Improving Students' Information Problem-Solving Skills on the Web Through Explicit Instruction and the Use of Customized Search Software

摘要

Research shows that students face a range of difficulties when using the Internet to solve information problems. Using a quasi-experimental design, we tested a strategy to improve Chilean 10th graders' skills for information problem solving using the Internet (IPS-I). The intervention was based on a workshop in which students learned IPS-I strategies and solved information problems using a customized Internet search software package. Results showed that members of the experimental group changed their search behavior and improved the quality of their products. However, no correlation between the number of search actions and product quality was found. Based on this, we highlight the potential of combining teaching strategies to improve specific search skills and the use of customized search tools with embedded functionalities that foster good search techniques.