Theoretical Conclusion and Works Cited

This was a very beneficial study, and I enjoyed getting to know these processes better than before.  It has made it clear to me that I-Search is far superior to the other two methods used, primarily because of its freedom and flexibility on the part of the student.  Students will research what interests them, and will research it exhaustively.  Our task as librarians is to help them take the information they find and assemble it into something beneficial and lasting, organized and accurate.

My school uses none of these processes to my knowledge.  There are research papers and posters created and displayed, but they are assembled as show pieces without a consistent practice or process.  Many of my teachers do not allow the students to submit them electronically, like an infographic.  Since it is my first year in a new district and at a new campus, I hope to change that practice over time.  I will first attempt to persuade the teachers who are open to collaboration, and try to radiate the practice from there.

Finally, I am very excited to share this process with my teachers for the benefit of students who are like me, and more interested in my future and what I want to learn than what I must learn and then forget.  They are my motivating force.




WORKS CITED

Bowen, C. (2001). The I-search with grade 5: They learn! Teacher Librarian, 29(2), 14-17.

Eisenberg, M., Johnson, D., & Berkowitz, B. (2010). Information, communications, and technology (ICT) skills curriculum based on the Big6 skills approach to information problem-solving. Library Media Connection, 28(6), 24.

Johnson, D., & Eisenberg, M. (1996). Computer literacy and information literacy: A natural combination. Emergency Librarian,23(5), 12-16.

Kuhlthau, C. C. (1993). Implementing a process approach to information skills: A study identifying indicators of success in library media programs. School Library Media Quarterly 22 (4):11–18.

Tallman, J. I., & Joyce, M. Z. (2006). Making the writing and research connection with the I-search process: A how-to-do-it manual. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Big 6 with Infographic

Big 6 is a research process that has been touted as the best way to get students in secondary and post-secondary education to research and write better projects.  There has been a lot of press coverage of Big 6, certainly compared to the other two processes in this assignment.  Big 6 is a good process, with helpful steps to move the student researcher from beginning to end in an orderly fashion.  ISP is extremely similar to Big 6 in methodology and step progression, though I-Search is vastly different from the two.

The biggest problem I have with Big 6, and its cousin ISP, is that the process starts with defining a task rather than answering a question.  Think of it like this - a teacher makes the assignment and your topic to research is "Garment Manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution."  Now you have been given a task.  Was there a consideration of whether this was in any way interesting to you, or that the information could possibly help you in the future?  Of course not.  That is my issue, that Big 6 and ISP both assume that a problem/topic/task will be assigned rather than allowing a topic to find the student.  I have a big philosophical problem with that approach.

Steps in the Process: So the student gets their topic and begins by defining the task they must complete, be it research poster, infographic, research paper, etc...  From there they must select their sources for material, locate their sources (which seems to be where the librarian will be most helpful), extract the information like a rotten tooth, and organize that information into something coherent.  Finally the student must evaluate the outcome of the process and assess their work.  Not a bad process, but not memorable to make it easy to follow again later or teaching them tools to search out their own interests.

Outcomes: Big 6 is not the first process to try an reinvent the wheel of research papers, but it does not go far enough in changing the expectation of a uniform outcome.  Every student does not have the ability to select and evaluate sources, or evaluate the finished product of the process.  Students that utilize this process will be hard pressed to use it for their own inquiries.

Role of the Librarian:  The Librarian in Big 6 is the supplier of resources.  They can play a role in helping students select and locate their sources, and perhaps even evaluate their outcome.  Unfortunately the methodology of extracting information from a source for a task is far different that seeking information for the pleasure of learning.  There is no deviation from the task to discover new pathways of knowledge opened by the research.  I think Big 6 and ISP limit the potential of the librarian to further the discovery of the student.

Placement on the Continuum: Information skills

ISP with Infographic

Information Search Process (ISP) is championed by Carol Kuhlthau as an alternative research process to the Big 6 model.  ISP has seven steps and they are very similar reworded steps to the Big 6.  The two processes are stepwise progressions toward the completion of a token of research, but are very difficult to utilize unless memorized or helped by a mnemonic device.  Those are the similarities.

Even considering some very big similarities, there is one glaring difference between the two - layers.  It is such a big separating factor I featured that prominently in my infographic.  Kuhlthau goes through the steps of ISP as a progression like the Big 6, but wants teachers and students to realize there is far more at work in the heart and mind of the student than the research process.  There are emotional issues brought on by each stage, and action issues that see a development take place over the course of the project.  Each of these additional layers add depth to the student's development as a learner and a person.

Steps in the Process: I mentioned the actions, thoughts and feelings components a moment ago, and think the infographic displays the matrix of those components better than a written explanation.  The steps in ISP follow this progression: Imitation, Selection, Exploration, Formulation, Collection, Presentation, and Assessment.  There is little difference in these steps from the Big 6, and the separation of Selection and Collection steps is confusing to me, and certainly would be to a student.  For each of the processes steps there are corresponding actions, thoughts and feelings as the student moves from a broad focus that overwhelms the subject to an interesting and motivating benchmark of success.  I understand that there are multiple layers of development and understanding taking place in research assignments, but this appears to be overkill.  There are too many steps, some of which are very similar and confusing, and are not as clear as the question-based process of I-Search.

Outcomes: Because of the rigid structure of the steps, the students are clearly expected to perform all steps of the task to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion.  Students are not given the freedom to choose their own topics without deviating from the process, as opposed to the I-Search.  This is a paper generating process that will squeeze the curiosity out of me as I student, and I imagine many students feel this way.  There would also be less flexibility in the sources chosen, and allowing the topic to lead the search.  ISP takes you to a source, you remove the material that is pertinent, and move on to the next source without examining what new information has been discovered.

Role of the Librarian:  I fear what Professor Joyce placed as key points for this process in saying that we should mention "interventions and librarian as mediator."  This sounds more like a treatment plan than a research project.  The librarian should still guide the student to valuable resources, but also understand that the student has likely been assigned a topic and will not have a deep interest in an issue that is irrelevant to them.  One may also have to nudge the student along to complete the process steps, since the chart created by Kuhlthau indicates that interest is low in the beginning stages of the process.

Placement on the Continuum: Inquiry-based learning of the worst kind.

I-Search with Infographic

I-Search is a very well documented method of researching information for papers, articles, inquiries, curiosities and the like.  It uses psychological justifications for each of the steps in the process originally designed by Ken Macrorie.  The student allows their own curiosity to spark the examination of a topic which they find interesting and beneficial to them in the future.

Unlike the Big 6 and ISP, there are only four stages (not even stages!  They are questions!) that the information seeker must ask and the answers guide the next stage of discovery.  And our professor wrote the book on how to utilize I-Search at the secondary and post-secondary levels.  So let us compare, contrast and analyze.

Steps in the Process: As I mentioned a moment ago, there are only four key steps in this process, rather than six the other processes use.  Not only is brevity helpful, but they are questions the students ask themselves rather than serving as checkpoints for the process like in Big 6 and ISP.  Students will not ask themselves whether they are entering the "locating sources" phase or the "evaluating sources" phase, but they will ask "what do I already know about this?" and "where can I find the answer?"  Keeping a journal of discoveries made along the way, such as a learning log, will help in future searches.  This is a different process from the other two processes, which are rather similar.

Outcomes: As I just eluded to, students will not remember the steps of an overcomplicated process.  The other processes do not allow the student to guide their own choice of topic.  I-Search lets the topic choose the seeker.  Even Kuhlthau's own chart on ISP shows that initially the student has less interest in the project since she claims interest grows as the project proceeds.  Also, I-Search allows the student to make choices concerning the token of the research and its appropriate medium.  The other models are far more rigid in plucking out information to be regurgitated into a traditional research medium.

Role of the Librarian:  The Librarian is the sherpa guide, if you will, on the journey to find knowledge.  The librarian should suggest accurate and relevant resources to the student on the topic they have chosen, and perhaps ask the questions that move the student through the process.  The student would need a wide flexibility to choose the topic, select source material, present their findings and scratch the "itch" that started their research.  Teachers and librarians play a far more supportive role of encourager and guideposts as the student finds the answers they seek.  The librarian and teacher can also assemble student groups that seek answers to questions through practice sessions to develop the metacognitive skills of the individual students in simulated problems and real-life situations.

Placement on the Continuum: My feeling is that this process includes elements of library skills, information skills, information literacy and to a lesser extent inquiry-based learning.  To place it in a single category, I would classify it as information skills.

RB 4: OK, so here we go...

In this portion of the blog, I am answering the challenge to compare three theories of information searches.  I will be comparing the I-Search process, the Big 6 process, and the Guided Inquiry process.  I will post entries on each of the theories, and try to compare and contrast them from the perspective of a librarian.  If this works right, I hope to also post some visual representations of what I find as well.