“A good reference source is one that serves to answer questions and a bad reference is one that fails to answer questions” - Riedling
Introduction
(Kearney, Christine. March 14th, 2012)
I read the description of this course when I was selecting this class for the term and it immediately made me think of the Encyclopedia Britannica. As a child, I remember the commercials so candidly. The advertising was so persuasive (for a 10 year old child). I believed that if I had access to these books, all of my questions would be answered. Doing school projects would be a breeze! All I needed to do, was convince my parents to buy them. Eventually they did buy them and I remember browsing through them. Thinking of topics that I wondered about and looked them up. I learned to use these encyclopedias so efficiently. I used them for every project I could.
I knew that there was more to reference materials but I had never stopped to think about them all. There was more to “reference materials” besides the wonderful, all knowing Encyclopedia Britannica. There are almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, etc. All of which some of us use on a weekly or monthly basis. I knew of the sources but for some reason I did not connect them all to be reference sources.
Theme 1: Definitions
This section looked closer at Riedling’s definitions of various terms related to reference materials. In the text Riedling clarified terms I already knew the definition of but did not know or remember the terms, since we do not use them on the field. We use language that students are able to understand better. It was interesting relearning the formal terminology.
Riedling's definition of the term "digital divide" really grabbed my attention. They are referring to the availability of the internet and/or digital resources. I don't always feel like this divide is as clear as they have defined it.
I found it interesting how Reidling's definition of reference sources varies from each other. In addition, the definition of Guide to Reference Sources from the American Library Association states how no definition for "reference work" is entirely satisfactory for the Guide to Reference Sources's purpose because of the implications of the web/digital media.
The important thing to remember in our practice is that we need to teach students to be 21st century learners. This outlines the skills, dispositions, and responsibilities of students to be truly information literate in today’s society. They need to be able to inquire, think critically, draw conclusions, share information, make informed decisions and apply knowledge to new situations. This is incredibly critical for students to master now. Especially at a time where the information is abundant but not curated.
Theme 2: The Reference Process and Information skills
I feel like teachers are always using the information skills and reference process in their practice on a daily basis. I know that I like to guide students to find answers to their questions. I haven’t had a chance to really dive deep into the inquiry process. My experience with kindergarteners and grade one students had reduced the inquiry process to a very basic level. I am excited to have learned the various inquiry process models. They provide more thorough steps to follow which will inevitably scaffold students to follow their inquiries more closely and completely.
Below are three different models teachers can use to guide students through the inquiry process: Information seeking model by Carol Kuhlthau, The Big 6 ("Super 3" for younger students- adapted model with a three step process: plan, do, review) by Michael Eisenberg and Robert Berkowitz and the Research process by Barbara Stripling and Judy Pitts.
I don’t think any of these models are better than the other. Students will be more successful if they know the inquiry process of any of the models above. Teachers could choose a model and outline the steps for students. Give them a way to follow the model and record their findings.
Theme 3: Building a reference collection for your school library
I like how Riedling provides an outline for evaluating reference material. It is a very informed way to set standards for our resources. I think the content scope and cost of reference material is a challenging part of evaluating resources. Teacher Librarians already struggle to update their reference sections as they become outdated so quickly. As a result they have to purchase new, updated versions which use more money from an already restricting budget. In addition, patrons are turning to digital copies of reference resources as they are kept updated, and are always readily available. In turn, their demands help preserve the budget a little more.
Other Teacher Librarians have told me that they have eliminated their encyclopedias from their School Library Learning Commons. The reason being that students are not taught how to use print copies of encyclopedias when digital versions of the same material are available. It would seem wasteful to spend budget money on resources that are not going to be used.
All of this makes me wonder whether we should still be teaching students how to use the encyclopedias or completely move away from print versions to digital ones?
Theme 4: Print and/or electronic reference Materials
I find our digital resources are exemplary but not so easy to access. Teachers are not aware of these sources until I show them. I try to use these resources during collaborative time. This gives me a chance to show teachers how to use them and why they are so valuable.
Based on our reading, the availability of electronic references is having an impact on research at every educational level. Our job is to teach students how to find the best information. If we don’t allow access to many internet sites that are used by students in their own time then how can we have meaningful discussions with them about authority, relevancy, currency, etc?
Conclusion
It has been exciting learning and going beyond the Encyclopedia Britannica. I look forward to working with students on various inquiry models and teaching them how to follow the steps diligently. I am grateful to have such a rich digital and physical collection where students can access what they want, whenever they want. I have a lot of modeling and demonstrating to do so teachers and students are convinced to use our digital sources over non curated sources!
Citation
Riedling, A. & Houston, C. (2019). Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips (4th ed.). Pg. 3-121, 137-140.
1988 Encyclopedia Britannica. "At Home" TV Commercial. Originally aired on April 8th, 1988 on CBN. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi8Ae5gY_vk. Retrived January 29th, 2023.
1992 Encyclopedia Britannica Commercial. Aired on WPIX Channel 11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxwin9XFbnQ. Retrieved January 28th, 2023.
Lynch, Matthew. April 5th, 2018. What does a 21st century learner look like?. The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/what-does-a-21st-century-learner-look-like/. Retrieved January 29th, 2023.
Kearney, Christine. March 14th, 2012. New York. https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0314/Encyclopaedia-Britannica-After-244-years-in-print-only-digital-copies-sold. Retrieved January 29th, 2023.
I've always found push for students to be 21st century learners to be interesting. We are moving into a more technologically developed era, and yet many schools (and libraries in those schools) are under served with education. There are still kids without access to education at home, and there hasn't really been a provincial effort to remedy that.
ReplyDeleteStudents are expected to use technology more, but not necessarily how to use it appropriately. Disinformation and misinformation, often pushed through social media, are becoming increasingly problematic.
Unfortunately it is true. Even when there are some available for students to use, they might not be updated or fully functional.
DeleteStudents need to be given opportunities to use the technology at school, for projects and assignments. Especially when they don't have access at home.
During the initial years of my University degrees, I used my school account to complete research papers. I didn't have a laptop of my own until my education degree. For what it's worth I didn't find this to be the most challenging bit of my experience but maybe I didn't know better. Computers were always available.
That's interesting. My family had an Apple IIC when I was growing up, and when I started my undergraduate degree in 1999, I had a computer that my family put together out of spare parts (my brother works in computer server maintenance and programing). I don't know if there was anyone on my dorm without a computer.
DeleteComputers are an almost universal educational requirement. It's surprising to me when a secondary school only has one computer lab. When I did my second practicum in a private school, my major take away was how valuable each student having a lap top was/is.
It would have made life a lot easier to have my own computer, even if it was a desktop computer. I would use the school's or my friends'.
DeleteSecondary students should definitely have enough access to laptops or iPads!
I agree Dan! Everyone says that our students are "digital natives" because they are growing up with technology. And that is true but it does not mean that you can't teach digital skills. Our students are great digital consumers. I find they are great at using apps and other things like social media and YouTube, but they are very bad at navigating the internet. When my students do a Google search I will often find them only looking at the images tab because they do not know what to do with the web results. If they do use the "all" search tab then they often copy down the blurb that shows in the description of the website and do not know to actually go to the website to read more. They are often content creators for social media, however, expecting students to naturally be navigators, creators, and coders just because they grew up around devices is absurd. Most students use phones or tablets at home which makes them familiar with consuming apps, not the internet.
DeleteThis is very true. I've seen it happen as well. I think that I need to remember this and break down the inquiry process better to prevent this sort of thing from happening!
DeleteI'm curious too about the "skills" these digital natives have acquired. They seem to be very adept at scrolling, and scanning rather than reading deeply. There are many other skills they have, but I'm not sure that they're the best skills. We have a lot of work to do to help this new generation of learners to use technology responsibly.
DeleteHi Erin,
DeleteIt's always interesting learning about students' digital knowledge. The range is very wide in some aspects. I agree with you about the scrolling and scanning. Unfortunately, I witness that a lot. Most students seem to be at an emerging level when it comes to research and Inquiry and finding reliable sources for their findings.
In the high school I am at I've seen quite the range of abilities and access. I have had a student with only a flip phone because his mom doesn't believe or want him to be on social media or using his phone in as distraction and I have had a student who was abusing copyright laws so badly that Shaw tracked him down and sent his parents warning letters threatening lawsuits. This term I am experimenting with turning everything in online so students can have a digital portfolio. My biggest notice about this generation is they don't give up if they can't do something they want to technologically. I often ask them questions and they genuinely help me sort it out!
DeleteUh, I posted a comment... but I don't know if it disappeared.
ReplyDeleteNo, I got it!
DeleteHi Julieta, It's interesting that our memories of print encyclopedia sets are so different! While your memory was positive and led you to be curious, I saw encyclopedia sets as the "boring" books my grandpa had on his bookshelves. I wonder if I had watched that commercial as a child if my perception of my grandpa's encyclopedia set would have changed and I would have been more curious like you! I wonder how we can get our students to be interested in researching with encyclopedia sets, or whether this will be necessary in our world of digital research.
ReplyDelete