Sounds like a great series of lessons. I'll give you proper attribution when I steal the whole piece.
Thanks.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Don, about the "Philosophical" essay...
I have a clear picture of most parts of the research projects you described today. I really like the essay where the students must defend their research questions (Why this topic is worthy of research). Also the annotated bibliography assignment. The assignment I can't visualize is the first. Students are "essaying" here--casting about for worthy subjects/questions? But what does the written product look like? Or is there an "essay" to this essaying?
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I thought the questions were just brainstorming x amount of questions we have on any topic of our choice...... suppose in this case it would be education. Please advise......
ReplyDeleteThis process begins with my students creating a list of something like "100 Questions I have wondered about" or "100 topics that I am curious about." This is part is very informal and we have fun discussing what makes their lists and and why. After that, they move into a short, quick-write about what are their more serious concerns and what are some things they would really like to know more about. After that I let it go for a couple of weeks, but I let them know that the first real graded paper then is the rhetorical, "This is what I want to research and here's why it's worthy of my time" paper. I do a fair amount of peer revision with this paper and even after the end of grading period (the annotated bib is in the 2nd grading period) I let them change their topic -- if they can convince me their new topic is worth doing. For some students, the exploration paper is challenging because they are required NOT to use any sources or references; they must write from the knowledge they already have.
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