We don't do formal presentations with classes. Instead we do a live demo.
It's less about teaching them how to use a database and more about teaching
them how to conduct a search that can be more or less replicated anywhere.
It's about teaching them research skills that can be translated across
platforms - from Gale to Google. For freshmen, it's about how to do a
simple search then narrow down by the filters on the sidebars. For
sophomores I'll introduce the advanced search option, and usually by then
many of the kids have already dabbled with it. Juniors and seniors mostly
need help tweaking their Google searches to weed out the irrelevant results
and a quickie refresher on the databases.
Starting with freshmen but then going over it again with sophomores I do
boolean searches. Most kids know what searching an exact phrase is (using
"" around a phrase) and can understand using + or - to add or subtract
results. They usually understand the concept even if they haven't ever done
it before, so the learning curve isn't steep. Plus, most databases search
mechanisms can handle boolean. As does Google, ProQuest, Britannica, etc.
So, again, it's translatable skills rather than framing it as learning one
specific database.
As for the demo process, I usually talk them through my own search - they
watch me do it on the projector screen. It's a topic that's close to
whatever project they're about to do. I start big - like with "china" as my
search term - then gradually narrow down by boolean search modifications,
advanced search options, and/or filters. As I demo it, I explain each step
then ask for their suggestions about how I might proceed. For example, I
show them the sidebar filter options and explain what they do, then click
on one and ask them which options I might want to select based on our
search criteria. I pick an article that looks relevant and show them how to
open it. I always tell the students to keep a google doc specifically for
citations. I have them copy the citation information and the permalink to
put in that doc so they don't have to worry about finding the article
again. It's an interactive demo where I'm guiding the kids but they don't
feel lead or lectured to.
The whole process takes about 15 minutes and the kids are usually good to
go, with some one-on-one support from me throughout the project. After the
demo I stay in the classroom for the rest of the period and walk around
helping students do research. They also know to come back to my office
later for research and citation help if they want it.
Thanks!
--
*Alexandria Brown*
*Librarian*
*Marin Academy*
1600 Mission Ave.
San Rafael, CA, 94901
On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 9:18 AM Danielle Farinacci <dfarinacci@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:
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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--
*Jenny Andrus* . Librarian
*Live Oak School* <http://www.liveoaksf.org/> . (415) 861-8840
*We're building room to grow and space to learn!*
<http://www.liveoaksf.org/building-promise/>
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