Students as Researchers

October 13, 2008

Sharon Peters, wearejustlearning.ca, The Study

LESA learning and evaluation situation is a set of

complex tasks and learning activities rooted in a context which is linked to a problem or issue

(MELS - DGFJ 2005, Planning Learning and Evaluation Activities)

Elements of an LES

Reflection (the act of thought on our actions, motivations, experiences, and world events) is becoming a lost art.

Deriving meaning no longer happens at a pause point. Meaning is derived in real time. The beauty of life always resides below the surface of busyness.

How can we appreciate the quietness? Has our generation moved beyond contemplationand silence to distraction and motion?

How is our humanness changed?

George Siemens, Knowing Knowledge, p. 74

The Schooling Students Need

“First and foremost, I look for someone who asks good questions,” Parker responded. “We

can teach them the technical stuff, but we can't teach them how to ask good questions—how to

think.”From Tony Wagner, “Rigor Redefined”, ASCD

- is open-ended, possible to contend, arguable. It must be complex enough to house multiple perspectives and possible answers.

- may lead to new questions asked by the students.

Jeffrey Wilhem, “Engaging Readers & Writers With Inquiry”

An Essential Question:

An Essential Question:

- honours students’ “reality principle”. It addresses their point fo view and need for inquiry to be interesting and in their terms.

- possesses emotive force, intellectual bite, or edginess. It invites student into ongoing conversations and debates about real-world disciplinary issues.

Essential Questions

Is it ever possible to resist established governance?

How can we best provide for the needy?

How is death and dying portrayed in literature to convey the human condition?

Why do organisms die?

What is our proper relationship to nature? (Romantic Literature)

Deep Learning

Studies of knowledge workers show that they:

•almost always apply their expertise in complex social settings,

with a wide array of technologically advanced tools

along with old-fashioned pencil, paper, chalk and blackboards

Collaborative Research - Approaches

Collaborative Research - OnlineTools

Fostering a culture of sharing and collaborating: tagging, THEY organize

content

Shared docs and forms

Wiki

Building a search engine

Collaborative Research - Tools

Cell phones, voice recorders, XO, iPod

Interviews

from the LEARN website

Google Forms

Students collect their own data!