Mechanics of effective searching

A curriculum for critical thinking and web research

Skill level: Intermediate School level: Middle school (11–13 years old)

High school (14–18 years old)

Prerequisite skills needed

Students need to have the skills necessary to conduct a search using the Bing™ search engine and to identify sites appropriate for their research topic.

Description of plan

Teachers develop a project within their content area aligned to their state/district standards that requires students to conduct web-based research using the Bing search engine. Students refine their searching skills to conduct a focused search based on guiding questions or topics.

Rationale for lesson

After students have become proficient in conducting accurate searches to locate specific information, they need to develop the skills to narrow their searches, including the ability to develop questions and to translate those questions into search queries. The queries can guide them to the more specific information they are seeking. If the students are able to successfully complete the following prerequisites, they are ready to refine their searching skills:

The students are able to locate the topic for which they are searching.

The students are able to locate at least five high-quality resources on a given subject.

The students are able to identify and ignore irrelevant information in their search.

This plan is part of acritical thinking and web

research curriculumdeveloped by the International

Society for Technology in Education(ISTE) and Microsoft.

www.microsoft.com/education/criticalthinking

This plan is part of acritical thinking and web

research curriculumdeveloped by the International

Society for Technology in Education(ISTE) and Microsoft.

www.microsoft.com/education/criticalthinking

Essential concepts / questions

Essential questions for teachers:

How can I support students in developing questions to guide their research?

How can I support students’ web-based searching to effectively and efficiently find answers to their questions?

Essential question for students:

How do I use the Bing search engine to locate answers to questions about a specific research topic?

National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)

NETS-T

4A: Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

NETS-S

3B: Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

Teacher preparation

Teachers should familiarize themselves with the Bing (http://www.bing.com) search engine.

Teachers should work with the lab coordinator or media specialist to determine lab logistics, level of access per student, and seating arrangements.

Teachers need to develop clear criteria for the project, including guiding questions to be addressed by students’ research, and a project scoring rubric, including criteria for use of technology (for example, the number of resources and images required, or how to cite sources).

Please see the “Citing web sources” lesson plan for ideas.

If students are working in cooperative groups, teachers should develop specific roles and responsibilities that provide for individual and group accountability.

Teacher preparation (continued)

Teachers should consider developing a graphic organizer or criteria for students’ note taking.

For examples, see “Searching – Student worksheet 2: Graphic organizer.”

Microsoft Office OneNote® provides the ability to track research and web sites as students take notes. See the “Related resources and tutorials” section of this document.

To demonstrate for students how to use Bing to locate information related to their research topic, teachers should conduct their own search using Bing, based on their guiding questions or topics.

Management issues

Teachers must consider student arrangement in labs; if students are to locate media files, where those files will be stored; and how much time will be allotted. Teachers should determine where students will store their work (possibilities include folders on the school server or on Windows Live™ SkyDrive™). To reduce off-task behavior, teachers should develop criteria to guide students’ searches. After completing the beginner lesson (or from the “Rationale” section of this lesson plan), teachers should have identified students who may require individual assistance during the Intermediate lesson.

Instruction

Teachers should demonstrate how they use questions to further guide their research. In conducting searches, teachers should use quotation marks and plus signs to narrow searches, based on the guiding questions for their research. Teachers should also demonstrate how to take notes for research. “Searching – Student worksheet 2: Graphic organizer” may be used for this purpose.

See supplementary material, “Searching – Teacher demo – Intermediate: Mechanics of effective searching.”

Student activities / guidance

Students use “Searching – Student worksheet 1: Results of your search” as a reference for the sites they located in their initial searches. Using the questions they developed (or the teacher’s questions), students narrow their searches to address specific aspects of their topics. For this lesson, students should use a graphic organizer or other document to record how they conducted their searches and which sites they visited. They can also take

notes as they locate information related to the questions they are researching. “Searching – Student worksheet 2: Graphic organizer” is a helpful example.

Assessment

Completed handout: “Searching – Student worksheet 2: Graphic organizer.”

Students reflect on their own searches and answer the essential question:

How do I use Bing search engine to locate answers to questions about a specific research topic? Teachers may have students record their responses as an “exit ticket” or other document that provides evidence of each student’s knowledge of using the Bing search engine.

Related resources and tutorials

Effective searching tips

http://help.live.com/Help.aspx?market=en- US&project=WL_Searchv1&querytype=topic&query=WL_Search_PROC_SearchtheWeb.htm

Bing User Guide: How to use Bing

http://www.nirmaltv.com/2009/06/01/bing-detailed-user-guide

Information about the Bing search engine home page

http://help.live.com/help.aspx?project=wl_searchv1&market=en- US&querytype=keyword&query=egapemoh&domain=www.bing.com:80

Bing Visual Search

http://discoverbing.com/visualsearch/

50 fantastic Bing tricks

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/08/24/50-fantastic-bing-tricks-for- students-librarians/

Office OneNote

http://www.microsoft.com/education/products/office/onenote/ default.aspx#Tips

Windows Live SkyDrive

http://skydrive.live.com/

See the “Validity” lesson plan for ideas and guidelines.

See the “Citing web sources” lesson plan for ideas and guidelines.

Closure and reflection

Questions for closure and student reflection when reviewing student activity and learning:

How did the use of guiding questions help me narrow my searches?

How did using specific search topics impact the results and sites provided?

How was the location of information related to my research topic impacted by the specific searches?

Teacher reflection questions

What unforeseen obstacles did students encounter?

Which elements of the lesson were most effective?

Which elements of the lesson should be adjusted for next time?

Are there elements of the lesson that should be revisited before teaching the Advanced lesson?

Supplementary materials

“Searching – Teacher demo – Tips: Conducting searches using Bing”

“Searching – Teacher demo – Intermediate: Mechanics of effective searching”

“Searching – Student worksheet 1: Results of your search”

“Searching – Student worksheet 2: Graphic organizer”

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