Research+Project


 * Read Me! **    A well-designed research assignment is an excellent teaching tool. Effective assignments develop not only students’ research skills, but their critical thinking abilities and subject knowledge.

The exponential increases in the number of information resources and technology tools available today have made libraries more complex than ever. This phenomenon of “information overload” has led to the increased importance of Information Literacy and critical thinking skills on the part of today’s students. **An information literate student is able to recognize their information need and then locate, evaluate, and use effectively and ethically the needed information.** Enabling students to go beyond the confines of an assignment and focus on the process of seeking solutions to their information needs is crucial. Information literacy enables students to recognize the value of information and use it to make informed choices in their personal and academic lives. An important first step in laying the foundation for an information literate student body is the collaboration between teacher and librarian in creating effective research assignments.

//Assignment Ideas that develop Information Literacy Skills://

//If you want your students to think critically…//
>
 * Provide students with two articles or editorials reflecting conservative and liberal views, ask students to compare and contrast the articles.
 * Ask students to research a topic using information published in different decades and ask them to compare and discuss what changes occurred and why.
 *  Ask students to research a topic using information published in different decades and ask them to compare and discuss what changes occurred and why.
 *  Ask students to work as small teams to research //both// sides of an issue. Don’t tell the students which side they will be taking until the day of the debate. 
 *  Ask students to locate a popular magazine article, a newspaper article and a scholarly journal article on the same topic, then compare the articles for content, style, bias, audience, etc. 
 *  Ask students to compare and contrast primary and secondary sources on the same topic; ask them to contrast the sources, their content and treatment of the topic.

//If you want your students to develop problem solving skills...// > > >  //If you want your students to develop their communication and presentation skills skills...// > >   //If you want your students to understand "the literature" in a discipline....// >
 *  Ask students to propose a new action, procedure or activity in a particular setting and conduct research to locate materials that support the need for and the proposed new action. 
 *  Ask students to propose new legislation for a current issue. Conduct research to support the need for the legislation.
 *  Have students research a topic and present it as a poster session that other students will use to learn about the topic. This gives them experience with research as well as with expressing important points succinctly. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Ask them to prepare an audio presentation for the class, and ask them to locate and evaluate information sources to use as evidence in their presentations. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Have students construct a timeline or map that illustrates the cause and effect of incidents in an event.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Ask students to create a digital presentation incorporating images located by searching the Web.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Assign students a scholar/researcher in the field. Ask students to explore that person’s career and ideas by locating biographical information, preparing a bibliography of the scholar’s writings, analyzing the reaction of the scholarly community to the researcher’s work, and examining the scholarly network in which the scholar works.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Provide for students – or have them locate - a relevant article from the literature and use its bibliography to track down other relevant sources.

Help Stamp Out Bad Research Experiences!
**<span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Show Me! ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Your research assignment must be:

1. Authentic (it must have some real-world purpose: i.e., a report on George Washington's life is NOT authentic; a report on the impact of George Washington's life on his view of the presidency has an authentic nature);

2. Use researched information to support or form a new idea;

3. Be NON-regugitative.

DO NOT FAIL to use this wonderful [|website] to guide the construction of your research project, find good websites and give you lots of direction!

**<span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)">Teach Me! **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">This one is pretty easy! http://www.tumblr.com and follow the directions below. Make sure this becomes a lesson within your unit. **<span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)">Try Me! ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> 1. Using the[|Research Cycle], decide on the first three steps:

|| <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">developing a strategy to find pertinent information rapidly || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> 2. Create a [|Tumblr] account and create a public "Tumblelog" with an appropriate URL.
 * Question || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[[image:checkbox.gif width="13" height="13"]] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">identifying and listing the questions you want your students to explore ||
 * Plan <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">
 * Gather || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[[image:checkbox.gif width="13" height="13"]] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">harvesting information which casts light on the key questions ||

3. Select "Customize" link and set up your "research project" look and feel (Info, Theme, and Appearance).

4. From the "dashboard", include: --Text (this will be the questions you want the students to explore and the structure of the research assignment). Be sure to include the detailed requirements of the research project; --Photo (appropriate to the project or subject); --Quote (appropriate to the project or subject); --10 websites links with a brief annotation; --Audio inclusion (no music necessary).

Once you are done, copy and paste the URL to your wiki (this is the Tumblelog URL address you created.