Nothing traumatic, I promise - just, as a teacher, reflecting on my practice and trying to decide the best way to teach research...read below and see if you can help me out.
Most of you know from previous posts that I am an English teacher.
Next month, I get the chance to work with the Director of Secondary Curriculum, my department chair, and other English teachers to revamp the writing modes for all four high grades at the high school.
I'm currently attempting to get my seniors to complete a very rigorous senior-level research project; problem is, they've had little to no exposure to proper research techniques/skills, and despite my best attempts (and some successes) to model the process for them, they feel egregiously overwhelmed, lacking even the rudimentary skills necessary, and short on time.
Given that, after reflecting on my particular current classroom conundrum, I feel research should be taught - at a minimum - once per level of high school, I'm trying to figure out the best way to propose that idea to the DSC.
Since DailyKos is a nice little conglomerate of educated people from a variety of age groups, disciplines, etc., I'm seeking your input. Some of the basic things I need to know are:
1. What specific research skill were you taught that has made the most difference in your ability to research?
2. What is the single most important skill to master in order to write an "A" level research paper?
3. What are the other skills necessary to be able to have mastered that single most important skill?
4. Despite the influx of technology, has the "research process" really changed that much? If so, how, and what does that mean for the classroom?
5. Is the ability to research less of a learned skill and more of an inherent one or one that is developed over time?
I know that many of the answers could be subjective, but my goal is to have a MASSIVE body of evidence to present to the DSC (including student surveys that I will have my 12th graders take) to justify the idea that research should happen at every grade level.
Any input you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
SS