LESSONS FROM THE RESEARCH PROJECT

Marie Davis

“Students have the opportunity to study an area of interest in depth. They use their creativity and initiative, while developing the research and presentation skills they will need in further study or work”.

SACE website

“Students have the opportunity to study an area of interest in depth. They (ESL students) use their creativity and initiative, while developing the research and presentation skills they will need in further study or work”.

WOW! Is this all?!

What is the Research Project?

“An opportunity to: research something you are interested in decide how you carry out your research decide on the way you produce your

findings make judgements about how successful

you’ve been Throughout the project, you are in control

of your own learning.”SACE website

Components of Research Project Proposal (included in folio) Journal (can make up part of folio) Folio: evidence of research

development(max 10 pgs of research, notes) Discussion (15 min recorded, included in

folio) Outcome Product Evaluation

Green denotes items for assessment

40%

30%

40%

Issues: reading, writing, thinking and presenting

Getting started Concept map Maintaining a journal Selecting appropriate texts Devising useful open ended questions for

questionnaires/surveys Annotating texts Synthesising information for the outcome Reflecting on the processes Time management

What to do?

In 10 ESL have an investigative task that:

covers one topic where components are explicitly taught through -

o teacher modellingo joint constructionusing a Smartboard,

PowerPoint, etc

Getting started/concept mapWhy an issue? Setting a focus question Change of topics: from one subject focus

to completely different subject Cost Availability of resources

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

Examine completed investigative tasks What needed to happen along the way for

these to be completed? List What skills and strategies are involved? List What will we be doing as a class? how, when, where and why – about the topic Teacher ‘thinks aloud’ the 4Ws & H Draw up concept map

Journal

Why an issue? Keeping it going – not leaving it for days

(weeks?) at a time What to include – so that it can be used

in folio, outcome, product and evaluation

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

Write journal each session– construct together

After a few modelled sessions, students write their own

Language of appraisal: affect, judgement, appreciation

Focus on writing what is learned: • what was useful• new learning

Selecting texts

Why an issue? Too much to read in a limited time. What

is useful? Many technical/subject specific single

words and phrases Reliable source?

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

Teacher selects texts Teach scanning and

skimming techniques to whole group

jointly construct lists of key words: technical/subject specific

Choosing reliable sources – URLs finishing with org.au, edu.au… et al –but not dismissing other websites either

Skimming strategies

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. 

Read first and last paragraphs using headings, summaries and other organizers moving down the page or screen.

Read title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations.

Read first sentence of each paragraph. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places and review graphs, tables, and charts.  

Scanning strategies

Scanning is a technique for searching for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you're looking for, so you're concentrating on finding a particular answer.

Determine whether the source will answer questions. Move eyes quickly down the page or screen seeking specific

words and phrases. Once document is scanned, go back and skim it.   When scanning, look for the author's use of organisers such

as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. Look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or colour.

Reading off a computer screen has become a growing concern. Research shows that people have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than off paper.

Devising useful open ended questions

Why an issue? First attempts are mainly closed

questions Sometimes do not elicit the information

required Sometimes questions not ethical or safe

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

What are all the aspects of this topic we need to investigate?

Who could help provide this information? What do these people need to know about me and

the purpose of the project to be comfortable in participating (ethical issues)?

Together, construct 6 to 8 questions for an interview (interviewees are usually very busy people!) that will provide as much information as possible.

Repeat for survey. Devise a variety of question types – written

answers, ordinal, likert scale, etc. Conduct interview with at least 1 person and survey

with 10 people. Collate information in small groups – then whole

class.

Annotating texts

Why an issue? (less of an issue when text selection is good)

Does not relate to focus question

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

‘Translating’ the information to suit the focus question

Teacher highlights a piece of relevant information or keywords on text while ‘thinking aloud’.

Work through text, highlighting and writing comments or questions in the margin. Have I read this somewhere else? Is this the opposite to what I’ve heard or read before?

Circle unknown words – infer or find meanings.

Synthesising information

Why an issue? Higher order thinking skill Little or no experience in synthesising

information Need thinking time

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

Binding conjunctions/connectives joining sentences (cause/effect, time, order, etc

Organising the information from blended primary and secondary sources/data. Which are the bits that say it the best.

Theme/rheme Active and passive voice Direct and reported speech, quoting and

referencing: said, claimed, scientists believe…, according to scientists, … .

Reflecting on the process

Why an issue? Need to reflect on how the outcome is

reached – not just repeat what has been learnt of the topic.

Investigating the processes involved in the project: the activities undertaken to carry out the research.

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

 Discuss how the information was located, collected, analysed and selected – refer to primary and secondary sources and journal entries.

Revisit the language of appraisal Which sources were the most appropriate to

the topic? Why? Include information from journal.  Were there any ethical or safety

considerations?If explicit teaching and scaffolding has

occurred throughout the project, the process of reflection is easier.

Time management

Why an issue? Have the whole semester – a long way

off

Using the Teaching & Learning Cycle:

By working through the components, students can follow the process when doing the ‘real’ thing.

They will have an understanding of all the bits that make up the whole.

Regular drafting is happening – so constant feedback.