The+Big+6+-+Model+Brief

The Big6

A Brief by Lauren B. =__ The Model __= The Big6 is a six-step process model for information problem solving. In other words, it can be used for any assignment, research project, term paper, decision, or real world task that requires a solution to a complex problem. See the below matrix. The six stages of the Big6 are listed in the middle column, in blue. One of the best features of the Big6 model, is that it can be reduced to the “Super 3” or expanded to the “Little 12” to adapt to various grades, K-12, and developmental levels.
 * ==== ** Super 3 ** ==== || ==== ** Big6 ** ==== || ==== ** Little 12 ** ==== ||
 * Beginning || Task definition || Define the Task of Problem. ||
 * ^  ||^   || Identify the information requirements of the problem. ||
 * ^  || Information – seeking strategies || Determine the range of possible sources. ||
 * ^  ||^   || Evaluate the different possible sources to determine priorities. ||
 * Middle || Location and Access || Locate sources (intellectually and physically). ||
 * ^  ||^   || Find information within sources. ||
 * ^  || Use of Information || Engage (read, view, or listen) the information in a source. ||
 * ^  ||^   || Extract information from a source. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">End || <span style="color: #1b3ce4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Synthesis || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Organize the information from multiple sources. ||
 * ^  ||^   || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Present information. ||
 * ^  || <span style="color: #1b3ce4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Evaluation || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Judge the product (effectiveness). ||
 * ^  ||^   || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Judge the information problem-solving process (efficiency). ||

By using the Big6, students can successfully complete any assignment or project from beginning to end, starting with defining the task, and concluding with an evaluation of their process and product. According to the official website dedicated to the Big6, www.big6.com, “the Big6 is the most widely-known and widely-used approach to teaching information and technology skills in the world. The Big6 is an information and technology literacy model and curriculum, implemented in thousands of schools – K through higher education.” Furthermore, the Big6 steps do not have to be completed in order. In fact, it is often extremely useful for students to go back and forth between stages as they move through the process, to redefine the task, search for new sources, and evaluate their progress. =__ The Purpose __= <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The purpose of the Big6 is for students to develop an awareness and understanding of the stages of a successful information problem solving process. These stages are all used in any successful inquiry, but by using the model and becoming self-aware of which stage you are in along the way, students can become more efficient and comprehensive in their research skills. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is also simple – according to Nancy Pickering Thomas, the Big6 helps students to grasp the six steps quickly and in a way that they can conceptualize the process as a whole as w<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ ell as their own location within it at any given point in time. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An introductory<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ PowerPoint presentation on www.big6.com, Big6 PowerPoint, professes that the Big6 helps students to become discriminating users of information, to learn to use essential information and technology skills in context, and to become master information problem solvers. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a lot of info<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ rmation out there – it can often seem like too much. The Big6 is a process which can help students and adults sift through the abundant amount of information out there to find what they need. =__ History __= <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Big6 process was developed in 1990 by two educators, Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. At the time, it drew upon Irving’s Model for Information Skills Instruction, developed in 1985. The significance of the Big6 is that it condensed and simplified the process, from 9 complicated steps to 6 comprehensive stages. It was happily accepted as an easy-to-use re<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ search model by students, teachers, and library media specialists alike. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As more teachers and librarians have adopted the Big6 process, the pool of related resources and methods has evolved and grown exponentially. On www.big6.com, Eisenberg and Berkowitz publish peer-s<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ ubmitted lesson plans, graphic organizers, and articles that convey successful real-world examples of the Big6 being used in K-12 environments. The website also provides teacher guides, links to useful websites, descriptions of books on the Big6 and related topics, and webinars on how best to use each of the six stages through practice. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The most notable and recent development related to the Big6 is the introduction of a curriculum that combines K-12 Technology Literacy and Information Literacy. Three experts on information and technological literacy came together to develop an Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT) curriculum for K-12 education. In 2010, Michael Eisenberg, Doug Johnson, and Robert E. Berkowitz revised th<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ e curriculum to reflect current technology and to demonstrate how technology literacy skills merge with information literacy skills. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The authors of the curriculum blended the Big6 Skills with technology standards developed by the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Students (ISTE NETS-S, 2007). Essentially, the guide describes relevant technology skills that <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ K-12 students should be expected to demonstrate before they graduate, using the context of the B﻿ig 6 process. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Click here to be directed to a pdf version of the Big6-ICT Curriculum.

=__ Inclusion __= <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lisa and I discussed the importance of the Big6 in terms of its versatility. As mentioned previously, The Big6 is used throughout the world by thousands of educators. Its usefulness in teaching and applying research skills and problem solving skills has been proven across grades and subjects. Furthermore, it has great potential for scaffolding, with the Super 3<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ and the Little 12. In early grades and developmental stages, students can be introduced to the Big6 methods via the Super 3: The Beginning, Middle, and End. In later grades and higher developmental levels, students can focus on the Little 12 that make up the Big6, to further parse the research process. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thomas makes the best point when she describe<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ s the Big6 as an “extremely user-friendly approach to what are often extremely complex tasks.” =__ Skills __= <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Big6 can be used for virtually all skills, including information/media literacy, research skills, inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. It is great for cross-situational assignments – the s<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ ame process can be used for homework assignments, real-world decision making, and school reports and projects. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Big6 supports a variety of search strategies and complexities. According to the Big6 PowerPoint,, the Big6 is a good process for problem solving, information use, speaking, indep<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ endent work, technology, group work, writing, and reading. =__ Examples __=

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sue Wurster posted he<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ r lesson on the Super 3 on www.big6.com. Ms. Wurster used the renowned character, Flat Stanley, to introduce the Super 3 to her young students. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Visit this link for a full description of Ms. Wurster’s lesson: Super3 + Flat Stanley
 * // Example 1 //**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Flat Stanley helped Ms. Wurster and her students learn the Super3 “Plan, Do and Review” process. Her inspiration for using Flat Stanley and the Super3 is because “young students may feel overwhelm<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ ed and not sure where to begin a multi-step project. The goal is to help students use a process approach to complete any project.” <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A worksheet guided the students through the Super3 Flat Stanley Project.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During the Plan portion of the project, students answered the following questions:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Who will my Flat Stanley visit?
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How will I send him?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How will I decorate Stanley?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During the Do portion of the project, students completed and checked off the following tasks as they were completed:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Get the host’s phone number and address
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Call to arrange Flat Stanley’s visit
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gather art supplies
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gather two envelopes and two stamps for mailing
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Color first, then cut out your Flat Stanley
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Send Flat Stanley on his adventure!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During the Review portion of the project, students answered the following questions:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What did your Flat Stanley do?
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How might you improve you PLAN to save time?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What you DO to make your work easier next time?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can see that, through this simple and fun project, young students are introduced to the Super3 process, helping them to develop planning, organizational, writing, and research skills. This introducti<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ on and familiarization with Super3 will prepare students for the more complex version of the process, Big6, that will help to enhance and hone their information problem solving skills. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ru Story-Huffman, a librarian, uses the Big6 process to introduce students to technological resources, specifically, Web 2.0 applications that can aid in the research process. Visit this link for a full desc<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ ription of her lesson: Big6 + Web2.0 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pew Internet and American Life Project (2009) definition of Web 2.0: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">““Web 2.0” is an umbrella te<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ rm that is used to refer to a new era of Web-enabled applications that are built around user-generated or user-manipulated content, such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, and social networking sites.” <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ru Story-Huffman wante<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ d to create a lesson for her students that would focus on the concept of technology and its impact on education, knowledge, and student learning concepts. She chose to relate Web2.0 to the Big6, to create a highly rich learning experience revolving around relevant technology. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Story-Huffman describes the Big6 as “a natural component to Web2.0, because it is collaborative in nature, flexible, and provides prospect for lifelong learning.” Huffman aligned the Big6 stages with a variety of Web2.0 applications in her Big6 Skills by Web2.0 Tools matrix (view using the link above).
 * // Example 2 //**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See below for a list of some of the <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ Web2.0 application tools that Story-Huffman included in matrix, organized by the Big6 step that they align best with.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Task Definition tools: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wisemapping, a free concept mapping application that allows the creation of visual representation of a task.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Webspiration, an online resource for mindmapping and visual thinking.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Information Seeking tools: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">iGoogle
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Google Reader
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Newsgator
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">YouTube
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">RSS, Really Simple Sy<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ ndication, which brings specialized content to one location. For example, a person may collect current blog posts from different sites in one location, such as Google Reader.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Location and Access Tools: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Delicious.com, which allows users to access their personal account to retrieve saved bookmarks from any computers.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zotero.com, which is used to capture web pages.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use of Information Tools: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Delicious.com, which users can use to store, tag, and make notes on a web page that they discovered during the Location and Access Phase.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Google Docs, which can be used to create, share, edit, and upload documents, presentations, and other files.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Scriblink, an online whiteboard that can be used to take notes, and share them with others or save for future use.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Synthesis Tools: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Google Docs, allows users to<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ tailor content using a variety of gadgets and applications – for example, a calendar could be used to keep track of and synthesize research goals and deadlines
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zotero, create PDF documents or other content
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Google Groups, which<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿ allows members of groups to upload, share, and edit documents or presentations. This is a great way to collaborate on projects across the classroom or country.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Youtube, which allows you to share a video presentation of your findings


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Evaluation Tools: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Slideshare, which allows students to post PowerPoint presentations and have their peers evaluate and offer feedback.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">RubiStar, one of several free rubric generators

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