Staging Research Preparing Students to be Successful Performers Rose Dodgson & Jo-Anne LaForty TDSB - Instructional Leaders Library and Learning Resources Super Conference 2005

Research is like…

RESEARCHRESEARCH How do you think and feel about research? Marzano, Robert J. Classroom Instruction that Works, 2001

Connections to the Ontario K-12 Curriculum  Research – 913 expectations  Question – 634 expectations  Projects – 234 expectations  Information – 1745 expectations English Language Reading Grade 6-8  Reasoning and Critical Thinking  plan a research project and carry out the research

SPECIFIC REASONS FOR RESEARCH

WHY TEACH RESEARCH AS A PROCESS ?  structure or map for students  consistency and common language  transferable to all subjects and grade  framework for:  design of project  skills  assessing & evaluating

STAGE 1 : PREPARING FOR RESEARCH Define Explore Identify Relate STAGE 2 : ACCESSING RESOURCES Locate Select Gather Collaborate STAGE 3 : PROCESSING INFORMATION Analyse/Evaluate Test Sort Synthesize STAGE 4 : TRANSFERRING LEARNING Revise Present Reflect Transfer R e l a t e E x p l o r e I d e n t i f y D e f i n e Lo cate Gather Select Collaborate Analyse Evaluate Test Sort Synthesize Revise Present R e f l ec t T r a n s f e r The Research Process

Preparing our students for Success on the journey Well-designed Projects  performance task  process highlighted throughout project  evaluation included  samples and models

Constructing a Performance Task for a research project  SITUATION/PROBLEM/SCENARIO  the problem/challenge is  the context is...  ROLE  You are parent, psychology, citizen, police  You have been asked to...  AUDIENCE  You need to convince  Your audience is...

Organizing Tools  OSLA portfolios  file folders  checklist

The Four Stages of the Inquiry and Research Model Prepare Access Process Transfer

Ideas for teaching the 4 stages of Research Consider:  ESL  Special Ed  Younger Students Think/Pair/share

Importance of Reflection  throughout the process  assess student progress and the work completed  develop a plan to move forward  provide feedback for teacher and t-l

Setting the Context for meaningful learning  background information  Videos and pictures books  emotional hook  personal connection with stories  peak curiosity and motivation  “I wonder” questions

STAGE 1: PREPARING FOR RESEARCH  Define  information needs using a variety of strategies  Explore  information using a variety of group activities  Identify  varied ways of organizing information  Relate  prior knowledge to information needs

Stage 1-Strategies  visuals/video  brainstorming & categorizing  vocabulary (word wall)  KWL chart  reading a picture book, poem, a newspaper article

KWL Chart K What I know about the topic? W What I want to know about this topic? L What I have learned about the topic. Keywords

Become a walking question mark! “Clearly you must also learn what you need to know…..asking questions is probably the most valuable part of collecting information.” Frank Feather 1996

Developing Research Questions Strategies  5 Ws and H  Focus words  Bloom’s Taxonomy  Brainstorming Rationale  Stimulate curiousity  Challenge you to think about what you discover  Guide and focus your research project

Student Research Guide Stage 1- Developing Questions p. 11

STAGE 2: ACCESSING RESOURCES  Locate a variety of appropriate resources from a variety of sources  Select information appropriate to needs using a variety of strategies  Gather information from resources using internal organizers and conventions of text  Collaborate with others to share findings and ideas

Video Don’t Get Caught in the Web: Research Strategies for Using Library Resources

Stage 2 - Strategies  print and electronic  human  community  consider  learning styles  multiple intelligence  first language  ability

Considerations  Variety of Formats  Match information sources to needs: best, most suitable  Reading Level  Overall Appeal  Layout and text  Text size  Visuals

Most Appropriate Information  Considerations:  Canadian OR American OR doesn’t matter  Primary OR Secondary Sources  Books OR Electronic  Databases OR Internet  Reference (encyclopedia) OR journal/newspaper You as a teacher can set perimeters and limit resources for students.

Critical Thinking Skills  Reading:  previewing page features  analyzing features of text  skimming, scanning  Finding the “right source(s)”  Searching effectively  Evaluating sources

Critical Reading Skills  Skimming/Scanning  Think Literacy  Student Research Guide  Features of Text  Think Literacy - Ministry  Student Research Guide - TDSC  Building your own Information Literate School- Koechlin, Zwann

Student Research Guide Stage 2- Skimming

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Online Periodical Databases Online Magazines and Newspapers Access - School Library Webpage

Internet  Preparing to Search  Searching Effectively  Evaluating Web Sources  Key Sites

SEARCH TIP # 1  Be specific with your search terms  Adding more terms allows for specific searching and more accurate results Example Kyoto global warming Olympics Beijing preparation

TIP # 2  Try a variety of related terms and concepts to find different articles Example homeless “ street people” poverty habitat biomes wetlands  Think of synonyms for terms Example teenagers adolescents youth juvenile

TIP # 3  use “quotations” around terms you want together as a phrase Example “acid rain” “Bank of Montreal”

TIP # 4  use the the Boolean operator and to combine keywords for specific results Example: family and violence will locate articles with both terms in them. family violence

“Students must be taught the skill of evaluating sources … Books have editors and publishers who select authors by their credibility and authenticity. Facts are meticulously checked before publication. However, on the Internet you are not always sure who the author is, and you rarely know their credentials.” Doggett, Sandra, 2002 Evaluating Web Resources

Evaluating Resources  need  usefulness  bias  accuracy  relevance  content  point of view  validate source

Kathy Schrock’s ABC’s of Web Site Evaluation

Media Awareness: The 5 W's of Cyberspace awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/internet/ 5ws_cyberspace.cfm

Student Research Guide Stage 2- Checklist for Evaluating a Website

Key Sites  School Library Website  Develop a focused specialized list  Curriculum  Teaching and Learning  Subject Specific

School Library Web Page

About Canada

Historica

CBC Archives

Student Research Guides Thames Valley DSB TDSB

Success for all Learners  RESEARCH  complex process -- model the process  time to prepare the students  provide sample final products  RESOURCES  select appropriate resources that address learning styles  physical and intellectually accessible  teach “search logic”  determine right information source for right need  searching strategies

Staging Research Preparing Students to be Successful Performers Rose Dodgson & Jo-Anne LaForty TDSB - Instructional Leaders Library and Learning Resources Super Conference 2005