for students by students as a a search strategy! pathfinders:
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for studentsby students as a a search strategy!
Pathfinders:
What is a pathfinder?
• Around for since the 70s to help library users navigate resources
• Establishes a plan of action--clears a path through the forest
• Now Web-based and even more necessary!• Sharable 24/7 --for the good of all Web-
users and information seekers!• Scalable—makes teachers’ and librarians’
advice vastly available• Models selection, evaluation, strategies, and
balance!
And that’s where they belong!
Pathfinders go online!
Why should teacher-librariansand teachers create Pathfinders?
• Model selection• Scaffold good research strategy• Customized for groups• Promote teacher-librarians as
information professionals• Inspire new collaborations• Alleviate confusion for the end-user• Powerfully represent the school/district
Why create them for students?
• So they won’t miss the really good stuff! --Promote a wide and balanced range of relevant resources
• Multiple formats / Displays range of information choices
• Self-efficacy may discourage exploration• Can students discern quality?• Move students from reliance on free Web or their
favorite search engine• Implicitly metacognitive—
– Reflect on the process– Reflect on searching strategies
More on why . . .
Eliminates frustration Ensures (encourages?) quality
products Can be incorporated into rubric Focuses research and maximizes
student use of time to higher-level tasks
Fits students’ need for independence
Springfield’s Curricular Pathfinders
Pathfinder Menu• Social Issues Pathfinder• Pathfinder for Literary Research• Pathfinder for Physics Current
Events• Primary Sources
Best Practice!
Pathfinder Models and Examples– Multnomah Homework Center - Social Issues– Internet Public Library- Pathfinders
• Author Pathfinder IPL – Camden County Library System– 50 States Pathfinder– Lewis and Clark Pathfinder– Black History– John Steinbeck– Indianapolis Marion County Public Library– Economics
On Designing Pathfinders
Designing Pathfinders for Children and Young Adults
(Annette Lamb)Wenatchee’s Pathfinder for Creating
PathfindersVandergrift’s Pathfinder
Pathfinders by students!
A thoughtful alternative to the traditional paper!
Why should students create pathfinders?
• Inspires thoughtful, comprehensive research
• Annotation• Selection—only the best• Broad spectrum of resources• Evaluation• Entry point to the oral defense
Pathfinder Template
Adapt for your own climate!
Pathfinders by Students
Student Examples:Quest:http://www.springfield.k12.pa.us/shs/quest/pathfinders.htm
Naval CommandersIn the works:
AP NovelsArtists and Movements
As a searching tool!
Because more libraries are creating online pathfinders, using “pathfinder” as a keyword is likely to pull up some expert advice!
Sample Searches
Cancer Women’s Studies Gun Control Iraq Poetry
