Nicole Ogden
CO and ET

Maniotes, L. K., & Kuhlthau, C. C. (2014). Making the Shift: From Traditional Research Assignments to Guiding Inquiry Learning. Knowledge Quest, 43(2-), 8-17.

Summary

Maniotes and Kuhlthau compare the traditional research assignment framework that librarians often work in and propose a more authentic method that mirrors the inquiry process. They articulate how one visit to the library cannot cover all that students need to learn in order to accomplish authentic inquiry. The authors provide six steps to transform the research process and also discuss how the teacher librarian can convince the reluctant content teacher.

Evaluation

The authors perfectly capture the situation that many librarians find themselves in where they are given a small slice of time and expected to teach a whole range of valuable skills to a class in a one time visit. They provide suggestions on how to encourage teachers to partner with the TL on an inquiry process. They also provide some clear activities and steps in the research process that the TL could immediately adapt for the classroom.