Because the Internet is NOT a Library…the Guided Inquiry Process Dr. Ross Todd, Director CISSL [email protected] Dr. Carol Gordon, Research Director.

Because the Internet is NOT a Library…the Guided Inquiry Process

Dr. Ross Todd, Director CISSL [email protected]

Dr. Carol Gordon, Research Director [email protected]

Pam Chesky, Director Planning & Development [email protected]

LaDawna Harrington, Library Media Specialist Woodbridge School District

[email protected]

http://www.cissl.scils.rutgers.edu

Program Agenda

• Dr. Ross Todd will take us through recent research showing if / how students construct knowledge through library-based research: do they learn anything?

• Pam Chesky will show us what happens when students are occupied with fact gathering without the instructional interventions of a library media specialist

• LaDawna Harrington will demonstrate guided inquiry and show the learning that takes place

• Dr. Carol Gordon show how ISP, Guided Inquiry and Technology can come together to assist in student knowledge construction

New Jersey IMLS Funded Research 2003 - 2005

• What knowledge outcomes does the school library enable as students make use of diverse digital and print information sources?

• How might these knowledge outcomes be identified, measured, and embedded into professional practice?

• Develop a learning impacts measure for use by school-based teams.

BUT, DO THEY LEARN ANYTHING?

Schools Context & Sample

• 10 New Jersey public schools

• Experienced and expert school librarians

• Diverse public schools

• 10 school librarians working on curriculum projects with 17 classroom teachers

• 574 students in Grades 6 – 12; range of disciplines

Central Research Questions

As they proceed through the stages of a collaborative inquiry project, underpinned by a range of information literacy instructional interventions:

• What changes, if any, are evident in students’ knowledge of a curriculum topic

• What changes, if any, are shown in the students’ feelings?

• How does the students’ study / learning approach influence knowledge construction of a curriculum topic?

• What interactions exist between knowledge construction, feelings, and study approach?

• How did school librarians and teachers help students with their learning

Data Collection Instruments

Five data collection instruments were used to collect the data from the students:

1. Writing Task 1 (at initiation of inquiry unit)2. Writing Task 2 (at midpoint of inquiry unit) 3. Writing Task 3 (at conclusion of inquiry unit)4. Search Journal Log5. My Research Style

The instruments consisted of a combination of qualitative and quantitative questions.

Changes in Knowledge: 5 Approaches to Measurement

1. Substance of knowledge

2. Amount of knowledge

3. Structure of knowledge

4. Personal estimate of knowledge

5. Labeling of knowledge

http://www.cissl.scils.rutgers.edu/guided_inquiry/slim.html

Substance of KnowledgeStatement type Definition Example

Property statements describing characteristics

The color of Valentine’s day is red

Manner statements describing processes, styles, actions

People drive aggressively in USA

Reason statements of explanations of how and why

The wall was constructed to block invaders

Outcome statements providing end result (People eat too much) As a result, people got very sick

Causality statements showing some event causally leads to another

Too much alcohol can lead to liver failure

Set Membership statements about class inclusion Michelangelo created works such as statue of David, Cistine Chapel and the famous Pieta

Implication statements showing predictive relations, inference, implied meaning

He was suspected of poisoning him

Value Judgment statements presenting personal position or viewpoint

That’s not right

NJ Study:Changes in Knowledge

Two distinctive approaches to knowledge construction:

-- Additive : Transportive

-- Integrative : Transformative

Additive Approach to Knowledge Construction

• Knowledge development characterized by progressive addition of property facts

• As the students built knowledge, they continued to add

property and manner statements, and to a lesser extent, set membership statements

• Stockpile of facts, even though facts were sorted, organized and grouped to some extent into thematic units by conclusion.

• Remained on a descriptive level throughout

Integrative Approach to Knowledge Construction

• Initial: superficial sets of properties

• Moved beyond gathering facts:- building explanations- address discrepancies- organizing facts in more coherent ways

• Interpret found information to establish personal conclusions and reflect on these.

• Some students subsumed sets of facts into fewer but more abstract statements at the end

Factors contributing to

differences across Schools • Changes in knowledge (knowledge growth) did not occur

evenly in the schools

• No significant variations across the age, grade, and gender groups

• Nature of task: imposed task or negotiated task; collection of facts/ transport of facts, or transformation of facts

• Engagement and ownership

• Nature of Interventions: Development of skills to construct knowledge rather than finding information

How School Libraries Help• The effective school library helps strongly in terms of

providing access to information technology (sources and tools) necessary for students to complete their research assignments and projects successfully

• It provides up-to-date diverse resources to meet curriculum informational needs

• Instructional intervention focuses on the development of an understanding of what good research is about and how you undertake good research

• It engages students in an active process of building their own understanding and knowledge

• It demonstrates the link between school library services and learning outcomes

The story of a well-meaning principal who didn’t realize the Internet is not the library

• A.C.T.I.O.N Plan for Student Learning• All• Children• Take• Intelligence• Ownership• Naturally

A.C.T.I.O.N Plan Goals

Principal says…• Independent

Student Learning• Information

Literacy Skills • Critical thinkers

Teacher says… Students will research

nominees for the NJ Hall of Fame

Students will present the information on life-sized images of the nominee

Students will vote for their choices

How do kids view this….

Hall of Fame Assignment...

• Where/when born, died, lived• Education/Jobs/Career• Challenges overcome• Qualities that led to greatness• Awards/Commendations • Political offices held• Best remembered for what• Connection to NJ

Critical thinking???

Walt Whitman (Camden) Considered by many to be the most influential poet in U.S. history.

nalyze

othing is something

hink of all the possibilities

Successful “Research” ?

As Presented:Born in Loraine OhioGreatest challenge—a failed

marriage8th to win the Nobel PrizeFirst African American to win the NPFirst Woman to win the NPFinest Quality: A great writer

Actual Facts:

*Born Chloe Anthony Wofford

on 2/18/31 in Lorain, Ohio

*Won a Pulizer in 1988

*87th to win the NP

*8th women to win the NP, 1993

first African American Woman

*Taught at Princeton 1987-2006

What really occurred…

• No learning goals conveyed to students• No guidance on how to access, evaluate,

manipulate, use and communicate information• Kids, teachers, parents wrapped up in the end

product• No understanding, no knowledge construction

Wow!! Look what our kids did…

“The stock piling of superficial facts does

not equal deep knowledge”

Dr. Ross Todd

EllaLonely, Nervous, Brave, Determined, Sassy

Daughter of parents who filled their house with musicMusic must have filled her loneliness when her father died

Moved to New York for a better life.Who loved the night magic of Harlem, Who loved the celebrities and begging for autographs with her friendsWho really loved singing and scatting Who loved her Aunt that took care of her as a child.Who felt loss, when her mother died Who felt anger when she was put in an orphanageWho felt trapped in those walls

but they couldn’t keep her down because she felt the pull of her song

and the night magic of Harlem.Who felt nervous and fear at auditionsWho feared not being able to sing because she had no one to care for her Who feared dying from diabetes and possibly going blind, Who feared whom she would pass her singing crown down toWho wanted to see someone take over her singing crownWho would have liked to have spent more time with her late parentsWho wanted to work with the best bandsWho changed the world of jazz and swingWho was very proud of her awards and achievements

She was “The First Lady Of Song”; she was “Sassy” and a Legend of JazzBorn in Virginia,

grew up in New York, adopted by the world.

Ella was greatFitzgerald

Is information literacy enough?

Information to knowledge

3. Knowledge: application of data and information in a strategy or practice or method; answers "how"

1. Data: symbols with no meaning; out of context

2. Information: data that are processed to be useful; provides answer to "who", "what", "where", and "when" questions

http://www.njhalloffame.com/factsheet.htm

How does the Hall of Fame work?Presentation

What’s aHall ofFame?

Understanding to Wisdom

5. Wisdom:

embodies principles, insights,morals, archetypes; evaluated understanding

What is greatness?

4. Understanding: appreciation of "why“ Museum Tour

What does cognitive psychology tell us?

Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory • All knowledge begins with confusion• Constructs are patterns built to make sense of the world• Patterns provide frames of reference for decisions and choices• Constructs built from experience to anticipate future events• Constructs are not easily discarded or changed

Dewey’s Reflective Thinking• Five phases: suggestion, intellectualization, guiding idea (hypothesis), reasoning,

testing by action• Inter-relatedness of actions and thoughts• Facts, data, and information arouse ideas that help make inferences (“leaps from

the known’)Piaget/ Bruner’s: Schema Theory

Schema: integrated, organized representation of the past which guides us in reconstructing previously encountered material and enables us to go beyond evidence, to fill gaps, to extrapolate.

When it goes

wrong…

Mal-Constructs

Q: What does "varicose" mean?  A: Nearby.

Eventually, the Ramons conquered the Geeks. History call people Romans because they never stayed in one place for very long. At Roman banquets, the guests wore garlic in their hair. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March killed him because they thought he was going to be made king. Nero was a cruel tyrany who would torture his poor subjects by playing the fiddle to them.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?  A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

What are the signs that it is going wrong?

Guided Inquiry for Knowledge Construction

Guided Inquiry is carefully planned, closely supervised targeted intervention of an instructional team of school librarians and teachers to guide students through curriculum based inquiry units that build deep knowledge and deep understanding of a curriculum topic, and gradually lead towards independent learning.

Guided Inquiry is grounded in a constructivist approach to learning, based on the Information Search Process developed by Kuhlthau, for developing students’ competence with learning from a variety of sources while enhancing their understanding of the content areas of the curriculum.

Novice

Expert

Vygotsky Kuhlthau

Zone of Proximal Development Zones of Intervention

Uncertainty

Understanding

Constructivism

Meta-cognition

Stages Feelings Thoughts ActionsTask Initiation uncertainty ambiguity seeking

i i relevantTopic Selection optimism n n information

c tPre-focus exploration confusion r e

e rFocus formulation clarity a e

s sInformation Collection confidence e t

dSearch closure relief specificity seeking

pertinentStarting writing satisfaction/dissatisfaction information

What does the ISP tell us?

Task Initiation

Task Thoughts Feelings Actions Strategies

Prepare for select-ing a topic

Contemplate assignment

Comprehend task; Consider

possible topics

Relate to prior knowledge

Apprehen-sion

Uncertainty

Talking with others

Browsing library collection

Brainstorming

Discussing

Contemplating possible topics

Tolerating uncertainty

Interventions: Avoid information overload (Use print sources; webquests)No note taking! Identifying personal interests. E-mails and blogsSkimming books for headings, tables of content, glossaries, indexes, picturesMapping prior knowledge (Inspiration); Building background knowledge;Use of visuals and visualization; Reading selected passages to build background knowledge; Building motivation and confidence (but not the false confidence of surfing the Net)

Feelings Thoughts Technology

Topic Selection

Task Thoughts Feelings Actions Strategies

Decide on topic

Weighing topics against criteria: inter- est, require-ments, info available, time

Predicting outcome of choices

Choosing topic with potential success

Confusion

Sometimes anxiety

Brief elation after selection

Anticipation of prospective task

Consulting with info mediators

Making preliminary searches

Using info sources

Discussing possible topics

Predicting outcome of choices

Using general sources for overview of possible topics

Interventions: Avoid information overload (Use print sources; webquests)Identifying personal interests. E-mails and blogs; No note-taking; clearing up misconceptions; anchor experiences; Helping students choose reading materials (Picture books); Making inferences from book covers, illustrations; Mental modeling; Thinking aloud; Tracking thinking; Sifting topic from details

Thoughts TechnologyFeelings

Prefocus Exploration

Task Thoughts Feelings Actions Strategies

Investi-

gate informa-

tion to find a focus

Becoming informed about general topic

Seeking focus

Identifying possible focuses

Inability to express precise infor-

mation need

Confusion

Doubt

Threaten-ing

Uncertainty

Locating relevant info

Reading to be inform- ed

Taking notes on facts, ideas Citing

Reading to learn topic

Tolerating inconsistency and incom-

patibility of info encoun-tered

Seeking focus

Listing descriptors

Interventions: Avoid information overload (Use print sources; webquests)Identifying personal interests. E-mails and blogs Pair/four-way shares; Keeping a journal; text-to-self connections; No notetaking;Listing questions; Reading for specific answers; Making Connections-text-to-self; diagramming connections; Monitoring comprehension; List-Ing questions; Categorizing questions (thick and thin questions)

Feelings Thoughts Technology

Focus Formulation

Task Thoughts Feelings Actions Strategies

Formulate a focus from the information found

Predicting outcome of possible foci using interest, require-ments, avail-ability, time

Identifying ideas in info to form focus

Moment of insight

Optimism

Confidence in ability to complete task

Reading notes for themes

Making a survey of notes;

Listing possible foci; Choosing a focus, discarding others; Combining themes to form focus

Interventions: Gradual release of responsibility; Drawing inferences; Making connections; text-to-world; Prediction; Repair (fix-up) strategies when comprehension breaks down; Reading opposing opinions; reading/writing connections (journal entries, letters); Formative Assessments (self-evaluation rubrics, checklists, rubrics, journals); Electronic sources: databases, internet, blogs

Feelings Thoughts Technology

Information Collection

Task Thoughts Feelings Actions Interventions

Gather info that defines extends, supports focus

Seek info to support focus

Define & extend focus thru info Gathering

Pertinent info

Organizing

info in notes

Realize ex- tensive work to be done

Confid-

ence in ability

to com-plete task; Increased

interest

Use library to collect pertinent info

Request specific sources from librarian

Take notes & citations

Using descriptors to search out pertinent info

Making comprehensive search of various types of materials

Using indexes

Request help from librarian

Interventions: Gradual release of responsibility; Making connections text-to-text; Reading between the lines (making comparisons); coding text with sticky notes; Highlighting, Graphic organizers; concept maps (note collection + analysis); Distinguishing important from less important ideas; Drawing inferences; Blogs; emails; Zoomerang/Survey Monkey; Databases; Websites; Info lit instruction for digital environments

Feelings Thoughts Technology

Task Thoughts Feelings Actions Interventions

Conclude information search

Identifying need for additional info

Considering time limit

Diminishing relevance

Redundancy

Sense of relief

Sometimes satisfaction

Sometimes disappoint-

ment

Rechecking sources for information initially overlooked

Confirming information and citations

Returning to library to make summary search

Keeping books until completion of writing (etc.) to recheck information

Presentation

Interventions: Peer review of drafts; Exhibitions; Self-evaluations; Moving toward independence; Authentic assessments (summative); Making comparisons; Making connections; Making inferences; Predicting; Analyzing; Synthesizing; Re-telling to synthesize; Evolving thinking by summarizing + personal responses; Seeking answers to questions that have none; Production tools-PowerPoint; Web design; Word Processing to academic formats; Citation Machine; Word Processing (writing is synthesis)

Feelings Thoughts Technology

impact student learning.

Because the Internet is NOT a Library…the Guided Inquiry Process

Dr. Ross Todd, Director CISSL [email protected]

Dr. Carol Gordon, Research Director [email protected]

Pam Chesky, Director Planning & Development [email protected]

LaDawna Harrington, Library Media Specialist Woodbridge School District

[email protected]

http://www.cissl.scils.rutgers.edu