Developing and refining effective search strategies for using the internet in classroom teaching

Gill Mead: Chesterton Community College

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Summary

This small-scale case-study examined how the use of the Internet for GCSE Latin students starting independent research for coursework could support the teaching and learning of generic research skills. The approach employed was based on the premise that electronic information retrieval was quicker, more effective and more enjoyable for pupils. The study examined the use of this approach in research work on individually chosen Roman Life topics carried out with year 10 pupils (SAT levels 6-8) over half a term. Evidence was gathered through teacher and independent observation, teacher notes of class discussion and group interviews with stimulated recall.

The main findings were that students found information more efficiently once they had defined and refined their research strategies before touching the computers (i.e. after using library books) and that the most focused and productive lessons were where students used electronic and non-electronic sources in conjunction and to verify information. Other recommendations include setting focused, interpretative tasks based on secure teacher knowledge of pre-selected Websites (rather than open-ended information gathering tasks), and teaching/reinforcing generic search strategies.