Human Library: Search Terms

(To start with I feel a failure for having started a challenge to write every day for 28 days and for having fallen at the first hurdle!  I wrote one entry and then nothing after that till today.  I could just give up.  Instead, I will redouble my efforts and write during the day when I'm not tired!)

I have struggled for a number of years to work out how to teach students to research effectively.  Yesterday's class with the grade 9s was about developing search terms.  I don't really think that the class was all that effective.  It followed on from a class activity the previous week where we used Mindmup to create mind maps of googleable questions for our topics.  That activity went fairly well, though I think that many of the students wondered why we didn't jump straight into a google search of the topic. 

This week, I wanted them to start developing search terms based on their questions.  Here is what the activity looked like:

1. Using my topic of pop up books, I went through my googleable questions and came up with a list of search terms in various categories.  I broke them down into these categories so that the students could see how a list of search terms could be enhanced.

• (Obvious) key word/s - pop ups
• Synonyms - mechanical books (I found this by using the search terms: "pop up books other names", rather then simply "pop up books synonyms" - which hadn't produced the results I wanted)
• Modifiers - (words which modify the search) history, culture, specific countries (such as Japan), construction, children's, adult
• Context terms - pdf (may give me books, pamphlets, articles); images; videos; illustrations; how to.

We have talked about the different types of search terms in other classes when students have come to the library for research lessons.  It seems to have little effect on their searches but I keep working at it.

2. I didn't but should have shown them the results of each of my searches - perhaps next time!

3. Students then were given sheets on which to come up with their initial list of search terms.

4. Next class, we will start to research using those terms and then they will further develop their lists.

It is my hope to show them how to develop and modify a list of search terms over the course of their research and how this will improve their results.

For a Future Class

I need to work out a way to show how a search for information develops over time in a graphic and easily understood manner.  Home work for my holiday!

Post Script

I went home last night and mulled over the class and one of the conclusions I came to was perhaps a bit of a cop out:  well, they are only 14 year-olds!  Yes, it is a cop out but at the same time, when I think about how and what I researched at 14, I realise that I didn't learn to research in a day, a month or a year.  It took me a very long time to mature as a researcher.  Perhaps that is still the case.