Research in the Current Generation

Janet Dean

Search competency is a form of literacy, like learning a language, and it is not something that can be taught in one lesson or one unit. Rather, it is something students need to practice on a regular basis, every time they look something up. There are stages: the first stage is an inquiry one – a broad search that allows students to narrow in on what is of interest to them. They follow this with actual evidence gathering. Students need to be competent at identifying the type of source they’re finding, decoding the different types of information and deciding if it meets their need. This unit is designed to show students how to analyze websites for accuracy, beginning by examining a “spoof” web, and then developing their research skills by comparing spoof websites with real websites. Finally, they use their new-found skills to research a critically endangered animal and the impact human population growth has had on the species.