Weekly Reading #6

Reading #1
"Authentic research can help students become more engaged in the process. Authentic research calls for students to answer questions they are curious about—questions that they truly want to know more about. Having each student pick a different country and researching the population, geography, and imports/exports is not authentic research."
I completely agree with this statement. Thinking back over the many research papers I've completed over the years, I'm not sure I actually learned anything. In fourth grade, I had to research and write a paper about conifers. I remember copying a sentence from the encyclopedia (yes, I'm that old). The sentence said something about conifers standing 'erect'. My sister, who was in high school, made me change the sentence because I didn't know what erect meant; therefore, according to her, I shouldn't use it. The only thing I learned from that paper is the meaning of erect. For students to be fully vested in a research paper, they must be interested in what they are researching. By creating authentic research experiences for students, they will be more engaged and more likely to actually learn.

I found this blog: Using Authenetic Research Project in the The Classroom. The author presents a lot of good ideas and links to authentic research projects.

Reference
Herrmann, Bailey (2012). Writing as an Exploration: Rethinking the Research Paper, Wisconsin English Journal, Volume 54, Number 2.  Retrieved from http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/wej/article/viewFile/538/579

Reading #2

1. What is the difference between writing a report and "doing research"?
Writing a report does not require students to actually do research. Research requires students to take an active role of collecting data and constructing meaning.

2. How might doing authentic research better prepare students for the 21st century work place? Give specific examples from the "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" reading.
Authentic research would better prepare students for the 21st Century work place by giving students real world experience in the areas of interviewing, administering questionnaires and journaling.
In "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", the author refers to how nurses have to research based on the information the patients and doctors give them.

3.Why might Constructivist type learning better prepare students for the 21st century work place than Behavioral approaches?
Constructivist type learning points toward a number of different teaching practices. Knowing that all students do not learn things the same way, constructivist type learning better prepares students for the 21st Century work place through providing a variety of collaborative, critical thinking, and creative skills. The behavorial approach focuses more on step-by-step processes.The information is presented in a way that doesn't necessarily require creativity, critical thinking or social interaction.

4. How does authentic research support new media literacies?
New media literacies deal a lot with collaboration, critical thinking and networking. Through authentic research, students learn how to navigate through the social landscape and create connections with others. Actively engaged students care more about their own research.

References
Gordon, Carol. Students As Authentic Researchers: A New Prescription for the High School Research Assignment. American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume21999/vol2gordon

Lloyd, A. (2011). Trapped between a Rock and a Hard Place: What Counts as Information Literacy in the Workplace and How Is It Conceptualized? Library Trends, 60 (2) pp. 277-296.

Jenkins, Henry. (2007, June 26). What Wikipedia can Teach us About New Media Literacies (Part One). Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab.html