PST2 + iC3

This page focuses specifically on [(PST)² + iC³], a “formula” for online inquiry and multiple Internet text integration.

A list of important details:

1. This set of strategies is meant to support a particular kind of Internet-based reading. Specifically, it has been designed to support online inquiry and the construction of an integrated understanding of an issue from multiple texts.

2. It is a work in progress. It has been tested with 5th and 6th graders, and also with 9th graders. This work will continue to inform revisions to the strategy list.

3. It looks like a mathematical formula to metaphorically suggest that our understanding of an issue grows exponentially when we have used multiple sources. Of course, the exponents were also a way to shorten the strategy list from PPSSTT + ICCC !

4. It has two main parts: The top part and the bottom part. The top part includes strategies for setting reading purpose, finding and evaluating Internet sources. The bottom part focuses on the extraction of important information and the integration of those ideas with background knowledge and other texts.

5. As modeled, it looks linear. However, when expert readers engage in the processes of online inquiry and multiple text integration, the process is anything but. It is assumed that strategic recursivity is essential to  expert online reading comprehension processes. This means that as readers preview potential sources, they might also be thinking about trustworthiness and type, but also thinking about reading purpose to know if the source is at all relevant. To identify important information, readers have to return to their reading purpose too. Plus, the whole process must repeat itself with every source selection.

The Strategies

(PST)²

P = Purpose
What do I have to do?

P = Prior Knowledge
What do I already know about this topic?

S = Search Terms
What search words and phrases will I use to find good information?

S = Source Selection
Which sources seem promising?

T = Type
What kind of web resource is this and what should the structure tell me about what I will probably find there?

T = Trustworthy
How trustworthy is this information? What criteria have I used to judge it?

+

iC³

i = Identify Important Ideas
What information is important here? Why is this information important?

C = Compare
How does this information compare with what you already knew?

C = Connect
Does this back up something you have already read? Does differ in some way from what you have read elsewhere? Is it unique information that takes your understanding in a new direction?

C = Continually Update
What does your overall understanding of the problem look like now?