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Friday, April 13, 2012

Webquest and Pathfinder: The Teenagers Guide to Meaningful Research

I'll be presenting a paper at the International Association of School Libraries (IASL) Regional Conference in Bacolod City on 26-27 April 2012. Here is the abstract
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Abstract: School libraries play an important role in the development and facilitation of research skills. High school students who undergo research paper writing need to have companions and mentors as they complete the journey of accomplishing their first academic paper. While teacher experts and research advisers are automatic mentors for research, the school librarian is likewise, a reading and research companion of the teenager traversing for the first time the exciting road of scholarly research.

This paper explains the impetus and the creative process with which the school librarian has undergone in the design and preparation of an Information Literacy (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 2000) Webquest for grade 11 students and a school library Pathfinder for grade 10 students of Beacon Academy, a Filipino high school offering the Middle Years Program (MYP) and the Diploma Program (DP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB). Using Wikispaces.org as platform for the webquest and the pathfinder, both are aimed at providing structure and meaning for grade 11 students preparing to write the Extend Essay and grade 10 students working on the Personal Project. Relevant to the webquest and pathfinder are factors that contribute to its implementation: administrative support, available technology and resources, web 2.0 know-how of the school librarian, use of the guided inquiry model (Kuhlthau, 1997) and, collaboration with teacher experts and mentors. The school librarian has identified evaluation tools like process journal of students, library work logs and reflection notes, and a rubric on the effectiveness of the webquest and pathfinder for students to answer or use.

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