The Student Makes a Discovery on Her Own: Four Tools to Fuel Independent Research for STEM Students
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Target Audience
K-12
Location
Room 100
Abstract
As educators are no doubt aware, the knowledge workers of the future will be educated in STEM. When they make discoveries, they will count on the knowledge of those who came before them. For instance, budding scientists review experiments of the past before they conduct their own. Technologists use information from schematics of the machines they work with. But first, they must know how and where to find this information. They must learn about the various tools used in independent research.
Students of STEM can augment their learning with four useful resources—magazines that cover their fields of interest, topic handbooks, scholarly journals and patent searching. Students can use magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics to see their fields of interest applied in the modern day. When a student wants to start a project, or to look up an advanced equation, he can consult a professional handbook on the topic. When a student wants to know about the latest research in his field, or to learn about its global issues, he can read a scholarly journal. A student can learn about the professional and legal work involved in science and technology by reading patents. Today, reading patents is easier than ever with tools like Google’s Patent Search.
STEM students will find it valuable to learn about these resources, because it will encourage them to advance their research interests. And teachers will find this information invaluable for teaching them about how to find the most pertinent information for their research.
Presentation Description
As educators are no doubt aware, the knowledge workers of the future will be educated in STEM. For instance, budding scientists review experiments of the past before they conduct their own. But first, they must know how and where to find this information. They must learn about the various tools used in independent research. Students of STEM can augment their learning with four useful resources—magazines that cover their fields of interest, topic handbooks, scholarly journals and patent searching.
Keywords
STEM, research, k-12, independent
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Graham, Patrick, "The Student Makes a Discovery on Her Own: Four Tools to Fuel Independent Research for STEM Students" (2018). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 80.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2018/2018/80
The Student Makes a Discovery on Her Own: Four Tools to Fuel Independent Research for STEM Students
Room 100
As educators are no doubt aware, the knowledge workers of the future will be educated in STEM. When they make discoveries, they will count on the knowledge of those who came before them. For instance, budding scientists review experiments of the past before they conduct their own. Technologists use information from schematics of the machines they work with. But first, they must know how and where to find this information. They must learn about the various tools used in independent research.
Students of STEM can augment their learning with four useful resources—magazines that cover their fields of interest, topic handbooks, scholarly journals and patent searching. Students can use magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics to see their fields of interest applied in the modern day. When a student wants to start a project, or to look up an advanced equation, he can consult a professional handbook on the topic. When a student wants to know about the latest research in his field, or to learn about its global issues, he can read a scholarly journal. A student can learn about the professional and legal work involved in science and technology by reading patents. Today, reading patents is easier than ever with tools like Google’s Patent Search.
STEM students will find it valuable to learn about these resources, because it will encourage them to advance their research interests. And teachers will find this information invaluable for teaching them about how to find the most pertinent information for their research.
