Abstract
This article reports on a part of a larger mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study which investigated the effect of a comprehensive model of online source- use on developing online research skills and lessening copy-paste trend in the writing pieces of Grade 8 ESL students ( n = 172) in three private schools in Saida, Lebanon. Eight teachers were randomly assigned into experimental and control conditions along with their respective classes. Five of these teachers implemented a ten–session intervention. The main researcher collected pre and post data on online research and comprehension assessment tool (revised-ORCA). Supported with current research and informed by the principles of the social- cognitive, socio-cultural, and the new literacies theories, statistical analyses revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group, showing higher score gains from pre-test to post-test on an overall score of revised ORCA as well as on its subskills. It was also noted that the contribution of the intervention on the scores of communicate ideas responsibly was almost twice the effect on the rest of subskills. Theoretical and pedagogical implications generated from this study were discussed. Recommendations for school policies and further research were also provided. Keywords : online research skills, copy-paste, middle school, ESL/EFL DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-33-11 Publication date: November 30 th 2020
Highlights
Writing from sources has always been fundamental in academic fields
As stated earlier, the results reported in this article were part of a larger mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study, and they were related to the research question which investigated the effectiveness of the Internet Reciprocal Teaching (IRT) model in developing the performance on online research skills and copy-paste reduction, as measured by revised ORCA
The findings revealed in this paper align with and further add to the body of existing research in the areas of online research skills and copy-paste avoidance
Summary
Writing from sources has always been fundamental in academic fields. It has emerged as a crucial asset in the workplace and academic communities where employees need to be competent in writing proposals, literary criticism, reports, among others (Howard et al, 2010; Solomon, 2018). Authors of online texts present their work in a miscellaneous manner, which might mislead online readers who have to follow a non-linear path to effectively comprehend these texts before properly incorporating the retrieved information into their written assignments Such changes have led researchers and composition theorists to conclude that even though the today’s students might have very good practices on the Internet, they are not good online readers since they lack the skills of new literacies (e.g., Castek et al, 2015;Coiro, 2007). These researchers and composition theorists have raised a call for a new understanding of literacy in the Internet era which must include literacy of the Internet environment as well (Castek, 2017; Castek et al, 2015; Coiro & Dobler, 2007; Howard & Davies, 2009; Schwartz, 2016)
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