In yesterday’s The New York Times an editorial asked if search engines, and Google in particular, are making students stupider because they acquiesce critical thinking for clicking on search return links and then copying the information they find without providing any sort of analysis:

In December, the National Center for Education Statistics published a report on adult literacy revealing that the number of college graduates able to interpret complex texts proficiently had dropped since 1992 from 40 percent to 31 percent.

I certainly agree high school and college students have no idea how to employ effective Online Research Methods that will result in a properly cited and “thought about” term paper.

When one creates an argument for a term paper, one must not start with the returns of a search result. One starts with a larger question in search of an answer.

Then that answer must be attacked in a methodical cycle of consequences that will shape and form an argument.
Continue reading → Are Students Getting Stupider?