In this part of Week 2's assignment, we are asked to consider our situational factors, along with the goals, assessment and teaching activities we have planned.
1. Situational factors: In this case, all students will need to have access to a computer. I realize now that I wasn't specific when I communicated with the students via an introduction email. The students will be in small groups, however, so discussion and sharing will be possible.
I sent a message to the entire class (via the faculty member) providing them with some preliminary information, but also asking them to fill out a survey. This survey should give me an idea of where each student is with his/her research, where they have searched, what they have found etc. This will help me focus the research session so I am not repeating needless information that all students already understand. With only 30 minutes, I need the session to be extremely well-planned.
I am unsure if there are disconnects between my beliefs and values and those of the students. I am eager to read their responses to the survey I sent which will greatly assist with how I conduct the class. In the future, it would be great to have one or more online modules that the students need to watch ahead of time, to get some of the information quickly. We could then review early in the session and move on to more complex material.
2. Learning Goals and Feedback & Assessment:
There are three goals for the session:
a. As a result of this class, students will be able to develop/formulate appropriate, creative keywords and search terms after basic background research on a topic in order to focus their understanding and search process on targeted information needs.
Assessment activities:
b. As a result of this class, students will be able to discriminate and compare appropriate resources (e.g. internet, databases, library catalogue, etc.) in order to identify the best resource to find appropriate information sources related to their research project.
c. As a result of this class, students will be able to understand the connection between information sources (primarily journal articles) in order to broaden their search methodology to find other useful information on their research topic.
I am having a hard time distinguishing between 'practice learning activities' and 'eventual assessment activities.' These terms are better suited to a semester-long class. It's difficult to translate these to a one-shot session.
1. Situational factors: In this case, all students will need to have access to a computer. I realize now that I wasn't specific when I communicated with the students via an introduction email. The students will be in small groups, however, so discussion and sharing will be possible.
I sent a message to the entire class (via the faculty member) providing them with some preliminary information, but also asking them to fill out a survey. This survey should give me an idea of where each student is with his/her research, where they have searched, what they have found etc. This will help me focus the research session so I am not repeating needless information that all students already understand. With only 30 minutes, I need the session to be extremely well-planned.
I am unsure if there are disconnects between my beliefs and values and those of the students. I am eager to read their responses to the survey I sent which will greatly assist with how I conduct the class. In the future, it would be great to have one or more online modules that the students need to watch ahead of time, to get some of the information quickly. We could then review early in the session and move on to more complex material.
2. Learning Goals and Feedback & Assessment:
There are three goals for the session:
a. As a result of this class, students will be able to develop/formulate appropriate, creative keywords and search terms after basic background research on a topic in order to focus their understanding and search process on targeted information needs.
Assessment activities:
- Have students search on their topic - then have students search again on their topic without using any of the same keywords. Write down all terms.
- Share results with classmate - determine additional keywords/synonyms.
b. As a result of this class, students will be able to discriminate and compare appropriate resources (e.g. internet, databases, library catalogue, etc.) in order to identify the best resource to find appropriate information sources related to their research project.
Assessment activity:
- Have students search in a database they have not used before using keywords and search strategies from the first part of class to identify new information or additional search terms.
c. As a result of this class, students will be able to understand the connection between information sources (primarily journal articles) in order to broaden their search methodology to find other useful information on their research topic.
Assessment activity:
- Have students use one article they already found to identify two additional articles through 'cited by' links in Google Scholar. Report out to class why the new article may be useful.
The one area which needs better development is searching additional databases. Most students will search Google Scholar and have success there. I would hope that they would use more specialized sources like Web of Science and PubMed. However, maybe Google Scholar is okay for this assignment? I always feel the need to show students the more authoritative databases - but perhaps this isn't the best use of our time in class?
I know that students learn a lot about their own biases and their topics when they are forced to use alternative search terms. I also know that using the 'cited by' is new for most of them. Seeing connections among articles is really key for the sciences.
I struggle with the question of showing them/having them use various databases that might not get them results quickly, further inhibiting the research process.
3. Learning Goals and Teaching/Learning Activities
As mentioned above, searching other databases may be the odd, extraneous activity here. Perhaps I could demonstrate searching in Google Scholar and a library database to show the similarities and differences. I wanted to stay away from too much demo though that would not result in practical application.
Regarding the other activities planned, analysing keywords, developing search strategies and finding connections between literature all have definite positive learning implications for these students and this assignment.
4. Teaching/Learning Activities and Feedback & Assessment
Students always find it challenging and satisfying when they can alter their search terms - but still find relevant information. Learning that they can vary the process is very instructive - and usually has a great impact. If they are not successful, there are opportunities to ask for help and clarification on the process. Additionally, working with classmates on alternative keywords is a nice way for students to articulate the information they need and get peer-feedback.
I am having a hard time distinguishing between 'practice learning activities' and 'eventual assessment activities.' These terms are better suited to a semester-long class. It's difficult to translate these to a one-shot session.
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