USING THE UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN MODEL TO IMPROVE STUDENT RESEARCH METHODS AT NVTHS

Nora F. Clooney

Curriculum Design and Development

Ms. Denise Page

STAGE 1: DESIRED RESULTS

To address the NVTHS District Improvement Goal #3 of increased academic rigor.

To address the Research Strand of the Massachusetts ELA Curriculum Frameworks.

To realize that things are in a good place, and we have the opportunity to make them even better.

Standard 24:

Students will gather information from a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the quality of

information they obtain, and use it to answer their own questions.

STANDARD 24 IN GREATER DETAIL (THE FRAMEWORKS REMIND US TO ADDRESS EARLIER STANDARDS AS NEEDED.)

24.1 Generate questions and gather information from several sources in a classroom, school, or public library.

24.2 Identify and apply steps in conducting and reporting research: Define the need for information and formulate

open-ended research questions. Initiate a plan for searching for information. Locate resources. Evaluate the relevance of the information. Interpret, use, and communicate the information. Evaluate the research project as a whole.

STANDARD 24 CONTINUED…

24.3 Apply steps for obtaining information for a variety of sources, organizing information, documenting sources, and presenting research in individual and group projects: use an expanded range of print and non-print sources

(atlases, databases, electronic, on-line resources); follow established criteria for evaluating information; locate specific information within resources by using

indexes, tables of contents, electronic search key words;

organize and present research using the grades 5-6 Learning Standards in the Composition Strand as a guide for writing; and

provide appropriate documentation in a consistent format.

MORE ON STANDARD 24

24.4 Apply steps for obtaining information from a variety of sources, organizing information, documenting sources, and presenting research in individual projects: differentiate between primary and secondary source

materials; differentiate between paraphrasing and using direct

quotes in a report; organize and present research using the grade 7-8

Learning Standards in the Composition Strand as a guide for writing;

document information and quotations and use a consistent format for footnotes or endnotes; and

use standard bibliographic format to document sources.

THE LAST SLIDE ON STANDARD 24*

24.5 Formulate open-ended research questions and apply steps for obtaining and evaluating information form a variety of sources in a consistent and standard format, and presenting research.

24.6 Formulate original, open-ended questions to explore a topic of interest, design and carry out research, and evaluate the quality of the research paper in terms of the adequacy of its questions, materials, approach, and documentation of sources.

* This standard is to be addressed at the local level.

ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS: WHAT WE WANT NVTHS STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND What kinds and types of resources are available,

and how can they be obtained. (A list of many of these resources is available as an appendix to this presentation.)

How information can be properly extracted from available resources.

How a solid thesis statement can guide the research process, and how the research process can further streamline the student’s thesis statement.

The importance of letting the librarian know of a student’s given research far in advance of the project’s due date.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Does involving the librarian in the research process help improve the level of resources available to students?

Does spending more time on the research process improve the overall quality of the finished product (i.e. the senior project)?

KEY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS: THINGS STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO

Notify the librarian of their research topics, ask for help in meeting their information needs.

Reshape research or thesis topic as they sort through the information at hand.

Have a basic understanding of the resources available at the NVTHS library, online, and other area libraries.

STAGE 2: EVIDENCE OF STUDENT LEARNING

Performance task 1: Students will present research topics to the librarian. (Teachers may even choose to email a list of student topics to the librarian.)

The respective lists will be forwarded to area librarians so they may better serve their library patrons who attend NVTHS. This action will also help local public librarians better align their collections to the NVTHS curriculum.

The librarian will take time to meet with individual students to discuss their information needs. Information will be collected in folders and on a site key so it may be referenced throughout the duration of the project.

MORE ON STAGE 2

Performance task 2: After going through the information they have gathered, and with the assistance of their teachers and possibly the librarian, students will revise their thesis statements.

Performance task 3: With an acceptable thesis statement in hand, students will begin to work on their outlines.

Performance task 4: Once their outlines are finished, students will begin writing their drafts.

EVIDENCE OF STUDENT LEARNING Project topics, a willingness to include the

librarian as a resource in their information search, evaluation of the information at hand, thesis statements, outlines, and rough drafts will all be considered evidence of student learning.

As students pass from one phase to another, they may revise what they have done in any of the other steps as necessary. Students will be asked to assess their work at each step of this process.

This process should be fluid, and not overwhelming.

MORE EVIDENCE OF STUDENT LEARNING For students who have difficulty processing large

amounts of printed materials, accommodations can

be made.

As an example, relevant passages of scholarly articles can be highlighted, and a cheat sheet (summary) can be made.

This process is also considered by some to be an effective way to teach students how to take notes and avoid plagiarism.

Of course, the final research papers, products, and presentations are the ultimate evidence of student learning in our context.

RESOURCES TO HELP US ACHIEVE OUR GOALS(NMRLS HAS RE-DESIGNED THEIR HOME PAGE SO IT IS EASIER THAN EVER TO USE.)

http://www.nmrls.org/reference/dbases.shtml#el

INTRODUCING THE DATABASES

eLibrary | InfoTrac | Informe | Grolier Online | OCLC WorldCat | ProQuest | Mass. Special Collections Directory

Information from books, magazines, and newspapers. Includes maps, pictures and transcripts from TV and radio.

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia: 36,000 entries intended for students in middle school and up and as a quick reference look-up tool for public library patrons of all ages.

New Book of Knowledge: 9,000 articles

suitable for grade 3 and up as well as ESL. Provides description of complex subjects in an easy-to-understand manner (An excellent resource for struggling readers)

The following databases from the Gale Group are available, at no charge, in all NMRLS member libraries:

Academic OneFile

Biography Resource Center

Contemporary Literary Criticism Select

Educator's Reference Complete

Expanded Academic ASAP

General BusinessFile ASAP

General Reference Center Gold

Health Reference Center Academic

Info Trac K-12 Junior Edition

Info Trac K-12 Student Edition

Info Trac OneFile

Kids InfoBits

Massachusetts History Online

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Informe is the first reference database to provide indexing, full text, and images of the most popular Hispanic magazines. It also includes full text pamphlets on a variety of topics, such as health care.

Berkshire Eagle 2005 to current Boston Globe 1980 to current Boston Herald 1991 to current BusinessWest (Chicopee) 1992 to current North Adams Transcript 2005 to current Patriot Ledger (Quincy) 1991 to current Plymouth County Business Review 1991 to current Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg) 2005 to current Sun, The (Lowell) 2004 to current Telegram & Gazette (Worcester) 1989 to current Gazette (Haverhill, Mass.) 12-31-92 to 8-9-97 Standard Times (New Bedford) 1-4-92 to 8-19-97

WITH A CARD FROM THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY YOU CAN ACCESS…

THOSE OF YOU PRESSED FOR TIME CAN OBTAIN A LIBRARY CARD FROM THE BPL VIA EMAIL…. Then you can access JSTOR!

(JSTOR is the ultimate resource when it comes to finding last minute information for Senior Projects.)

JSTOR Full-text access to nearly 600 core scholarly journals covering 44

specialized subject areas. Complete back runs of many titles available. Coverage: spread out over the last 150 years but no current coverage for last 3-5 years.

The BPL subscribes to these core JSTOR collections: Arts & Sciences Complement Arts & Sciences I Collection Arts & Sciences II Collection Arts & Sciences III Collection Arts & Sciences IV Collection Biological Sciences Collection Health & General Sciences Collection

FINAL THOUGHTS ON DATABASES Sterling has enabled us to access the NMRLS

databases from anywhere within the school.

Using databases isn’t a highly intuitive process, but they are excellent sources of high-quality information.

Databases are a bit like PowePoint: once you see how effective they are, it’s easier to motivate yourself to learn how to use them.

Feel free to ask the librarian to assist you in deciding which databases to use and how to conduct searches with your students.

Nearly anything is possible with a bit of planning and advanced notice.