
Instruction in the Big 6 framework gives students a guide to find and use information more effectively and efficiently. The steps include:
- Task Definition- What is my task? What information do I need?
- Information Seeking Strategies. Brainstorm sources and choose the best ones.
- Location and Access. Find the sources and find information within the sources.
- Use of Information. Engage in the source (read it, listen to it, etc) Extract information.
- Synthesis. Organize information and present it (write paper, complete project)
- Evaluation. How did I do? How can I do it better next time?
This framework helps students break down the research process into more manageable chunks. It is best taught in the context of a real-world situation like writing a research paper or working on a project. Once students are familiar with the process, they can use it to solve any number of problems by finding and using the information they need. Contact Mrs. Ingram for more information about the Big 6 or to set up a time for classroom instruction on the Big 6 framework.
Online Resources
The District provides online databases to each school in the district. The links to these incredible resources can be find on the IRC's web page under "Research Databases and Tools". These sources include online encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, almanacs, audio/video clips and books. Topics include current events, education, business, technology, history, fine arts, mathematics and health. Many databases contain lesson plans for fine arts, history, language arts, mathematics, physical education/health science, social studies and technology. Contact Mrs. Ingram if you would like more details about these rich resources available to you and your students.
Noodletools
Another very popular online resource and research tool is Noodletools. Students most often use this product to create a works cited list but there are other great functions available. This tool also has a note-taking function and helps create in-text citations. During a class we help students set up their account, create a project and works cited lists. We can also show students how to copy and paste a citation provided by a database directly into Noodletools and create in-text citations.
C.A.R.S. Website Evaluation Tool
We all know that even after we introduce really cool databases and try to convince students to use them, they are still going to venture out into the vast sea of information known as the World Wide Web. The CARS tool gives students key features to analyze to determine if a website is reliable.
C - Credibility
A - Accuracy
R - Reasonableness
S - Support
Let's not send them out into the sea unprepared! This class also introduces other search engines beyond Google that will help guide students in their online search.
C - Credibility
A - Accuracy
R - Reasonableness
S - Support
Let's not send them out into the sea unprepared! This class also introduces other search engines beyond Google that will help guide students in their online search.
Schedule a Class Today!
Still not sure about the Online Booking System? Private lessons are available.
Let the IRC staff help you and your students in the research process. Contact us to schedule a class and discuss the best way to help you and your students.
Let the IRC staff help you and your students in the research process. Contact us to schedule a class and discuss the best way to help you and your students.