February 2006

Infect Students with Smart Searching and Watch It Spread

Port Angeles High School, Eve Datisman, Librarian

Looking for ways to increase your students' information literacy skills? Infect students with smart searching and watch the virus spread. That's what Eve Datisman, the librarian at Port Angeles High School, is doing.

Here's how it works.

1. When a class comes to the library to research an assignment, Datisman starts with the Big 6 model to get students to analyze what the assignment is asking them to do and to determine what they already know about the topic.

"Everything in the world is an information problem," says Datisman. "What is it that you need to know? Why do you need to know it? What is the best source? This process works in social studies, it works in English, it works in science. Students can break down any problem."

2. Then Datisman asks "What do you need to find out?" and "Where do you go for background information?"

Since good background information can be readily found in any online encyclopedia, Datisman steers students toward Grolier Online.

"We have kids at different reading levels who can go into the Kids section. And our Spanish-speaking students can access information through the Spanish encyclopedia (La Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre)."

3. Once students learn background information, Datisman gives an overview of DLC Library resources, and students complete a mind chart to determine the best resources for their topic.

"If they need a timeline, I put them in Facts on File, especially for the 1940s on, so they can see the significant news stories by decade. For a lot of kids it's like 'Wow! These are the real stories. This is really cool.' "

4. The next step is to start to collect search terms. Datisman tells students to look closely at how resources are being indexed. "They can collect those terms, and then go into netTrekker or SIRS."

5. After a student finds a helpful source, Datisman asks him or her to teach another student in the class. By showing someone else, the student reflects on the process, which helps cement the learning, Datisman explains.

But here's the real key: When students start to experience success in their searches, they tell other students and steer them away from Google. "They share water bottles, they share disks, they share passwords, and so of course they share this too," Datisman says, laughing.

Datisman finds that students begin to expect a higher quality of information. "It doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen over time," she says. "At first, it's an arithmetic kind of improvement. But the longer folks have access to the DLC and its resources, then it becomes geometric. Change starts to happen exponentially. And that's where it becomes viral; it spreads quickly. Eventually we hope to see a shift so that it becomes the culture of the school too: 'We don't go to Google first; we go to the DLC.' "

Want to read more? Browse the Success Stories page.