| The purpose of this study was to examine what tenth grade students enrolled in three academic tracks of language arts know about the World Wide Web, and how they search for information located on it. This study questioned whether high school students who span a range of academic abilities: (a) differ in their general knowledge about the Web, and (b) differ in how they search for information located on it. A mixed method research design was used to answer these questions. It was hypothesized that: H1: There is a relationship between academic placement and a student's general knowledge about the World Wide Web. H2: There is a relationship between academic placement and a student's Web searching skills. Additionally, the guiding questions for the qualitative portion of this study were: (1) How do students approach specific tasks of searching for information on the World Wide Web? (2) What strategies do students employ as they search for information?; One hundred thirty-six 10th graders were administered a 60 question survey designed to assess their knowledge about the World Wide Web. Additionally, two students from each academic track—technical, college prep, and honors—were selected at random to form an instrumental case. Each student in the case was individually interviewed and observed while completing a set of four hierarchically arranged search tasks. Students were encouraged to “think aloud” (i.e., describe their search process) as they worked through the hierarchy of tasks.; A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to evaluate the relationship between academic track and two dependent variable sets: general knowledge (GK), and search knowledge (SK). A chi-square test of independence was used to determine whether subject-area teachers integrated the use of the Web differently across academic tracks. Crosstabulations were calculated for ability track and several other dependent variables (e.g., frequency of use, areas of impact, site evaluation criteria, feelings and actions experienced while searching). Qualitative data obtained from the search protocol, student interviews, observations, and survey responses were analyzed using an interpretivist theoretical framework. Assertions regarding the use of metacognitive skills, critical literacies and search knowledge were developed.; Results of the statistical analysis showed no significant difference across academic tracks on the SK variable set; however, there was significant difference between academic tracks on the GK variable set. Qualitative results indicated that students are novice searchers who need mediation to develop mental models that will enable them to become expert searchers. Thus, teachers and library media specialists need to be expert searchers themselves in order to help students develop expertise in searching for information. Through expert modeling and teaching, students can learn the kinds of skills that will enable them to become proficient, independent users of Internet services and the World Wide Web. |
