Sources with Scientists, Part 4

School thoughts on this topic . . .

The type of research that Katie and Bruce perform is very much about knowledge construction, where they build meaning out of a situation that does not have a predetermined end result. One thing I will be looking to document is whether other fields require this type of research as well.

I contrast the knowledge construction model to many of the research projects I recognize from years of working in schools, primarily at the middle school grades. School research projects often take on the form of a scavenger hunt, where students gather and organize clues from various research sources to complete an assignment that meets an expected set of outcomes.

For example, a research paper on Abraham Lincoln is assessed on how well a student covers and includes certain bits of data, like Lincoln’s early life, his political career, the incidents of the Civil War, his assassination, etc. There are certain expected elements of the finished project.

So we are looking at two types of research projects that are quite different in their approaches. One primarily requires convergent research skills while the other builds in a divergent way; one reports facts while the other constructs a story; one is guided discovery, one is led by self-discovery.

Perhaps an early step in planning research reports in school will be to determine the goals of the project and decide whether those goals are best met through the knowledge construction model or the scavenger hunt model.

More to come . . .

Sources with Scientists, Part 1

Returning to the project of evaluating data sources, I had a fruitful interview yesterday with two scientists, Katie & Bruce. We discussed the processes involved in their work, as well as applications to school. To reiterate, my objective is to explore how to teach students the process of evaluating data sources, since so much data is available to them.

One of the areas that arose from our discussion is determining the purpose of a data collection exercise. Two emerging thoughts: sometimes data collection is to meet discreet goals, and other times it is to construct understanding.

In the first case, we have an assignment akin to a scavenger hunt where we want students to find particular bits of information to satisfy the completion of a standard set of knowledge goals. An example would be asking students to file a report on the battle of Gettysburg that includes the setting, the duration of the battle, the number of casualties, the immediate results of the battle, and so forth – a fact-driven exercise.

In the case of constructing understanding, the goal is more indefinite and open to interpretation, and there are multiple conclusions that may be reached. The example would be a research report in which a student would have to support or dismiss the concept that Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War.

Without a doubt, it is possible, and even common, for school research projects to incorporate both kinds of thinking within a single report. But by recognizing two distinct processes, we can better start to prepare students for two types of data-collection even before we begin the process of evaluating sources.

More to come . . .