Advanced Research Techniques: Active Learning Lesson Plan
Jacqueline Frank; email
Methods of active learning:
- Group & class discussion
- Pair & share
- Hands-on research
Learning Outcomes (assessment questions at the end)
Concrete skills: after this class, students will be able to:
- Conduct research using the library website
- Employ Boolean operators when searching
- Employ truncation techniques when searching
- Effectively evaluate sources of information
- Cite sources accurately
Critical Thinking Objectives:
- Explain different contexts in which sources of information would be appropriate or not
- Find appropriate sources to support your research question
- Recognize how preliminary research can shape the direction your claim/counterclaim may take
LESSON PLAN INTRO (5 mins)
- Show of hands: How many of you feel comfortable doing research using the library website?
- If needed:
- How many of you know what criteria to consider, when evaluating sources of information?
- How many of you feel comfortable with citations, formatting & citing all your sources correctly?
- In class feedback/questions – Introduce padlet for anonymous questions
- Pre-class assessment survey: online survey in class (public copy for website)
INSTRUCTION & GROUP DISCUSSION (20 mins)
- LibGuide Intro & concept review
- review resources on Assignment Guide
- Articles – What is Peer review??
- evaluating sources with CRAAP – Bias – what does that mean?
- citation resources on assignment guide
- Subject/assignment specific Library Resources
- Topic exploration in subject-specific databases
- subject databases
- Advanced search techniques – use example topic from class to show:
- Boolean operators – who has used/can explain what these are?
- Truncation techniques – who can explain?
- Thesaurus in databases – who can explain?
- Subject headings & keywords – who can explain?
- Pearl referencing – who can explain?
- Search by format – media, newspaper, etc.
- Site:.gov
- Google Scholar to find Library Resources
- Connecting to Library resources
- Using GS to Evaluating sources – scholar is better than google, but still need to think
- Number of citations, look at other publications by the author, reputable journals
- Evaluating Sources – discuss how sources can be useful in different contexts (i.e. biased piece would not be appropriate for a factual overview, but would be appropriate for paper showing the range of human opinions on a topic)
- What questions do you have at this point?
- Review padlet – have other students answer the questions if the remember/know the answer
- Topic exploration in subject-specific databases
ACTIVITY & HANDS ON RESEARCH (20 mins)
- Part B: Pair & Share activity
- Individually – Students will start their preliminary search to:
- Write research statement
- With a partner
- Share topic
- Identify search strategy for each topic – keywords with truncation, Boolean operators, etc.
- Start research & share results with partner – brainstorm strategies to find
- Evaluate sources with CRAAP
- Individually – Students will start their preliminary search to:
LESSON PLAN WRAP UP (5 mins)
- Show citation resources on assignment guide
Assessment of instruction session – online survey take
Flipped Classroom Option:
Assign the following video as homework to students prior to class, or after the instruction session, depending on student needs.
- Video: Primary & Secondary Sources. Module from Credo Reference (subscription service we utilize at MSU library)
- Video: How to Read Scholarly Materials. Module from Credo Reference (subscription service we utilize at MSU library)
- Video: CatSearch Basics (Primo Discovery Layer at MSU Library)
- Video: Searching with Google Scholar
- Video: Open Access
Assessment Questions mapped to Learning Outcomes & the ACRL Framework
*Student questions are from ACRL; Professor questions are received from the instructor after the assignment has been graded
Concrete skills: after this class, students will be able to:
Learning Objective | Framework Concept | Assessment questions |
§ Conduct subject-specific research using the library website | Searching is exploration | Student: “I am more aware of the library’s resources & services”
Professor: “student used appropriate sources of information for their topic” |
§ Employ Boolean operators when searching | Searching is exploration | Student: “I intend to apply what I just learned”
Professor: “student used appropriate sources of information for their topic” |
§ Employ truncation techniques when searching | Searching is exploration | Student: “I intend to apply what I just learned”
Professor: “student used appropriate sources of information for their topic” |
§ Effectively evaluate sources of information | Authority is constructed & contextual | Student: “I intend to apply what I just learned”
Professor: “student used appropriate sources of information for their topic” |
§ Cite sources accurately | Information has value | Student: “I feel more confident about completing my assignments”
Professor: “student cited sources accurately, according to guidelines” |
Critical Thinking Objectives:
Learning Objective | Framework Concept | Assessment questions |
§ Explain different contexts in which sources of information would be appropriate or not | Authority is constructed & contextual | Student: “I feel more confident about completing my assignments”
Professor: “student used appropriate sources of information for their topic”
|
§ Find appropriate sources to support your research question | Searching is exploration | Professor: “student sufficiently developed their topic into an appropriate research question/statement” |
§ Recognize how preliminary research can shape the direction your claim/counterclaim may take | Research as inquiry; searching is exploration | Professor: “student sufficiently developed their topic into an appropriate research question/statement” OR “student used appropriate sources of information for their topic” |