Assignment 4 Narrative
The components of Assignment 4 are this narrative and the Using ERIC Tutorial.
The syllabus and assignment for which the Using ERIC Tutorial page was formulated was taken from my husband's Elementary Education certification and Masters degree program at Northern Arizona University, but it was general enough that I felt it would fit within the framework I had already created for Assignment 3, which was directed toward undergraduate Elementary Education majors at the University of Arizona. The syllabus assigned a 10 to 12 page research paper, based on topics students chose themselves, but my husband remembered that suggested topics included one exploring the merits and drawbacks of "Gifted and Talented" programs.
I chose to instruct students on the use of the ERIC database in because of its invaluable feature allowing the searcher to filter results by educational - or grade - level. Education is a massive topic, as evidenced by the wealth of education-related resources ERIC offers. Filtering these resources by educational level is crucial for the student of Elementary Education, which is distinct from Higher Education, Early Childhood Education, and many other fields for which ERIC offers resource access.
The learning objectives I formulated for the ERIC tutorial were as follows:
Goal: To instruct students in the use of the ERIC academic database to find and cite information relevant to a research topic
Learning outcome: Students will learn to locate and search the ERIC database using terms and parameters that will return a manageable number of relevant resources
Learning Objective 1: Students will choose to spend the time learning to use the ERIC database.
Targeted by the introduction, chess theme, and overall structure and tone of the web tutorial
The web tutorial introduction and interactive structure has been designed to convince students to spend the time utilizing the ERIC tutorial. The lighthearted metaphor of chess representing advancement of an army the student is directing show students that ERIC can direct them to thousands of resources, but that they will save time by learning to use ERIC's search features to limit their results. The sectioning is intended help students feel at ease or engaged at appropriate times, and to allow students to return to the tutorial sections individually to refresh their searching skills. Finally, the screenshots can be used as self-assessment tools for users, who will know immediately when they open each screenshot whether they have followed the tutorial steps correctly.
Learning Objective 2: Students will learn essential facts about ERIC that distinguish it from other databases and consider it for their research topics.
Targeted by the Choose Your Topic section and the Locate ERIC section
This section was titled to run parallel to the student experience of writing a research paper, which first involves choosing a topic. The tutorial itself proposes a sample topic, but is actually designed to instruct students in learning what the ERIC database holds, and in choosing whether or not to use the ERIC database. The method chosen to begin locating ERIC from the University of Arizona Libraries' web portal, choosing Articles and Databases and then performing a search by Subject, is intended to show students that no mater what the subject matter of their topic, they can use this web portal to find an appropriate database.
Learning Objective 3: Students will learn to conduct a basic search, cite a resource, and gather descriptors for future searches, and will acknowledge the need for more advanced search techniques.
Targeted by the Conduct a Basic Search section and the Examine a Resource section.
By following along with these prompts and reading the explanations, students will grow familiar with reaching ERIC and conducting a simple search, and will begin to see the time-wasting broad search return including that can arise from searching too simply. They will learn to examine a resource and locate its citation, and find descriptors to use for more advanced search techniques.
Learning Objective 4: Students will learn to narrow their search and see the benefits in the form of a manageable number of relevant resources.
Targeted by the Narrow Your Results Using Advanced Search section and conclusion.
This section is designed to instruct students in advanced search techniques, including the manipulation of multiple terms using AND/OR, restriction of results to full text availability and peer reviewed resources, and the selection of multiple Educational Levels. It is also designed to give them a feeling of accomplishment when a manageable number of highly relevant resources is returned.