Developing effective Web-based information seeking for inquiry-based learning: a meta-cognitive approach

开发有效的基于网络的信息搜索以实现基于探究的学习：元认知方法

• 批准号: AH/E009778/1
• 负责人: Nigel Ford
• 金额: $ 40.57万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FE009778%2F1
• 关键词: Developing; effective; Web; based; information

1. Inquiry-based learning is becoming increasingly recognised as an important mode of education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Web-based information seeking is a vital aspect of inquiry-based learning. This project aims to improve the effectiveness with which undergraduate and postgraduate students engage in Web-based information seeking to support their inquiry-based research, for projects and dissertations. 2. The project will devise a series of strategies for helping people improve their Web-based information seeking. The strategies we will use are designed to increase people's level of 'meta-cognition', which will be described in more detail in paragraph 6 below. The effectiveness of these strategies will then be statistically tested (using a control group) by more than 180 undergraduate and postgraduate students, who will engage in a series of controlled searches. Effectiveness will be measured in terms of changes, resulting from the use of the strategies, in their Web-searching strategies and outcomes. Outcomes will be assessed in terms of the relevance of the information they actually find. We will also assess qualitative differences in the search strategies they use. 3. This statistical work will be complemented by in-depth research in which we will follow the activities of undergraduate students engaged in their undergraduate research-based project, and Masters students engaged in the preparation of a research-based dissertation. The students will keep detailed diaries of their information seeking activities, generate 'mind maps' of their research problem and related information needs, and be interviewed in depth over a protracted period of time as they engage in information seeking in the context of their research.4. One may wonder why this is necessary, with search engines like Google apparently being so effective. Indeed, much research has focused developing ever 'smarter' search engines. Smart techniques designed to make searching more effective even for people without much skill / or level of meta-cognition / include so-called 'best-match' and 'Boolean' search facilities, automatic 'query expansion' whereby additional keywords are offered to the searcher based on clever algorithms which analyse the co-occurrence of terms in their indexes, and 'search narrowing' facilities allowing, for example, progressive searching within previous search results.5. However, the extent to which the 'smartness' of a search engine can replace the need for 'smartness' on the part of the human searcher is at best questionable. This need really 'kicks in' as information needs get more complex. Do a simple search for something quite specific and Google will do an excellent job at quickly finding relevant information. But in the real world of inquiry-based learning, 'information needs' may be rather more complex and less easy to define / especially when students are taking an ever-greater role in determining the actual research questions at the heart of their inquiry-based projects or dissertations, as well as determining for themselves how and where they search for information. This is where 'meta-cognition' comes into play. 6. 'Meta-cognition' is all about people's ability to manage their own learning and problem-solving / basically, reasoning about and actively managing (monitoring, evaluating and improving) one's own thinking. This ability may be used to maximize one's intellectual potential. There has been a lot of research on the role of meta-cognition in learning and problem-solving, and relatively recently there has been a growing volume of research into the use of meta-cognition in relation to both inquiry-based learning and specifically information seeking. We will use a blend of statistical and qualitative research approaches to investigate ways in which we can help people improve their information seeking by improving their meta-cognitive knowledge and skills.

1.探究性学习越来越被认为是本科和研究生教育的重要模式。基于网络的信息搜索是探究式学习的一个重要方面。该项目旨在提高本科生和研究生参与基于网络的信息的效率，以支持他们基于探究的研究、项目和论文。 2. 该项目将制定一系列策略来帮助人们改进基于网络的信息搜索。我们将使用的策略旨在提高人们的“元认知”水平，这将在下面的第 6 段中更详细地描述。这些策略的有效性将由 180 多名本科生和研究生进行统计测试（使用对照组），他们将进行一系列受控搜索。有效性将根据策略使用所产生的网络搜索策略和结果的变化来衡量。结果将根据他们实际发现的信息的相关性进行评估。我们还将评估他们使用的搜索策略的质量差异。 3. 这项统计工作将得到深入研究的补充，其中我们将跟踪本科生从事本科研究项目的活动，以及硕士生从事研究性论文准备的活动。学生将详细记录他们的信息查找活动，生成他们的研究问题和相关信息需求的“思维导图”，并在他们在研究背景下进行信息查找时接受长时间的深度访谈。4．人们可能想知道为什么这是必要的，因为像谷歌这样的搜索引擎显然是如此有效。事实上，许多研究都集中在开发“更智能”的搜索引擎上。旨在使搜索更有效的智能技术，即使对于没有太多技能/或元认知水平的人来说，也包括所谓的“最佳匹配”和“布尔”搜索设施、自动“查询扩展”，即基于分析索引中术语共现的智能算法向搜索者提供附加关键字，以及“搜索缩小”设施，例如允许在先前搜索中进行渐进式搜索 结果5。然而，搜索引擎的“智能”在多大程度上可以取代人类搜索者对“智能”的需求，充其量是值得怀疑的。随着信息需求变得更加复杂，这种需求确实“开始”。对一些非常具体的内容进行简单搜索，谷歌将在快速找到相关信息方面做得非常出色。但在基于探究的学习的现实世界中，“信息需求”可能相当复杂且不太容易定义，特别是当学生在确定其基于探究的项目或论文的核心实际研究问题以及自己确定如何以及在何处搜索信息方面发挥着越来越大的作用时。这就是“元认知”发挥作用的地方。 6.“元认知”是指人们管理自己的学习和解决问题的能力/基本上是推理和积极管理（监控、评估和改进）自己的思维的能力。这种能力可以用来最大限度地发挥一个人的智力潜力。关于元认知在学习和解决问题中的作用已经有很多研究，并且最近越来越多的研究涉及元认知在基于探究的学习和特定信息寻求方面的使用。我们将综合运用统计和定性研究方法来研究如何通过提高人们的元认知知识和技能来帮助人们改善信息搜索。