NCTIES2023

In an age when students can ask Siri (or Alexa or Google), teachers must adapt research frameworks to build questioning skills and academic writing beyond a web search. By revising the KWL framework, students in all grades can develop and produce scholarly inquiry projects that would impress any collegiate researcher.

The session will begin with a discussion of how KWL supports and subverts research in the computer-driven classroom. Participants will be given opportunities to share how they have circumvented “Googleable” research questions.
Next, the presenters will share how KWL has been integrated throughout the authentic research process while maintaining the integrity of the inquiry. To do so, the presenters will divide the session into four sections:
What is a Body of Knowledge? (5 minutes)
Attendees will discover techniques for helping students dive into existing research about a topic to avoid researching questions that have already been answered.
Presenters will provide tips on the dos and don’ts of an annotated bibliography and provide direction lessons for evaluating sources using the CRAAP method.
What is a gap and how do students find it? (10 minutes)
Attendees will identify various types of gaps such as knowledge gaps, population gaps, evidence gaps, etc. to help students understand the multiple perspectives behind their topics.
What is a research question? (15 minute activity among participants)
Research question criteria are imperative to success. Here attendees will practice evaluation research questions for purpose, scope, and feasibility to assist students in writing quality research questions.
How do we find an answer? (5-minute interactive discussion)
What if our research question does not have an answer? YAY! That’s the best part of research! Good research often leads to more questions, not answers. Participants will learn ways to celebrate this sometimes frustrating piece of research to promote grit and perseverance in their students.