The SCORE Challenge

Linda Renick & Darrell Robertson, , Carroll County Public Library; Laurie Owings & Michael Stencil, Carroll County Public Schools

The SCORE Challenge is a partnership between Carroll County Public Library and Carroll County Public Schools. SCORE is an acronym for Student Collaboration of Research

Exploration. The event was created by Kathleen Brunnett and Laurie Owings, two Carroll County Public School media specialists who recognized a need for middle school students to develop strong research skills. Search competency is a critical skill that helps students to excel, both in and out of school. The SCORE Challenge helps students gain the confdence and skills needed to become tech-savvy researchers in a digital world. Now in its sixth year, with seven middle schools participating, the challenge requires middle school students to research the answers to questions using databases in a limited amount of time. At the event, students will answer three rounds of questions (with ¦ve questions per round) with progressively less time per round to ¦nd answers. In this session participants will learn how to develop a successful event at their school or library that challenges middle schoolers to become effective digital researchers.

At the conclusion of the program, participants will be able to …

* ...describe what the SCORE Challenge is and how it works.

* ...identify learning objectives for students competing in the challenge.

* ...recognizes appropriate digital and other resources needed for the event.

* ...develop a plan for implementing a similar event in their school or library.