EDTECH Research

In teaching it is important to develop assignments that assess student knowledge, increase student engagement, and encourage critical thinking skills. At times it can be difficult to facilitate all three of these features in one assignment. When it comes to teaching students how to conduct proper research the task can be especially daunting. Research is a multi-dimensional beast that must be simplified for students, especially when not all students have the same skills or access to technology. I learned quickly this past school year that several of my students are not digitally literature and need step-by-step instruction to aid in their understanding.

I also learned the importance of offering students multiple opportunities to practice research and assessing specific skills as we go rather than evaluating all the research standards in one major assessment. The challenge for me has been how to divide the components of research so that I appropriately chunk it to meet the needs of my students. I want to be logical in the order to which I teach certain skills so that students understand the research process as a whole. The major components I must covered when teaching research include the following Common Core Standards:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6- Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7- Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.8- Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9- Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

This assignment provided me with an opportunity to develop an end of the year summative research assessment where all four of the above standards can be evaluated. It allowed me to research strategies, methods, and resources I can use along the way to get students where they need to be by the end of the year. When I first began I was confident in teaching foundational basics of research, but my findings have elevated the level of rigor that I will put into my teaching. As a result, I have already begun planning new activities, developing organizers, and creating formative assessments that can be scattered throughout the school year to both affirm and support student learning.

Research in Educational Technology