Hi everyone,
I have gone away from traditional database lessons and instead give the
students tasks where they learn it on their own. What I mean by this is
that I choose three or four databases relevant to the project (there might
be more on the libguide though), and then I briefly point them to each one,
discussing what it is good for and highlighting anything that is unique to
that database.
I task them with figuring out what types of sources are available in the
database, finding a relevant article or image (keeping track of keywords),
saving the article somehow, and citing it. I give them 5-10 minutes in each
database, depending on the project. After exploring each database, I have
the students share out how they accomplished the tasks. This is where I can
help any misguided students and make sure they are using noodletools to
their best advantage.
I find that they learn best when they fail first and remember what to look
for in the next database. We move through as many databases as we have time
for, and the students walk away with a handful of sources and citations,
not to mention practice in each database.
Some teachers start to get uptight that you are taking too much time, but
when they start to see that they are actually doing the research, they
relax. I have found they walk away with more sources this way than if they
just have "open" research time after the lesson.
So, to make a long story short, maybe the slides could be about what you
need to look for and figure out how to do in each database.
thanks,
Danielle Farinacci
Head Librarian
Lick-Wilmerding High School
755 Ocean Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112
415-333-4021 x216
dfarinacci@xxxxxxxx
On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 8:06 AM Jenny Andrus <jenny_andrus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Debbie, I think that your idea is a wonderful one, and I would be very
interested in seeing the results. I like the idea of a few generic (but
informative) slides that can be added to for the specific database and
project at hand. I too have struggled with how to teach a database in a
short enough time to provide important information and yet allow students
to get to the work of actually researching. I usually start by modeling
what they will be doing with the whole group, but I actually feel most
helpful when I can be there to help them individually with the hands-on
piece -- even something as simple as logging on can be a barrier. They tend
to give up easily, so being there to walk them through the steps really
helps. Typical exchange:
Student: "This database has no information. Can't I just google it?"
Me: "Let's read this paragraph together. Wow. There's a lot of information
packed in there...do you see something that relates to your question?"
Jenny
On Sat, Mar 30, 2019 at 5:23 PM Debbie Abilock <debbie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
In my role as a teacher-coach, I’m seeing some librarians do database
lessons in collaboration with teachers that take too long (partly because
of doing them live) and end up frustrating a teacher who came in to have
kids “do” their research. My idea of the moment is to create a generic
template of five slides (so maybe 10-15 minutes of teaching) that “teach
the database” – it could have a live component and it should be related to
the specific research kids are doing of course. Anyone ever tried this? Is
it a reasonable premise that one can teach what’s important in this time
frame?
I thought I’d do it in Google slides – so we could all benefit if it
works - also I think I want to a Gale database since there’s some
consistency across them in Context ones…and the cover a lot of
topics/disciplines. Insights? Examples? Chortles? Or, should I go back to
the drawing board….?
best,
debbie
Debbie Abilock
Adding Friction
<https://www.academia.edu/12296633/How_do_I_teach_students_to_write_a_researchable_question>,
a column @SLC
“Jane Jacobs was forever taking on ambitious subjects from new
directions, marching imperturbably into all she didn’t know. She’d never
understand, she told an interviewer once, how other authors could ‘stand
the boredom of just writing down everything [they] already knew.’ But she
paid the price for indulging her insatiable curiosity. With each new
book... ‘I always get scared to death.’ Caught up in complexities of a new
field not at first fully apparent, ‘I realize it’s too deep for me, but I
have to keep on with it.’ Until she gets it.”
- from *Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs* by Robert Kanigel;
Knopf, 2016 p. 322.
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