Enhancing classroom instruction with online news

Abstract

PurposeThis paper investigates how school teachers look for informational texts for their classrooms. Access to current, varied and authentic informational texts improves learning outcomes for K-12 students, but many teachers lack resources to expand and update readings. The Web offers freely available resources, but finding suitable ones is time-consuming. This research lays the groundwork for building tools to ease that burden.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports qualitative findings from a study in two stages: (1) a set of semistructured interviews, based on the critical incident technique, eliciting teachers' information-seeking practices and challenges; and (2) observations of teachers using a prototype teaching-oriented news search tool under a think-aloud protocol.FindingsTeachers articulated different objectives and ways of using readings in their classrooms, goals and self-reported practices varied by experience level. Teachers struggled to formulate queries that are likely to return readings on specific course topics, instead searching directly for abstract topics. Experience differences did not translate into observable differences in search skill or success in the lab study.Originality/valueThere is limited work on teachers' information-seeking practices, particularly on how teachers look for texts for classroom use. This paper describes how teachers look for information in this context, setting the stage for future development and research on how to support this use case. Understanding and supporting teachers looking for information is a rich area for future research, due to the complexity of the information need and the fact that teachers are not looking for information for themselves.

Content, tools, and surrogates: assessing K-12 teachers’ criteria for interactively searching for digital video

“…What begins to emerge is that teachers are particularly keen on the criteria of a video search that correspond to their particular professional domain and work, and perhaps less so with personalization and/or personal preferences. This reinforces previous research that the needs of students and classroom requirements drive teachers’ searching criteria (Albertson and Johnston, 2020; Ekstrand et al , 2020; Fyfield, 2020).…”

“…User needs, criteria and organization of digital video for education Teachers are unique in that they are searching for videos for others, their students, and student needs and classroom requirements impose context (Albertson and Johnston, 2020;Ekstrand et al, 2020;Fyfield, 2020). There are several factors teachers consider when selecting digital video.…”

“…Secondly, the search habits of teachers, along with their criteria when searching for digital video for educational purposes, are reviewed. While the literature is replete with information seeking studies, there is limited research that examines how teachers search for information online (Ekstrand et al , 2020). In an age where using online tools for instruction has become of paramount importance, it is vital to understand how educators search for online educational resources, including digital video.…”

“…Teachers experience challenges when trying to find digital video to use for instruction citing lack of time, lack of content knowledge and frustration with searching as barriers (boclips, 2019; Ekstrand et al , 2020; Fyfield et al , 2020; Rice and Ortiz, 2021). Recently, it was found that:…”

“…However, searching and finding the right video(s) can pose a significant challenge for any user. A video search becomes increasingly difficult when large video collections, limited search features and specific and/or applied tasks of users become part of the situation (boclips, 2019; Ekstrand et al , 2020; Fyfield et al , 2020; Rice and Ortiz, 2021).…”