Teaching 21st Century Research Skills
from NCTE INBOX 6-24-08

What matters in 21st century research skills? It's not choosing the most reliable sources for students to use. It's ensuring that students know how to evaluate any texts they encounter so that they can choose the most reliable sources themselves! The following provide examples and resources on research in the Internet age.

The English Journal article "Research and Authority in an Online World: Who Knows? Who Decides?" is a must-read on the evolving role of Internet-based research (and the research paper) for teachers at all levels. Though the specific activities mentioned take place in a secondary classroom, the general discussion of Wikipedia and online research is significant for any classroom.

The ReadWriteThink lesson plan Research Building Blocks: Examining Electronic Sources (E) outlines the process of examining the accuracy and relevance of electronic sources in the elementary classroom.

Inquiry on the Internet: Evaluating Web Pages for a Class Collection (M), also from ReadWriteThink, asks students to use Internet search engines and Web analysis checklists to find and evaluate online resources. Students then write annotations that explain how and why the items they have found will be valuable to the class.

As research moves online, students need to learn how to read texts that use new strategies to convince them of their message. The English Journal article "Scrutinizing the Cybersell: Teen-Targeted Web Sites as Texts" (S) describes two projects that explore the "rhetorical nature and ethical dimensions" of online texts.

The Teaching English in the Two-Year College article "Custer and Longfellow: Helping First-Year English Students Understand the Relationship between History and Poetry" (C) outlines a four-step activity that begins with Internet research on the historical context of the piece of literature. In addition to recognizing the differences between the historical and poetic accounts of the event, students can examine how historical details differ from site to site.

The English Leadership Quarterly article "Looking to the Internet for Content" (TE) asserts that students must learn critical reading skills to navigate resources on the World Wide Web. The article shares the comments of several teachers who have had success with Internet resources in the classroom, good starting points for discussion among preservice teachers.

NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this INBOX is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 6-24-08.

Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, TE=Teacher Education, G=General).

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