ISearch: Bridging the Research Path from K- 12 to College and Career by Erica Clay, INFOhio Integration Librarian and Jennifer Schwelik, INFOhio elearning Specialist Abstract: Along with many other changes in school libraries in the past 20 years, the nature of library research has changed. No longer do students need to laboriously consult rows of the Reader s Guide to Periodical Literature. Now they have seemingly instantaneous searching on the Internet. But just because some aspects of the research process seem to be easier does not mean that our students can do without research instruction. In fact, encouraging them to go beyond the top two hits on Google is even harder because they think they have proof that good information is easy to find. Discovery tools such as INFOhio s ISearch fills this gap. ISearch is available for all Ohio PreK- 12 schools to use at no charge and makes searching databases of reliable resources as easy as searching the Internet. It is a discovery tool similar to those used in most of Ohio's academic libraries but designed specifically for the emerging researcher. ISearch helps librarians support students regardless of their level of searching skill by giving them an easy way to differentiate content. And it helps students make the transition to college and career research. Ask employers what they are looking for in new hires, and their answers are consistent: they expect new hires to be critical thinkers who know how to find information to solve problems. Then ask college students how prepared they felt they were for rigorous research during their freshmen year, and their answers are also consistent, sadly so: today s college students don t feel prepared for rigorous research and problem solving (Head, 2013). How can that be? The research process appears to be easier than ever before. No longer do students need to page through volumes of the Reader s Guide to Periodical Literature. Now they have instantaneous access to a flood of information on the Internet. And this is precisely where the problem lies. The massive amount of unstructured information on the Web makes information retrieval easy. But retrieving information is only part of the process. Now students must develop more skill in evaluating information. Is it reliable? Does it meet my research needs? Until recently, however, searching the Internet has been far easier than searching library databases. In an Internet browser, students enter a natural language search string to generate millions of returns. In comparison, finding information in library databases involves many steps and requires guidance and practice. Even determining which database to search can be hard for young researchers; and once they find the right one, they then need to use sophisticated, controlled vocabulary and subject headings to find the information they need. INFOhio s ISearch is a discovery search tool that bridges that gap. It makes searching library databases of reliable resources as easy as searching the Internet. Furthermore, ISearch is available for all Ohio PreK- 12 schools to use at no cost. Page 17
Discovery and the Future of Libraries What is a discovery search? Discovery searching gives students a panoramic view of the resources available in multiple resources. ISearch 1, for example, searches across the INFOhio databases (except for Ancestry.com and the French- and Spanish- language encyclopedias) and provides additional information, including Research Starters and science resources. Although the ISearch interface is different from those of the databases it searches, once a student clicks on a particular article, all the features provided in the native database read aloud, translation, citation, emailing, saving to a folder are available. In addition, ISearch, like all discovery tools, searches the rest of a library s collection, including ebooks, videos, and the catalog. Following are some commonly asked questions about discovery searching. Does using discovery tools make searching too easy? These days, library users at all levels expect to be able to find reliable information easily. Teachers and students have repeatedly said in our formal and informal surveys that searching databases is too difficult and too time- consuming. To meet user expectations, we must make searching the good stuff librarian- curated content as easy as searching the Internet. But won t using discovery tools hinder students from developing the sophisticated search skills needed for college or career? Far from hindering students from developing college- ready research skills, ISearch prepares students for the kinds of research environments they will find in college and university libraries. Currently, most academic libraries in Ohio have adopted discovery tools that integrate everything the library has to offer into a single search interface. In addition, the State Library of Ohio has recently introduced discovery searching of its collection. Does a discovery layer always replace the need to search individual databases? Discovery is not the end of research. It is the beginning. ISearch does not replace the need to consult an individual database, but it does provide a quality alternative to an open Web search, an alternative that filters out much of the extraneous and unreliable information students find on the Web. In addition, ISearch helps librarians and teachers scaffold research skills for early learners. It also helps more experienced researchers learn about unfamiliar topics so that they can develop a central research question and generate lists of key vocabulary. Using ISearch to Support Young Researchers ISearch is a discovery tool very similar to the discovery tools today s college students use, but it was developed with the needs of emerging researchers in mind. It includes special features for the K- 12 community that help teachers scaffold research instruction and differentiate resources with just a few clicks. 1 ISearch was developed using a combination of SirsiDynix s Enterprise and EBSCO s EDS. Throughout ISearch s development, INFOhio has facilitated partnerships between other database publishers and EBSCO so that Ohio students can search almost all of INFOhio s digital content from just one search box. Page 18
ISearch uses tabs like the tabs students will encounter in virtual research tools and in online testing. The tabs guide a student through a research process beginning with general information in the basic tabs and moving toward more advanced, in- depth information in the advanced tabs. Start your students off with ISearch with these easy steps: 1. Place the ISearch widget in your online class or library webpage. (Find the automated widget developer at https://www.infohio.org/educators/library/toolkit/search- widgets/item/isearch- widget.) 2. Encourage students to find accurate information by beginning with ISearch. 3. Encourage students to select the tab that will most likely provide reading- level appropriate information. Younger students use the basic tabs, and older students use the advanced tabs. 4. Teach students to limit their initial search using the search limiters in the left column of ISearch. 5. Once students discover a database chock- full of information, teach students to dig into the database and continue their research. 6. Give students tips to facilitate searching in discovery tools. For instance, to eliminate book reviews from search results, enter your topic search term followed by NOT reviews. ISearch in Action or Helping Teachers Find Resources to Easily Differentiate Teachers can use ISearch to differentiate content. Here is one possible scenario: Mr. Goody, who teaches seventh grade science in a central Ohio middle school, has assigned a Science in the News project to his class. His students are at many different levels in their science knowledge and interest. One of his students has a very deep interest in robotics and participates on the high school s robotics team. He reads widely on robotics outside of class and is already an expert. Most of his students like reading about something they are interested in but have little experience conducting a research project. ISearch can help them all. Mr. Goody developed two dozen suggested topics STEM cell research, fracking, ADHD, algae, and many others checking each one to ensure that there was a Research Starter available in ISearch. A Research Starter, which appears at the top of the Advanced Tabs and STEM tab in ISearch is a document that succinctly describes a topic, defines all the relevant vocabulary, and outlines any major controversies surrounding it. It often contains images and diagrams. Even better, the Research Starter lists many articles for further research, which is a great way for teachers to scaffold research skills. (For example, once a relevant article is found, use that author s bibliography to find more information.) The vocabulary list helps students develop a list of key search terms. Page 19
The Research Starter led many of Mr. Goody s students to exactly the information they needed to answer their research question. One of his students, who prefers to get her information visually, even found a video on the INFOhio Videos tab. She could also tell which articles included diagrams from the article listing. ISearch also worked for his robotics expert. He did not need the Research Starter or help generating search terms, and he did not need the resources on the Basic Sources tabs. Instead, he clicked the Advanced Sources tab to find college- level journal articles. Many of the articles that interested him were related to the use of robotics in health care. He looked at the Content Provider section and determined that he might want to limit his ISearch results to a specific database like MEDLINE or try additional searches for his topic in that database alone. Finally, what is research really? Is it just finding information? Or does good research depend more on developing a good research question and consulting a variety of resources to find an answer? We believe it is the latter and that discovery tools such as ISearch help students focus on the most important parts of the process. By reducing the amount of time students must spend simply finding information, ISearch increases the time they have to practice the higher- level skills of analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating. Sidebar I use INFOhio s EBSCO multi- database search to search all the EBSCO databases at the same time. What s the difference? ISearch takes the place of and delivers better results than the existing EBSCO multi- database search. It increases the depth of resources by searching additional EBSCO resources that are not available through the EBSCO multi- database search and additional content providers such as World Book and Facts on File, and presents results in a way that makes differentiation easier. Page 20
Figure 1: This shows research results from a discovery tool used throughout Ohio higher education. All the results appear in one column. Page 21
Figure 2: This shows research results from the Advanced Sources tab of ISearch. Notice the other tabs across the top, the limiters along the side, and the Research Starter that begins the results list. Reference Head, A. J. (2013, December 4). Learning the ropes. Project Information Literacy Research Report. Retrieved from http://projectinfolit.org/images/pdfs/pil_2013_freshmenstudy_fullreport.pdf Erica Clay is an integration librarian with INFOhio, Ohio s PreK- 12 digital library. She earned a BA in English and music and a master of humanities from Wright State University, and her MLS from Indiana University. Prior to working with INFOhio, Erica worked in academic libraries, as the Humanities Librarian at Wright State University and the Library Director at University of Northwestern Ohio. She has more than 10 years of work experience in education, including teaching PreK and K- 8 music. As an ILibrarian, Erica works closely with INFOhio's college and career readiness initiatives, leading the College and Career Readiness Task Force and providing resources and instructional support for educators who are working to make sure their students meet Ohio's Learning Standards and Ohio's Graduation Requirements. Page 22
Jennifer Schwelik is an elearning specialist for INFOhio, the PreK- 12 digital library for Ohio schools. Prior to working with INFOhio she served as the librarian for Beachwood High School in Beachwood, Ohio. She has also served as an English teacher, social studies teacher, and math teacher. In addition, Jennifer served as the project manager for Kent State University's TRAILS assessments. She was an American Memory Fellow for the Library of Congress where she wrote curriculum tools for the American Memory collection. Jennifer is an OELMA Award of Merit recipient. As an elearning specialist, she works to develop digital tools to assist classroom teachers and students. INFOhio tools Jennifer has assisted in developing include Go: Ask, Act, Achieve; R4S: Research for Success; OH!Lead; and 21Things. Evaluating the Collaborative Efforts of School Librarians and Teachers by Meghan Harper, Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science Kent State University Abstract: Assessing collaboration between school librarians and teachers ensures that the benefits of collaboration for all collaborators is gathered, shared, and documented. Collaboration involves collaborative learning for all participants. Creating an assessment plan that evaluates all aspects of the collaborative effort is essential to gathering information that can be used to advocate for the school library program. Introduction Collaboration between school librarians and teachers has been recommended since the first standards for the profession were initiated. Early librarians suggested that librarians work in close cooperation with the teachers of the school and assist in vitalizing the curriculum (ALA, 1925, p. 17). Contemporary definitions of collaboration conclude that it is a process by which two or more individuals work together to integrate information to enhance student learning. Collaboration essentially involves collaborative learning for all participants (students, teachers, and librarians) and enables them to naturally learn from one another through shared planning and thinking. Montiel- Overall (2005) suggests collaboration may be confused with other forms of joint efforts and emphasizes that collaboration differs from coordination and cooperation. Collaborative learning as a teaching methodology has been documented since ancient times, and in the last century has gained more support as formal research has documented the effectiveness of involving students in the teaching and learning process rather than just regarding them as receivers of information. Collaborative co- teaching between teachers and librarians facilitates the sharing of knowledge and learning from one another and promotes the exchange of professional knowledge and shared understanding. Collaboration is not conducted in a void or silently. Thus, most successful collaboration becomes documented, shared, and public knowledge. Successful collaborations involve the active participation and engagement of all participants in the process. Page 23