Teacher Description:
A teacher with over 25 years experience, possibly close to retirement would be a good candidate. The subject area wouldn’t really matter however this person is probably from a content area that lends itself to the typical “research” type assignment; English or Social Studies. Typically the old traditional English teacher is the one who would assign such an assignment. In my building the past three years such teachers have thankfully retired and the new staff are open and willing to experiment. Conducting such an activity in my building wouldn’t require much work.
This teacher is someone who uses the same format for their project year after year. The fact they’ve been doing the project for a long time contributes to their lack of initiative to change. Many teachers of such a persuasion tend to feel comfortable with their assignment and like the predictability of the finished product they receive. This predictability leads to an evaluation that’s the same as the “last time”. Teachers such as this tend to fear change and or the fact that such an assignment may force the evaluation of the project to change each and every semester. This constant change seems like more work. This fear is imbedded in the teacher’s inability to feel secure in their evaluation of the finished work. From a teacher point of view this means they are unsure what they will get at the end and fear of student failure to produce meaningful results.
Teachers who are evaluating a large project also subconsciously want to compare semester to semester or year to year and believe their “standards” are being upheld by assigning a predictable assignment. By leaving out the variables of an inquiry, uncharted, and unknown there’s less ambiguity and hence an easier assignment to grade. Comparisons on many levels can also be done if things stay constant.
Media Specialist Role:
I would target the fears of the teacher with their assignment directly. I would focus on the fear of the unknown by accentuating the positive of such an approach.
Exploration of the teacher’s expectations with the project could be discussed. Key to getting conversation started would be the inquiry of teacher apathy towards their project. Finding out what the teacher hates about their project would reveal points or areas where the Media Specialist could assist in bettering the design.
Obviously students will be utilizing the library and its resources in some fashion, therefore there’s reason for the Media Specialist to have a role in the project. Helping understand the teacher’s expectations and explaining the shortfalls in student learning would be a discussion point with the teacher.
As a way to get discussion started with the teacher I would leverage the student questions and assistance with research. Being able to approach the teacher with questions students are asking or problems they are having gives you an excuse to bring up the project and its design. When doing so it would be important to be supportive of the teacher’s efforts to foster a learning environment through such a project.
If necessary I would seek out students that I know are working on such a project for a teacher and begin to explore with casual conversation the issues and problems that student(s) are having with a particular assignment.
I would use student feedback to reach out to the staff member. My approach would be non-threatening and act as an advocate for student learning as opposed to taking sides and trying to debate who’s right and who’s wrong.
I would offer my services to the teacher to help frame and draw boundaries for students on such a project.
By offering my assistance as the Media Specialist with a projects design I can begin to utilize some of the points Gordon mentions in her article. As mentioned by Kuhlthau, students need duties that force them to construct meaning and draw upon their prior knowledge. This will allow for learning to spring board from where a student is at knowledge wise and allowing for progress to be made.
Literature Correlations:
Gordon’s explanation of the student as the “authentic researcher” is something I would want to address with the assigning teacher. This could be done in many ways.
I would draw attention to the fact students are doing nothing more than reporting the information and not truly exploring or discovering information, hence learning. As inferred by Kuhlthau in the article, an oversimplification of the thinking process leads to idiosyncratic actions that steer students towards reiteration and or a word for word regurgitation of information. Getting the teacher to agree that this is not learning is a huge step in selling the need for change.
This point can also be expounded upon due to the frustration teachers find with student plagiarism. To aid a teacher in avoiding plagiarism I could use Kuhlthau’s research as evidence for the teacher to change their assignment.
As already mentioned I would also draw attention to the real or authentic learning students would experience with an inquiry assignment.
I would need to give examples of how inquiry assignments are different from fact finding. This differentiation would need to illustrate the types of thinking and learning students will be doing. As a teacher I would want to see and understand not only the differences but also the actions that students would perform with a different approach to my same assignment.
Gordon’s inclusion of research from several sources could be cited if necessary to prove my points however I would need to be careful how this literature proof would be introduced. Basically I would need to give examples of what research proves is beneficial in student learning.
A solid way to introduce this would be an explanation of how educational research and discovery parallel’s the changes in information retrieval. This is something I can explain as a Media Specialist, from my point of view; here’s what students struggle or really do with your project when they come to the library for help.
For example the advent of the internet has changed how our students gather information for the traditional projects therefore we need to adjust our requirements to ensure student learning is happening as a result of technological changes.
While some would consider the Internet an evil to education the focus on this point must focus on the opportunities and positives. For example having 24/7 access to information and a larger supply of sources today’s students must learn to sift through and find meaning.
As explained by Gordon students need assignments that ask for higher level problem solving type skills. These skills are evident on standardized tests like the ISTEP and SAT. The fact that problem solving is a school-wide goal in my building would further my reasoning for stressing its importance.
The constructivist approach by Kuhlthau is something I would also try to steer my teacher towards. An explanation of the need for this approach would need to be laid out. Essentially I would need to sell my teacher on the fact that students need to take ownership for their information retrieval. The role of the teacher in this process is less of a director and more of a guide, something mentioned by Kuhlthau in the article.
I would focus on the benefits of this approach once again addressing the learning students would experience as a result of this approach.
Key to my discussion with my colleague would be the benefits this approach would create. No longer would the same wrote information be regurgitated back to them. Instead a check or sample of student growth would be the final product. The evaluation of a finished product wouldn’t focus on the “correctness” of the facts rather the “analysis” of the facts.
Key to my point would be the fact that students working through an inquiry model will perform higher order thinking skills which fosters more productive learning.
Summary:
Creating learning activities that engage students is essential to fostering a learning environment. Helping, assisting, encouraging, steering, whatever you call it, this is something that classroom teachers and Media Specialists alike have a role in. The biggest challenge is drawing upon student real life experiences and getting them hooked on a topic. The joy of inquiry learning is its spontaneity and true quest for information. This is something that easily eludes veteran teachers as they feel they loose touch, quite the contrary I believe. Older teachers have the experience and knack for creating, structuring, and directing young minds in directions that students learn often by surprise. It’s often these dedicated professionals that get letters or notes of encouragement years later from students thanking them for their impact upon their life. It’s also these projects or learning experiences that stick with students well beyond their high school career as life lessons.
Citation:
Gordon, C. 1999. Students as authentic researchers: A new prescription for the high school research assignment. Accessed 4 September 2006.
