For years, I've grappled with how best to support students in their Social Studies research. It's tempting to say "look up" some information, or just "go do research," especially as so many middle school students believe and act like they can independently look up information. At the same time, students tend to get frustrated and distracted throughout their research. To help my students focus their efforts, I've created so many different "Research Guides" over the years, worked with various questioning strategies, and continually refined my projects. Here is an example from 2016 - even as I see it now, there are so many things I would change. There are far too many different tasks involved within this Research Guide, even though it was completed by partners over time. Throughout my research, I've seen how most teachers have not been trained in the research process and rely on their own research experiences. I most certainly have done this over the years. I also discovered how, due to the complexities and challenges faced throughout student inquiry, many teachers have reverted back to traditional ways of teaching. This is understandable, but not the path I want to take. I'm so glad to have studied various Instructional Design frameworks (particularly Clark, Dervin, and the Pebble-in-the-Pond model) as well as the Guided Inquiry Design framework. As my goal is not just for my students to effectively and efficiently conduct their own research, but to gain independence over time, my research has helped me be more strategic in breaking down the research process into manageable chunks. Below is a student's Research Guide from last November. My instructions were intentionally simple:
I know that I'm onto something here. Every time I speak about my work, I get animated and passionate... and other teachers and librarians see a need for the work that I'm doing in their own situations.
After I complete this Innovative Learning program, I will:
2 Comments
Jeremy Smith
6/10/2020 08:22:43 am
Hi Megan,
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Megan
6/10/2020 05:08:36 pm
Hi Jeremy,
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Megan BurtonInnovative Learning Archives
June 2020
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