Teaching the Dispositions for Inquiry: Research and Writing in the First Year of College Holly Middleton and Kathy Shields Director of First-year Writing & Head of Reference and Instruction High Point University Student Success in Writing Conference, Savannah, GA March 11, 2016

Difficulty with Inquiry as a FYW Learning Outcome Students... Want to make a preconceived argument Lack of experience generating research questions Tend toward binary thinking (agree/disagree, good/bad) consistent with developmental stage

Difficulty with Inquiry as a FYW Learning Outcome Instructors... May send mixed messages by emphasizing focus or thesis early on May emphasize argument to an extent that reinforces binary thinking; May move too quickly or assume students have strategies for performing what is learned, tacit knowledge

Difficulty with Inquiry as a FYW Learning Outcome For Librarians... Thesis-first approach (preconceived argument) limits research possibilities Content in a one-shot session has to be reinforced by other experiences Instruction is often disconnected from the writing assignment

Our Approach Create experiences aligned with the dispositions for learning endorsed by the Council of Writing Program Administrators (First-Year Writing) and Association of College and Research Libraries (Information Literacy)

FYW and IL’s Shared Dispositions for Learning CWPA Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing: Openness Curiosity Metacognition Flexibility ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Open mind Intellectual curiosity Metacognition Flexibility

Three-Day Sequence Day one: In a collaborative, in-class activity, students “sideshadow,” or add marginal comments to, a sample essay to generate research questions. Day two: Sideshadow their own writing as homework; translate their comments into research questions in class. Day three: Workshop research questions to generate keywords for searching

Day One: Learn Sideshadowing in Class Students collectively “sideshadow” a sample student essay in Google Docs, answering questions such as: What assumptions underlie your claims or those you quote? In other words, what belief has to come first? View example at: 1TKKz6LNEWqcOH5MUjpJbiNKp0M57IguL9uJQ/edit?usp=sharing

Day Two: Students Sideshadow Their Own Work Students sideshadow their own essay as homework In class, we translate their sideshadowing comments into research questions Instructor compiles/condenses research questions and shares them with librarian

Day Three: Research Workshop with Questions Research Questions (translated from marginal comments on sample essay) 1.Does technology make us see the world negatively? 2.Does the spread of information really cause fear? 3.How many people are really affected by tragedies like school shootings? 4.Are children “good”? 5.Do tragedies prompt action? Or, how often are laws the result of tragedies? 6.How many people are really aware of or invested in the gun control debate? 7.Is gun control really dividing us? 8.Do gun rights supporters care less about children? 9.Are gun rights supporters unaware of the research on gun control?

Chosen Research Question Keywords:

Takeaways Seek each other out! Librarians and first-year writing instructors share professional values and guidelines that can guide the teaching of inquiry. A shared obstacle is the thesis-first approach--how can this be reconsidered? Value the dispositions in grading.

Questions? Holly Middleton Kathy Shields